A conversation about what's going on in the world at any given point in time…and what I think about it. Occasionally, guest bloggers may appear. Viewer comments are welcome. Peace! Alpha Heel
Vice President Kamala Harris revealed her pick to join her on the Democratic ticket, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The two are taking on Donald Trump and JD Vance in a match-up that will determine the next President and Vice President of the United States.
It’s fair to say, for those who bet on such things as this, the odds-on favorite was Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. In that way, similar to their Republican counterparts, the results were somewhat of an upset, as Vance wasn’t the favorite either. That’s largely where the similarities end.
Unlike Vance, who served a year and a half of his first term as a United States Senator, Walz served 6 terms as a U.S. Congressman in a formerly Republican District in Minnesota (that flipped back to the GOP) when he left. Vance spent four years in the Marines as a military journalist, Walz spent 24 years in the Army as an Enlisted man. Vance attended The Ohio State University and is a graduate of Yale Law School. Walz attended college on the G.I. Bill and earned a bachelor’s degree from Chadron State College in Nebraska, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Minnesota State University. Vance worked in a multinational law firm, and in an investment firm. He later published a book, Hillbilly Elegy, that propelled him to fame, and propelled him to his political career. Walz worked as a classroom social studies teacher, and football coach. He was encouraged by his students to run for Congress, where he ran and won in a district that hadn’t been held by a Democrat in more than a hundred years.
You already know the principals, Harris and Trump, and you’ve had a couple of weeks to get to know Vance. Yesterday was the national coming out party for Walz. The 2024 Race for the White House is now properly underway. Oh, there is still the matter of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, in a couple of weeks. But Democratic delegates completed voting this week, voting to make Harris the party’s official nominee. As a result, the GOP has launched its campaign to define Harris and Walz. The ramp up will continue for weeks, but for all practical purposes, it’s on. “The Match-up is Set: Tim Walz Completes the Democratic Ticket!”
I dare say, most Americans who were of voting age in 2020 remember where they were, and what they were doing January 6, 2021. I was chilling in a lounge chair in front of the TV, watching what devolved into an attack on the U.S. Capitol and then further morphed into a would-be coup. If you’ve never seen what an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power, in the world’s preeminent democracy looks like, trust and believe, it’s not a pretty sight. From gallows staged for the hanging of the Vice President, to watching men in tactical gear scaling the Capitol walls, and breaking windows, to seeing Confederate Flag-waving domestic terrorists running amok through the venerable halls of Congress, to watching the video replay of members of Congress, literally running for their lives, it was a mixture of a scene fit for a Marvel Movie, with added elements of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. I spent a portion of the time debating with Trump supporters on social media, whether it was actually happening. It was happening.
And yet, as apocalyptic as those scenes were, they may not have been the most nefarious machinations that ensued during Election 2020. That honor, I posit, goes to the schemes in several battleground states to install fake electors, intended to replace the legitimate electors with electors who would vote for Donald Trump, instead of Joe Biden, who won in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and the Election, with 306 (of 538) Electoral Votes. Three of those states, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, filed charges against “fake electors.” Additionally, Attorneys General in Arizona and New Mexico are also investigating the role of “fake electors” in their states.
In December, of Presidential Election Years, electors meet in their respective States and vote for and certify the President and Vice President on separate ballots. This is scheduled to take place on December 17, 2024. Certification battles for this year’s elections are already gathering momentum. For example, in Georgia, conservative Julie Adams spread conspiracies about election workers, concocted a baseless story about ballot couriers drinking beer and doing drugs while hoarding ballots, and boasted of her contentious relationship with local election officials.
In February, Ms. Adams was sworn in as a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections. She immediately sued all the other board members and the elections director, claiming she should not be forced to certify election results “without access to all elements of the election materials.”
