Month: April 2017

It’s Saturday, April 29, 2017. Today we acknowledge the much-anticipated 100^th day since Donald Trump desecrated the office of POTUS. With every acknowledgment of a mile marker come reflection, evaluation, and analysis; and there’s been plenty of all those things going on this week both in the media and in Trump’s private moments and public comments. As this momentous day has approached, the usual chaos which has become the trademark of this White House has escalated to frenzy as 45 throws things at the wall—everything his troubled mind can think of—just frantically hoping something, anything, will stick. Having faced unprecedented resistance during his short time in office, he desperately longs to legitimize his “presidency” and to win the adulation he so deeply craves. Alas, however, all we continue to see as we cross the invisible line into his next 1,361 days is the now-familiar blank expression, the vacant eyes, and the videos of him childishly displaying his most recent executive order to the cameras as if showing his kindergarten classmates or his mommy the picture he just colored. In the absence of a single piece of legislation, his large stack of executive orders—most of them worthless, dealing with matters which could have been resolved by a simple phone call—is the only tangible thing he can point to as an “accomplishment” during this almost three-and-a-half months. Sad for him, sadder for our country.

Here’s a quick recap of the week.

1. Let’s just start with those executive orders. Trump has so far signed 30 of them, more than any other president in history within the same length of time. The one who comes closest to Trump’s number is Lyndon Johnson who signed 26 orders during his first 100 days. According to Leada Gore, “Trump has also signed 13 Congressional Review Act resolutions, more than any other president. The resolutions are designed to identify unnecessary regulations and block them from being issued.” These facts might be somewhat less noteworthy if the ceremonious, show-and-tell signings had been accompanied by any real legislation, but we all know that hasn’t happened; so that stack of black folders is all Trump has to show for “achievement.” Pathetic, Donald.
2. The best news of the week is that the Republican leadership’s second repeal-and-replace attempt met the same fate as the first. Late Thursday, leaders were forced to scrap the vote, after conceding that they simply couldn’t muster the necessary support to pass the bill. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy assured the public, “As soon as we have the votes, we’ll vote on it.” Speaker Paul Ryan echoed that statement. Trump was desperately hoping to push through a bill this week, regardless of what it looked like (it’s not like he ever reads this stuff), in order to place success in beginning the process of repealing and replacing the ACA on his 100-day report card. Fortunately for the millions who depend on the ACA, that process will be delayed a bit longer.
3. Tonight, the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner will convene, with all of the traditional elements except for one small difference: the “president” will not be in attendance. Trump is the first “president” since Ronald Reagan to skip the event often jokingly dubbed the “nerd prom,” but we forgave Reagan because he was busy recovering from a bullet wound received in the failed assassination attempt. Trump, on the other hand, is just being churlish and spiteful: dissing the media who have treated him “very badly” and have been “so unfair” to him and whom he has named “the enemy of the people.”
4. While the lavish White House Correspondent’s Dinner proceeds, Trump will be doing his favorite thing: holding a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he’ll be getting a lot more love than he’d have gotten at the dinner. He just can’t seem to get enough of the adulation from those screaming crowds. Most presidents find it unnecessary to continue campaigning after they’ve won the election; but Donald Trump is clearly NOT most presidents, and since winning the election has so far been his only success, his narcissistic ego needs an occasional replay of those happy times. Sunday morning update: The New York Times Sunday morning headline: “Trump Savages News Media at Rally to Mark 100^th.” Looks like the second 1,361 days will be a lot like the first 100. Sigh!
5. In that Reuters interview, Trump also admitted that he misses his old life. Gee, Donald, at last we agree on something: we, too, miss the time when you had your old life and you were not part of our lives. Ah, those were the days! The most jaw-dropping part of this nostalgic moment was this comment: “’I loved my previous life, I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,’ Trump told Reuters. ‘I actually, this is more work than my previous life. I thought it would be easier.’ Then, later: ‘I do miss my old life. This — I like to work. But this is actually more work.’” (CNN) Seriously? Let me see if I understand what you’re saying. You thought being president of the most powerful country in the world—running the entire government of that country—would be EASIER than being a reality TV star? Really? And you have no shame in actually admitting such stupidity to the entire world? Wow!
