Month: July 2024

 A few thoughts.

We go back a long way. I knew you when the DC – Wilmington Amtrak had brand new rail cars, when you had plenty of hair and were a 29 year old Senate candidate.

I know you’ve been really busy lately, what with Ukraine and Israel, and China and Russia, and… TRUMP! –  OMG!  

Anyway, I thought I would write to tell you what a great job you’ve done and how proud I am of what you’ve accomplished.  For a guy as old as you and I are, really, really impressive!

But I’m writing to ask you to,….  Um, now don’t get upset with me… to step back, to ….. Ummm step aside,…. to Ummmmmmm…. step out of the fast lane and enjoy what’s left ——- 

—-Wait! CBS just interrupted golf!  What? You’re stepping down?…Yes! You’re stepping down!! Holy Moley!! Way to go, Joe!

Now we can go after Trump for being too old

Oh! And! …being a narcissist, dictator, felon, crook, liar… Wow! So many faults, so little time!

I know you’re busy talking to reporters and everyone, but  in honor of our years, another thought.

Even though you had the delegates to win the primary, now that you’re out, they can vote for anyone. And you know Democrats have a reputation for being cats in a corral, which is always a problem for the corral boss. And I know you recommend Kamala in part because you’ve worked with her for 4 years and taught her so much. And I know it will be easier to re-assign your money to her campaign than any other Democrat. 

But the presidential candidate isn’t legally chosen until the convention, some three weeks from now.

So why not endorse her, but also encourage her to campaign for the job just the way you’ve been doing?  Let her go all around the country making speeches, holding rallies and having the Obamas, the Clintons, the Bidens, and anyone else go with her? And encourage others – from Governor Newsom of CA to Whitmer to Kelly, to Shapiro and so on – to campaign against her if they want. Or for her! That way nobody (yes, that nobody) can claim it was a “rigged” primary. 

And! The party will be unified going into the election (I know, it’s hard to imagine with Democrats, but hey! Why not?)

And! On the way she and the others can take pot shots at Trump and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

And! Imagine the excitement at the Convention compared to programmed week of boring speeches that was planned if you’d stayed in the race.

And! Think about those donors who have been holding onto their wallets like grannies at a bake sale, because, as much as they admired your record, they weren’t sure you could do it again. Now, imagine their exuberance over some fresh young faces!  

Sincerely, 

Henry

***************

Dear Donald,

A few thoughts. 

You’re screwed!

Sincerely,

Henry

No one likes the idea of assassinating a President. No one. Anyone who lived through JFK, RFK will never forget. Anyone who lived through the attempted assassination of Reagan will never forget. Anyone who lived through the attempt on Trump will never forget. These weren’t just attempts to kill someone; they were attacks on democracy, civility, our culture.

This attempt on Trump, while thankfully a failure, is also filled with ironies.

20 year old Thomas Matthew Crooks used an AR-15 style rifle in attempting to assassinate the leader of the Republican party. This is the same Party that sees red when anyone attempts to control or reduce the sale or use of guns, wrapping themselves in the Second Amendment.

Which says: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Republicans, the NRA, etc… like to focus on the second half, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Before the last few decades, most Americans felt the first half, “a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,” referred to the people in the “militia” bearing arms. 

The irony? Maybe if Republicans hadn’t pushed guns so hard and blocked any attempts to reduce their number or power, Crooks wouldn’t have had the AR-15 style rifle. Maybe the guy rarely mentioned in the news, whom Cooks did assassinate that day – husband, father, and firefighter Corey Comperatore – would still be a husband, father, and firefighter. 

The Supreme Court recently ruled that “the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts.”  

The ruling was in response to Trump’s actions resulting from the 2020 Election. Assassination used to be illegal in this country. It still is…for everyone but the President. Animal Farm – “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” – is no longer fiction.

The irony? This ruling came out just a few days before someone tried to assassinate Trump.

Biden had just started using Trump’s technique of insulting his adversary. He called Trump a “con man”, a “felon”  and a “liar” just days before Crooks pulled the trigger. This following Trump’s decades of hurling personal insults at anyone and everyone who… well, anyone and everyone.

For example:  “will destroy the State,” “Very dishonest,” “disgrace”, “a major security risk”, “Crazy,” “A joke!” “rigged,” “RIGGED,” “totally rigged!” “a Terrorist Organization,”  “SCUM,”  “Anarchists, Thugs & Agitators,” “Corrupt,” “Wacko group,” “gutless Radical Left Wack Jobs,” “Dummy”, “Drug infested”, “Vermin,” “Crooked as can be.” 

And let’s not forget his favorite:  “Fake!, Fake!!, Fake!!!” – anything and everything.

The Irony? Until a few days before Crook’s shot, Biden was old school civil, courteous, even to Trump. And now he’s the one – not Trump – asking people to be civil, to tone down rhetoric in an effort to prevent further assassination attempts.