This is just an example of the election certification mischief already brewing. You can bet your bottom dollar, there will be more Tomfoolery in 2024. In 2020, the illicit plots, designs, and tactics were put down due to the systems and the people charged with maintaining and operating them having done their jobs and effectively discharged their duties. Alas, GOP legislatures across the country have enacted new laws, and replaced many of the appointed officials who served as the last defensive barrier against the real effort to steal the 2020 Election. Absent those democracy-saving statutes and appointees, a generating a hyper-enthused voting effort will be more important than ever. Even with that, it will be necessary to keep a watchful eye on a party that has shown, if they cannot win at the polls and the electoral college, they are prepared to resort to other measures.
There is a lot of newly activated Democratic enthusiasm and engagement, due to President Biden stepping aside and endorsing Kamala Harris. It’s important to recognize, however, despite this newly found energy, Vice President Harris is still the underdog, and the onslaught of negative ads and campaigning has not yet emerged in earnest. Republicans have spent most of the past week regaining their footing after the change in opponents, and in mopping up on aisle 3, after the ham-handed rollout of their own candidate for Vice President. Rest assured, there will be shenanigans. To that end, keep your head on a swivel, and know, while the principal battle is at the polls, where it’s essential to have a massive get-out-the-vote effort, the behind-the-scenes administrative minutia will also be critical in determining the result.“Spoiler Alert: They Are Going To Try Again.”
Sunday afternoon at 1:46 p.m., Joe Biden withdrew from the race to win the presidency in the upcoming November Election. As an incumbent, he did something few sitting American Presidents have done. In ending his run, he opted out of the quest to continue being President. Lyndon Johnson was the last to forego the effort to repeat. That was 56 years ago, in 1968, a year marked by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., and Martin Luther King, Jr. As in 1968, The Democratic National Convention will convene in Chicago. Prognosticators have forecast the prospect of a long, hot summer, complete with the Democrat’s political convention being marred by violence.
It would be editorial malpractice to write about President Biden’s choice to withdraw without mentioning the drumbeat that grew to a crescendo of revolt against the man, who until Sunday had been the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. Like Johnson, Theodore Rosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman also opted out. However, all four had served more than four years. Each had assumed the office upon the death of the incumbent, and then went on to win a term of their own. They all faced their own exigent circumstances, such as wars, or the economy.
President Biden faced the demon of natural causes. And yes, aging is a natural phenomenon. Joe Biden is simply further along in the annual anniversary cycle than any previous presidential candidate…or President, for that matter. Suffice it to say, Father Time is undefeated, and it did a victory dance on Mr. Biden during his recent debate with Mr. Trump. I have surmised, “The Debate,” as it will forever be known, will go down as one of, if not the most pivotal face-off in the history of political debates.
Yes, there were rumblings from various party voices before the debate, suggesting Biden get out of the race. But let’s be real, the debate was the equivalent of the World Series, the World Cup, and Walt Disney World, all rolled up into one. What had been a series of spring showers evolved immediately into a torrential rain, then quickly escalated into violent thunderstorms, then ultimately morphed into a flat-out relentless tsunami. It all culminated Sunday in Biden leaving the race, and subsequently, very quickly endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
If the first couple of days are any indication, the change has energized the Democratic Party, infusing it in ways that were unimaginable a mere week ago. On successive days, tens of thousands of African American women, and African American men, respectively, coalesced on separate Zoom calls to discuss the issues, and the new candidate, and to donate over a million dollars each. Undoubtedly, there will be many other groups taking similar measures. In fact, her campaign reported raising over $100 million in one day, contributed by 1.1 unique donors, including 62% first-time donors. On the political side, in just two days, Vice President Harris garnered the number of delegates necessary to secure the nomination at the Convention next month.
The early response has been quite impressive. About that, there is no debate. However, the reality is, by all appearances, America is evenly divided on the issues that raise our collective political hackles. VP Harris is the shiny new thing. She has understandably attracted a lot of attention. The GOP, for its part, is being forced to pivot, and adapt. But that’s how politics works. They will zero in and use the hundreds of millions they collect in both huge dark money and in small dollar donations, to attack Harris. In so doing, surely, they will come up with something better than DEI hire, for a woman who was elected as the San Francisco District Attorney, elected as California Attorney General, elected as a US Senator from California, and elected as Vice President of the United States. Compared to GOP Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, a first term Senator from Ohio, she’s a seasoned political savant. But I digress. This election is, and was always going to be a hard fought, hotly contested battle. The GOP will however, not have “old” Joe to kick around anymore. Democrats will have “old” Donny.
