Getting the infrastructure bills done is, as you say about governing in general, hard. Hard as it is, I believe they will come through with the two bills. "Not yet Senator" Ocasio-Cortez is not bluffing. The inability to extend the eviction moratorium, however, seems to be a real failure; the first of the Biden Presidency. As for Donald Trump's behavior, the closest comparison in American history (other than the Civil War) I can think of is Aaron Burr's effort to defeat Thomas Jefferson for the presidency. Despite Burr's attempt to overturn the intention of the election, he remained as Vice President and was charged with treason for his later effort to create and head a new country west of the United States. Never convicted, he was ruined financially -- which wouldn't be a terrible outcome for Trump.
I thank you for your daily editions and explanations. What I don't understand is where is Jaime Harrison? Where are the commercials blips describing what the Republicans are doing? Those individuals on the fence and others that are only watching FOX news don't get the other side of the story. I am frustrated by the lack of aggressive leadership on the part of the Democratic National Party.
So you don't appear wild eyed, but actually sober and methodical. I hope you send your questions about Rosen, Barr and the DOJ burying of such critical info, and all your other questions to Jeremy Rafkin, et al. Its obvious from the eviction moratorium non response that the committee and house have so many plates in the air that priorities are hard to maintain.
As you say, we must push and then maintain the pressured focus. Thanks for your thinking.
Robert needs to represent us all in raising these issues to whoever can and will take action. Or do we organize a petition and send to Rafkin? There are more than enough readers of this newsletter that would support a petition demanding a FULL investigation of this!
The housing situation is distressing; had not heard about the unclaimed funds. Thank you as always for both holding the Dems to account and for applauding the current rule of law. I feel much better after having completed my thank you letters to the four officers who testified to the Select Committee about the January 6 capitol riot. Your reminder not to let perfection be the enemy of the possible comes at just the right moment.
Your slight slip up calling AOC a senator may subconsciously reflects a general disappointment with so many Republican senators who did not vote to impeach Trump. She is young and may sometimes may lack better judgment, but she stands on the right side of many issues.
Okay, first I have to set my tongue squarely in my cheek and reply to …” In his interview, Meadows refers to Trump as “the” president who continues to meet with “his cabinet...”
If that’s true (in his mind), DT is still president, and therefore he can’t be president for a third term 🤪?
These individuals that are still referring to tRump as President are all as sick as tRump himself. isn't there a law that prohibits an individual from passing himself off as the President of the United States when he is not? I know we still refer to past Presidents as MR PReseident but always as Former Preseident..never as a present.
As you point out, governing is hard. And complicated. And as has often be said, making laws is like making sausages. So the failure to hold Trump to account is not only a tribute to his (and his allies') success in normalizing what happened between November 3rd and January 20th, but also the result of conscious choices by Democrats in the Adminstration and Congress to devote time to governing. Remember, we're in the midst of a pandemic, and as the expiration of the moratorium on evictions shows, even though the economy is coming back strong, weaknesses are still serious.
Also, let's not over-emphasize this "normalization." That millions of Americans would have expected Trump to do what we now know he tried to do does not mean that they are not repulsed and even horrified. They showed that they were in November. and again after January 6th. No, we cannot let our guard down, but let's not get too down on ourselves, either.
And as for AOC and the "progressives," they often need to be told to sit in the corner--and I speak as one who considers himself progressive. (Although as my 75th birthday is almost a year behind, I admit that I may be getting more moderate, as I like to think of it.)
Hi, I agree with you that we cannot be consumed with Trump's illegal behavior. Nor can we ignore it. When I sat down to write about Trump's comments on Sunday evening, I scanned my usual dozen most preferred sources for commentary. Nothing. I expect the Jan 6th Committee to look at his behavior, but I just don't understand how a revelation that a president asked the DOJ to participate in a coup is not the most momentous story in two centuries. If that story is background noise to the admittedly important work of fighting the pandemic and righting the economy, then Trump (or Cruz or Hawley or DeSantis) will try the same thing because the lesson we are teaching them is that there are no consequences. On this issue, I feel like the homeowner yelling at kids to "get off my lawn." But I am going to keep doing it.
I have changed the reference from "Democrat Party" to "Democratic Party." It was a typo, as I hope was obvious from my repeated use of Democratic as an adjective throughout the newsletter.
