10 thoughts on “Tuesday Open Thread”

1. Morning. #HappyImpeachmentEve 

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2. …And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust:
   https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2019/12/gop-mass-exodus-in-full-swing-one-of-the-top-house-republicans-who-is-sexist-and-anti-lgbtq-just-announced-hes-retiring/

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3. Conservatives of integrity condemn the rot that Trumpism has inflicted upon the Republican Party and vow to defeat this existential threat to our nation.

   Over these next 11 months, our efforts will be dedicated to defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to elect those patriots who will hold the line. We do not undertake this task lightly, nor from ideological preference. We have been, and remain, broadly conservative (or classically liberal) in our politics and outlooks. Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain, but our shared fidelity to the Constitution dictates a common effort.

   Indeed, national Republicans have done far worse than simply march along to Mr. Trump’s beat. Their defense of him is imbued with an ugliness, a meanness and a willingness to attack and slander those who have shed blood for our country, who have dedicated their lives and careers to its defense and its security, and whose job is to preserve the nation’s status as a beacon of hope.

   Congressional Republicans have embraced and copied Mr. Trump’s cruelty and defended and even adopted his corruption. Mr. Trump and his enablers have abandoned conservatism and longstanding Republican principles and replaced it with Trumpism, an empty faith led by a bogus prophet. In a recent survey, a majority of Republican voters reported that they consider Mr. Trump a better president than Lincoln.

   William F. Buckley would be proud.

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4. "There were more than 100 contacts between members of the Trump campaign and Russian agents during the 2016 campaign, and Russian efforts to undermine our democracy continue to this day. "

    

   Anyone who says otherwise us lying.

    

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5. Yep, this is now the point unto which Ttump has brought us . . .

   

   (. . . an actual yard sign, just seen as I was driving to lunch)

    

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6. Paul Krugman reveals the GOP's strategy:

   It may actually be good political strategy to do stupid things for a while, then stop doing them around a year before the election, which is a fair summary of Trump’s trade actions.

   However that is very short-sighted (which also is a practice endemic to today's Republican Party).  We will pay a heavy price for many years to come.

   There will, however, be longer-term costs to the trade war. For one thing, the business uncertainty created by Trump’s capriciousness won’t go away; he is, after all, a master of the art of the broken deal.

   Beyond that, Trump’s trade antics have damaged America’s reputation.

   On one side, our allies have learned not to trust us. We have, after all, become the kind of country that suddenly slaps tariffs on Canada — Canada! — on obviously spurious claims that we’re protecting national security.

   On the other side, our rivals have learned not to fear us. Like the North Koreans, who flattered Trump but kept on building nukes, the Chinese have taken Trump’s measure. They now know that he talks loudly but carries a small stick, and backs down when confronted in ways that might hurt him politically.

   These things matter. Having a leader who is neither trusted by our erstwhile friends nor feared by our foreign rivals reduces our global influence in ways we’re just starting to see. Trump’s trade war didn’t achieve any of its goals, but it did succeed in making America weak again.

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7. Having a leader who is neither trusted by our erstwhile friends nor feared by our foreign rivals reduces our global influence in ways we’re just starting to see. Trump’s trade war didn’t achieve any of its goals, but it did succeed in making America weak again.

   Ouch. But yes, making America weaker was clearly Putin’s purpose all along. Did Trump know that and just not care? Smarter people, like Moscow Mitch and Comrade Cory?

   Did they know? Did they care? Historians will hopefully debate these fine points….

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8. I sort of gave up on Kos awhile back.
   But..sometimes someone posts what I'm thinking, making me glad I don't have to post.

   https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/12/13/1905397/-Conservative-Jennifer-Rubin-twists-the-knife-Trump-is-on-the-way-to-his-one-line-in-history

    

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   1. Citizens speak out

      I am getting tired of picking up my newspaper every day and seeing the stories about impeachment pitting Democrats against Republicans.

      The issues that the House is raising in its articles of impeachment are about right versus wrong. The case that the House has built is about a man who has no regard for honesty or for the people of America. He cares only about himself.

      The issues raised have to do with the future of this country, the lessons we teach our children and with the truth. The men and women in Congress who support this egotistical man should not be classified according to their party affiliation but according to their belief in the truth.

      I can only hope that the members of Congress will act responsibly instead of politically. The honest people in the House are doing their job. Now we must wait to see if the Senate will follow. I am not optimistic.

      Jay Charkow
      Woodbridge, Conn.

      I’ve heard Democrats say that Republicans are putting party before country, but that interpretation befuddles the truth. The G.O.P. has decided to put President Trump over a party that bears little resemblance to its former self.

      Trumpism, unlike the Republican Party I remember, does not advocate free trade, deficit reduction, internationalism, and fidelity to law and the Constitution. Trumpism supports neo-mercantilist tariffs, huge deficits, abandonment of international treaties and alliances, and attacks on its own intelligence agencies while conjuring alternative facts to protect criminals.

      Even those privately appalled by this administration’s unethical and illegal conduct and its abandonment of G.O.P. values have withered and fallen silent under pressure from Mr. Trump and his rabid base. This is Trumpism over the G.O.P., and Trumpism before country.

      Jane W. Gibson
      Lawrence, Kan.

      And most damning of all:

      Senator Lindsey Graham has performed a remarkable feat: He has rivaled Donald Trump in self-serving abuse of his office. Indeed, Mr. Graham’s conduct is even more reprehensible because he once had a moral compass that told him right from wrong, while it is doubtful that our president was ever so equipped. Mr. Graham’s mentor was once John McCain, but he has now adopted the tactics of Mr. Trump’s mentor, Roy Cohn. Can he really be so desperate to cling to his Senate seat?

      Mr. Graham’s embrace of Mr. Trump and his betrayal of Joe Biden, a longtime friend, is a bargain that would be enough to make Faust blush. As a lifelong Republican who served in two Republican administrations, I find the descent of Mr. Graham and his ilk into the swamp of Trumpism difficult to fathom and impossible to accept.

      Douglas M. Parker
      Ojai, Calif.
      The writer served in senior positions in the Nixon and Ford administrations.

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9. “Thousands” rallied for impeachment at the Capitol, across Colorado, and across the country last night. If you couldn’t go, call your Congresscritters. Thank the Democrats, and nag the Republicans to do the right thing for once.

    

    

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