There’s a new sheriff…I mean, a new prosecutor, in town. We now have a “Hard Reset: FORWARD!”
The Republican National Convention owns TV this week. I suppose that might make for an interesting topic du jour. Then again, the week was preceded by what appeared to have been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life. To be sure, that will be a recurring theme during the Convention in Milwaukee.
Undoubtedly, that could be considered a compelling theme by some. In fact, the serendipitous nexus between the two events might be an even more interesting topic, based upon the way many people view the two events. Without question, that is a cynical outlook. Indeed, I usually endeavor to disabuse my friends and associates from co-signing conspiracy theories. In this case, I’m only going to say, occasionally, things don’t add up, and when they don’t, there’s usually a reason. You saw it; draw your own inferences.
Were it not for all the furor surrounding the events above, the angst associated with Joe Biden’s pending nomination and acceptance at next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago would be every news outlet’s lead story. As someone who leans Blue, I’m delighted to see the onslaught against Biden’s mental acuity cede the spotlight, even if only temporarily, to the GOP’s policy differences with President Biden. I know the siege will resume next week, but I’ll take the week off.
I readily stipulate, I’m not a fan of the modern GOP (and make no mistake, the contemporary Republican Party is not the same as the party of Lincoln). I have not been watching the cavalcade of conservative Cognoscenti working feverishly to maximize their 3 to 4 minutes of airtime, lauding their Chosen One. I’m good with the CliffsNotes served up by the news & social media outlets, capturing and communicating all the reasons they favor their preferred old guy to the old guy that heads the Democratic Party, even if he hasn’t met the appropriately high standards of many Democrats.
Occasionally, I like to make it clear that I can find plenty of fault with both of our two major political parties. It is, however, important to set out from the start, that good, bad, or indifferent, we have, as a nation, created a two-party system. To wit, at the end of the day, we are faced with a binary choice. As such, despite a variety of third and other minor parties and candidates, in this and other presidential elections, the prevailing candidate will be either a Democrat or a Republican. Individuals certainly have the right to make other choices, but let’s be blunt. Voting for someone other than the Democrat or the Republican means one of several different things: The candidate for whom you vote will not be the winner; that’s a given. You may not like the idea of supporting a candidate you consider the lesser of evils, however, by doing otherwise, you chance propelling the greater of evils to victory.
First of all, the question is moot, because only President Biden can decide. But let’s be real, it is the ponderous quandary bedeviling Democrats from sea to shing sea, not to mention a good many independents. Since the debate, nearly a couple of weeks ago, which I’ve already deemed an epic failure, the Democratic Party has been aflutter about how to proceed. Except for Joe, and Jill (…and Hunter, who let’s face it, shouldn’t be anywhere near this pending decision), most people who consider themselves Democrats in general, or Biden supporters in particular, have at least considered the possibility that Mr. Biden may not be amply suited to lead the battle that lies ahead for the presidency.
The Bidens have pretty much from the first moments after the debacle that was the debate, signaled their intention to stay the course. Since that fateful evening, a plethora of reports have surfaced suggesting that the President’s handlers have misled the public, and of course, the MAGA Camp has led the assertions the mainstream media, aka, MSM, conspired to downplay the extent to which Biden is physically compromised.
Presidential Election Years are major productions. In addition to municipal, county, and state legislature elections, all 435 House Members, and one-third of U.S. Senators are up for election. In other words, the balance of power in our federal government is up for grabs.
