The Day After Reads

 It appears Donald Trump's second impeachment trial will not happen right away.

Even before the Capitol Hill insurrection, Trump's brand was already in the toilet.

The Proud Boys have declared Trump a failure because they were stupid enough to believe a con man, and like all con men, left idiots like them holding the bag.

Tuesday Sedition Notes

 A GOP aide resigned, but he lashed out at the party for enabling the mob last week.

In a scathing resignation letter obtained by POLITICO, Jason Schmid, a longtime senior House Armed Services Committee staffer, slammed the GOP members of the panel who objected to President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win, particularly after a mob incited by Trump stormed the Capitol last Wednesday and left five people dead.

 

“Anyone who watched those horrible hours unfold should have been galvanized to rebuke these insurrectionists in the strongest terms,” Schmid wrote in a letter addressed to the committee’s top Republican. “Instead, some members whom I believed to be leaders in the defense of the nation chose to put political theater ahead of the defense of the Constitution and the republic.”

It sounds like the worthless Mitch McConnell, rightfully pissed off over his life being endangered thanks to Trump, is trying to play both sides against the middle, or muddle, as it were. 

Meanwhile, when you are a Trump cultist, it doesn't matter if your reputation is shot to shit:

An Olympic gold medalist, the swimmer Klete Keller, was part of the pro-Trump mob that sieged the Capitol, former teammates and coaches who identified him said. If confirmed by the authorities, he may face federal charges. https://t.co/srEIG09vRP

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 12, 2021

House dipshit Jim Jordan of Ohio has been caught in (yet another) lie:

 

.@Jim_Jordan claims he never said the election was stolen. That's not what the video shows. Let's roll the tape, shall we? pic.twitter.com/wOLI9l3TQW

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) January 12, 2021

Mike Pence says no to the 25th Amendment, and therefore impeachment will commence in Congress:

 

PENCE writes a letter to Pelosi saying he won’t invoke the 25th Amendment pic.twitter.com/PiMAzTInzB

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 13, 2021

 

No surprise that Trump refuses to take any responsibility for the Capitol Hill insurrection of last week.

Speech:

 

Even though VP Mike Pence would not invoke the 25th amendment--no doubt because of concern over death threats, which have already been made against him for certifying the EC vote--he is for all intents and purposes done with Donald Trump.

The House did approve the resolution for Pence to invoke he 25th amendment despite the fact Pence won't invoke it.

Monday Sedition Notes

 No matter how much law enforcement is cracking down on these right-wing terrorists, the Proud Boys continue to incite violence following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The U.S. House has moved to impeach Trump for a second time.  However, thanks to massive loopholes in federal law, if he isn't removed before the end of his term, Trump will still get all the perks available to former presidents including a pension and even the right to run for president again.

- Trump won't lose pension if impeached, only if removed by Senate
- Unclear if he loses Secret Service even if removed
- Even removal doesn't auto-ban him from a 2024 run
- He prob doesn't get a big travel allowance anyway

Debunking a mega-viral tweet: https://t.co/n1biUeHKZJ

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 11, 2021

What a fucked-up situation.  And McConnell has no intention of calling the Senate before January 19, next Tuesday.

And I saw this morning Donald Trump was posting messages on a site called Clouthub, one of many sites he and the seditionists have been flocking to since being banned from mainstream social media.

Sunday Sedition Roundup

Even though it is late in the hour for Donald Trump's administration, impeachment and conviction comes with benefits for the country, including denying Trump the perks awarded to former presidents.  A president can be impeached even after leaving office.

Last night I spent quit a bit of time reading journalist Seth Abramson's long series of tweets taking apart the speech Trump gave right before the mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and provides ample evidence for Trump's impeachment and removal:

(THREAD) Media has yet to do a deep dive on precisely what Trump *said* in his January 6 speech in DC—a speech now called an "incitement to insurrection," and the basis for an article of impeachment coming Monday. This thread unpacks the speech. I hope you'll read on and RETWEET. pic.twitter.com/ba6eaNScNW

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) January 9, 2021

There are over 200 posts in this series of tweets.

Meanwhile, I would not be one bit surprised if USSC Justice Clarence Thomas decides to retire, something he has been rumored to have been considering, upon reports his wife Ginni was up to her eyeballs in the Wednesday rally leading up to the insurrection antics on the U.S. Capitol.

I don't think he should be impeached for what his wife does, but I do think he should be pressured to resign or retire.

Snip:

The display is just the latest endorsement of Thomas who routinely shares false, harmful and bizarre pro-Trump conspiracy theories. Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern has actively tracked Thomas’ latest offensive and unbecoming posts on social media.

From spreading false information about Democratic supporter George Soros, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, to spreading xenophobic claims aimed towards immigration in America, Thomas happily aligns herself with the mind frame of far-right extremists.

In 2018 she posted and deleted a conspiracy theory claiming the teenage survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting are “dangerous to the survival of our nation” because of their gun-control activism, according to The Washington Post.

More scenes from the Beer Belly Putsch:

 

5-minutes of footage and reporting from inside the Trump mob at the Capitol.

