Today News – * Failed Pols

I do not fault stupid people for making the stupid decision to elect Donald Trump in 2016.

I do fault smart people for making stupid decisions. These include:

1. Senators who voted to acquit Donald Trump in his no-witnesses-allowed impeachment trial, including primarily Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:

* Impeachment of Donald Trump (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Donald_Trump#Acquittal

* Mitch McConnell (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell#Impeachment_trial

2. Members of the GOP who voted to disenfranchise voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – before, during, and AFTER the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol – including Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jody Hice (R–GA-10), Mo Brooks (R–AL-05), Scott Perry (R–PA-10), Josh Hawley (R–MO), and Louie Gohmert (R–TX-01).

* 2021 Storming Of The United States Capitol (2021-01-06)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol

* 2020 United States Presidential Election Electoral College Count (2021-01-06 – 2021-01-07)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_Electoral_College_count

3. Donald Trump’s cabinet, who could have invoked the 25th Amendment to remove POTUS at any time:

* Cabinet Of Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Donald_Trump

4. Social media, including especially Facebook and Twitter, for allowing their social networks to be used as platforms for hate speech.

* Donald Trump On Social Media (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_on_social_media#2021

5. Mainstream media, including especially CNN (on the left) and Fox News (on the right) for not doing their jobs – asking questions until they get answers – and allowing POTUS to lie unchecked.

* Veracity Of Statements By Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump

6. Lawmakers at all levels, for failing to fix bad laws and for failing to enact good laws. Changes that must be made going forward include:

Limiting POTUS power:

Executive order power must be limited.
All cabinet members (acting/interim/actual) must be confirmed by Senate.
Treaties and tariffs must be the role of Congress so that POTUS cannot engage in trade wars.
War Powers Act must be updated to limit POTUS power to deploy the military.
Special Counsel Act must be updated to make clear that POTUS cannot fire special counsel.

Writing better and new laws:

Impeachment Act of 2021, to define how impeachment is conducted, including the requirement to have witnesses.
Follow the lead of The Restatements Of The Law project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restatements_of_the_Law) and codify major SCOTUS cases, including especially Roe v. Wade.
Fix the Census.
Fix immigration.
Fix SCOTUS processes, such as limiting appointments to 2 per POTUS with the number of SCOTUS justices fixed at the number of Federal Circuits (currently 13).
Election reform, including who is qualified to run for POTUS and that tax forms must be disclosed to do so.

Just to name a few.

Stupid people, bad laws, and lies got us into this mess.

Smart people, good laws, and the truth can get us out of this mess.

LAW >> MAN.

#FailedPols
https://www.failblog.com/

On Saturday, August 4, a photo of two men wearing t-shirts proclaiming, “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat” went viral. The two men were attending a rally in Ohio, where Donald Trump was supporting Republican Troy Balderson, who is running in the special election. “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat” seems to directly contradict “Make America Great Again,” emblazoned, ironically (or not), on the baseball cap one of them was wearing.

To say “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat” is, on one hand, a little like the “Yeah, butting” (“Yeah, but at least he’s not Hillary”) that has become a trend whenever Democrats find any fault with Trump. In this case, it’s “I support a president who is cozying up to Russia, but at least I’m not a Democrat.”

Some are already explaining away the t-shirts as “just a joke,” and that Democrats are overreacting. Perhaps, but these men are not the only ones who have implied that they’d prefer Putin over a fellow American citizen. About a year ago, a photo of a woman holding a sign that read, “Thank you Russia” went viral. And a new YouTube video promotes the t-shirts for sale. Will we begin seeing more and more such sentiments as the Mueller investigation continues?

It’s troubling when people either don’t know history, or don’t care about Putin and his legacy. It’s downright alarming when people proclaim that Putin and all he stands for (murder and the denial of human rights come immediately to mind) are preferable to Americans who support human rights and basic freedoms.

One might be inclined to laugh (if it weren’t so horrifying) at the irony of two Trump supporters wearing “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat” t-shirts. They come from the same group of people who vigorously wave the American flag, claim to stand by our military, and choose to be offended by athletes who “take a knee” during the National Anthem.

On the other hand, is the slogan, “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat” all that far off from what a typical Trump supporter advocates? They do, after all, denigrate our free press; support the recent policy of cruelty to children and their families at the Mexican border, and continually parrot Donald Trump’s disregard for such basic American foundations as the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps “I’d rather be a Russian than a Democrat” is closer to the truth than even a Trump supporter realizes when he says it.

‘Pro-Russia’ t-shirts at Trump rally go viral, sending Democrats into meltdown | Today News [2018-06-08]

Trump speaks at Ohio rally |CNN [2018-08-04]

Category: Today News

* Erik’s Editorial: The Guilty Parties Who Put American Democracy At Risk In The Name Of Donald Trump

“I’d Rather Be a Russian Than a Democrat,” Said the Guy in the MAGA Hat