With that reality, it is not surprising that Democrats are fully engaged in a discourse that they see as impinging upon their future ability to maintain or regain the levers of power in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, in addition to holding on to the presidency. Already this week, the Congressional Black Caucus, the House Democrats, and the Senate Democrats have met with the President to do their group assessments of how to proceed. Just keep in mind the two points I raised in the first two paragraphs. First, Only President Biden can decide. Second, He has stated, loudly, forcefully, and consistently, he is staying in the race.
The campaign to advance past the debate has been painful to watch, if you’re a Democratic partisan, and a gleeful spectacle if you lean right, or are a straight up MAGA man or woman. The phrase I’ve become most fond of, as it relates to the conversation is, “You cannot unsee that debate.” And, if you watched it, I don’t believe you can.
Admittedly, I am someone who has questioned the rationality and critical thinking of the MAGAs. After all, to be MAGA means you have synthesized and accepted a great deal of information about Trump, and you still support him, including:
Called Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers (without noting there are exceptions)
Insisted John McCain was not a hero
Said he could shoot someone on 5th Ave and not lose any votes
Popularized the Birther movement
Boasted of grabbing women by the vagina (though that’s not the term he used)
Said of a female journalist, that she had blood coming out of her eyes
Mocked a disabled journalist
Had a $25 million settlement adjudged against for students at Trump University
Said he trusted Putin over U.S. Intelligence agencies
Attempted to interrupt the peaceful transition of power after the last Presidential Election
Convicted of sexual assault
Convicted of 34 felony counts in the State of New York
Facing more than 50 other felony charges
That’s quite the Baker’s dirty dozen…and there are too many other items to proffer an exhaustive list. Just know that all those begin with the day of the escalator ride, and doesn’t include such mind benders as reaching a settlement with the Justice Department in a Housing Discrimination case alleging his apartments didn’t rent to Black tenants, or of purchasing full-page ads calling for bringing back the Death Penalty for the Central Park 5. Ironically, not only did the defendants have their convictions overturned due to DNA evidence, but someone else actually admitted committing the crime. Fortunately, Trump’s calls went unheeded. Not surprisingly, he has declined to apologize.
That’s correlative of the MAGA mentality. Faced with clear and present evidence, and proceeding onward, as though it either doesn’t exist, or it just doesn’t matter. It is in that light that I liken those who refuse to even consider calling upon Biden to step aside, as MAGA-like. If you don’t even think the conversation warrants being had…that’s stone-cold blind!
Let me be clear, I’m not anti-Biden. In fact, when I consider the alternatives, if it comes down to those two, because not voting, or voting for a 3rd Party candidate are not options for me, Biden will get my vote. He not only doesn’t have the litany of anti-social behaviors that Trump does, but he’s also a decent citizen, trying to make the world, and our country a better place.
None of that means his staying in the race isn’t a risky strategy. Current polling favors Trump. But ditching Biden, means starting over. Even an abbreviated system for selecting a replacement will be hampered by dysfunction. The machismo and ego stake would never accommodate elevating the Vice President, without some kind of outsized reaction from those opposed to her. Moreover, if she were leapt over, or sidelined, chaos would almost certainly ensue.
When Team Biden insisted on having an early debate, this was not what they anticipated. But it’s what they got. Now, we are all left to pick up the pieces, and keep it moving. “Point – Counter Point: Should He Stay or Should He Go?”
There’s not much left to say. President Biden had one job. Get through the debate without imploding. Test failed. His opponent was putrid, in his own right. Fact checkers, a term Republicans have come to hate, ostensibly, because they refuse to be constrained by facts, determined that in the 90-minute contest, Mr. Trump told more than 30 lies, or at a rate greater than one every 3 minutes.
It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because Mr. Biden was unable to effectively prosecute the case of his serial falsifying co-debater. In stark terms, that’s political malpractice.
If the abysmal debate were not enough to put Democrats on their heels, The Supreme Court (SCOTUS), in its final read out of case findings issued a determination that Presidents (in a ruling narrowly crafted to protect Donald Trump) have immunity for some conduct as president, and that Trump is covered by this immunity for part of his conduct in his federal election interference case, but possibly not for other actions.
