Trump fears daylight like the Devil fears holy water. I can't wait for the Democrats to retake Congress and expose the corruption.
16
Unfortunately the dems are not going to be taking the house. The evangelicals are going to support Trump even though god is sending warning signs of the coming flood....no Noah this time...
3
Retribution? Revenge?
Try "accountability."
If Trump's crimes get swept under the rug by Dem's who only "want to look forward," and not hold these criminals accountable, they will be just as bad as the do-nothing Republicans.
17
Voting matters, elections produce consequences so sitting this one out in November not a real option for those seeking change and accountability. Change in form of progress on health insurance, immigration, infrastructure, a plan to reduce the deficit, respect for climate science, protects consumers, with an equitable tax system.
Accountability is more than Trump tax returns. Restoring faith in the Justice Department, Intelligence Community and FBI may involve exposing certain Congressmen a co-conspirators in a plot to obstruct justice.
9
This column makes me very nervous. The Democrats have not won the House yet, and they have a gift for pulling defeat from the jaws of victory. Please write columns advising them about how not to blow what should be their year. After all, their slogan is the instantly forgettable “a better deal”. It’s as though they did focus groups to find the phrase least likely to motivate voters to go to the polls. Also, Trump and the GOP are covered in Teflon: no statement or deed is so vile that they will not be forgiven for it by the next news cycle. Today, Lindsey Graham gave an apparently heartfelt call for Americans to follow the maverick example of John McCain, even though earlier in the day he had explained why Trump should be allowed to get rid of the attorney general he hates for not shutting down the Russia investigation, No news show I saw (and I admittedly do not have time to really survey them) pointed out the hypocrisy Graham was engaged in right at the moment when he was calling on all Americans to stand on principle. This impunity of the GOP (abetted by Fox News distractions, like the new one about China hacking Hillary’s emails) is the reason why Democrats need to stay scared, assume they are likely to lose, and work that much harder to win,
9
In typical liberal fashion, you fail to see or understand your actions and the likely consequences. You gave us socialism, FDR, LBJ, protesters, no respect for tradition or authority. You convinced the country that sex doesn't matter with who, how or why. The end to the judicial filibuster (at the Appellate level which caused its end at the Supreme Court).
NEWS FLASH: Impeachment will ensure we never have a Democratic president serve out her/his full term without endless investigations and attempts at removal. If you weren't so partisan and/or ignorant you would know that the Senate for the next 50+ years is going to become even more Conservative as most of the states are rural. You forget Trump won 32 states and that number is going to go up. If you were have as smart, educated or knowledgeable about our country you would revert back to our founding principles. Individualism is the secret to our success not collectivism or socialism.
Fortunately, as a Conservative, your idiocy and failures will ensure America is going to remain the greatest country on the planet. Thus, if you really want to be happy move to another country where they embrace the socialism and the absence of moral values you desire so much.
We are proud that we have the country FOR and LBJ. Conservatives are proud of the Confederacy, racism, income inequality, failed economic policies, and hypocrisy in governing. How they sleep at night is a mystery to thinking people, that is liberals, everywhere.
24
That photo!
6
Trump is calling for the "brown shirts" who support him to engage in violence should his party lose this November. He is engaged in physical bullying pure and simple. He is threatening the Republic with Nazi style physical intimidation. Personally, I am terrified. And I am terrified for the future of the Nation. Remember when Neo-Nazis paraded with their tiki torches in Charlottesville and provoked horrible violence that resulted in the murder of one woman, trump's response was to white-wash the actions of the Neo Nazi bullys. He is calling for their support again! trump is meeting with evangelicals and calling for the violent support of himself! It's almost like the fulfilment of the evangelical storyline of the end times. And trump is the anti Christ! I'm terrified.
13
When Trump talked about voter fraud during the campaign he wasn’t talking about stopping it in general. He was talking to his people, telling them the race was close and that he needed them to do what they could to push him ahead.
How are citizens of this country able to monitor elections? How do we prevent the GOP from trashing (literally) Democrat votes and submitting Republican ones? Or any one of the many Republican voter fraud methods they may use. They control legislatures and governorships in many red states and surely they’re capable of fraud. Just look at how West Virginia impeached the entire state Supreme Court. Removing all the so called left leaning justices.
If Democrats are able to regain control in some red states I would hope they will remove the right wing partisan appointees using the same methods as the right.
4
this picture reminds me of the old New Yorker cartoon of the little boy seated at the dining room table with his arms crosse saying "I say it's broccoli and I say to hell with it."
8
Sorry Michelle, I want retribution too.
4
Look, ask why Mr. T has support? Are they crazy? Stupid? Racist? Or are they sick and tired of high minded ideals while their homes are being foreclosed or their kids can’t get jobs or their professional careers are in jeopardy.
Unfortunately like a broken clock accurate two times a day, Mr. T is right about one or two of our economic issues.
Democrats better get unified on bread and butter issues and forget impeachment. Or they will lose. We can’t afford that loss.
2
Republican policies took their homes and sent their jobs overseas. Voting Republican to reverse that is the definition of stupidity, the definition of an economically-challenged Trump voter. Although most of his support is from the usual GOP rich libertarian base trying to squeeze yet one more dollar out of their duped economically-challenged cohorts.
9
News flash: Trump announces violence ahead if GOP loses mid-term elections. This is eerily reminiscent of a call to arms in a little volume titled Mein Kampf. Trump is desperate. He knows Mueller has the goods on him and it's only a question of time before he faces indictment or impeachment. Trump has earned no loyalty from his minions because he gives no loyalty to anyone. Thus, he finds himself on an island being enveloped by the law, something he fears and loathes.
14
Typical Leftists Liberal Loser game plan.
Lose the election - whine - and then use whatever tools are available to overturn the election results.
Anyone who ever doubted that Liberals despise democracy and don’t respect the right of others to chose a different path - here’s proof.
1
Slow coup, slow coup, slow coup. Americans, if you don't vote, Washington will be called Vichy.
10
The fact that such an irratic and unscrupulous president can carry on largely unchecked speaks to a flaw in the framework of our Constitution that needs to be patched.
10
The only kinds of people who are up at 3:30 a.m. cranking out Tweets are druggies, psychopaths and farmers and Trump ain't no farmer.
Vote, folks. Isolate this tumor.
18
Good job Michelle Goldberg, to me you have rapidly become a leading Times columnist.
5
Trump makes me believe that reincarnation is not such a "fool idea". Trump surely is the reincarnation of Boss Tweed.
3
* Trump: "grab ’em by the you-know-what"
* Giuliani: "truth isn’t truth"
* Trump cult: "nothing matters lol"
* "delighting in the helplessness of fellow citizens"
That pretty much sums it up. The threat could not be more clear. If Trump's white supporters are not permitted to keep their unmerited white entitlements, then they will happily burn the place down. They couldn't care less about lies, incompetence, corruption, crime, threats of violence, and even treason. For them, Trump is two things: entertainment and the embodiment of the racial resentment that they know he shares with them.
As Representative Cummings said. It is high time to return the nation and the people's Congress to regular order, including accountability.
12
You have no confidence in Mueller’s inquiry?
1
An empty desk means an empty mind!
8
I guess I’m still searching for a reason to be “outraged.”
My company’s income is up.
Our costs are down.
Illegal aliens are being deported.
Our neighborhood’s crime rate is down.
My investments have increased in value by 22%.
My 401K is up 28%.
My kids have been admitted to great state colleges.
The feds have stopped persecuting cops.
The feds aren’t suing the city I live in because Robert/Roberta can’t decide which bathroom to use.
What’s the problem ?
@Average Guy
You.
19
The accompanying photograph is typical of what Trump does in the Oval Office and how he does it. (A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind.) The rest of the time he watches Fox News and issues tweets in the residence.
4
Most Trump voters would be psyched to spend a night in one of Trump’s “gaudy hotels”. Then again, they’ll be too busy shoveling coal further enriching their bosses to have time to enjoy such a thrill. I’d stay there if I knew that my tax dollars weren’t subsidizing the Trump Crime Organization. Plus, I don’t like trans fats in my food.
3
I am neither a democrat nor a republican. I did not vote for Trump. Don’t like him as a person. That said:
I am completely turned off by every half baked pundit every living second bashing the administration and a democratically elected president simply because they got it wrong and don’t like Trump
Economy is good, employment is good, efforts are being made to confront China albeit not in the best way but still no one else did that before.
No tangible evidence linking Trump to Russia election meddling after all the noise and by the way that was the original purpose of the investigation before it became all encompassing
A rising tide lifts all boats. A rising Trump has lifted ratings for all incompetent media. They deserve each other.
May be when we get real problems, the First World problems would go away!
Perhaps Ms Goldberg can secure herself a position as the head of the Democratic Party Inquisition, whose sole purpose is to root out anyone who objects to the DNC, it's backroom methods to thwart elections, or utters words not part of the talking points.
She could chair committees who singular purpose is to tar and feather anyone who fails to follow the political correctness ideology, or actually believes in the Bill of Rights.
1
This is GOP 101....steal as much as they can, strip citizens of all their rights, rally the hate in their base, lose huge and when the economy tanks which it will and we ar billions in debt for a useless tax break for the rich, blame the Dems. The. Repeat.
The Dems should throw this mid term and let the GOP own their own mistakes. Trump, a broken economy, world war threevia trade and an increasing strong Russia and China.
7
A footnote to Ms. Goldberg's eloquent truths:
As she -- and the rest of us who keep informed and use our brains -- knows, the Simple reason the Disgraceful Republican leadership won't do a thing about Trump (i.e., censure him, commence impeachment hearings against him, etc.) is that--
To do so could hurt their chances on November 6.
This is the same Disgraceful mentality that rode Trump's coattails -- despite his utter lack of presidential fitness -- all the way to election day in 2016.
This is the Disgraceful mentality that distinguishes Narcissists -- the personality type that cares nothing for the common good, only for himself.
This is the Disgraceful mentality that is rotting the GOP from the inside out, and which will soon kill it.
10
@Ken
If Republicans know Trump has the popular support, Democrats will learn soon enough.
Or will it be the North Koreans this time?
Fact check? Trump's "deeply unpopular..." How much so?
If you think seeing Democrats elected is a good thing, you and your paper need to be investigating the far more important and dangerous crimes being committed by the companies which obtained the contracts to build the vote "counting" devices now being used by a majority of US election districts which have no paper trail and apparently can be easily hacked and have their totals re computed so the "right" people win the elections to ensure the continued majority rule by individuals of the "right" side of US politics.
I
4
Once again, Ms Goldberg, a really fine job. Let's see what happens in November. I'll be voting, as I'm sure you will be.
5
Hmmm, if #45 lies every day, could his tax returns be 100% accurate?
3
Reading about the state of our government is like watching the movie Gremlins. There is so much pandemonium it's hard to know where to focus my outrage.
3
The OIG says the GSA and White House were basically lying and conspiring in order to quash the plan to build a new FBI building outside of Washington: trump wants that new building in the same spot as the old building: across the street from his hotel.
"The version released on Monday said leaders misrepresented both the costs of a new plan to keep the FBI headquarters in downtown Washington and the role the White House may have played in the dramatic decision last April to cancel a planned move to the suburbs."