6. On Thursday of this week, Trump told an interviewer from Reuters, “There’s a chance that we could end up having a major, major, conflict with North Korea, absolutely.” Not only is “major, major conflict with North Korea” a terrifying prospect, but normal presidents don’t make public statements like this! We seem to have fallen into a dark hole that has no bottom. Each day brings a new display of ignorance more abysmal than the last. Yet so far none of 45’s violations of the Constitution, of ethics, of common decency have been sufficient to trigger serious investigations and actions by Congress to reign him in. Shame on them!
7. During his campaign, Trump issued a two-page document called “Donald Trump’s Contract with the American Voter,” which begins with the line, “What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again.” And then there is a list of the things which he would easily accomplish within that time period. I think it’s safe to say that Candidate Trump embraced the 100-day marker, looked forward to basking in his accomplishments on April 29. Fast forward to the week just preceding April 29, and we hear Trump as “president” whining about the 100-day evaluation: “It’s an artificial barrier”; “Not very meaningful”; “A ridiculous standard.” Nevertheless, throughout the week leading up to this ridiculous, non-meaningful, artificial report card, he blustered on and on about having the most successful 100 days in history, doing more than any other president has done in that short time, yada yada yada. And then he scheduled a rally in Pennsylvania where a screaming crowd would agree with him and bolster his narcissistic ego. And so it goes.
8. On Saturday, April 29, Trump reminded us all that May 1 is Loyalty Day. A Guardian article explains, “The day [May Day] is a US tradition dating back to the cold war, when it was a bolster to stop May Day becoming a rallying point for socialists and unionised workers, but for an embattled president learning politics on the job it has an added resonance.” Or one could say, for a “president” who hasn’t learned that loyalty has to be earned, it can’t be demanded, May Day may be another straw at which he desperately clutches to create a little support. “Sad,” as he would say.
9. In a Fox News interview marking 45’s 100^th day, Mr. Nothing Sticks to Me turned to blaming the Constitution itself for his failure. The same Guardian article mentioned in #8 reports: “He blamed the constitutional checks and balances built in to US governance. ‘It’s a very rough system,’ he said.’“It’s an archaic system … It’s really a bad thing for the country.’” Archaic? Bad thing for the country? That damned constitution! How on earth can a dictator be expected to get anything done when the constitution keeps cutting off his power and giving it to the legislative or judicial branch of the government? That’s so unfair. This may well be Trump’s most offensive and narcissistic statement yet. When looking for someone or something to blame for his own failures, even our 230-year-old constitution is not safe. This may also be among his most dangerous statements so far; in Trump’s thinking, anything which limits his power is bad, up to and including our treasured constitution. Just a short 101 days ago, we had a president who knew, loved, and taught our constitution; now we have one who’s never read it and who blames it for not allowing him to become the dictator he so longs to be. How did we get here?
10. Meanwhile, Trump’s approval ratings continue to hover around the 40% mark—historically low for any president at this early stage in his tenure. The only surprise here is that there could possibly be 40% of this country’s voters who DO approve of this train wreck! There’s much more work to be done!

The only positive news to come out of this last 100 days is that millions of Americans have begun to take more seriously than ever before the words “government of the people, by the people, for the people” and to take personal responsibility for seeing that—in the words of Abraham Lincoln—such government “shall not perish from the earth.” I read this morning that Trump is being sued by a group of youths, the youngest of whom is nine, for 45’s irresponsible attitude toward climate change. And that group will be among the thousands participating in Saturday’s march, the third such event during this nascent administration, to the White House to express the marchers’ disapproval of Trump and the Republican Congress’s inaction on climate change. Such hands-on involvement in government is something many of us have never seen to this extent, at least not since the Viet Nam days. Thanks to all of the marchers, protesters, letter writers, phone callers, meeting attenders, writers, and beautiful young lawsuit filers who represent all of us who love our democracy and refuse to stand idly by and watch it being destroyed.