Crooks failed. But the ironies? They’re alive and thriving.

Have you read the Supreme Court’s Ruling about Trump’s Appeal for Immunity? I have. (Plot Spoiler- he got immunity!” ).

It reminds me of mucking stalls, except the horse pucky in this case was denser and sprinkled with esoteric legal references. 

The Roberts Court came to three conclusions: Presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official duties; they’re sort of immune from sort-of-official duties; and they’re definitely unimmune from unofficial duties.

Well, actually there were four conclusions. They told lower courts to decide which of Trump’s current criminal cases were official, which were sort of official, and which were unofficial. Which will take months, thereby giving Trump the delay he wants. 

The reason they gave for immunizing a President’s official acts was to insure that all Presidents be “vigorous” and “energetic”. 

Whew! God forbid any President be unvigorous or unenergetic. 

I’m sure that will solve Biden’s problem, right?

Oh… and perhaps to reassure us, the statement “The President is not above the law” was repeated several times throughout – in direct conflict with their ruling.

Justice Sotomayor was not reassured. She wrote, if the President “orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune”.

The concept of a President being above the law is exactly why George Washington turned down the Presidency when he was first asked. He didn’t want to be a king. He didn’t want the US to have a king.

Our government was designed to be permanently out of balance; thus three branches, not two or four. The only leveler has been the requirement that everyone, every single person – rich or poor, powerful or weak – must obey the law. That requirement has kept democracy safe for all of us since the founding. Now one of the three branches, the Supreme Court, has given another branch, the President, permission to break the law. 

Now a President can combine that power with the power to pardon those who break the law on his behalf and… goodbye democracy, hello dictatorship.

The Roberts Court has done more to damage our democracy than any other entity since the beginning of the Republic. Their Citizens United decision took election choice away from the masses and gave it to the wealthy. The Dobbs-Jackson decision took birth choice away from women and gave it to male dominated religions. Now, the Immunity Decision has eliminated equality for all under the law. 

I don’t know if McConnell intended this outcome as he recruited and promoted conservative judges through his 17 years as Senate Leader. I don’t know if Trump made any mafia type deals as he added three conservative Justices to the three already there during his first Presidency.

What I do know is Sotomayor is right.  

And Trump’s brag that he could “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters” doesn’t sound like horse pucky any more.

What Biden could’ve, should’ve, would’ve done, if he had been thinking, was, at the beginning of the debate, told the audience he had “a cold”, “a sore throat”, “I lost my voice” – whatever – and “please bear with me.”

Or…if he had been thinking, he could’ve, should’ve, would’ve simply called in sick. “Hey, I’m on antibiotics and God knows what else, and have pretty much lost my voice. How about rescheduling for next week?” If you and I can do that, so can a President

… Well, that may not have flown.

But what he shouldn’t have done, couldn’t have done, wouldn’t have done if he had any sense was go on LIVE TV in a state so weakened he was bound to make Trump’s 30 lies in just 90 minutes, (not to mention 6th grade sneers and insults) look good.

Granted, Biden snapped back the next day. Granted it was just one TV performance. But boy, was it devastating for Biden fans. Which is a real problem.

Not for Biden fans, for all of us.

Ever since the Kennedy-Nixon Debates, the country has used TV performances to judge our politicians. Interestingly, radio listeners that night thought Nixon won, while TV viewers thought Kennedy won. (Nixon didn’t think he needed makeup because he was so good looking on radio).

It makes you wonder where the country would be if TV performances hadn’t shaped so many elections.

You know one of the least watched TV channels? Congress’ channel, C-Span. You know why? Because it’s boring. TV is a medium of entertainment. 90 per cent of politics, particularly as performed by Presidents, is non-entertainment. It’s boring.

A few examples:

* Endlessly negotiating with other politicians – and being civil – with people you wouldn’t nod to in the street;

*Becoming expert in subjects ranging from nuclear weapons to health care, inflation to immigration, Oligarchs to Evangelicals, Wall Street to Main Street…;

*Learning about all kinds of weaponry, from trench warfare to cyber-warfare;

*Knowing the military, economic, and political capabilities of China, Russia, Taiwan, Israel…well…everywhere;

*Mastering subjects like foreign affairs, foreign cultures, foreign religions…

*Herding cats (otherwise known as dealing with Congress);

*Saying “mother may I?” to secret service agents 24/7, whether it’s taking a walk or going to Europe;

*Never. Ever. Being off-duty (even when you’re sick);

*Having wisdom and experience;

*Through it all maintaining integrity, dignity, and compassion.

TV debates have been fun to watch, well…except for Biden fans this week. But debates only reveal the TV performance side of the candidates. They show very little of how a candidate would actually function as president.

Maybe we should look less at their TV performances and more at their job performances. An elections is, after all, a job application and there’s far more to the job of President than TV performance.

The last thing we want to think about on November 6th is what we would’ve, could’ve, should’ve done with our vote.