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2018/08/gsa-misrepresented-white-house...
https://connolly.house.gov/uploadedfiles/gsa_ig_fbi_hq_report.pdf
1
With apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan:
Here’s a first rate opportunity
To get rid of trump’s immunity.
So farewell to the complicity
And the GOP’s septicity.
Trump will quickly be impeachable
Thrown in jail and so unreachable
And the Democrats will celebrate
When the laws prove it’s time to incarcerate.
3
Deeply unpopular. Michelle? His approval,ratings are higher than Obama’s at the same point in his term.
There is so much abnormal activity from the Trump administration that it is difficult to focus on any one issue for a long period of time. From grifting to racism to paying off porn stars, the action is fast and fleeting.
That said, we must focus on the main objective: taking back Congress, especially the House, in 2018.
Make sure your voter registration is in order, with the correct address now. If it's hard to get to the polls during the workday, check whether your state allows either early or in-person absentee voting. Make a plan to vote and then follow through. Our democracy depends on it.
7
The original mantra was "We will not let this become normal" but when all the mighty on all sides, inc the NYTImes, were too primly proper to say, ex. for a President to use High Office to call the free press critical of his self "the enemy" is an act of hostility to the Constitution, to use High Office to say it's "disgusting" that we can write whatever we want is is an act of hostility toward the Constitution, against our freedom ( and what are we if not freedom?), and can in no way be seen as anything but the opposite of protecting, defending and preserving the Constitution -- nothing but tsk tsk "inappropriate" and "unacceptable" while, in fact accepting it -- all let it become the norm, the standard.
It is NORMAL because the press and Congress including trilcing democratic leadership who call impeachment the i-word as if it were also disgusting to say instead of the legal remedy, a slur instead of the law, have let it become so normal that they now think themselves heroes for running around with band-aids to cover the skyscraper-sized holes in the dike they were too polite to yell that the president was jackhammering into it.
Many of us in the real world know it is a High Crime to persistently, constantly, perpetually, unceasingly, day after day issue from High Office lies, slander, false accusations threats and claims to power to kill or cause to lose their livelihood anyone , big or small, who contradicts his glory, who fails to praise and show gratitude.
IMPEACH
3
The GOP congress can shield the president, but they can't shield his businesses and family. Those entities are provided no special protection from a corrupt legislative branch. As the financial stuff comes out it will be likely found that some of the kids were involved. At the very least, the business was used for nefarious purposes. Although, the initial attack point seems to be the foundation.
Trump was stupid and somewhat unlucky, because he won. He never expected to win and now he faces the kind of scrutiny that politicians face. If he had remained a private citizen he could have continued on as a criminal like so many other rich criminals in NY, white collared and overlooked by "law enforcement" who for some time had stop and frisk to keep them busy. You know, tough on crime. Take a bite out of crime, unless they are a donor to a politician.
5
Yes, please vote, don't trust that other will. Then investigate but don't impeach and stick us with pence.
Death by a thousand cuts each an investigation.
5
And Democrats won't screw this one up?
2
We are witness to the plunder
Our country torn asunder
Distracted by the madness of a clown
Now we face our darkest hour
The vandals have the power
And everything we’ve built
They’re tearing down
11
The more I think about the idea of leaving Trump in power as opposed to impeaching and removing him from office the less I like it. The man is simply too dangerous and the office of the presidency is simply too powerful. He is a twisted, nihilistic sociopath who will be more than happy burn down the country in order to avenge himself. His clear willingness to incite an incendiary response to attacks against him - see his raging threats today against Google - argues forcefully for his removal from office, and his conviction and incarceration, perhaps to live out the remainder of his wretched life in solitary confinement away from his Twitter account.
16
But...Trumpers like the way he talks! So, all is good...for them.
5
Uh-huh. Well Hillary had a 70% chance of winning, maybe it was 75? and look where that got us.
2
I thought it was more than 90%.
Michelle is the definition of a wackado. Yes, let's investigate everything. Trump was said to have ordered Russian dressing on a salad. Obviously he's guilty of something.
1
No. He’s guilty of many, many things.
6
I would to the list, Kellyanne Conway: "alternative facts"
8
Conservatism has become White Nationalism.
Christianity has become White Nationalism.
Trump's judiciary will rule for White Nationalism.
The Ghost of Tom Joad has arrived.
7
How more than 10% of Americans can vote for Trump is beyond me.
21
I didn't vote for either Trump or Clinton, and the thought of the Democrats taking over in the Fall and launching endless investigations a la Benghazi doesn't thrill me.
9
@gregdn Then you must be a Republican. Sounds like something they would say. The difference between Benghazi and Trump is that there never was a reason for the Benghazi investigatins except to throw mud on Hillary. With Trump there are plenty of his administration's and his campaign's actions, unfortunately, that need to be investigated.
6
Bengazi was a political witch hunt. Bengazi happened, at least in part, because Republicans refused an Obama request for more funding to secure at risk stations over seas.
The accusations against Trump and his cronies are beyond anything in our history. I am not thrilled by the prospect of our government being largely paralyzed by investigations, and it will be. But, if you want to fix our system so something like this doesn't happen again, so that we can move on to a stronger democracy, then we must find out what happened and hold the criminally complicit accountable.
2
@gregd Respectfully, the difference is that Benghazi was a smokescreen to harm the Democratic candidate in an election year, while any investigations into TrumpWorld will yield indictments and herald in a new dawn for the Trump Administration: Accountability.
2
Sadly, you are assuming that even if the Democratic party survives grossly gerrymandered House districts and manages to control the House, that anyone in this administration actually will respond to subpoenas from House committees controlled by Democrats. I fully expect that we will be disappointed in that regard.
5
Trump is only a symptom of a much more threatening problem: the continuing erosion of our commitment to our American values. This is a country of immigrants, aspiring to give everyone who came here an equal opportunity work and build the best life for themselves and their family.
This is a country that aspired to exemplify the best of what democracy can and should be and a loyal and reliable ally to our friends. There are too many examples right now of how we're abandoning those principles. We've lost the thread, and our challenge is how to draw together and recapture it.
10
The real evil is not trump per se but the Republican Party and Republican Congress. They have already installed one illegal or at least questionable Supreme Court Justice. They turn a blind eye to the ongoing horrors of the trump administration. What we need to change is the majority in congress before the Republicans hand the keys over to Putin.
6
Ok, Trump's awful, the GOP congress is awful, and too many Trump voters are awful. So, that's the plan? They're awful ? Republicans have gotten where they are by playing the long game. They are not any overnight sensation. Their dominance has been the fruit of studied planning, well financed and control of redistricting at the state level all to ensure years of hegemony of the minority ruling the majority. So to ponder the imponderable, if the democrats fail again and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory- a time honored tradition of the party- then what is plan b beside a progressive Masada? I think you need a more sustainable winning strategy and a long game other than just counting on the other guys being awful. This is not just a fight for the next term, this is a generational struggle , and if the democrats have a long game, it's well hidden.
2
When the Democrats take the House, God willing, they are going to have to be extremely disciplined, and focus on Trump's illegal misdeeds, not his personal wretchedness.
Again, the Democrats' challenge will be to speak to all Americans, not just the choir. They are going to need to explain that his abuse of power and the law and corruption and debasement of our institutions is a threat to all Americans, even those who support him fully.
Don't make it personal. That just feeds his narcissistic personality disorder. Make it about the law and the fact that no one may be above it.
18
I repeat to all young Americans and others who have yet to see the Orson Welles Classic "Citizen Kane." Rent it. Buy it. Borrow it. Kane is Trump, specifically in the climactic parlor scene.
8
There is a terrific interview with Trump about the movie—courtesy of Errol Morris. Illuminative.
2
@Jim Steinberg - And predictably, that's Trump's favorite movie. Somehow he doesn't see the irony!
2
Ever since Trump's assault of the presidency, the republican party has been salivating to pass legislation, tax cuts, signed by the bully in-chief, highly beneficial to the corporate world (and themselves) and the 'screwing' of the vast majority of people that, hoping for betterment in their own station, voted for this superb lying demagogue. And got 'peanuts' in return, and the permanence of stagnant wages and the odious rise of the inequality we see. Trump and his minions, crooks all, have been able to get away with cheating on us. And their impunity may not abate until, and unless, democrats retake congress' reins. Currently, we have a pluto-kleptocracy, mafia-like, drunk with power, self-serving, who don't seem to give a damn about improving other's lives.
7
Very good. Impeachment, if warranted, can wait. Facts must be determined. Public opinion on the left and on the right must be considered.
Perhaps more than anything right now we need a national civics lesson in how facts are determined by intelligent people of goodwill who care about their country and how matters of policy and politics are debated in a democratic system of representative self-government.
It’s hopeful that the late Senator McCain wanted and Representative Cummings wants to get back to regular order.
7
If what you are saying is that our current manner of governance is out of sync with how democracy works, a stronger response would be to alert us that it’s time we fix the Constitution and repair our national ethos.
It’s not enough that Republicans act responsibly; our system, per se, should preclude any one person or party, including the President, from being able to act unilaterally. What you call “helplessness,” I call poor design.
The future requires cooperation of us NOW, not in the future! More fighting-the-good-fight badly, again, is for political junkies in it for Fight Night. In 20 years, we will know the effect women will have had on politics in America. Here on out, I imagine, their numbers will steadily, and dramatically, increase until they shortly achieve the political critical mass necessary to achieve the power to not only change laws, but the culture. THEN,
Finally, hopefully, we will all see what’s wrong with America. Who’s in or out matters little if the door leads to a bathroom stall; once in, we all do the same thing. What’s wrong with America is not circumstantial, but fundamental: 50% of us are functionally illiterate; spiritually, we are, quite simply, corrupt. As a nation, we are rusting; America had more than enough of everything in abundance twice over; yet, STILL, here we are, collapsed in an organic swamp of moral morass comprised of decomposing Huckafish, crushed Conway cabbage leaves, and discarded Petroleum kelly cod pieces.
3
Another future question to ask Republicans is, when and if Trump's tax returns are handed over, and the money trail back to Russia is illuminated, will you support or oppose a law requiring all tax returns ever filed by a candidate to be made public? My guess is most will be too cowardly to support that, even with Trump out of office. This man will haunt their party like the ghost of Jacob Marley.
8
Wilbur Ross, our current Secretary of Commerce, should be investigated and treated like the criminal he is. He was the vice chairman of the Bank of Cyprus, which is to Russia's wealthy lawbreakers what the Cayman Islands is to America's wealthly lawbreakers doing deals on behalf of himself and Trump. Trump and his minions have, at the least, been laundering money for the Russians. It's time for impeachment.
11
IF the Dems do take the House in November, watch how many laws are passed over the following 2 months to impede investigations, including repealing that Teapot Dome/tax returns law.
2
Subpoena Power is intoxicating. There is so much corruption the democrats will need to be strategic to ensure the cases they take on will show the public the absolute corruption in the Trump administration.