The tough decisions for Biden and the Party don’t end there. In fact, while conquering his Irish stubbornness represents a major challenge, determining who would ascend to the position of presumptive nominee is certain to be at least as difficult to tie down. Based on Monday’s SCOTUS decision, one thing he shouldn’t have to worry about, If Democrats lose the presidency, is being prosecuted by a new Trump administration; something Trump intimated he had every right to do.
The justices voted 6-3, along ideological lines, to reject Trump’s broad claim of total immunity, but did not dismiss the case, because they held, some actions closely related to his core duties as president, and as such, are off limits to prosecutors. Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote the opinion for the majority, said the case would be sent back to lower courts to determine what conduct Trump can be prosecuted for. Last week in this space, I wrote about SCOTUS running out the clock. It’s clearer than ever, the clock is ticking.
While Team Biden would ideally be focused on what the SCOTUS ruling means, both to the country, and to their re-election efforts, they have much more pressing concerns. In the near term, they must decide whether Mr. Biden will endeavor to ride out the storm of controversy generated by his lackluster debate performance, or to accede to the calls of an increasing number of Democratic partisans and donors, and from most Americans to step aside. So far, less than a handful of Democratic members of Congress have directly called for Biden to relinquish his hold on the nomination. This doesn’t mean the conversation has been avoided, or even muted. However, party mavens have largely insisted, the decision is Biden’s to make.
In a perfect world, Vice President Harris would likely be slotted as next in line. That is literally one of the implicit roles of the Veep. Of course, no one ever seriously suggested that politics makes for the stuff of perfect worlds. In fact, the notion of Kamala Harris as President is a polarizing subject. On September 27, 2023, I wrote what may have been my shortest blog post ever. It was so short I’ll place it here in its entirety:
Suffice it to say, Trump and the GOP are reveling at their own streak of good fortune, and the Dem’s concurrent turmoil. Who could blame them.
For now, President Biden is battling to maintain his placement at the top of the proverbial political food chain. He has made several low-key appearances, has spoken with donors and advisors, and he has a TV interview scheduled for airing Sunday. Will it be enough?
Last year at this time I wrote a post regarding the Supreme Court of the United States, familiarly known as SCOTUS. Given the political calendar, and the current stakes, it seems like an apt time to revisit the topic. The Justices will likely complete their current term in the next few days. There are several cases still pending, but none more highly anticipated than Trump v. United States. This matter will see the Court deciding whether, and if so to what extent, a former president enjoys presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.
SCOTUS accepted this case February 28, 2024. It was subsequently argued April 25, 2024. A decision on the case and the subsequent citation are pending. As June moves toward a close, marking the typical end of the session, there have already been intimations that completing the disposition of this year’s cases may bleed into July. Still, with the year’s first Presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump, presumptive nominees of their respective parties, set for tomorrow night on CNN, there is more than a little expectation that the read out for the case may occur today, or tomorrow.
That is not to suggest that SCOTUS will be influenced by the exigencies of the political calendar. Rather, it is a recognition that “We the people,” would like to know the answers to the pertinent questions surrounding Mr. Trump’s immunity, including, Is he immune, and if so, to what degree, and under what circumstances.
Regardless of whether the Court announces it’s ruling this week, it is fair to say, intentional or not, it has already gifted Trump with at least one of the desires of his heart; for all practical purposes, delaying the disposition of the case prior to the November 5th Election. In an election that is viewed as tight, and one that Donald Trump could conceivably win, the so-called experts have projected that a President Trump would direct his Attorney General to squash the case, as well as any other federal cases against him. In Florida, Judge Cannon, by virtue of the way she has handled the classified documents case, has already ensured that that case cannot happen before the Election. Trump still has pending appeals in the New York falsifying documents case. Then, there is the specter of both an appeal, and the possible removal of DA Fani Willis from the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act case, both which must take place before the case proceeds to trial.