I didn't read the newsletter or watch much news while visiting relatives last week. Honestly, I think AOC has made a good move. The 19 or 20 Rs who voted to pass the infrastructure bill are not the only ones happy about bringing it home to their states. I believe many wanted it to pass but were simply gutless. AOC is saying, "Two can play this game." I think it is going to work. I think some of those Rs in the Senate who crossed over will cross over again. And I think even more will cross over if they see the Dems could stop it! Crazy talk, I know. The problem right now is that it looks like the House has to vote on the larger bill first. Tricky but do-able, I say! I trust Pelosi and AOC. I do not trust Manchin, in particular, because he is in the pocket of the energy sector. We need Rs to cross over even if we use reconciliation. Robert, if AOC, et.al., block passage in the House, does it go back to the Senate and then back to the House? I could look it up, but if you know, tell us.
I had stepped back a bit from the madness surrounding the Trump chaos to distress. I've been following the newsletter on a limited basis without allowing much to unravel me. However, after resing today's edition... I almost had a meltdown with the NYT article! OMG! Can is it this is not front news on every media site? This is huge! Trump tries to recruit Rosen into his ring of thieves and there is documentation to support it and yet not a mention. Barr would have jumped in without a doubt and so for the fact he was out, I am thankful! I'm surprised Trump hasn't hired a hit man to take Biden out!!! Or perhaps he has and that is yet to be disclosed!!! This man is ill and will stop at nothing as long as he has people that will support his crazy claims. How do we STOP him? this MUST end! WE need to get back to normal. Democracy MUST prevail!!
The frustration and anxiety among Democrats is palpable. I have to hope that it is caused my the horrific reporting out of the Washington media which seems to be trying not to take sides. Do people not believe that democracy is threatened and oh so fragile at this point? I cannot come up with a reasonable explanation that mitigates my anxiety and frustration. Democrats have always sucked at messaging but this time, the consequences are more than just losing an election.
Walking and chewing gum at the same time? The Biden Administration has failed this simple test. When the previous guy sat in the Oval Office, we knew he was incapable of running the government -- especially with the incompetent people he had in place to execute any plans.
But I expected more from Biden. He has good cabinet members and department heads, but he doesn't seem to be leading all of them in the right direction. I'm especially upset about the failure to coordinate Covid messaging with the CDC! I'm really upset about failure to extend the eviction policy! Get it together, Joe! We're losing time and ground!
Getting the infrastructure bills done is, as you say about governing in general, hard. Hard as it is, I believe they will come through with the two bills. "Not yet Senator" Ocasio-Cortez is not bluffing. The inability to extend the eviction moratorium, however, seems to be a real failure; the first of the Biden Presidency. As for Donald Trump's behavior, the closest comparison in American history (other than the Civil War) I can think of is Aaron Burr's effort to defeat Thomas Jefferson for the presidency. Despite Burr's attempt to overturn the intention of the election, he remained as Vice President and was charged with treason for his later effort to create and head a new country west of the United States. Never convicted, he was ruined financially -- which wouldn't be a terrible outcome for Trump.
Good reminder about the history of Aaron Burr. The fact that we must look back 250 years for a parallel to Trump's behavior says a lot.
I thank you for your daily editions and explanations. What I don't understand is where is Jaime Harrison? Where are the commercials blips describing what the Republicans are doing? Those individuals on the fence and others that are only watching FOX news don't get the other side of the story. I am frustrated by the lack of aggressive leadership on the part of the Democratic National Party.
Melinda, that is an excellent question! Harrison is keeping a much lower profile than his predecessor.
So you don't appear wild eyed, but actually sober and methodical. I hope you send your questions about Rosen, Barr and the DOJ burying of such critical info, and all your other questions to Jeremy Rafkin, et al. Its obvious from the eviction moratorium non response that the committee and house have so many plates in the air that priorities are hard to maintain.
As you say, we must push and then maintain the pressured focus. Thanks for your thinking.
Robert needs to represent us all in raising these issues to whoever can and will take action. Or do we organize a petition and send to Rafkin? There are more than enough readers of this newsletter that would support a petition demanding a FULL investigation of this!
The housing situation is distressing; had not heard about the unclaimed funds. Thank you as always for both holding the Dems to account and for applauding the current rule of law. I feel much better after having completed my thank you letters to the four officers who testified to the Select Committee about the January 6 capitol riot. Your reminder not to let perfection be the enemy of the possible comes at just the right moment.
Your slight slip up calling AOC a senator may subconsciously reflects a general disappointment with so many Republican senators who did not vote to impeach Trump. She is young and may sometimes may lack better judgment, but she stands on the right side of many issues.
Okay, first I have to set my tongue squarely in my cheek and reply to …” In his interview, Meadows refers to Trump as “the” president who continues to meet with “his cabinet...”
If that’s true (in his mind), DT is still president, and therefore he can’t be president for a third term 🤪?