I vote for beginning with the cabinet, then the Trump Organization, his kids conflicts of interest and the emoluments and of course the tax returns. For the first year leave Trump alone and just focus on the cabinet..there is so much there it doesn't matter where you start - pick the worst first (Wilbur Ross, Betsy, Zinke, etc..)
4
For Trumpers it will always be a witch hunt even if smoking guns become a smoking arsenal. If they can dismiss the findings of a staunch Republican of unassailable integrity they will never accept the results of a democratic House investigation. Trump will have to hit them where it hurts, in the wallet, and even then they’ll find a way to blame Democrats. This mass psychosis seems to be frighteningly resilient.
7
It may be too late. It seems all Republicans got a memo: “the Republic is over...get on board or get out of the way.”
Nothing Trump did or does or says, Republicans do not care. Some cling to the Republican Senate, but now they are going to dump their friend and comrade Sessions, because Trump wants him out. Where are the Republicans? They are signed on to Trump.
2
To this day, I still do not understand the relative silence of the Democratic leaders who are in Congress. I know they can't do much as a matter of procedure pending a reinstatement of their majority in November (God willing), but c'mon. There has been nary a peep from anyone on the rampant flouting of the law, not to mention the scores of ethics violations. Why are the Democrats standing by hoping that voters and Mueller will take care of the situation for them?
Where are these elected officials who need to rally the voters around the country? Where are their voices to denounce the behavior of the GOP and this Administration? Is it not happening, or just not being reported?
5
@Sabrina This simply is not true. Schumer, Warren, Whitehouse, Duckworth and many more speak out frequently against the corruption of Trump and his team. Go to their websites. Follow them on Facebook. The NY Times and the Washington Post can only put so many things on the front page.
1
@Pat Johns I follow them all on Twitter. At best, the condemnation is tempered. With the possible exception of Maxine Waters and Elizabeth Warren, they appear to be more concerned with Sounding reasonable than sounding the alarm.
Yesterday, a Trump administration member admitted that the 'zero tolerance' immigration policy of taking (I say kidnap) children from their parents included the assumption that the children would never be reunited with their parents. The Trump team planned to turn all the children over to the office of Refugee Resettlement and ends of story. They assumed nobody would care.
I say the first investigation and indictments should be to the members of the Trump Administration who did this heinous child kidnapping.
11
"Still, republicans are right to be worried."
But the thing is, they don't seem to be all that worried - like they know something we don't.
And that's worrying me a lot.
8
@Deb
That's because they know that between gerrymandering, voter suppression and the fact of the representation of the Senate being stacked in their favor, they have a decent chance of holding on to both houses of Congress. And even if they don't, or keep the Senate and lose way less seats in the House than expected, they can still claim victory if the 'blue wave' doesn't live up to it's hyped-up billing.
2
“We are in a fight for the soul of our democracy,” he said. “So I understand that for me to effectively do that second lane that I just talked about — voting rights and all those good things, prescription drugs — I need to have the democracy intact.”
I'm thrilled to finally hear a politician of any stripe to squarely nail what this election is all about. It's not about Trump, his cronies, the Russians. It is about restoring democracy to the federal government. Once you have democracy, then the will of the people can prevail.
Most citizens have not taken the time to catalog everything that's broken: gerrymandering, dark money, voter suppression, extra-constitutional stealing of a supreme court seat, you name it. The Republicans in power will do anything - yes, anything - to stay in power. They'll hold their nose and support Trump in public only to get their policies signed, or the progress we gained in the last administration undone. This has to stop, and Democratic control of the house is a first step. But it will take a generation to fix everything, because amending the Constitution may be necessary.
15
Republican leadership and oversight committee members have THEIR BLIND EYE, THE SAME ONE trained on Russian interference, monitoring this President and his administrators.
'Good' eye stays glued on the donors' checkbooks. Lawyers need greased for Hit TV Series "No Collusion, Not a Crime". What's more absurd? Campaign spending for plane tickets for a Congressman's pet rabbit - OR - the 6-figure payoffs for "All The President's Bunnies"?
Come November, citizens can choose to believe the Republican-fueled bogeymen, like Medi-SCARE Attack Ads - OR - they can vote-in The Blue Wave to empower our Democratic leaders' committment to TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT.
In desperation, Republican strategists are begging Democrats to make statements about impeachment because getting out the vote to "SAVE TRUMP'S SKIN" is the only dragon energy left to muster.
Ms Goldberg has highlighted the research and our free press' discovery of a litany of improper and possibly illegal activities in this Executive Branch. ONLY Democratic leadership will do the normal oversight work of Congress and follow-though FOR THE PEOPLE.
12
I was especially encouraged by Mr. Schiff's remark about money laundering. He is right on the mark. Soon it will be revealed that the Trump Organization laundered huge sums of dirty money for Russian oligarchs. Real estate is the single largest vehicle for laundering money. When Trump's domestic credit dried up in the 2000's (following his numerous bankruptcy filings), he desperately sought alternative sources of funding. The price: cleaning dirty Russian money through his real estate ventures.
25
@KMJ and probable spying.
1
Nothing will change until Democratic voters stop being "rugged individuals" and come out to vote in a unified block. This is no time for righteous indignation because the survival of the United States is at stake. The Democratic voters damaged this country enough, now they must set it right.
139
@Eddie Lew
I'm sick and tired of voting for Goldman Sachs wrapped in a rainbow flag. The Dems don't care about the working man any more than your average Republican does.
Nothing meaningful will change without direct, radical action. Trump has been surprisingly effective at mobilizing honest-to-God socialists; he's been the best thing to happen to the left in this country since Eugene Debs. 1917 and 1789 didn't happen without costly wars and masses of truly starving people; we're going to need something similar to happen here for real progress to happen.
4
@Eddie Lew Spare me the accusations. As a Democrat I held my nose voting for Hillary. But I voted, as did millions who also questioned whether the rigged candidate in 2016 was the best one. The term "presumptive" was purchased with backroom dealings.
Democrats don't want machine candidates like Schumer who line party pockets with Wall Street cash. We want democracy. We will clean up our own party in due time. The system is rotten and believing that in a system funded by the 1% that democracy will truly thrive may be construed as delusional. No party wears the white hats. Please don't confuse the less offensive party as suffering a surfeit of virtue.
Democrats will vote for Democrats. Perhaps you are stuck in the partisan trap where you believe there are just partisan voters. Over the last few decades independent ranks have been growing for the reasons I have outlined. To get them either back or just into the Democratic Party will take more policy that empowers people than just opposing the party of Trump. The Dems need to find their soul again before independents start lining up. That hopefully means pols like Chuck will spend less time with his downtown patrons and more time opening his Senate office doors to people without campaign donations.
3
@Eddie Lew Correction Trump voters damaged the country while Democratic voters pouted.
Yes we're in a fight for the soul of the nation, & the repubs are largely unprincipled criminals who care only about retaining power & what benefits the 1%. And they will never change, nor will their low IQ voters.
But real change is incremental & to achieve it, it takes some perspective, maturity & understanding of how things actually get done in the real world, and one phrase that summarizes it is:
"do you want to be right, or do you want to be effective".
Yes, most of us can name 6-8 ideals that we'd like to see implemented as laws & policies that would improve the lives of most citizens.
But a clear majority needs to support them and obviously they have to be paid for...which means-for most far left democrats & what they want--massive tax increases.
In the real world life teaches that generally, to be effective & actually move a policy you favor forward, you have to initially do it in steps, and through reasonable compromises -- for many those goals today are: free health care, free college, free day care, two years of paid maternity leave, an end to all discrimination and income inequality, etc. etc.
Well, I support those ideals, but to pay for them we'll have to pay what the avg European citizen pays for similar programs, which is a tax rate of 45-55% of their incomes. And as stated, it just isn't going to happen except in sensible increments.
The invitation: get real, be "effective" first, then "right". Then the country might actually change for the better.
5
Every day or so I get emails from Progressive groups which are Bernie Sanders supporters, asking for money and support. I admired Sanders for a long time but would never vote for him in a national election. Now he comes across as an angry bewildered old man looking for attention. If he continues to try to get one the national ballet, he will help Trump win again. Same is true of Jill Stein. I hear rumors that Clinton has not completely given up hope of becoming president. God help us! And I am an atheist.
15
At one time there were conservatives and liberals in both parties. That is no longer true. Compromise has become impossible.
2
I agree with your opinion segment, but to a large extent you are putting the onus on Democrats, and there is a big "IF" whether they will have the power in their hands to do anything and then there is an "IF" they will do any of those things.
I believe the big reason there a prevailing "don't care" attitude in white house is because they have sowed enough doubt in people's mind (fake-news) and nullified the free-press.
All is well when Economy is well. Who can argue against that.
So far it is sad to see no counter voice. In a land of so many great leaders, I am amazed no one had been able to get nations attention and bring some sanity and rationality in people's thoughts. Muller may not be able to deliver the punch Dems are looking for. Reps will wait this out as its playing in their hands.
This is the time newspapers can take the mantle they once occupied. So far you are only preaching the quire, I am sorry. When someone dismisses the work of hard working reporters and journalists as fake-news, something needs to be done. You need to reach the people so are so staunchly in Trumps camp, they need to understand what's at stake for them. Otherwise you will lose them for generations as potential readers. This is a clarion call for all respectful newspapers.
Newspapers, you need to defend your dignity!!
3
To prevail in a meaningful way in November,Democrats need to campaign on issues that will resonate and sway enough voters.Being Anti-Trump will not do it,given the state of the economy and the power of Twitter.Incompetence,corruption and collusion may not do it,nor will racism and misogyny.An immigration reform blueprint that addresses legitimate concerns and flushes out prejudice might just do it.That requires leadership.Anyone??
The people who want government to carry out their own little vendetta and nobody else's are every bit as much a threat to this democracy as the people who're shrieking at Robert Mueller and demanding that the investigation has to stop before it...finds out what happened.
2
I hope that one thing the Democrats will turn their attention to is proposing legislation to rein in the power of the presidency. The troll currently occupying that office has exposed the degree to which we have given far too much power to that office. Given the apoplexy reached by Republicans under the previous occupant's wielding of that power, they should be prepared to jump on board to work toward that same end. Laws such as ones requiring presidential candidates to provide complete tax returns, prohibiting personal enrichment from the office of the presidency, and requiring congressional oversight before the president can single-handedly upset international affairs must be the order of the day. Oh, and please - please! - take away the president's Twitter account.
11
This November "this is not normal" will either become normal, or not. I worry that pundits and readers focus so much on Trump while letting the actions, or inactions, of the Republican Congress and the GOP at all levels slide. They have become corrupt to the core and their intentions are anti-democratic. Beware people. VOTE!
