All the President’s Lawyers

Mitch McConnell’s desire to reign in the impeachment spectacle clashes with Donald Trump’s love for a political circus

Ever since it became clear that the House would vote to impeach Donald Trump, the White House and Senate Republican leaders have struggled over the Senate trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not want the Senate to devolve into the circus that the House did. There, GOP representatives worked ...
Read More
All the President’s Lawyers

Impeachment and Rousseau’s General Will

Insight from the Past on the Politics of the Present

The article encapsulates many of the debates leading up to the president’s impeachment -- that it is grossly inappropriate for presidents (but presumably any government officials) to prioritize their own personal or private interests above the national interest. In impeaching Trump on this count the House emphasizes that while a ...
Read More
Impeachment and Rousseau’s General Will

#Megxit

Is it a coincidence that a pair of Windsors are crossing the pond as the effort to topple King Donald of Trump intensifies?

By now everyone knows that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka, Harry Windsor and Meghan Markle) have announced that they are leaving “the Firm,” and who is surprised? Everyone agrees that it was a beautiful wedding, but the fairy tale ending, in which the House of Windsor merged seamlessly ...
Read More
#Megxit

Iran, Impeachment, and Implosion

Trump keeps getting worse — and the crises are interconnected

On December 18 of last year, the House of Representatives voted to impeach in the face of very public Republican obstructionism. Within hours of the vote, Nancy Pelosi announced that she had yet to decide how to move forward with delivering the impeachment articles to the Republican-controlled Senate, and was ...
Read More
Iran, Impeachment, and Implosion

Saying No to a Stupid War

Americans must say no to war, using every tool at our command

These crude axioms drive the euphoria felt by a vocal portion of the American public at the killing of Iranian Quds commander Qassem Soleimani. That Trump ordered the strike adds to its luster. To members of his cult the murder proves Trump a master of manly resolve, besting his feckless predecessors. He has set and ...
Read More
Saying No to a Stupid War

Nancy Pelosi’s Leverage over Mitch McConnell

She can threaten to reopen the House investigation into the President

But what is done is done. And this past week the Democratic majority in the House voted to impeach Trump.. And then things took a strange, and perhaps not unexpected turn. McConnell and other Senate supporters of Trump very publicly expressed their disdain toward the impeachment; McConnell indicated that he was consulting with the ...
Read More
Nancy Pelosi’s Leverage over Mitch McConnell

With Impeachment, Messaging is Everything.

And the Democrats seem behind the curve.

Strategic communication. Trump’s White House has eliminated press briefings, viciously attacked the press and indeed all independent media sources, and organized a cynical and relentless campaign of disinformation via Twitter, Facebook, Fox News, Breitbart, YouTube, the One America News Network, and a range of other media. Trump in office -- with the ...
Read More
With Impeachment, Messaging is Everything.

Romania in 2020

Fighting Corruption Just Got Harder because of Trump

The big unknown for Romania moving into 2020 is its relationship with the United States. Though Romanians have become more anti-American in the last few years, they are still the second most pro-American post-socialist state in Europe (Poland is in first place). Since 1990, the U.S. ambassador has played a ...
Read More
Romania in 2020

Who is the Audience for the Judiciary Committee Hearing?

An Evaluation of the House Democratic Leadership’s Performance

I have long expressed my exasperation with the timid way in which the House Democratic leadership has only reluctantly moved toward impeachment, even in the face of the damning Mueller Report, and then has proceeded in the most narrow and legalistic way imaginable. Trump is a very dangerous President, and it ...
Read More
Who is the Audience for the Judiciary Committee Hearing?

A Great Opportunity Missed

The Democrats should’ve exposed Republican Hypocrisy and Cynicism about Corruption

The lowest point of the Republican questioning came when efforts were made, by Jordan and others, to suggest that Trump’s insistence on Ukrainian investigations into Biden, Bursima, and Crowd Strike was based on his deep and sincere commitment to fighting corruption in a corrupt country. This suggestion is risible. And yet ...
Read More
Placeholder

Trump’s War on Asylum

In the summer of 2019, the Administration put in place a policy that denies asylum to any person who has traveled through another country and failed to request asylum in the transit state. It has announced a reduction of refugee admissions to 18,000, a more than 80% cut from the ...
Read More
Placeholder

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Rep. Katie Hill, and Booing

Episode 203

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: ISIS leader Abu al-Baghdadi has been assassinated by United States forces. Niki referred to this piece at The Daily Beast. Neil noted the emergence of viral videos showing a side-by-side comparison of Trump’s announcement of al-Baghdadi’s death and Obama’s announcement about the killing of Osama bin Laden.U.S. ...
Read More
Placeholder