In conclusion, the judicial stars have aligned to, in all practical purposes, derail any further pre-Election trials for Donal Trump. That’s huge, regardless of whether he wins. However, if he happens to win, He has the option to make the three federal cases disappear, while if another prosecutor is selected in Georgia, there are questions about whether the case would even be pursued. It absolutely may not. “SCOTUS on Trump: Anatomy of Running Out the Clock!”
Donald Trump’s former top strategist, Steve Bannon recently framed the 2024 Election in warlike terms. Trump, Stephen Miller, and Bannon have a penchant for infusing almost any topic with the embers of incendiary speech. The kind of language conservatives consider threatening when directed toward them, but free speech, when they employ it toward others.
This past weekend, Bannon met with the conservative group, Turning Point, in Detroit. Michigan is a battleground state and one that is expected to be pivotal in determining the outcome of this year’s presidential election.
Bannon served briefly in Trump’s White House. He was fired in August 2017, part of a major reorganization under then-chief of staff John Kelly, who was brought in to control a chaotic atmosphere. In the years since, Bannon has continued to advocate for Trump; meanwhile, Kelly, a retired general, has sounded the alarm about Trump’s possible reelection.
The stakes of this election must be extremely high from Bannon’s perspective. Already pardoned by Trump for his role in a scheme to allegedly defraud donors of contributions intended to help build a border wall, Bannon was subsequently convicted by a jury in 2022 of the rarely prosecuted crime of contempt of Congress. Bannon refused to cooperate with subpoenas from the committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, insurrection when Democrats controlled Congress. After delays, Bannon must begin serving a four-month prison sentence starting next month.
“Are you prepared to fight? Are you prepared to give it all?” he asked of young activists, telling them they would have to follow in the footsteps of “the team around President Trump” – who he views as Roger Stone, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and Alex Jones, people whose fidelity to conspiracy theories has gotten them into legal and financial trouble, but who in Bannon’s mind are political freedom fighters.
“If they steal this election – and they fully intend to steal it – this republic ends,” Bannon said, before going on a riff about how top Department of Justice officials in President Joe Biden’s administration, like Attorney General Merrick Garland, should be prosecuted; the FBI should be completely deconstructed; and anyone convicted in connection to the storming of the Capitol building would be set free.
Comparing the presidential campaign to the D-Day invasion, Bannon encouraged a cheering crowd at the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit to see themselves as filling the positions of fallen soldiers in an assault.
“Are we at war?” he asked the crowd. “Is this a political war to the knife?”
“War to the knife” – Bannon recently used it in an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson. A Google search yielded a 1998 book by that name about the Bleeding Kansas skirmishes in the years before the Civil War when pro- and anti-slavery settlers flooded into Kansas and feuded over whether Kansas should enter the union as a free or slave state.
The book, according to its description, attributes the term to the Atchison Squatter Sovereign, which the Library of Congress describes as a pro-slavery newspaper of the era. It’s not clear where Bannon got the term.
“Are you prepared to leave it all on the battlefield in 2024?” he asked of Turning Point activists. “It’s very simple: victory or death!”
He added, “We are going to purge DOJ. We are going to take apart the FBI. The FBI, the American Gestapo … there’s not going to be an FBI.”
“We are going to get every single receipt, and to the fullest extension of the law, you are going to be investigated, prosecuted and incarcerated,” he said.
Bannon is not alone. The conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, for instance, has written up its Project 2025 road map to remaking the civil service by firing large numbers of career servants and replacing them with more political voices. For a good, in-depth look at what Project 2025 would and would not do, listen this recent “In the Room” podcast from Peter Bergen, CNN’s national security analyst. Bergen talks to one of the authors of the State Department portion of Project 2025. ““War to the Knife”: Victory or Death!”
Two weeks ago, a New York jury found Donald guilty of 34 felony counts. TrumpWorld immediately flooded the zone across all media lanes, claiming the verdict was a result of a Democratic scheme to weaponize government at the behest of Joe Biden, head of the (in their words) Biden Crime Family, all a form of Democratic fueled judicial overreach.