7
I guess you have to start somewhere; might as well be the House. However, this opinion supposes the there is a two party political system in America. Both parties are controlled by the donor class. The Dems have voted WITH the GOP on defense spending and were co-dependent to them on the wealthy tax cuts. Neither party supported 911 truth, nor Iraq war crimes prosecutions. Obama infamously stated America should “look forward” rather than at the crimes of the previous administration or Wall St. The passivity of the electorate was “carefully taught” over the last 25 years. Assuming the Dems are going to sweep in and ‘right the wrongs’ is naive and foolish. Accountability changes behavior not obfuscation. Income inequality is the number one threat to We the People despite how well we’re being told the economy is doing. The permanent war economy is serving no one beyond the wealthy. Dems are NOT speaking out about that. Progressive voices are being ignored or silenced. The GOP Senate is NOT going to convict Trump of parking violations, let alone Emoluments violations. It is a false narrative to think, hope, or expect the Dems “taking” the House is the panacea for America. The Dems hijacked their own nomination process (nobody is investigating that!) cheating Sanders and delivering the Presidency to Trump and the GOP. That gang still can’t shoot straight! If you still believe in them then maybe Obama can interest you in hoping for “change.” And he was right; things got worse.
3
"If Democrats take the House in the November midterms — which the model of the statistics website FiveThirtyEight gives them about a 70 percent chance of doing — that helplessness ends."
It's somewhat encouraging to read 538's 70% likelihood that Democrats will take the House.
On the other hand, I was very encouraged when 538 was giving Hillary a 90+% chance of winning the presidency. Then Comey handed the election to Trump. And Comey's supposed to be one of the "good guys."
The Republicans will do whatever it takes to win in November. Take note that aside from some individuals in the intelligence community apparently acting on their own authority, little or nothing is being done to secure our voting system. Will Russia win yet another election for Republican traitors?
13
I pray and hope Ms.Goldberg is right about winning the House. But I am so scared because the Democratic Party is so much bitterly divided. Some time I think that some right wing organization implanted some who are acting like extreme left wing elements just to create chaos, confusion and division. Even the Democratic Party wins the House, they should play TIT FOR TAT . Revenge politics or vindictive politics like the Republican Party has been doing is not acceptable nor desirable. It is not good for the country.
4
Someone recently pointed out that Trump is a symptom, not a cause of American dysfunction. He truly its a malignant force and has made things infinitely worse, but he really just capitalizes on pre-existing problems.
Evangelicals became greedy and self righteous. The business class became short swing profiteers. Patriots became tools of the gun manufacturing industry. Patriotism itself became a commodity. The ideas of community, society and citizenship took on racial overtones. This country its now a nuclear tipped hot mess. While the media of division thrive (e.g. Fox News, Breitbart, Infowars, Russian Trolls, etc) the 'we' the people decline. So I'll be happy to see a Democratic takeover of the legislative branch but I don't think that will fix us. The American light bulb really doesn't want to change. Everyone wants everyone else to change.
13
I am afraid that the elections are rigged as trump has said but by Russia & trump's base. With voting machines there is no trail to check the totals. As in Kansas, Korbach won by just a few votes but he was in charge of the vote counting. The Democrats may have a chance of winning if those who voted for trump because they didn't like Clinton turn to the Democratic candidates. trump's base of racists who voted for a reality TV star will show up with guns & threatening attitudes at the polling places to scare the voters off. It is scary to think of another 2 1/2 years of gop & trump in control. Hope that more exposure of trump's crimes comes to light before Nov.
6
There is too much at stake for the Republicans/Russians not to seriously interfere in the results of the election--and I mean at the ballot box, not just propaganda.
That said, I wonder if the Democrats have the stomach for the job that is necessary. They are as passive as the Republicans are aggressive. I'm trying to stay hopeful.
8
The elections are being hacked. Polling data is hacked and changed. Our voting machines are still being hacked, as Russia never left.
Voting tallies are incredibly easy to alter by a single hack.
The Democrats and states need paper ballots. They need to do everything to stop the ongoing hacking.
Otherwise, they will lose by the 'sliver' favored by Russian hackers. It will be close enough not to create suspicion, but as usual, a Republican will win.
One can only hope that Democrats are working to get paper ballots for all seats in the Midterms.
6
Impunity, personal unaccountability, policymaker "grifting," and a range of voiced harmful words, and implemented deeds, won't end immediately, magically, or even over time if, and when, the Democrats, as a party, reign in DC again, and Republicans, as a party, no longer do. Not when a WE-THEY culture enabling the daily violating of selected and targeted "the other" exists and the toxic outcomes of mass-complacency infects to epidemic proportions. Not when individuals and systems cope, adapt,and function, using wilfull blindness, deafness and ignorance about much which shouldn't BE, and an absence of what is critical inorder to achieve and sustain types, levels and qualities of mutual respect, trust, caring, help and equitable sharing of human and non-human resources necessary for well being for all of US. No single political party is going to save an "us" which is not accountable, personally for our own individual and group doings and not doings,
Thanks for writing this column, Michelle. I am personally working here in Texas to try to elect a Democratic Senator in Beto O'Rourke and a Democratic Congresswoman in my district. Beto is moving up in the polls and is so much better than the oily and ominous Ted Cruz, but it will be close. Once we have the House (and hopefully the Senate) we can effectively hamper Trump and get to the bottom of the omnipresent corruption.
If we could get just two (Flake & Corker?!) principled Republicans to switch sides formally and be independent, but vote with Democrats, we could begin this process immediately.
9
The Honorable Congressman Cummings might not want revenge, but I do. I want wall to wall hearings on Russian money laundering, Cabinet level corruption and I want Ken Starr level scrutiny over everything the Trump crime family has been doing for the past 2 decades. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I want to open up everything starting with Trump's tax returns, going on to his bank records, domestic and international, and his company's phone and computer records. I want to know what his connections are to Russian intelligence, including that server in Trump Tower, and I want Comey level scrutiny of his company and family emails.
20
What boggles my mind is the idea that the Democrats might not absolutely trounce the GOP in November, given the unprecedented awfulness of this administration. (Trump likes superlatives; one has to wonder if he would be pleased to hear his administration is "the most dysfunctional and corrupt in history!" -- said in a Maher-imitating-Trump voice).
Anyways, I am not living in fantasy-land; I realize the results of the election are far from clear. In my mind, the biggest danger for Dems as the election approaches is complacency. With every sign of scandal, corruption and incompetence on the part of this administration and their GOP enablers, the GOP will feel the fire under their butts and go into panic mode. And the more the GOP feels the fire, the more Democratic voters risk thinking the election is in the bag.
It is critically important for all enlightened people -- especially those who didn't vote in 2016 -- to get out and vote on Nov 6! Deliver the GOP the spanking they richly deserve. (Trump supporters can stay at home watching Hannity and Roseanne reruns.)
12
Impeachment isn't about retribution. It's about justice and making sure doing what is right is put back into the system. If the Democrats win the House in November, the party's members need to understand any mandate they have is to make things right.
19
I just hope that our elections are still fair and free, considering reports of Russian already attempting to hack elections, other reports of gerrymandering and voter purging. I fully believe there will be a blue wave, but whether vote totals will reflect that due to the above, I'm worried about.
The other potential problem is what Trump will do about it. I wouldn't put it past him to interfere with seating a duly elected democrat.
15
Thank you, Mr. Cummings, for your service, for your generosity of spririt, for taking the high road. Respectfully, sir, what we need at this moment (I would humbly suggest) is retribution and outrage. Silence in the face of massive assaults on our people, those who would join them, and our principles, is too easily misread as assent. Anyone even slightly familiar with your life would not make such a charge of you, but others should not emulate your forbearance in this case. Those who choose willfully to misunderstand what is being done must be repudiated, not embraced, lest anyone be tempted to follow their example.
6
A big ‘if,’ Michelle. While the country sorely needs the house to go blue, people in hundreds of districts will continue to vote for the name they know, many of them fearful of change. Please don’t tell me about poll projections again. This paper should be doing a public service of instructing voters everywhere of what it will take to effect this change we need.
4
The only rationale for Schiff to duplicate the work of Mueller -- that taxpayers have funded to the tune of $25 million thus far -- is to enhance his own level of media attention. Mueller already has the tax returns. He has already subpoenaed all the parties on Schiff's wish list.
@CHM Where did you get the information that Mueller already has Trumps tax return?
10
@CHM Trump has spent $65 MM golfing. This isn't a "fiscal responsibility" issue. Subpoena the heck out of them and ignore the fiscal cost concern trolls.
3
I am continually stunned by the stupidity and laziness of the press. Trump's words and deeds matter a lot to all the Democrats I know. They are only waiting to vote in November. Some what Trump impeached, though Pence is a worry, all want Trump stopped. What can be done might need to wait until 2021, but it all matters.
9
According to this article, the odds of Democrats seizing control of the US House of Representatives after the upcoming elections are 70%.
Toward the end of the 2016 campaign for president, the odds given for Hillary Clinton's winning ranged from 76% to 91%
What this tells me is that Democrats cannot take a single thing for granted in this election. It is essential that we — and yes, this former lifelong Republican *is* a registered Democrat now — must vote, must take our elderly and/or minority friends and neighbors to vote, and must volunteer for Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts or at least must donate generously to groups that will do that.
Voting has never been more important in this country's history.
People must VOTE!
41
Whether or not the Democrats take the House and Senate the American voters deserve the full investigation to be completed by Mueller. And the findings to be made public by Mueller himself.
If our Democracy is as shaky as it seems, Mueller may not go "by the book".
He may feel his Patriotic duty is to the Country not the Congress, Trump, the Office of the Presidency or the DOJ .
And it is probably time to investigate the Republican Congress as well.
Sure do miss McCain already.
12
The picture that accompanies this piece really does say it all. Trump is a petulant, possibly somewhat disturbed, little child. Perhaps he cannot help himself for reasons of mental health. That Republicans protect and defend this person shows their utter abdication of their responsibilities under their oaths of office. They need to go so that someone will hold this petulant and potentially dangerous child accountable.
13
After such a despicable human is ousted from an office he had no business occupying in the first place, I hope there is a way to study if Americans have been permanently outraged by Trump's criminality or numbed by it.
10
“One thing I’m not looking for is retribution,” he told me. “I’m just trying to get to regular order, I swear to God.”
So said Obama, in so many words, upon taking up his first term as president. As a consequence no lessons were learned from the catastrophic result of Republican policies we were undergoing at the time, because no lessons were being taught. We looked forward, not backward. Well, we're "forward" now, and see where we are? I think a little retribution might be our only hope of getting out of this cycle.
13
I do not see the Democrats winning enough in November. There are too many Americans who are thrilled with Trump and his presidency and who do not begin to comprehend how dangerous he is and how in love the GOP is with its power. It's the latter that, unchecked, is destroying our country. Trump is merely a symptom of that.
If the Democrats win it's not just Trump's tax returns that need to be examined. His daughter and son-in-law's tax returns ought to be subpoenaed. The relationship of Trump's campaign people with the Russians needs to be investigated. Trump's business holdings must be examined. Then we need to learn what the GOP knew and when they knew it and why they have enabled it and how much danger their actions have caused us.
What we are living through is Watergate II and once again the GOP is in the cross hairs.
346
There are more of us than there are of them. Truth is truth. We shall overcome, soon.
30
@hen3ry Too many Americans get their information on Fox News. There are two diametrically opposed narratives in the country about the same events - and that's scarier than Trump's tweets.
6
@hen3ry I don’t buy it for a second; there are more of us than them. That’s not a pipe dream it’s a fact. Now is the time to register to vote and then do it in Nov.
1
“You’re not going to find out whether this president put the United States in jeopardy because of his financial dealings unless you get his tax returns."
