“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution, especially when the President says Article II says I can do whatever I want. For the past several months, we have been investigating in our committees and litigating in the courts so the House can gather all of the relevant facts and consider whether to exercise its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity, approval of Articles of Impeachment. And this week, the president has admitted to asking the President of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically. The action of the Trump – the actions of the Trump presidency revealed a dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. Therefore today, I’m announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I am directing our six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry.” — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
PopMob is enjoying the fight against the far-right on the streets of Portland.
Josh Marshall comments, “In combating fascists and all manner of rightist hooligans and authoritarians, it is a constant battle not to be drawn into fighting on their terms. … At a basic level we must resist their drama and their conceits as much as their violence and their hate.”
Marshall quotes Effie Baum, a spokesperson for PopMob: “The far-right wants to get into fights and act all macho. We want to make that virtually impossible.”
“The president’s rally will be a defining moment in American history. It reminds us of the grave stakes of the coming presidential election: that this fight is not merely about policy ideas; it is a fight for the soul of our nation. The ideals at the heart of our founding — equal protection under the law, pluralism, religious liberty — are under attack, and it is up to all of us to defend them. Having survived civil war in my home country as a child, I cherish these values. In Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, I saw grade-school children as young as me holding assault rifles in the streets. I spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya, where there was no formal schooling or even running water. But my family and I persevered, fortified by our deep solidarity with one another, the compassion of others and the hope of a better life in the United States. The America we arrived in was different from the one my grandfather had hoped to find. The land of opportunity he imagined was in fact full of challenges. People identified me in ways that were foreign to me: immigrant, black. I learned that these identities carried stigmas, and I experienced prejudice as a visibly Muslim woman. But the beauty of this country is not that our democracy is perfect. It’s that embedded in our Constitution and democratic institutions are the tools to make it better. It was in the diverse community of Minneapolis — the very community that welcomed me home with open arms after Mr. Trump’s attacks against me last week — where I learned the true value of democracy. I started attending political caucuses with my grandfather, who cherished democracy as only someone who has experienced its absence could. I soon recognized that the only way to ensure that everyone in my community had a voice was by participating in the democratic process.” — Ilhan Omar, New York Times
Congressman Adam Schiff, interviewed on CNN the day after Robert Mueller testified before the House Intelligence Committee, characterizes the president’s conduct as: “Unethical, unpatriotic, wrong, and criminal.” Doesn’t that meet the definition of what is impeachable?
“I think that’s unquestionably the case, but that’s what I think. Can we make the case to the country? And does the country benefit from going through an impeachment if it is going to be unsuccessful? And we know in the Senate, at least, it would be unsuccessful. So, I’m not there yet, but I’m keeping an open mind and I may get there. … 2020 is unquestionably the only way he gets removed from office, so we can never lose sight of that. I have tried to put the political question out of my head—that is, Does an impeachment help us in 2020 or does it hurt us politically?—because I don’t think it’s the right question to ask. But we do need to be realistic and that is: the only way he’s leaving office, at least at this point, is by being voted out. And I think our efforts need to be made in every respect to make sure that we turn out our people. But on the policy question, what’s the best thing, what’s the right thing for the county? Should we put the country through an impeachment? I haven’t been convinced yet that we should. And going through that kind of momentous and disruptive experience for the country is not something we go into lightly.”
So interesting to see “Progressive” Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly…… ….and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how…. ….it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!
Wisdom of the day (from a San Francisco liberal who should know a thing or two about pâté and unquestionably understands how things work in Washington):
By the way, regarding that political folklore often attributed to Otto von Bismarck – “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made” – apparently (at least according to Quote Investigator) he didn’t say this (or anything resembling this when rendered into English from German).
Quote of the day on the Chief Justice’s decision “in at least one case, that he would no longer play rubber-stamp judge …”:
“I understand that Roberts is not a secret moderate. He’s a lifelong conservative with far-reaching legal goals of rolling back civil-rights, economic, and environmental gains. But if the chief justice is sick and tired of being treated like Francisco’s idiot intern, the possible ramifications are huge. If he were to begin taking account of facts—taking this administration at its word when it tells the world of its plans to punish Muslims, torment immigrants, disfranchise its opponents, cripple Congress, and silence its critics—then there may be more times when the chief says, in so many words: Stop lying. Do the job right or give it to someone who can.” – Garrett Epps
“Donald Trump joked with Vladimir Putin about getting rid of journalists and Russian meddling in US elections when the two leaders met at the G20 summit in Japan. As they sat for photographs at the start of their first formal meeting in nearly a year, the US president lightheartedly sought common ground with Putin at the expense of the journalists around them in Osaka. . . .
When journalists asked Trump just before he left for Japan what he would like to talk to Putin about, he told them it was “none of your business”. As they sat alongside each other, a reporter asked whether he was going to tell Putin not to meddle in the 2020 election. Trump said: “Yes, of course I will,” drawing a laugh from Putin. Then, without looking at Putin, Trump said briskly: “Don’t meddle in the election, please,” and then repeated the phrase with a mock finger wag as Putin and the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, smiled broadly.” – The Guardian