A little levity to start the day…..
That type of logical thinking will not penetrate Meadow's skull.
These individuals that are still referring to tRump as President are all as sick as tRump himself. isn't there a law that prohibits an individual from passing himself off as the President of the United States when he is not? I know we still refer to past Presidents as MR PReseident but always as Former Preseident..never as a present.
As you point out, governing is hard. And complicated. And as has often be said, making laws is like making sausages. So the failure to hold Trump to account is not only a tribute to his (and his allies') success in normalizing what happened between November 3rd and January 20th, but also the result of conscious choices by Democrats in the Adminstration and Congress to devote time to governing. Remember, we're in the midst of a pandemic, and as the expiration of the moratorium on evictions shows, even though the economy is coming back strong, weaknesses are still serious.
Also, let's not over-emphasize this "normalization." That millions of Americans would have expected Trump to do what we now know he tried to do does not mean that they are not repulsed and even horrified. They showed that they were in November. and again after January 6th. No, we cannot let our guard down, but let's not get too down on ourselves, either.
And as for AOC and the "progressives," they often need to be told to sit in the corner--and I speak as one who considers himself progressive. (Although as my 75th birthday is almost a year behind, I admit that I may be getting more moderate, as I like to think of it.)
Hi, I agree with you that we cannot be consumed with Trump's illegal behavior. Nor can we ignore it. When I sat down to write about Trump's comments on Sunday evening, I scanned my usual dozen most preferred sources for commentary. Nothing. I expect the Jan 6th Committee to look at his behavior, but I just don't understand how a revelation that a president asked the DOJ to participate in a coup is not the most momentous story in two centuries. If that story is background noise to the admittedly important work of fighting the pandemic and righting the economy, then Trump (or Cruz or Hawley or DeSantis) will try the same thing because the lesson we are teaching them is that there are no consequences. On this issue, I feel like the homeowner yelling at kids to "get off my lawn." But I am going to keep doing it.
Also, we must pressure people like Meadows to get ahead of any shenanigans mid month. Call him in now.
I have changed the reference from "Democrat Party" to "Democratic Party." It was a typo, as I hope was obvious from my repeated use of Democratic as an adjective throughout the newsletter.
I didn't read the newsletter or watch much news while visiting relatives last week. Honestly, I think AOC has made a good move. The 19 or 20 Rs who voted to pass the infrastructure bill are not the only ones happy about bringing it home to their states. I believe many wanted it to pass but were simply gutless. AOC is saying, "Two can play this game." I think it is going to work. I think some of those Rs in the Senate who crossed over will cross over again. And I think even more will cross over if they see the Dems could stop it! Crazy talk, I know. The problem right now is that it looks like the House has to vote on the larger bill first. Tricky but do-able, I say! I trust Pelosi and AOC. I do not trust Manchin, in particular, because he is in the pocket of the energy sector. We need Rs to cross over even if we use reconciliation. Robert, if AOC, et.al., block passage in the House, does it go back to the Senate and then back to the House? I could look it up, but if you know, tell us.
I had stepped back a bit from the madness surrounding the Trump chaos to distress. I've been following the newsletter on a limited basis without allowing much to unravel me. However, after resing today's edition... I almost had a meltdown with the NYT article! OMG! Can is it this is not front news on every media site? This is huge! Trump tries to recruit Rosen into his ring of thieves and there is documentation to support it and yet not a mention. Barr would have jumped in without a doubt and so for the fact he was out, I am thankful! I'm surprised Trump hasn't hired a hit man to take Biden out!!! Or perhaps he has and that is yet to be disclosed!!! This man is ill and will stop at nothing as long as he has people that will support his crazy claims. How do we STOP him? this MUST end! WE need to get back to normal. Democracy MUST prevail!!
The frustration and anxiety among Democrats is palpable. I have to hope that it is caused my the horrific reporting out of the Washington media which seems to be trying not to take sides. Do people not believe that democracy is threatened and oh so fragile at this point? I cannot come up with a reasonable explanation that mitigates my anxiety and frustration. Democrats have always sucked at messaging but this time, the consequences are more than just losing an election.
Walking and chewing gum at the same time? The Biden Administration has failed this simple test. When the previous guy sat in the Oval Office, we knew he was incapable of running the government -- especially with the incompetent people he had in place to execute any plans.
But I expected more from Biden. He has good cabinet members and department heads, but he doesn't seem to be leading all of them in the right direction. I'm especially upset about the failure to coordinate Covid messaging with the CDC! I'm really upset about failure to extend the eviction policy! Get it together, Joe! We're losing time and ground!