When future historians write the obituary of the Republican Party, they will debate the contributing causes and the precise time of death. But there is no doubt that the GOP’s inability to pass a bi-partisan bill providing funds to Ukraine and Israel while reforming America’s broken immigration system will figure prominently in the obituary.
In killing the bipartisan bill they demanded in the first instance, congressional Republicans surrendered their constitutional authority under Article I to a failed insurrectionist seeking reelection to escape four criminal indictments.
To be clear, you haven’t missed anything yet. The bill is still technically alive. But we need only look at the actions of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday to see the handwriting on the wall.
Mid-day on Monday, McConnell took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass the bi-partisan bill. About six hours later, McConnell told his colleagues in a private meeting to filibuster the bill. Per the Associated Press,
In a dramatic turnaround, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recommended to GOP senators in a closed-door meeting that they vote against the first procedural vote Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the meeting who were not authorized to talk publicly about it and spoke anonymously.
It came just hours after the Kentucky Republican had urged colleagues on the Senate floor that “it’s now time for Congress to take action.”
You will remember that Mitch McConnell made a dramatic statement from the Senate floor in 2021 after refusing to convict Trump for conspiracy to incite insurrection. He blamed the insurrection on Trump and said that Trump could later be held liable civilly and criminally for his actions on January 6. For a fleeting moment, it appeared that remnants of McConnell’s vestigial backbone were intact.
On Monday, Trump squashed McConnell like a bug. He humiliated McConnell before the world. He ordered McConnell to dance like a marionette and McConnell did so without a peep.
Senate Republicans are claiming they are filibustering the bill to allow more time to consider the provisions of a 370-page bill. Don’t believe it. Trump appeared on Newsmax on Monday, calling the bi-partisan bill “a Democrat trap, a trap for Republicans” that should be rejected out of hand. Hours later, McConnell pulled the emergency brake on the legislative process.
Democrats were stunned by the turnabout. Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said,
Just gobsmacked. I’ve never seen anything like it. They literally demanded specific policy, got it, and then killed it.
Democrats will continue to urge passage of the bill. President Biden immediately issued a statement outlining the provisions of the bill, saying,
We've reached an agreement on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades.
For too long, going back decades, the immigration system has been broken.
Here's how we start to fix it.
Even though the bill is likely dead, it is smart for Democrats to continue to advocate for its passage until it is clear there is no hope. At that point, two things will change.
First, until now, Trump has occupied the fact-free high-ground by claiming that President Biden is allowing an “open border.” While that claim is false, the response has been complicated and dense. Now, President Biden can simply say, “We proposed a solution drafted jointly with congressional Republicans at their request, but you killed it to advance your partisan interests.”
Second, Republicans will now be forced to vote separately on funding for Israel and Ukraine—without the cover of an immigration bill. The Putin-loving Caucus embedded in the GOP will be forced to emerge from the shadows and identify themselves. Let’s hope that enough Republicans in the House and Senate understand that supporting Ukraine is in the vital national interests of the US and democracy across the globe. (The funding for Israel seems secure.)
The Supreme Court hearing on Trump's disqualification.
The oral arguments on Trump's disqualification by Colorado will be available to the public by audio (not video) on Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Links to C-Span are here: How To Listen To Donald Trump’s 14th Amendment Case at the Supreme Court | Constitution Center.
Additional briefs have been flowing into the Court for its consideration. Of special note is a brief by twenty-five historians of the Civil War era who provide background on the text and meaning of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The brief is here: Brief for Professors Orville Vernon Burton, Allan J. Lichtman, Nell Irwin Painter, James M. McPherson, Manisha Sinha, et al. as Amici Curiae. The brief is readable and persuasive. If you read only one resource about Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, this brief should be it!
Or, you could read an op-ed by E.J. Dionne Jr. in Washington Post, Opinion | Why I changed my mind and think Trump should be thrown off the ballot. (Accessible to all.)
Dionne explains that he initially believed that he “thought it would be best for the country to have him go down to defeat again in a free and fair election.” But Dionne changed his mind, in part, because of arguments made by the twenty-five Civil War era historians cited above.
Dionne walks through his thought process that led to his change of view, and then concludes:
The biggest paradox of all: Throwing Trump off the ballot would seem, on its face, the opposite of democracy. Yet the whole point of Section 3 is to protect constitutional democracy from anyone who has already tried to destroy it. If its provisions don’t apply to Trump, they don’t apply to anyone. The court would not be disqualifying him. He disqualified himself.
As we move toward the Supreme Court hearing, I want to introduce a note of caution. As the briefing has unfolded, it has become clearer that Trump should be disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The textualist and historical arguments have become overwhelming in favor of disqualification—a point that has been made repeatedly by leading commentators.
Here's the problem: The right result (disqualification) may not be the actual result. When Colorado’s decision was first appealed to the US Supreme Court, most commentators agreed that the Supreme Court would find a way to reverse it. As the textualist and historical arguments have become stronger, many people have forgotten their initial skepticism about the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court.
Although I hope that the Court rules that Trump is disqualified, I believe we should hold fast to our initial skepticism about the reactionary majority. We have no reason to believe they will do the right thing. Let’s not set ourselves up for disappointment by surrendering to false hope.