That notion assumes that he and his tax accountant flunkies would *never dream* of supplying phony information to the IRS. Yes, it's quite possible we'll learn some things from his tax forms that Mueller, I'm sure, has already found interesting, and I want to see them released. But the smoking guns are far more likely to be found in banking records and elsewhere. Nonetheless, every rock must be turned over.
But for you and me, it all starts with voting-- every last one of us, no matter what. If Russia interferes again, and especially if it's even more aggressive than it was two years ago, we'll need to overcome this cheating by means of overwhelming numbers at the polls.
524
@Sixofone
Yes, critically important point about his taxes! Why do people keep thinking they will reveal all?
If anyone doesn’t think he is cheating - in every way possible, and to the extent possible - they aren’t paying attention.
"The majority of voters want a check on this administration, but the Republican Party doesn’t care; it’s beholden to a minority that delights in the helplessness of fellow citizens."
I'll say. Just tonight I heard that a member of the administration, asked about the status of the 503 remaining kids Team Trump cavalierly orphaned, just assumed that nobody would care. In the meantime, the ACLU of Texas is leading the charge to reunite families.
Seriously?
Michelle Goldberg, one of your very first columns was called, "The Tyranny of the Minority."
Yes, thanks to gerrymandering and solid red state wins in rural areas where the total population doesn't even come come close to one borough in Manhattan, that's what it is.
One party rule is the antithesis of democracy. That's what you effectively have in totalitarian states (you can have any candidate you like providing it's VP).
So, yes, let's have the end of impunity with a Democratic house, but first, let's get a win in our column.
What scares me about all these articles on "to impeach or not impeach" etc. is that the right will gin up their base, and complacent democrats will stay home.
If you haven't gotten over the shock of November 9, 2016, for God's sake, get to the polls this year.
608
When Democrats retook the House in 2006, Nancy Pelosi summarily announced that "impeachment is off the table," despite mounting evidence that the nation was taken to war under false pretenses and of ongoing war crimes by the Bush administration. When Barack Obama won the presidency two years later, he wanted to "look forward, not back." In each case, I said at the time that if the nation failed to come to terms with what was done in its name during the Bush administration (i.e., torture, extraordinary rendition, and the like), we would remain mired in that muck for years to come. I was right. Ten years later, no one has been held accountable (save for a handful of low-level soldiers), and we have a President who has all but announced his intention to do some of the very same things.
I fear the same thing happening with regard to the misdeeds of the present administration. If no one is held accountable, those misdeeds will become a "new normal," which people complacently accept.
509
@Mark Kessinger, RIGHT! And it doesn't matter whether "people" accept this new normal, because they don't get to decide. The bosses take care of each other, except when it's Republicans deciding about Democrats.
8
@Mark Kessinger
Absolutely correct ...
The failure of the Democrats in both 2006 and then 2012 to hold the RPBs responsible for the crimes they committed in Iraq and on Wall Street gave the latter a -- sadly, justified -- sense they could do whatever they wanted, with nothing to fear politically from the Democrats ...
While it is important for the Democrats to do something about the substantive economic and social problems their fear of the RPBs have made possible, it is also crucial to do something about the procedural disaster that has become American "democracy".
Unfortunately, the examples Michelle cites notwithstanding, there is little to indicate the Dems have any kind of program for addressing, let alone fixing, the problems of EITHER the society or polity.
As you correctly say, their failure to take appropriate action v-a-v the RPBs after the 2006 and 2012 elections will now come back to haunt them -- facing massive economic and political problems for which they have no visible comprehensive solutions.
4
@Mark Kessinger I could not agree more. It was disheartening when Obama "we look forward not backward" refused to bring the war criminals of the Cheney junta to justice or even speak of their crimes, with Democrats in step behind him as if they wanted to hold that hedge card in case they, too could get their hands in the cookie jar once it started to fill again. I feared that by refusing justice against the Cheney mob, the Democrats tacitly empowered far worse criminal conduct among republicans in the future. And, voila.
3
If the Democrats obtain majority status in the House with success in the midterms, I expect to see a frantic Trump Cabinet exodus with the “worst of the worst” fleeing Washington in hasty retreat, particularly Mnuchin, DeVos, Ross, Zinke, and Mulvaney, before the Congressional subpoenas start copiously flowing. The further exposure of Trump Executive Branch incompetence, self-dealing, lying, and corruption, will only undergird the legitimate actions of the Mueller Investigation .
624
@John Grillo - Can't they be indicted even after they leave?
5
@Len Charlap Yes, they can and will be. With Mueller on the job, we can be certain that he knows all about the statute of limitations and will make sure that he gets all the trump organized crime family and associates.
@John Grillo
Be aware that Trump's net worth went down this year and he will use that as proof of his [dis]honesty.
Without control of the House, all is lost, truly and forever. 70% is re-assuring, but with voter suppression and the possibility of hacking machines that issue no paper trail, I will be worried until the very moment that the announcement is made that Democrats have taken control. And if that doesn't come, I can't even imagine the despair that I'll share with millions of my compatriots who actually care about the country. Vote, like your life depends on it, because it does.
1044
@Richard Luettgen, with your worldly experience, you know the Republican party will throw you under the bus whenever it may happen to suit them. So, make sure they keep the power to do so.
6
@steve Early after polls closed in the East, the polsters and NYT had HRC at over 90% chance of winning the Presidency. Between gerrymandering, Republican efforts to shut down polling places, intimidation and removal of voters from the rolls, and who knows what kind of computer tricks, I don't trust the system at all any more. We have to vote in such overwhelming numbers that we can overcome these problems. Then we need to pass laws and create systems that protect the will of the majority. This should likely include the elimination of the electoral college.
6
@steve
"WITHOUT CONTROL OF THE HOUSE, ALL IS LOST, TRULY AND FOREVER".
1
This presents an ideal opportunity to run Trump through the ringer and expose him for the scoundrel he is. But don't impeach him. Cripple him politically. Trump owns the Republican party. They love him. He will easily win his party's nomination in 2020. Make him into such damaged goods which will guarantee many down ballot wins for the Democrats. Tie them all to Trump, the unindicted co conspirator, ten times over.
This would be a political jujitsu strategy to use Trump's crimes against him, not to impeach, but to gain control of both houses and the presidency.
The temptation to impeach is powerful, but it must be resisted. This isn't a battle, it's a war. The Democrats do not need to win the impeachment battle, but do need to win the war. Besides, the last thing we need is Mike Pence sitting behind the big desk.
This way we can use Trump's super inflated ego against him. Let him drag down the rest of the GOP with him. His subjects will vote for him no matter what crimes he has committed. This war will be won in the suburbs and surrounding exurbia.
Show the people that Democrats can govern. Pull together. Stop with the hopeless ultra ideological passions. Forget Jill Stein and other fringe candidates. In a war, sometimes you have to bend your desires to a more realistic outcome. It's called winning.
Show some restraint and play long ball. Use Trump against them. Turn him into the biggest political liability of the modern era.
1332
@Bruce Rozenblit.... 'hopeless, ideological passions'? I bet you have good health insurance. MIllions still don't in America the Beautiful.
The problem here is how 'fringe' candidates are defined in a distorted way. Many ideas considered left wing now in terms of govt action on behalf of citizens, were once more centrist in our past----FDR/LBJ, and more.
Many left fringe ideas here are actually centrist now in other western democracies. Health care for example, is centrist abroad, but it takes a left wing 'socialist' to push it here.
Our main media make sure they don't go too far left, even as they write humanitarian columns bashing GOP/Trump. But they never explain how dozens of countries fund affordable health care, that ACA still doesn't do.
New candidates are now emerging, and the older generation will be prejudiced against them. The problem is that compared to atrocious Trump, almost anyone looks better. Thus our standards can stay pretty mediocre, while we're relieved to dump Trump. The mega donors fo our elections will encourage this.
4
@Bruce Rozenblit
But don't impeach him. Cripple him politically. … Make him into such damaged goods which will guarantee many down ballot wins for the Democrats.
EXACTLY! Strategic thinking. That's what we need. Tons of PUBLIC investigations to expose the rats in Trump's cabinet and all those tied to dirty Russian money from Josh Bolton to Eric Prince.
28
@Bruce Rozenblit
I vehemently disagree with this. I fully believe that the probability of stump being only a minor criminal is very low. If we, as a country, allow a treasonous, morally corrupted, major white collar criminal escape justice than nothing has really changed. Haven't you read about the moral, criminal decay that has taken hold of the highest offices of the business and financial institutions in this country? If we cannot find the strength to hold the criminal, tax evading, financial corruption that has caused the greatest wealth inequality in this country in a century to account, then what chance do we have of correcting the political crimes that have been committed. The corruption of this country is from the top, and they must all be held accountable. It will be a bottom up will to end it that is required. The hope for the future is going to come from those that reject the current models of politics and power and rely on the 80% to sacrifice more financially, even though they are the least who can afford it, to wrest power from the 20% who own all the wealth. It was the impoverished workers who sacrificed blood and treasure that made the unions that forced the robber barons to respect the rights of labor for a fair share of the profits of their labor, they didn't give it to them willingly, or from a morally righteous awakening. We must not also ignore that there is a global cabal of immensely wealthy individuals actively corrupting governments world wide.
4
If Democrats take the House, they should be careful to avoid arousing the ire of Americans by focusing solely on Trump and his travesties, substantial though the temptation and demands to do may be.
Righting the policy wrongs of this administration will be more important than settling scores with a gutter-level politician like Trump, who is more fully capable of motivating voters than Democrats would like to admit. Neutralizing Trump and the Republican Congress from a policy perspective is challenge enough, but likely doable. Americans appear increasingly ready for an administration and Congress that truly address the needs of average Americans instead of pretending to do so while feathering the nests of corporations and the wealthy.
Left to his own devices with respect to culture and character issues, Trump should be more than capable of generating a sufficient amount of fatigue among a majority of voters. Getting them to actually BE voters and gaining control of Congress is of far greater importance than settling scores once they do.
14
The Constitution requires the Senate must have a majority of its members (51) for a quorum to conduct business.
Without John McCain, the GOP only has 50.
If all 49 Democrats refuse to participate in roll call, the Senate can block Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court.
It may be a mute point but it's worth a shot; McCain's final tribute and revenge.
Democratic leadership promised to go "all out" so let's see if they really do.
Missing roll call could be the gutless way for Republicans to honor John McCain.
And the three floundering quivery Democrats, could participate by saying that they must stand with their party.
12
@M Blakeslee McCain voted to confirm Gorsuch, and would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh. McCain's replacement will be appointed next week, folloing his funeral and before the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings begin. Even if the Democrats re-take the House, the entire Federal judiciary will be re-made before Trump or Pence leave office on January 20, 2021.
4
It is apparent to anyone paying attention that Republicans tacitly admit they are not a majority party with their dogged voter suppression tactics and gerrymandering. It is up too the rest of us also known as the majority to get out and do one thing vote every Republican out of office this November!
