Indictments Matter

They Don’t Get It

Indictments Matter

 

Why won’t the GOP look seriously at the most recent indictment of the former president which clearly points out how he retained classified documents involving national security and refused to return them when required to by a subpoena? Why don’t they acknowledge that he endangered our national security?

 

To date, most of the GOP presidential hopefuls have either risen to the former president’s defense or remained silent about his most recent legal problems. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended the former president while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel has stayed remarkably quiet. Members of the House Freedom Caucus have jumped on the “Biden has weaponized the Justice Department” conspiracy bandwagon.

 

Some GOP outliers have offered critical comments. Former Attorney General Bill Barr told reporters that if half of the allegations in the indictment are true, “he’s toast.” Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie offered the most damning reflections on the indictment hoping to boost his own presidential ambitions. 

 

Make no mistake, the indictment of the former president is a big deal. Complete with pictures of boxes filled with documents stored in Mar a Lago bathrooms and ballrooms near a high-speed copier and the clear trail of lies and distractions, the indictment shows those charged knew what they were doing and that it was against the law. 

 

The former president’s public comments after the FBI searched Mar a Lago under the authority of a judicially issued search warrant and the investigation was going on clearly cut off many of his potential defenses at the knees. His lawyers, while trying to think about defenses, found their client hamstringing their best efforts. The smart ones bailed out once the grand jury approved the indictment. 

 

The alt-right base continues to support the grifter in chief seeing him as their best hope for white nationalist supremacy led by an authoritarian strong man who will continue to enable their reckless dismantling of American Democracy. Those Republicans still in the seats of power and those who aspire to follow in their footsteps have no choice but to follow along if they have any hope of remaining in office or getting there. GOP leaders do not see any other path forward. 

 

The alt-right lurch we have experienced since the 1980s has reached its zenith. There is no place left to go. A majority of the electorate is finally waking up and seeing that GOP politics has nothing to offer that will help everyday folks live better lives. Divide and conquer politics does not work in the long run as all those groups divided out finally come together to form a more progressive, inclusive, and tolerant majority that rejects theocratic governance. 

 

President Biden once again has shown his mastery of the political discourse. He has stayed out of the former president’s legal morass, refusing to comment. He knows, as many of us do as well, that the former president’s legal problems will just continue to mount. Investigations into secret documents being shared at his New Jersey golf resort, the January 6^th insurrection, attempts to create votes that did not exist in Georgia and the pending hush money case in New York will combine shortly making the GOP presidential primary a free for all jousting tournament.

 

All President Biden needs to do to win a second term in stay the course already set. Building the economy, fixing the roads, building strong international alliances, keeping people employed, defending and supporting the marginalized, and maintaining Social Security and Medicare will get it done. The GOP has nothing to offer but culture wars which are just feeble attempts to dismantle our democracy and keep white supremacists in power.

 

We still need to stand against the fascists and bigots the current GOP has enabled. We need to ensure fair universal voting, restore all women with the right to reproductive healthcare, and continue work towards a more inclusive and diverse democracy where all have a seat at the table. 

America Pays it Debts

 The Middle Won

America pays its debts.

 

We recently witnessed another nail in the coffin of the alt-right MAGA wing of the GOP. 

 

Pressured by the so-called Freedom Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) took the American economy hostage by refusing to pass a bill lifting the debt ceiling without major concessions from President Biden on future spending. After months of threats and negotiations, McCarthy was forced to accept a deal that lifted the debt ceiling in exchange for only minor brakes on future spending. The resulting bill was passed by both houses of Congress with bi-partisan support and signed into law by President Biden over the past weekend. 

 

The Freedom Caucus and many on the far right were outraged that McCarthy caved on their demands and agreed to a pittance of what they initially demanded. Some on the far left were similarly disgusted that Biden gave in on his demand for a bill lifting the debt ceiling without any conditions at all. Those Representatives and Senators in the middle recognized that default on the Nation’s debts was not an option and came together to pass the agreed legislation in record time. 

 

The MAGA wing of the GOP hung its hat on the debt ceiling post hoping to show its power to control the national dialog on spending and taxes. In the end, they did not have the votes to make their pipe dream a reality. Their failure to produce anything close to what they wanted shows their power and influence in Congress is quickly waning.

 

In the aftermath of the debt ceiling being lifted, some thought the Freedom Caucus would use the changes in House rules allowing just one member to force a new vote on the Speakership. It was not even mentioned in their most recent meeting this week. McCarthy won increased powers by tacking towards the middle and trying to govern by compromise which usually works in the end. 

 

The Progressive Caucuses in both the House and Senate also lost some of their influence going forward as those in the more moderate middle came together, crossed the partisan divide, and got the Nation’s bills paid. 

 

President Biden showed his legislative negotiating chops, learned during his decades in Congress, by steering the process from the sidelines and only coming into the room to close the deal. No president in recent memory has a better sense of how Congress works when the need is dire than Biden. He gave away just enough to put the mess behind him and realign the power in both houses of Congress. 

 

Much can be said about Biden’s string of positive accomplishments during his first term in the Oval Office. His infrastructure bills, significant job growth, and other economic achievements will be felt for decades to come as the American economy roars back. His crowning victory to date must be saving the country from defaulting on its debts and maintaining America’s position as the rock of the world economy. 

 

As we come into the upcoming presidential election cycle, none of the Republican hopefuls will be able to meaningfully attack Biden’s record on building a robust economy at home and abroad. As those candidates on the far right continue their culture wars, demonizing those they do not understand, Biden’s determined support for those in the margins along with his economic successes will easily carry the day and give him a second term in the White House. 

 

The MAGA wing of the GOP will take a further beating as the former president’s legal woes intensify and they continue to lose their culture wars in federal courts that understand the First Amendment protects drag performers and the Fourteenth Amendment protects equality for those in the minority. Their insistence upon criminalizing women’s reproductive healthcare will send them further into the dustbin of American history.

 

Hopefully, this next election cycle will continue to take us into a more just and inclusive period in our history with continued economic prosperity for all and not just the few.