If our skepticism is wrong and the Court does the right thing, we will all celebrate. But if the reactionary majority gives Trump an escape route, we shouldn’t be surprised or unnecessarily disappointed. We are going to have to beat him—or his MAGA surrogate—at the ballot box, no matter what the Supreme Court does.
Biden condemns WSJ op-ed calling Dearborn, MI “Jihad Capital of America.”
A contributor to the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed last week that was headlined, “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.” Dearborn is home to approximately 50,000 Americans of Arab descent and recently elected its first Arab American mayor, Abdullah H. Hammoud.
The WSJ op-ed details comments by about a dozen individuals (some religious leaders) in Dearborn supporting or praising the actions of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel. Based on those comments and rallies in support of Palestinians in Gaza, and the demographic composition of Dearborn, the op-ed author declares that Dearborn is the “Jihad capital of America.”
The statements praising Hamas’s terror killings and torture of Israelis (and others) on October 7 are unconscionable and deserve to be condemned by everyone. But the statements of a few prominent members of the community do not warrant calling Dearborn “the Jihad Capital of America.” It is a religious and ethnic slur that falsely implies that all Arab Americans are terrorists—a central tenant of Trump's “Muslim ban” imposed during the first weeks of his presidency.
The city of Dearborn immediately experienced an increase in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim threats. The city was forced to increase security at government and private buildings. See CNN, Mayor says police presence increased at places of worship after WSJ opinion piece declared his city ‘America’s Jihad capital’.
President Biden issued a statement immediately following the publication of the WSJ op-ed, saying,
Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong.
That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town.
We must continue to condemn hate in all forms.
The domestic politics of Israel’s war on Hamas is difficult. It is reprehensible of the WSJ to publish an op-ed that claims an American city is a “Jihad capital.” Arab Americans are Americans, not presumptive terrorists. If ascribing names to cities based on the actions of a few dozen citizens is appropriate (it is not), then hundreds of cities across America could be described as the “Insurrection Capital" of America.
As President Biden said, “Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong.”
Opportunity for reader engagement.
I want to welcome The Grassroots Connector to Substack! One of the challenges of the organic grassroots movement that emerged after 2016 is coordinating the tremendous resources available in hundreds (thousands?) of grassroots groups. That’s where the Grassroots Connector comes in. Here is how the Grassroots Connector describes itself:
This publication is for you, leaders, activists, and allies of pro-democracy grassroots organizations working on U.S. electoral politics. It is an initiative of the Grassroots Collaboration Project, whose mission is to advocate for and support grassroots groups, especially all-volunteer groups.
Every week, The Grassroots Connector will bring you stories to boost your spirits and help build the capacity of the volunteer-led pro-democracy movement. We’ll give you an insider perspective on the tools and tactics grassroots groups are using to reach voters, recruit volunteers and work with local, state, and national organizations. This publication will focus on collaborations, giving visibility to the innovative grassroots work that has contributed to recent electoral wins.
I have subscribed to Grassroots Connector. If you are an organizer, activist, or concerned citizen, check it out!
Concluding Thoughts.
Thanks to the many readers who inquired about our safety in the torrential rains in Los Angeles. Although we are near flooding and mudslides, we live in the flatlands of the San Fernando Valley and are safe. My wife posted a video to her blog showing a few scenes near our home. Big Storm in LA...But We're Ok!
Yesterday’s newsletter (er, rant) touched a nerve. I received far more than the usual number of emails and Comments. While many people agreed with my comments about the biased news coverage, many also said that it felt good simply to hear someone else say the things they feel every day.
That is a common phenomenon in today’s saturated news environment. The more connected we are to the news, the more isolated we feel. Why? I had originally drafted several paragraphs trying to analyze the answer to that question, but decided it is better to jump to the solution: Community.
We are living through challenging times. We stand on the shoulders of those who lived through and triumphed over challenging times. But they didn’t have news flashes trying to manipulate their emotions dozens of times a day—or a global pandemic that turned social proximity into fear.
Just as generations of American patriots before us found strength in community, we should do the same. There are many reasons to do so—to amplify our strength, to leverage our resources, to pool our wisdom, and to share our happiness and sorrow.
But most importantly, in community, we see that the world does not rest upon our shoulders alone. We are going to win—but it isn’t up to you alone to make that happen. As President Biden said in his first inaugural speech, “In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward.”
That is all it will take for us to prevail. Enough of us. In community.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Judge Thomas and Alito are Originalists and Textualists. Except when they are not. I will truly be gob-smacked if they don't follow the MAGA line. And seeing Mitch McConnell fold like a wet blanket is dispiriting. Even though he has left us disappointed so many times after showing evidence of a spine, he's done it again. And what I don't get is: unlike JD Vance and Tom Cotton, he's in the twilight of his career. He could have been a hero.
“Settled at the ballot box “, is not comforting with our outdated and flawed electoral process. Two of the worst presidents in US history G.W. Bush and Trump lost the popular vote and became president. The world is still worse off today because of those two men. So the coming election is terrifying because of our electoral system allows manipulation by those who would destroy our democracy, our environment and the rule of law.