16
Like several other comment contributors herein, I'm looking at November with considerable trepidation. Trump has never been crazier or more desperate or more poisonous (witness, for example, the truly awful McCain flagpole flap) and his model is being gobbled up by the GOP rank and file - trickle down shamelessness in extremis. In my district, the NY 19th, for example, the Republican incumbent, a demonstrably gutless Milquetoast if there ever was one, is running not-too-subtle dog whistle ads (essentially, "he's not one of us") on late night local TV, using a "concerned citizens" group -or some such nonsense- as cover. I can see how this would resonate in this gerrymandered, somewhat "backwoods" (that not said disparagingly-it's lovely) district. And then you have a lout like Duncan Hunter, carousing madly, overdrawn and "ratting" on his wife to save his own skin, apparently pretty much a shoo-in come November. I mumble to myself, "how can this be?" I think my trepidation is not unreasonable, given the country's track record of insensitivity to in-your-face lies and corruption, the rabidity of the Trump/GOP true believer cult and the built-in distortions of the electoral map. All that said, I'm voting - I wish it could be early and often.
12
"Subpoena power" needs to be one of the Democrats'/opposition's rallying cries for November. I am literally salivating at the thought of exercising actual oversight over this wretched administration. Put aside the talk of impeachment, which wouldn't go anywhere in the Senate, absent clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing from Trump - it is all about subpoena power!
12
"But the Republican Party doesn’t care; it’s beholden to a minority that delights in the helplessness of fellow citizens."
That's it in a nutshell.
Let's give back the power to the people in November.
It's time we return to care and concern for the least of our fellow Americans.
Get the homeless veterans off the street. Health care for all. Free education and foregive student loans as we have so often in the past.
Vote the Reublicans out of office and chase the warlock out of the whitehouse for good.
16
"Democrats who are likely to head key committees say they aren’t planning revenge; it’s important to them to show that they can govern."
It's hard to believe that an adult like yourself would fall for this Democratic lie, Ms. Goldberg.
5
Right. They are absolutely going to hash Trump and his idiotic policies and criminal behavior, as they should.
3
@mpound actually, Democrats do not want revenge! We want justice, we want to protect the environment, we want to right the wrongs Donald has done with executive orders. We do not want to impeach, we want the Investigation to bring forth its evidence and have....Donald resign in disgrace!
1
Democrats don't seem to be running a national campaign around impeaching the so called president and that is as it should be. It is bread and butter issues that motivated the minority of voters who put t rump over the top in 2016 and it is bread and butter issues that democrats seem to be running on.
But it was also corruption that put the so called man in the White House to the gullible voters who naively bought his lies. (There is nothing that can be done about the bigots and haters who voted for him. Sad)
When democrats take the House (and I hope the Senate) the investigations will begin. The dismantling of gerrymandering will begin. And when the crimes of this White House and the crime family temporarily ensconced it are exposed, along with the culpability of the republican party I pray the republican party will be the minority, crotchety old man, party it deserves to become.
They are traitors to our democracy.
19
RECKONING IN 2018!
8
I shall tell what will happen. Nothing.
The committee hearings will resolve nothing and will make the democrats look like a party that is unfit to govern.
Lois Lerner, Sally Yates, and Peter Strok have shown us that you don't really have to answer any questions that you don't want to. The Republicans will play the same game.
It will make for interesting television and nothing more. As you can see, the democrats are already backing away from impeachment because they know it will cost them dearly with the grown ups in the country.
1
Trump is demoralizing the country,, in both ways.
Honest people who play by the rules are discouraged.
What is the point of even having rules, when the bully, the liar, the cheater always wins, even the Presidency?
And so goes the morality of the country, more greed, more theft, more cheating, more infidelity, more porn.
Trump has demoralized the country, in both ways.
13
I'm curious if Trump has the authority to suspend the election. I wouldn't put it past him to try. Especially if his financial records show money laundering and tax evasion, like everyone with whom he associates. Could be Manafort's cellie.
6
How will we react to Trump when his treason is shown by the evidence?
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
7
People the Algorithm is VOTE then Subpoena we MUST get out and vote in November to cut out the cancer in the White House.
6
Where is the member of the Veterans Committee, the Honorable Bernie Sanders, who constantly brags about his great service to veterans, in this outrage over the Mar-a-Lago meetings of the boys? To all who think he's the greatest, let's remember he's one of the big reasons Hillary lost. He proudly boasts of his independence, yet rides on the coattails of the ragged Democratic Party. For all the pure of heart, please take a look at this guy. And remember who is in the "White" House. Strap on your big boy and girl shoes and get out and vote for a Democrat. Git!
13
There is no danger of starting a Democrat version of the Benghazi fiasco, because unlike Benghazi, there are actually crimes to be investigated… many of them. There won’t be time to pick again and again and again at a single dry morsel of gristle on a single bone. Trump and his whole cartel have ample meaty skeletons in their closets… some involving Trump directly as well as some that were opportunistic crimes, knowing the Trump administration wouldn’t care.
16
It is not the GOP that is hopelessly incompetent - it is Team Trump. It is not the GOP that insists on the dismantling of so many things that do not need it - at least almost never until this moment in time. Nobody I met has told me he thought for-profit colleges were getting a raw deal, that black people were over-represented at the polls, or that regulations on clean air was destroying democracy and capitalism. What kind of idiot would try selling that bill of goods?
1
@max buda Sorry max but the GOP in the House are enablers of these acts.
They are more to blame, as Trump has always acted like this but the House abdicated their role as a check on the abuses of power by the President.
13
@max buda Huh? That's exactly who the GOP are.
2
A picture can tell the whole story and when you look at this picture of Donald Trump, sitting there at his desk, arms crossed with one sheet of paper, and a sour look of his face, it shows someone completely lost and in over his head.
7
Great piece, and the Democrats are on the right track. This should be about restoring American norms, institutions and values... not sinking low and getting into the slime with the charlatan-in-chief.
4
Michelle, from your mouth to God’s ears.
4
This photo says it all . . . just a little boy in a chair that's obviously way too big for him . . .
8
Are trump’s perpetually crossed arms intended to convey stubbornness or is he practicing comfort positions for the straightjacket?
11
@Anderson O’Mealy
Straightjacket, of course.
1
“One thing I’m not looking for is retribution.”—Elijah Cummings
Har. Har. Har.
2
Laugh now, conservative Trump apologists. When your boy is doing hard time truth will have the last laugh.
1
Gotta vote for anything to happen!
3
They can give Trump a good case of subpoenas envy, is what they can do.
3
If and when these hearings happen, it is crucial for the Dems to call the GOP members of congress to explain this memo. They need to ask why they did not run an investigation into any of these attacks on our democracy? Start with Nunes and Cornryn and then hit hard at McConnell and Paul.
16
I've been watching, wondering and calling my congresspersons for the last 18 months asking why we have stepped into this surreal atmosphere of cronyism, unseemly behavior, criminality and non-accountability. Never has there been such a complete breakdown and failure of our government and of the people we elected to represent us. And I can only explain it as a kind of cult where loyalty to the Leader and "going along to get along" are the prevailing principles here. Every person in our government is guilty, and every Trump supporter. Do they not see the road they have put us on, or is this what they actually wanted?
6
Ms. Goldberg is one of the most unhinged of all the leftist pundits and talking heads. Her recent appearance on MSNBC was embarrassing.
This tome is yet another leftist wish list. Ain’t gonna happen.
Trump is your president Ms. Goldberg. Deal with it.
3
@Cjmesq0
Her article seemed quite well-reasoned to me. Particularly compared to Trump's incoherent utterances. Some of the right-wingers at Charlottesville were fine people? Which ones?.
10
Kool-Aid is so tasty and sweet, but it's only empty calories, like Trump is empty headed and his party are empty suits with a flag pins holding them up. Better fill up on some real nourishment for the long haul of Trump's demise.
1
Democrats and Republicans are simply two sides of the same worn out coin. We better wake up as these guys are taking us down the tubes.
Electing women to office is a good start as they are much more likely to dissassociate themselves from the tired old men who are running the show these days. We aren't going to pay but our kids sure will.
VOTE 11/6/18
4
@Ian MacFarlane Okay, but if you do not vote for Democrats in November you are effectively helping Trump and the GOP retain a majority. Don't waste your vote in November - VOTE for Democrats.
8
No. No. No. No. No.
Democrats and Republicans are not the same side of the coin.
2
Two sides of the same coin is the false equivalency the gave us Trump. It's what the GOP and conservative propagandists want you to think. Only voting for Democrats can move us away from this travesty of failed governance. Republican women are still Republicans. Look at what Republican women, like Susan Collins, have given us - the biggest tax heist for the 1% in history. And now they're poised to give us a second illegitimate Supreme Court judge who will decimate women's rights, because they are NOT women, they are Republicans. Jill Stein arguably diverted enough Democratic votes to get Trump elected. If there is not a "D" next to the name a vote for her or him is a vote for Trump and the GOP.
3
Yes, there are Democrats of principle; like Adam Schiff and Brad Sherman of California, and perhaps a few others. But Barak Obama is a man of principle and integrity and he struggled to prevail over his Republican tormentors. I'm afraid that investigations and hearings will give the pro-fascist Republican party a good chance to regroup. Only the rule of law will work. Only putting Trump, his family, and every corrupt official in prison will save this country.
8
You may be right, you may be wrong, but it just may be a lunatic those Democrats who don’t vote in November are looking for. With kudos to Billy Joel.
2
Democrats have to not only expose and roll back the criminality, they need to get a mandate to change the rules of the game, which now largely favor an ethically bankrupt GOP and a minority of reactionary white voters. We wouldn't be living this nightmare if we had a real democracy. Maybe it's time we got back to basics.
7
It's stunning that the Republicans themselves haven't been investigating - these are real crimes!
They had no problem wasting years and millions upon millions of dollars on Whitewater, Monica and Benghazi, yet when confronted with actual wrongdoing the GOP is nowhere to be found.
Worse, they're covering up for the criminals!
What the heck?
5
Our country cannot long tolerate a toothless Congress. The framers' design had three branches of government for a very good reason. A unitary executive who packs the SCOTUS and co-opts the Congress is perhaps the most dangerous path for our country to take.
When--and please let it be when and not if--the Democrats retake the House, the toothless Congress will get a full set of dental implants and emulate the henchmen Jaws (Richard Kiel) of 1979's Moonraker.
The rape of our country must be stopped.
4
This picture of Not-My-POTUS...such a defensive pose...keep the pressure on the GOP Administration
1
“... whether the Russians were laundering money through the Trump Organization...”
LOL. We ALL KNOW that DJ Trump has been running a laundromat for the Russian mafia for decades. The question is: are we going to let him continue to get away with it?
Maybe we'll get an answer to who “really” murdered Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman while we’re at it?
5
“If democrats take the house ... FiveThirtyEight ...”
You mean the same site that predicted HRC’s victory in 2016?
Oh, OK.