That’s it for this week. See you next week, back here in The Swamp, when we’ll be 7 days into the second 1,361.

Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman” is a piece I watched and explored with hundreds of students over the span of my teaching career. Recently, a couple of quotes from the play’s protagonist Willy Loman have been replaying in my head. The action covers the last 24 hours in the life of a man whom the playwright saw as representative of the common man, in a play which Miller called a modern tragedy. Willy Loman lived his life obsessed with achieving the American Dream, only to die feeling he had achieved nothing at all. During this crucial day and night, Willy is haunted by the ghosts from his past and spends a great deal of time arguing with the voices in his head. In the final scenes of the play, Willy meets his two sons in a restaurant and, for the first time, is confronted with the truth of their lives. As he leaves the restaurant, he asks the waiter, “Tell me . . .  Is there a seed store in the neighborhood? . . .  I’ve got to get some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground.” After arriving home with his newly purchased seeds, Willy goes to the back yard to begin planting and starts speaking to the ghost of his brother Ben, who cautions Willy that the plan taking shape in Willy’s head may backfire and that Willy will be seen as a coward. Willy responds with the question, “Why? Does it take more guts to stand here the rest of my life ringing up a zero?”

Everyone wants to feel that their life has amounted to something, that they haven’t just “rung up a zero” during their years on earth. As Donald Trump nears the reality checkpoint of his 100^th day in office, he seems to be feeling much the same angst which Willy Loman experiences in “Death of a Salesman.” Trump has failed to pass a single piece of legislation, he’s caricatured daily by every publication on the planet, and his approval rating is at an historic low for a “president” at this stage of his term. He has nothing in the ground; and as he grows more desperate to plant some seeds, he becomes more and more delusional in his erratic stabs at and babbling talk about doing something important. For the fictional Willy Loman, this behavior evokes sympathy; for the real-life Donald Trump, there is no sympathy. There’s only disgust, disbelief that he actually holds the highest office in our country, terror over what calamity he may rain down upon us, and anger at the lawmakers who refuse to do their constitutional job of holding him accountable.

Here’s a snapshot of Week 13.