Highly recommend...pic.twitter.com/f36GtOavnq

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) January 9, 2021

Last Wednesday was scary stuff.  Watch the video at the link. 

You know Roger Stone was up to his eyeballs in last Wednesday's insurrection.  

A lot more arrests should be forthcoming.

A former celebrity governor has this message:

It looks like some big businesses are flexing their muscles and going after the so-called "treason caucus" and cut them off financially.  They are hoping senators Cruz and Hawley plus many others will get the message and resign.

Big business began a boycott Sunday of Republican members of Congress who followed Donald Trump's demands and voted to overturn the election.

Hotel giant Marriott, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Commerce Bancshare, the parent company of Commerce Bank and other community banks, all told Popular Information they were suspending donations to the group dubbed 'the treason caucus' by critics.

Later on Sunday it was revealed Citigroup, the parent company of Citibank has joined the rush, saying in statement: 'We will not support candidates who do not support the law.' 

The New York Times revealed the bank - the fourth-largest in the country - had given $1,000 to Josh Hawley in 2019, which the bank said was because the senator represent Missouri where it has 'significant employee presence.'

Ford, AT&T and Bank of America said told Popular Information they would consider lawmakers' actions when deciding on whether to donate, and CVS, Exxon Mobil, FedEx and Target said they are reviewing their political giving.  

As for Hawley and Cruz, that ain't all that's being proposed against them::

More than 3,000 law school alumni and students have signed a petition calling for the disbarment of Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) over what it says were their “efforts to undermine the peaceful transition of power after a free and fair election.”

Hawley and Cruz led efforts in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to stop the counting of electoral votes certifying the victory of Democrat Joe Biden over President Trump in the November election.

Critics are accusing the senators of using rhetoric that helped inflame a pro-Trump mob that engaged in acts of insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as the vote-counting was underway. Both have rejected the accusations.

Ha!

People who broke into the Capitol Wednesday are now learning they are on No-Fly lists pending the full investigation. They are not happy about this. pic.twitter.com/5GfHo1eVU8

— Ray [REDACTED] (@RayRedacted) January 10, 2021

Finally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked to 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl:

 

And REALLY finally, Pelosi has sent out a letter regarding the 25th amendment giving Pence 24 hours to take action or else impeachment will commence.

Here is the text of the letter:

NEW: In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outlined her plans for this week on efforts to remove President Trump.

Hear from Speaker Pelosi, tonight on 60 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/0kkD4Ufbgt

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 10, 2021

Here is a firsthand account of the Capitol insurrection by observers--not participants--of the situation.

 

 

Cartoon of the Day

Impeachment Discussion and Vote

One place to view the stream of the Trump impeachment debate is here:


_____

The House is now voting on Article I of impeaching Trump, which is "Abuse of Power."  I never thought they'd ever get to it.  Of course it is happening right during prime time.

So far, two Dems have voted "no" while not a single Republican has voted to impeach the dipshit.

Article I just passed. It was a party-line vote for the most part.  Tulsi Gabbard apparently voted "present."  Article I passed 230 to 197.

Now Article II, Obstruction of Congress:  Three Dems voted nay, and probably the same three who voted no or present.  On the other hand, one voted "present," and that is probably Tulsi Gabbard.

Article II has passed just now.    The vote was 229 to 198.


_____

In case you haven't read Trump's letter to Pelosi, the subject of many jokes, is here.

Impeachment Hearing

Let's see if the GOP can drag out the impeachment hearings like they did yesterday going around and around and around and saying nothing and proposing worthless amendments:



I was wrong.  They started off voting on the Articles of Impeachment.  The vote was 23 to 17 along party lines to send the articles to the House.

That was quick.  The meeting was just adjourned within TEN MINUTES of having started.
_____

An Exercise in Futility

The reason I have posted so few posts about the mess in Washington is because I feel in the end all this impeachment movement is for naught.  The Democrats fucked up time and time again over the past twenty-five years, since the 1994 House debacle, because they simply didn't understand these fascists are in for the long haul.  They tried to destabilize the Clinton administration with all the bogus scandals, and in the end they lost, at least in the short term.  However, it didn't stop them from the thefts of elections 2000 and 2004, which seem almost quaint compared to what the U.S. has been experiencing since 2016, with foreign governments being involved in the installation of Trump.  These fascistic types backed off from trying to rig elections 2008 and 2012 for obvious reasons that it would backfire, but of course now that Obama is out of office, he is fair game to be demonized, especially by Trump, who has a personal vendetta against him.

If Trump is forced to resign or in the extremely remote chance he is removed from the White House, with the best bet here invoking the 25th Amendment, we get stuck with Michael Pence, the real puppet of Charles Koch.  He is worse.  If Pence is forced out, there will still be another Republican in there who is just as bad if not worse than Pence, as Gerald Ford was appointed by Nixon when Spiro Agnew resigned as vice president.  When Ford became president, he appointed Nelson Rockefeller as VP.  Surely if Trump is removed or resigns, Pence would appoint a fellow Republican, who would succeed Pence if Pence were forced out.  I think of somebody like John Kasich, a man who is just chomping at the bit to be president and who would definitely win against any Democrat, including Joe Biden, the likely nominee for the Democrats.