3
First of all, to clarify he easily gets consent to "grab them by the you know what" because he's rich and famous. He never said anything about doing it without consent. He said, "they LET you!" Just like a leftist to misinterpret the way they want. I like how you temper your libel knowing full well that he would sue you for libel if you said he bragged about assault. He's not a terrible man, and Democrats will pay the price at the polls for constantly treating him like one. We won't go easy on any of your candidates. The time when Republicans were more civil than the left is over, and the left has never been civil. About the hotels, are you criticizing him because he was a successful businessman? Sounds just like a leftist. And what helplessness? The helplessness of being governed by a white man, your mortal enemy? The only thing that is "not normal" is the pathetic response from the left to his booming economy and winning. Impeach him or investigate him at your own peril and seats. I encourage you to do so.
1
Then why does your party do everything in its power to suppress the vote if you're so confident of all the resounding successes of the Dear Leader?
9
As for his hotels, Emoluments Man violates the Constitution every day, without a whimper from " patriotic" Republicans. If his business is so legit, why did he hide his tax returns? Must be a leftist plot, just like global warming and voter suppression, no? Deep state or deep do-do? Trump and conservatives are wallowing around in the latter. They will drown in it. Conservatives are lying mainly to themselves, but are too blind to know it.
2
Oh, please PJ. To make excuses for Trump's lechery is about as low as a conservative can go, and that's very low. He's a man who said he'd hit on his daughter if he could. I'm sure you felt the same way about Bill Clinton's consensual affairs, not at all like every other hypocritical conservative in history. Right. Sure you did. See if you can still defend Trump the Traitor when his dealings with the Russians are revealed. Will you change your off-key tune then or will you ignore reality and double down on lies and hypocrisy? The author and I are betting that every Trump apologist will double down on the lies, which is why every Republican needs to be voted out in November.
3
Myself, you, and pretty much the entire enlightened part of the country has attempted to dissect the man and his mission. His mission is to enrich himself and his family and be surrounded by 20 "virgins". The man is a fraud. He is illegitimate. He borders on treason. Not much more to dissect.
4
You have presented such a case that I must work harder to ensure the Dems. Ever again regain power. Such a case of myopic self interest to the left wing machine. I’m glad I’ve lived to enjoy some small sense of what adults do when they have the ability. I’m not talking about all the titillation you present but real long term help for the middle class - the only group without heretofore any one in the swamp to care. Keep on with your drivel. Schiff in charge of anything is cause for hilliarty.
1
Trump in charge of anything is cause for disaster.
1
I think Brownley made a mistake calling the three cronies who have hijacked Veterans Affairs "billionaire boys club" members. It's much more insulting to call them "Mar-a-Lago members."
Mark my words, generations from now people are going to call any cesspool of corruption, vile, vice, treason, and dishonesty a "Mar-a-Lago." Calling someone a "Mar-a-Lago member" is a killer insult.
4
Trump’s inhumanity, amorality, greed and gross incompetence, his disdain for the American people and the rule of law - this is Donald Trump through and through. He is the face of the Republican Party
The Republican leadership knew that Trump had a lifelong history of racism, fraud, ignorance and incompetence. They knew of his reputation as a sexual predator. Despite every powerful glaring sign that Trump would wreak havoc on our government and destroy our reputation around the world, the Republican Party leadership and their billionaire bosses, the Kochs, Mercers, Adelsons, Wynns, etc., decided to back Trump.
The Republican hypocrites backed Trump because Birther Trump appealed to the racist base that they themselves built up through eight years of blatant GOP promotion of hatred for Obama. The racist MAGA hat crowd screamed for Trump. The Republican ruling oligarchy went along with the worst candidate to ever run for high office and brought the scourge of Donald Trump on our land through a corrupted electoral process designed and executed with ultra-right wing funding. They gratefully took advantage of Russian election interference on behalf of Trump. The Republican Congress shuns their oath of office and openly betrays the American people with every passing day.
We are now at a crossroad in US history. Voters either rise up in 2018 and throw Trump and his Republican lackeys out of our government or there will be no return.
392
@jefflz Brilliantly stated and 100% accurate. The tyranny of the oligarchy is so transparent, so venal, so corrupt and so destructive there may never again be an America formerly known as "The Land of the Free".
1
@jefflz
Great summary! I agree with all you’ve said!
@jefflz
The split started when the Republicans adopted the Southern Strategy and Ronald Reagan made up red herrings like the welfare queen.
The democrats need to make sure that they mete out justice and not vengeance or they run the risk of exacerbating the polarization that is ruining our country. They need to solve problems not flail at symptoms. If they can do something that makes congressional districts more representative of the population (perhaps by requiring the simplest geometrical shape?) they should give us representatives, regardless of party, who will have a constituency that will allow them to work across the aisle.
3
More Michelle Goldberg fantasies. Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we? All Democrats should be focused on right now is getting people out to vote. Republicans are very, very good at this. We need this new crop of candidates to get deep into communities and get out the vote. Nothing else should matter right now.
6
@Clint
"All Democrats should be focused on right now is getting people out to vote."
Shouldn't be difficult. Trump just wrote off the traditionally conservative veterans' vote this week by indulging a petty vendetta against a dead war hero.
2
@Charlesbalpha Ah, but it has been so very difficult for so very long, regardless of who is in the White House. Texas, the second largest states in the Union, has the 47th lowest voter turnout among the states. Texas would overwhelmingly flip to Blue if people would just vote. Let's hope this year is different.
Michelle, you're fantasizing. The Democratic Party doesn't have the guts God gave a chicken. The Trump Administration will ignore any subpoenaes. To hold a Trumpista in contempt of Congress requires the vote of the Senate as well as the House. Do you really believe there will be enough Republican votes in the Senate to vote a contempt finding?
2
Tax Returns for DJT and his family (in the personal and mafia sense) -- and the sooner the better.
8
Register to vote, and then vote, no matter what
18
Good luck with those subpoenas...just remember that investigations born out of political retribution tend to blow up in the investigators’ faces. That and the American public pretty much expects politicians to be money grubbing leeches. Next story: sun rises in east.
2
VOTE DEMOCRATIC and save our country.
13
One can only hope and pray. And if they get supeona power they need to be relentless.
5
Oh, Michelle. You're talking about Congress as if it's a separate and co-equal branch of the government with important duties that are its constitutional mandate.
How nostalgic.
14
Trump looks awfully small in the picture accompanying this column. Small and petulant. He is a microbe compared with others who have sat at the big desk. Even Bush 43 had a heart.
6
I am reminded of the story about Ben Franklin and the Braddock/Washington campaign against Fort Duquesne in the French and Indian War. As Braddock marched off the city fathers came to Franklin for a donation for the anticipated victory celebration. Franklin advised that there would be plenty of time to raise funds after the victory. Braddock's army was destroyed and Washington's reputation was destroyed for ambushing and killing French parlez negotiators.
I have been out canvassing for three weeks for the Democrats. The Democrats have a lot of work to do.
19
If, to capture the House in Nov. a 70% guesstimate of winning is the best figure the Democrats have to offer, at this point in time, they are just whistling past the cemetery. Their short memory is showing again......percentages tighten as elections near.
Democrats must do better.
3
The press (inclusive of pundits) accomplishes nothing when it glosses over (using prim and proper language) to describe this President, his actions and his words/tweets.
He lies (over 4000 confirmed now and counting)
He breaks the law.(the Emoluments clause of the Constitution)
He has declared on tape to SEXUALLY ASSAULTING multiple women - Not just ''grabbing them by you know what''
One of the many reasons this administration even exists is due to the press being dainty and dancing around the truth.
Call it like it is.
12
Normal does not include Donald Trump.
7
Shame upon shame sits upon the more moderate Congressional Republicans. We know where Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes and the Free- Passes- for -Trump Caucus stands. We've watched them conspire with Trump and take actions to undermine the Mueller investigation, as well as the DOJ and the FBI. And they are not done yet. They'll try to kill off Bruce Ohr next - at Trump's command.
But what about public servants like my own Republican Senator, Todd Young, and my Republican Representative, Susan Brooks? What about reasonable, moderate, allegedly Christian Republicans throughout the country who remain silent over every major Trump offense against our democratic norms? All they do is compartmentalize and keep quiet.
They might sign a petition here and there about Trump's revocation of Brennan;s security clearance, and his threat to revoke others who criticize him , but that is it. They do not stand up. They are keeping a low and cowardly profile because nothing in the world is more important to them than their jobs. They believe the world could not continue if they lost their jobs. Even the few more outspoken Republicans -Corker, Flake, and Sasse - are not forceful or consistent enough. No Republican will take a GENUINE risk with his or her career by speaking truth to Trump's violations of our Constitution and our democratic and civil norms.
Don't ever have the gall to claim Lincoln for your party again,
Republicans.
14
It sad to watch from across the Atlantic Ocean the present situation in the United States. On one hand your President says one thing one day and then say something completely different the next. He is very difficult to make out and I find it difficult to believe that those with a different opinion are liars.
What a pity such a great nation is endowed with such a variety of third rate politicians. His defeated Democratic opponent in 2016 , Mrs Clinton carried an equally amount of baggage.
It seems today that politics is attracting the types of people that most of us would not want to associate with at any costs.
3
And as always, a frightened, friendless failure crosses his arms and pouts. He does it in every picture.
I can't wait until the day when I don't have to stomach the words 'President' and 'Trump' together in the same sentence. Enough of this soulless clown.
33
It's hard for me to read this. I don't want to get my hopes up. A 70% chance is pretty good, but I don't underestimate the ability of Russia to get involved in swaying the election, or some other weird force, despite all the work we are putting into registering and educating voters and trying to get the vote out. Watching Hillary lose by just a few percentage points in key states was horrifying, and I fear it was not the last election night we will see the results diverge from what was widely expected.
16
maggie--We have to move forward, with hope, while continuing to work had, talk to people keep the conversation going, sticking with policy intentions, instead of being dragged into a match of insults. Let the Republicans do that. It what they're good at. That, and stealing.
2
"The majority of voters want a check on this administration, but the Republican Party doesn’t care; it’s beholden to a minority that delights in the helplessness of fellow citizens." Thank you for identifying the precise issue that is at the root of the current dystopia. It is the foundation of the constant psychological torture every American is experiencing at the hands of this group of malfeasants, not to mention the very real suffering of many of our citizens - veterans, families of political asylum seekers, students, union members, the list goes on and on. Please everyone - vote in 2018 as though your life and well-being depended on it. Because it does.
15
Vis a vis the polls predicting a Democratic win in November: are these the same poll takers who predicted HRC had a 90% of winning 1 day before the election?
One thing we will need to consider in rewriting our laws after this is over is how easy it would've been for someone who was truly smart and subtle to corrupt and subvert this nation.
We have benefited from Trump's declining mental capacity, his inability to follow a subtle strategy, and need to blurt things out.
Someone less foolish would really be a problem.
3
@Tokyo Tea
I've always suspected that Trump is the puppet of a much more intelligent operator who stays out of sight. He's too stupid to have succeeded at some of the things he's done. For example, nobody else seems to have realized that there was a lot of pent-up resentment in "flyover" states that the Republicans could tap into. Certainly the pollsters before the 2016 election didn't think of it, even though evaluating public opinion is their job.
The Republican Part is "beholden to a minority that delights in the helplessness of fellow citizens."
That is why I am not able to forgive the Trump supporters and enablers.