1. At least there is one priority on which Trump can take pride in his first-hundred-day accomplishments. With Earth Day taking place on Saturday, April 22, 45 can proudly point to this assessment from the Huffington Post: “Almost 100 days into Trump’s tenure, the fears of environmentalists, scientists, public health advocates have been confirmed — and then some.” Great work, Donald! You’ve outdone yourself! Oh, and pay no attention to that group of protesters who’ll be showing up again tomorrow. They’re probably being paid by someone anyway. You just sit inside and tweet to your little heart’s content.
2. Yes, the defeat of the Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a hastily jotted down bill was so far the greatest humiliation of Trump’s first 100 days. Yes, the Repubs have squandered huge amounts of time, effort, and money trying to repeal the ACA but no time working out a carefully crafted replacement for it. Yes, the one they now propose to put up for a vote next week is being called weaker than the one that already failed. NO, none of those facts is reason enough for them to back away from taking another ill-fated stab at passing a House bill which can be sent on to the Senate. According to Huff Post writers Sam Stein and Ryan Grim, Repubs have no choice but to launch another attempt because “virtually all elected Republicans in Congress pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare during their campaigns ― more or less every day since it became law. To abandon it after one attempt at passage (and a meek three-week effort at that, without even a vote) would be to risk alienating their core voters.”
3. The SCPOTUS (so-called president of the United States) had some special dinner guests this week: Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent with his wife Shemane Deziel, and Kid Rock with his fiancée Audrey Berry. Fashion watchers called out Sarah Palin and Shemane Deziel for violating White House dress code with their off-shoulder tops and Palin’s open-toed shoes; and I believe it’s still considered rude for men to wear their hats indoors, as Nugent and Kid Rock did in the Oval Office. Yet these offenses—if one regards them as such—are minor compared to the smart-ass photo of Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, and Kid Rock in front of the official White House portrait of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. There seems to be no bottom to Trump’s degradation of our historic presidential residence.
4. Also this week, Turkey’s president narrowly won a referendum which pretty much makes him a dictator: the vote gives him “new, virtually unchecked powers,” according to The Economist. Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan has had 50,000 of his critics arrested, “including many soldiers, journalists, lawyers, police officers, academics and Kurdish politicians” (BBC News). Did these detentions, along with his authoritarianism, intimidation tactics, and firing 120,000 public servants cause 45 to denounce him and the vote that gave him “virtually unchecked powers”? Of course not, silly! Our SCPOTUS called Mr. Erdogan to congratulate him on his victory. Why not? There’s nothing 45 likes more than winning, and he’s not doing much of it these days, so he’s happy for some other authoritarian who is.
5. One of the biggest news stories this week is Bill O’Reilly’s dismissal by Fox News. Of course, this has nothing to do with 45; but it warrants mention of 45’s statement a week or two ago that O’Reilly is his close friend and that, in his opinion, his buddy did nothing wrong and should have continued to fight the charges. How many times does Trump have to tell the world he’s a misogynist before some people will start believing him? Some crotch grabbers get fired; others get elected “president.”
6. One of Trump’s most controversial and embarrassing appointees, Jeff Sessions, our Attorney General, made this statement to an interviewer about the federal judge in Hawaii who last month blocked Trump’s second Muslim travel ban: “I really am amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the president of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and constitutional power.” Like his boss, Sessions appears to have slept through history and government classes. Imposing a travel ban on a specific religious group is not one of the powers our Constitution grants to our president; and since 1959, Hawaii has been one of the 50 states that comprise the United States, so the judge is not some outsider trying to influence US affairs. Like, oh, you know, Russia did in the election. Any comment on that one, Mr. Sessions?