Yesterday, a jury found Hunter Biden guilty of 3 felony counts:
Lying to a federally licensed gun dealer
Making a false claim on the application
Illegally having a gun for 11 days
Instead of leaning in on the obvious, and retracting their debunked (by Biden’s conviction) claims, Team Trump altered the tenor of their claims, asserting:
“This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family, which has raked in tens of millions of dollars from China, Russia, and Ukraine. Crooked Joe Biden’s reign over the Biden Criminal Empire is coming to an end on November 5th, and never again will a Biden sell government access for personal profit.”
Trump was convicted in his home state of New York. Biden was convicted in his home state of Delaware. Both verdicts were reached by respective juries, based on the evidence presented by prosecutors. But let’s be perfectly clear, were there such a thing as Democratic weaponized government, a Biden Crime Family, and/or Democratic fueled judicial overreach, there would never-ever have been a Hunter Biden trial, and absolutely, positively, no Biden conviction. We can say, without reservation, “Weaponization of Government: Fake News on Steroids!”
The Republican Party has raised the profile of conspiracy theories to infinity. Egged on by Donald Trump, the Party leaders…and followers breathlessly cry government weaponization, Biden Crime Family, and Democratic Judicial overreach. If one is to take these GOP assertions seriously, Joe Biden, whom they alternately accuse of raging senility, and rampantly corrupt thuggery, is the fiendish mastermind behind Trump’s 88 (formerly 91) felony charges, spread over New York, Washington, DC, Georgia and Florida. That’s in addition to the $5 million civil judgments for sexual assault and defamation last year. Last week, he was found guilty of 34 counts in the so-called hush money trial in New York.
Yesterday, Attorney General Merrick Garland faced questions while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee. As he answered the frequently intense and always accusatory questions from GOP House Members, Garland defended the reputation, standards, and methods of the 115,000 Justice Department employees. He dismissed out of hand the allegations that the Department was in any way enmeshed in some conspiracy against Donald Trump.
That claim seems to represent the current litmus test for Republicans in general, and especially and in particular, for GOP candidates for anything. During the final days of Trump’s hush money trial, a series of Republicans, most of whom are presumed to be vying to be Mr. Trump’s #2, er a, I mean, Vice President. Those men and women, as well as a host of other Republicans have been taking advantage of every opportunity to stand in front of a mic and assail the plight of the American justice system. Like their Svengali, several of them have suggested the country (America) has become a Fascist state. Moreover, when the question, “Is America a Fascist Country” was put to them, respondents either cosigned the assertion, or refused to answer it, real profiles in courage.
AG Garland noted that the Justice Department follows the facts and the law, not a particular political party. To buttress his position, he referenced New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez’s bribery trial, Texas Representative Henry Cuellar’s bribery indictment, and Biden Family scion Hunter’s gun trial, all Democrats.
Meanwhile though Garland didn’t mention it, of course, Trump has been charged with and convicted of dozens of felonies, with dozens more pending. Moreover, the American Justice System has actively intervened to delay Trump’s Day in court in 3 of his four trials. A couple of Supreme Court Justices appear to have conflicts of interests yet have indicated they have no plans to recuse themselves from the Trump immunity case. In Florida, a Trump appointed Judge has delayed the classified documents case. In Georgia, a Republican Judge ruled that either the DA, or her Chief Assistant had to step down, and further allowed Trump to appeal to have DA Fani Willis removed from the case. Naturally, you won’t hear Republicans complaining about any of those American judicial actions.
And, oh, by the way, Alvin Bragg, the DA who brought the hush money trial did so, only after a Grand Jury, comprised of regular New Yorkers, validated the charges. Moreover, the 12 jurors and 6 alternates were deemed to be citizens/peers of Mr. Trump. Finally, Mr. Bragg was duly elected, and not beholding to AG Garland, or President Biden. “Projection: Trumpublicans’ Tool of Choice!”
BREAK IT DOWN! 