Be careful what you wish for, Democrats.  The GOP has checkmate all over the place, but it has been years in the making to rig the system in their favor.  They know the demographics in the long run are against any GOP rule, but in the meantime they have rigged the system to guarantee they will be in control in the foreseeable future.  In the meantime, Trump benefits the Democrats right where he is at.

Naturally, the Democrats in the House KNOW he can't be removed by the Senate, but what they are doing is making them take a stand for next year.  They think by forcing Republicans in the Senate to act, this will benefit the Democrats in the 2020 elections.  It's a gamble, and it remains to be seen if it will pay off.

If I had sat here blogging about politics like I have done in the past, pre-2016, I would have had a stroke by now.  I made a concerted effort after 2016 to basically disconnect from it.  It isn't worth the stress, it isn't worth destroying my health over it because I have no control over the insanity that is going on in Washington.  Furthermore, I have seen worse than Trump in the White House, and that was Richard Nixon, who was basically forced to resign by his own party over Watergate, but most people STILL don't understand why Watergate was way worse than what we are seeing now.  Watergate happened because Nixon felt he needed to ensure his re-election in 1972 by influencing the Democratic race, lest anybody find out the REAL crime of what he did, and that is prolonging the Vietnam War four years longer than it should have ever been allowed.  THAT is way worse than Trump.   Nixon committed war crimes against the United States and southeast Asian countries by deliberately prolonging that war, costing hundreds of thousands of lives.

Nixon never should have been pardoned.  Instead, he should have been tried at The Hague.

Trump has yet to sink to those levels.

The odds are still in favor of Trump winning re-election next year, even if the polls don't look good for Trump right now.  That is why he tried to pull the shit he did with the Bidens with this Ukrainian scandal.  Trump isn't nearly as clever as Nixon, but with the Senate the way it is, he doesn't have to be.

A few papers have come out in favor of the impeachment inquiry.

Jimbo Eruptions

Although Gibbons' ridiculous excuse for a budget proposal is dead in the water, that hasn't stopped one Nevada campus newspaper from calling for his impeachment.

The problem with Gibbons is he is a typical Republican still enamored with discredited economic policies. It's a religion with these people, and they will cling to it until they die.

Snip:

If the legislature does plan to pursue any tax increases, even miniscule ones, then Gibbons must be removed. If not, the fight that is likely to arise will further stall the process of making our state function financially.

Instead, our elected representatives must simply stop the misconduct of the governor before the seat belt has a chance to snap.

There MUST be new sources of revenue created, but nothing is going to pass with this person in the governor's mansion.

We will see if UNLV's students actually care enough to protest the governor's insane proposals tomorrow.

Far From

being a symbol of courage, Dennis Kucinich, in the eyes of the WSWS, is merely a tool of the Democratic Party to provide nominal "left" opposition to a war the party supports.

Actually Kucinich isn't so much a tool than he is a showboating, self-aggrandizing fool. I will never forget the way he treated people who showed up at his pre-caucus appearance last December, some of whom traveled out of state and in the snow and ice to come and see him. He couldn't be bothered with them following his speech. Kucinich claimed he had to make an appearance with a local radio station, and never mind the fact the station could and did wait for him and his wife to show up. He proved to me beyond all doubt his cause is himself and screw everybody else.

If you want to be considered a real candidate for any political office, you make the time to meet and greet with supporters afterwards. It is part of making the sale. Everybody does it, no matter if they are sitting presidents of the United States or mayors. But for briefly, and I do mean briefly, meeting with a handful of supporters and signing autographs, Kucinich couldn't be bothered.

Well, fuck him. No wonder he was considered one of the worst mayors in American history, and part of the reason for his name being on the list was his temperament.

Of Course

impeachment of Bush and Cheney would be the height of idiocy. The votes aren't there, and, as Tomasky points out, many Democrats are from red areas, and they can't possibly go too far to the left and get re-elected.

That's also why Democratic senators seemingly "caved" over the spying bill. Almost all of those senators who voted for the bill, with an exception or two like Dianne Feinstein, were from red states.

The problem with many on the "left" is they don't understand most people don't think like them, and they also don't understand the Democratic Party isn't monolithic.

Furthermore, any impeachment effort would be seen as blatantly political. And you know what? Democratic presidents would be impeached over and over again, just as Bill Clinton was impeached over nothing, as an act of revenge.

Finally, Bush and Cheney, though they will be out of office (unless they decide to suspend the Constitution and remain in charge indefinitely) in 2009, make a good campaign issue in the upcoming elections. Why the hell would Democrats spoil a good thing?

You Can

always count on the WSWS to bash Democrats far more than Republicans, even on the issue of impeachment.

Given the fact the election is only one year away, what would the point be in impeaching Bush and/or Cheney? Moreover, having the two where they are helps Democrats' chances in 2008 because they would still be a big issue on the campaign. Finally, the votes in the Senate aren't there to remove the two anyhow; Republicans will NOT do it, and there must be a two-thirds vote for removal.

So the whole idea of impeachment is stupid given the political reality.