7. We all know when money’s tight, we have to take a hard look at our priorities and allocate funds to the most important parts of the budget; so kids’ school shoes have a higher priority than a weekend at your favorite spa. With another spending deadline on April 28, bringing with it as always the possibility of a government shutdown, our nation’s lawmakers are also being forced to evaluate budgeting priorities. Wednesday night, White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney delivered to budget negotiators a plan which makes a “hefty down payment” on the border wall “a top demand.” The full price tag for the completed wall is currently estimated at $15 billion, of which Mexico has agreed to pay zero. Of course. And just as spouses negotiate budget deals—if I can buy that new fishing pole, you can get the new tennis racket you want—Trump too is willing to make deals. According to Mulvaney, Trump “may consider insurance subsidies for low-income Americans to keep the Affordable Care Act kicking” if Democrats agree to allocations for the wall. What a great guy! Pay for my stupid wall, and I’ll let poor people have health care awhile longer. Holding poor people hostage—is that included in Art of the Deal?
8. As international tensions continue to escalate, Russian aircraft are skirting US airspace at a much greater than usual frequency. From Monday through Thursday this week, Russian planes were spotted off the Alaska coast four times. Although they never entered US airspace and officials who spoke to CNN downplayed the threat level, one official told CNN there is “no other way to interpret this other than as strategic messaging.” I’d never go so far as to say Trump gets the message, but he did deny the ExxonMobil request for a waiver of sanctions that would allow them to drill for oil in Russia. Maybe he’s finally getting nervous about growing public knowledge of his bromance with Putin? Hmmm?
9. The Trump administration continues its game of nuclear chicken with North Korea, giving all of us good reason to be very afraid. With no knowledge of history, geography, diplomacy, or much of anything else to go on, Trump seems to be handling the rising crisis with North Korea pretty much the way he handles everything else: Posting stupid tweets and dispatching his band of misfits—Mike Pence et al.—to make threats and attempt to give the appearance that there’s some sort of strategic plan at the White House (There’s not). From Trump’s ridiculous statement that Korea used to be part of China to the suggestion that he learned all about Korea’s history by listening to Chinese President Xi Jinping for 10 minutes, he continues to shock the world and humiliate our country with his shameless display of ignorance. Pair that ignorance with escalating international tension, and it’s difficult to see how the Korean situation is going to end well.
10. Finally, the biggest story of the week is the strange series of lies or bluffs regarding the United States aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson. Everyone who’s watched the news knows by now the story of this carrier which Trump called a “great armada” heading toward North Korea, but which was actually 3000 miles away heading in the opposite direction, and the conflicting reports from various members of the Trump administration on the ship’s whereabouts. The most disturbing part of this story is what it portends for US credibility in global interactions. Both allies and adversaries listen to the words of the US President, and our national security depends on other leaders’ ability to trust those words. Our allies need to be able to believe what our president says because their own national security is also impacted by US actions, and the support we can expect to receive from them depends on our maintaining honest relations. Our adversaries need to believe our president’s words because, with modern weaponry in play, bluffing is risky business. Once again, it’s hard to see a scenario in which all of this ends well.

Donald Trump must surely wander the White House hallways at night talking to the voices in his head, obsessing over having nothing in the ground, and desperately plotting to make his mark on the world and to make people love him. He’s a sadly delusional old man, like Willy Loman, who’s growing more desperate with every passing day. But the real culprits in this situation are the Republicans who have placed him in the White House and who continue to support him, responding to every new scandalous revelation with a shoulder shrug and a “Meh!” Our job is to keep up the phone calls, letters, emails, town halls, and in-person meetings. And if all of those things fail to get their attention, we have to show up in every possible way in 2018 to send all of them out job hunting.

It’s been another history-making week in our nation’s capital! Lawmakers have succeeded in ending the longest SCOTUS vacancy in history, forever changing some Senate rules, and—oh, yeah—lobbing a few missiles at a Syrian airbase. All in a week’s work! Although no week since January 20 has been dull or uneventful, Week 11 has been particularly significant for everything from changing international relationships to more leaks from the White House and lots of daily drama on Capitol Hill.

From this reality TV-worthy week, here are a few of the highlights.

1. Early in the week, Jared Kushner traveled to Iraq as a White House envoy, accompanying Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in what the Washington Post calls a “further expansion of [Kushner’s] role as shadow diplomat.” Aside from the obvious problem of Kushner’s lack of any relevant experience whatsoever, this incident also further highlighted Trump’s ignorance of protocols and security concerns. According to the Post, Trump confirmed reports of the trip before the plane had landed. Normal protocol is to give confirmation only after arrival, to prevent incidents such as the one in 2007 when “the Taliban, having gained knowledge of Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, carried out an attack on the base, killing more than 20 people” (Washington Post). I guess that wasn’t covered in Presidenting for Dummies.
2. Running as a thread throughout the week was the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to fill Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court seat. First came the filibuster. On Monday, Democrats achieved the 41-vote minimum necessary to sustain a filibuster; Republicans needed 60 votes to end the filibuster; they had only 56 as of Monday afternoon (that total includes four Democrats). So Monday ended in gridlock.
3. The floor debate on Gorsuch’s confirmation began on Tuesday and continued through Wednesday. In between, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), opting for a more traditional type of filibuster, held the Senate floor for more than 15 hours in an all-night protest of Gorsuch’s nomination. Neither party emerged from this standoff unscathed: there’s been plenty of criticism and blame for both parties as well as for individual players.
4. The SCOTUS debacle ended on Friday in a lose-lose. On Thursday, the Senate took a series of votes which culminated in a permanent rule change, known as the “nuclear option.” Never again will a party be able to stage an effective protest against a SCOTUS nominee, regardless of his/her qualifications or lack thereof; from now on forever, a simple 51-vote majority is sufficient to confirm any nominee to our highest court. And on Friday, for the second loss, the Senate voted to confirm Gorsuch, helping to preserve the court’s conservative majority for several more decades. Mitch McConnell left the Senate chamber with a big smile and a thumbs up, and millions of people worldwide dreamed Friday night of punching that smile off his turtle-ish face.
5. Because anything put in place by President Obama MUST be reversed, Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week “ordered a review Monday of all police reform agreements and investigations initiated by the Justice Department, part of an effort to cut back on federal oversight of local law enforcement” (USA Today). The Obama administration investigated many local law enforcement agencies and made court-enforceable agreements with them to improve their tactics, especially in their use of deadly force and dealing with minority communities. Sessions says, “It is not the responsibility of the federal government to manage non-federal law enforcement agencies.” It’s the federal government’s job to be sure racism in all its forms is allowed to flourish, eh Jeff?
6. Because Trump has never met a brutal authoritarian ruler he didn’t salute, he welcomed Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to the White House Monday, in yet another reversal of President Obama’s policies. Because of the Egyptian president’s long record of human rights abuses, Obama never invited him to the White House, expressed his disapproval of el-Sissi’s human rights record, and briefly suspended military aid. Trump, on the other hand, told him, “You have a great friend in the U. S. and in me.” Just makin’ America great again.
7. Did you hear the one about Trump declaring the month of April Sexual Assault Awareness Month and then defending scumbag Bill O’Reilly for whom $13 million has been paid out in settlements to five of his accusers? This would be a great joke if it were not so disgusting and tragic. The “president” of the United States said, “I think he’s a person I know well — he is a good person. I think he shouldn’t have settled; personally I think he shouldn’t have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way. I don’t think Bill did anything wrong.” Bullies defend bullies, even when one of them lives in the White House.
8. In a move for which Trump received some praise even from intelligent people, he removed Steve Bannon from the National Security Council and replaced him with some of the people who should have been there in the first place. I must admit to being skeptical of the motives at first, but now it’s being widely reported that Bannon’s future as a White House adviser is increasingly uncertain. Perhaps there is just one bit of good news from Week 11.
9. Devin Nunes has stepped down from his role in leading the House intelligence committee’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. He is calling the accusations against him untrue and biased, but he feels it to be in the country’s best interest for him to turn over the investigation to others so that he can “expedite the dismissal of these false claims.” Meanwhile, the investigation is now in the hands of Representatives Mike Conaway, Trey Gowdy, and Tom Rooney. Gee, I can hardly wait to see whether Trey Gowdy will be nearly as passionate in his pursuit of truth about possible election interference by a hostile foreign power as he was about possible email violations.
10. And finally, as the whole world knows, Trump ended his 11^th week in office by ordering the launch of 59 Tomahawk missiles at an airbase in Syria, in response to Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons earlier this week to kill 100 of his own citizens of all ages. Response to Trump’s decision has been all over the map, and the attack raises a number of possible repercussions, none of which are good. Much more to come on this subject in the weeks and months ahead.

As a side note, I just have to ask, am I the only one who is offended by 45’s seeming disdain for the White House? First families have always made our national house their home, not a hotel for the president to stay in during the work week while his family remains in their private home. And visiting dignitaries have been received and entertained at the White House, not at the president’s private home or club. I shuddered at the thought of that family of cretins moving into the White House and spray painting everything gold, but I think I’m even more offended by their utter lack of reverence for the home and its history.

And so Week 11 comes to an end with a cliffhanger: Who is in and who is out among the contentious White House staff? Is Trump preparing for another shake-up? Is Bannon out? Will Priebus survive the cut? Will Gary Cohn be the new Chief of Staff? Will Jared and Ivanka get the boot? HA! Just kidding! Doddering Donald needs his family caretakers to watch after him, so the Kushners are safe. But odds are that other heads are about to roll.

It’s bound to be another busy week! Stay tuned for Swamp Report, Week 12.