They are unpatriotic jerks. Trump's cow-towing to Putin, Trump's refusal to acknowledge Russia's ongoing attacks on our democratic elections, and Trump's own attacks on our law enforcement and intelligence institutions flirt with treason if not constituting outright treason.
And the Trump supporters don't care. They don't care about America, the First Amendment, the institutions that keep us sake, or our democratic elections.
How can anyone stand to call themselves a Republican?
12
The photograph with this article is hilarious !
1
The Constitution of our divided limited power constitutional republic of united states where the people are sovereign does not mention Democrats nor Republicans. But the Federalist Papers decry and warn about the dangers of factionalism aka partisan politics as an endemic enduring threat to the survival of their republic.
Moreover, the Founding Fathers never contemplated anyone other than white Anglo-Saxon Protestant men who owned property like themselves ever having the right to directly vote for and elect any official other than their Representative to the lower House of the Article I legislative branch.
Nor did the Founders ever think that a rogue autocratic ignorant immoral immature incompetent intemperate Article II executive branch POTUS like Donald John Trump, Sr. would ever be elected by the votes of 63 million Americans along with the malign selective assistance of Julian Assange, James Comey, Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin.
3
November can’t come soon enough!
4
Vote. Vote. Vote. Register voters. Help them get to the polls or file an absentee ballot. Vote yourself. Elections cannot be won if people are too apathetic to show up, so let's do everything in our power to take back our legislature from the cowards, mendicants, and amoral toads to the 1% who have taken it for themselves. We have the power - let's use it. VOTE.
7
Let me get this straight. When the Democrats take control of the House, they will subpoena Trumps tax returns.
What if he blows them off, like Rosenstein blows off congress?
“You’re not going to find out whether this president put the United States in jeopardy because of his financial dealings unless you get his tax returns,” said Bill Pascrell,..."
Wait, there is proof Trump colluded with the Russians. We just have to give Mueller time to finish his work and present the evidence. Why do we need his tax returns?
And, won't it take a long time to sort through all of them? And the Democrats will still find time to govern. And fix health care. And tax the rich. And re-negotiate the Free Trade agreements. Blah, blah, blah.
1
He looks just like my granddaughter when she was three. She would stand, pout, look at us and say no. It is pitiful that we have a toddler in the WH but we already know that.
6
The passing of McCain and Trump's belligerent attitude towards him through the raising of the flag and refusing to celebrate the life of a dedicated man should undo Trump's leadership. Let's hope so.
3
Trump is such a child. Just look at that picture of him. There is something wrong with this president.
3
The photo speaks volumes about the president. I suspect that the single piece of paper on his desk contains today’s itinerary, consisting mainly of his food menu. He looks unhappy. No golf scheduled?
4
Well voters, it comes down to this. Allow the incompetent and corrupt trump administration to dow hatever it please with no oversight or VOTE BLue in November and start turning over the rocks the republicans refuse to move. This corruption must end now.
5
Well, there does seem to be a cancer on this presidency--and many other apt comparisons to the Nixon era...
Especially when young John Dean testified: Trump's Cohen holds many cards...and testified Trump pushed him into criminal acts. Many staffers guilty.
Comey's a factor. Sessions. Flynn. Rudy G's radical pronouncements. Busy Mueller with his indictments. Russian conspirators: Shake a tree and ten Russians always fall out. Russian military intelligence. Hackers. Hush money. Meetings in towers.
Campaign finance. Greedy or incompetent cabinet chiefs. Worried staffers already bailing. A heck of a lot of guilty people in the Trump orbit. The president's own tendency to self-indict...
2
Michelle Goldberg is the best writer at the Times. She almost always clarifies with insight what other writers simply blow on about.
1
As is apparent in his body language in the photo, the only person he is capable of hugging is himself.
5
What really annoys me as a Canadian besides trump's attempt to bully Canada, is the assertion, proclaimed in various ways, that the USA has the world's most pure democracy. Krugman reiterated this today in this issue...digital...of the NYT. This is patent garbage...the kind that clogs plumbing as in another article. British style parliamentary democracy which goes back to 1066 is much more a true democracy. Under the Westminster style of government trump and friends would be long gone. And when by-elections...what you folks call A SPECIAL ELECTION...are held often a different party gets control of that seat.
8
Don't start counting chickens.
1
Get out and vote! Get your friends, family, everybody you ever see, get them out to vote.
6
"a minority that delights in the helplessness of fellow citizens. "
perfect. i hear their glee time after time in their comments to NYT editorials and news articles as well as letters to the editor in the local newspaper of my sparsely populated county. profound ignorance is profound ignorance engendered by the voices coming from the right wing propaganda machine.
7
Man I hope your right ..... even though I may get numb from hearing about all the laws are being flouted & broken. ..
Another great column by the Times' best.
4
What democrats can do? Nothing, like always. Didn't hold Holder when he refused to answer. Then again he one of them. All they gonna do is obstruct like they always do. They been at war with the people ever since they lost power. Will continue it until the spoiled rich get their way. Possibly even after .
It's clear that nothing will be done by Republicans to reign in this wanna-be dictator. It's party over country, plain and simple. So it's imperative that the Dems win at least the House, if not the Senate. If they don't, kiss our republic goodbye.
9
Oh MICHELLE! Your comments here brings to mind late night watching of
DEMOCRACY NOW. Just because the Dems may over take the lower chamber means nothing at all. Lots of subpoenas and investigations will go nowhere. Heck, he may even win a second term! My suggestion to you would be to have a glass of wine and relax, things aren’t as bad as they seem.
1
It’s clear from the many liberal/leftist/socialist commenters here that they know Trump will be re-elected and they are in quite a tizzy.
@Olivia Yes, Olivia, we are very worried. - the 3 million more votes Hillary received and still "lost" does present a worry alright.
4
@Pat Boice Putin...
House democrats with subpoena power will turn the Congress into just another CNN/MSNBC show.
The picture of Trump in the Oval Office says it all...arms crossed, protected by the desk, that combination sneer-smirk, and staring off into space. It is the picture of a man worried about the near future and his political survival.
Will Rogers said it best. When asked if he was a member of an organized political party, Rogers responded "No, I'm a Dimicrat." Will history repeat itself with the Democrats once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? For the sake of The Republic, as resilient as it is, let's hope that the answer is no.
1
This is going to be a question of heat management. The Democrats, if they actually do get the House, need to make their investigations slow, sober, and flawless. No camera hounding (I'm looking at Charlie Schumer and yes, he's not in the House, but that's a detail for him when there's mic in his face); no sideline commentary. Mueller is the model: deliberate, quiet, and permanent.
Defeating Trump isn't the goal. It's defeating Trumpism forever, and putting the GOP out down to the municipal level for a generation. Creating a Republican backlash only helps the GOP and damages the nation. The Democrats have to figure out one thing fast, if they have a brain in their heads: the GOP needs Trump taken down. The Republicans know they can't do it themselves. They need the Democrats to destroy Trump for them. When that's done, a rebuilt GOP can play to Trump's base, scapegoat the Democrats, inflame the rage, and steal 2020 and 2022 with a younger, smarter, craftier version of the dumb lout now sitting in the Oval Office.
Trump is a resource for the Democrats. They need to use him up wisely and slowly if they want to get maximum value from the biggest mistake the modern Republicans ever made.
295
@Next Conservatism This is one of the shrewder comments I have seen on the matter. The dems would do better to run against Trump in 2020-- his is a case for the criminal courts and that must wait for him to be out of office, and his guilt, if it is shown to be so, must be plainly and clearly demonstrated for everyone to see. The republicans need to go on to their next iteration, and not fall back on the rancid current one.
@Next Conservatism
I couldn’t have said it better myself. But I’d add in the conservatives on SCOTUS who claim independence and vote by party. They are most likely a bit unnerved by what is happening.
First, discredit anyone w the goods on you - CIA, FBI
Second, go after press
Third, side w autocrats normalizing behavior
Fourth, take out rule of law aka SCOTUS.
Maybe the most important mid-term election in this country's history. I hope the citizens rise to the occasion.
9
The only way democrats would lose is through the rigging of electronic voting devices, something that has been shown to be done... and may already have been done in previous elections. We must return to paper ballots. Our democracy must not be entrusted to proprietary algorithms operated by private corporations. Vote counting must be an open process-- as it was once far more so than today.
22
So if the Democrats flip the House we will see a real investigation into "whether the Russians were laundering money through the Trump Organization."
I'd take that bet. The missing tax returns and Trump's fear of Putin point to something. If it's not the pee tape, and if it's not proof of a conspiracy with Russia (well, more than the Trump Tower meeting emails, which does prove that), then it's money laundering with Russian oligarchs.
8
@Ann
Just curious. If Trump had been laundering Russian money, would he have told the IRS on his tax filing?
I suspect what we'll really learn is that he has been paying no taxes at all.
This picture says it all. I didn't get my way and I am going to pout. He disgraces the office every day and in every way. It is too bad that he has so many enablers in the Congress so intent on staying in office as opposed to doing their job of governing.
6
If the Democrats become the majority this November, then the Democrats need to go after the Republicans for the mess they created and for the failure to be the check against the President. Any wrongdoing by the Republicans should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The real danger to this country isn't Donald Trump but the Republicans in general. They facilitated and shielded Trump, corrupted the election with gerrymandering of districts, and with a fury have put up obstacles to all minority voters.
Republicans cannot be reasoned with, they cannnot be bargained with, and they feel no remorse for what they have done to this country.
5
Let’s hope the blue wave washes the Trumpublicans out of the House and the Democrats can begin the real cleanup to “drain the swamp.” But even if they’re successful, the Crookedile-in-Chief with his likely Trumpulican control of the Senate will continue to avoid impeachment unless Robert Mueller submits are ironclad case of criminal conspiracy between Russia and Trump himself to rig the 2016 election. That’s why The Special Counsel needs to submit his report this week before Labor Day when no such activity can occur until after the November midterm elections when it will be too late. Then Trump has made it clear he plans to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions with someone who will close down the Mueller investigation. Hurry, hurry the Constitution is under attack.
1
Y'all need to get wise - fast. If the Democrats win back the House the worst thing they could do would be what the ANC did after the end of Apartheid. And that is reconciliation. There needs to be accountability. Remember what the Republicans did to the Obama administration, and the country, in their unremitting political warfare? No, I'm not calling for a 'night of the long knives', just a legal accounting. No more Kumbaya!
5
It's not "nothing matters" ...
it's money that matters (sometimes preceded by a hedonistic grin).
1
So, yeah...the Democrats have "a 70% chance of winning the house" in November...well, that statement smacks of all those declaring Hillary winning "easily" until NOT...
Am I the only one who feels VERY uneasy about whether my vote will be changed or even count in November? Perhaps we should be talking about *that* and not how we are going to do all these fantastic, wonderful, awesome things when we *win* in November.
22
@Marty - I feel you. We're all uneasy, but I don't think the statement that we have a 70% chance of winning falls into the same category as past confidence that Hillary would win. (and we weren't actually 'all' so confident - we were uneasy then too, at least I was). The very real, but certainly not guaranteed, chance that we can take back the house in November exists because SO MANY people are unhappy with Trump&Co - including some who voted for him. It is crucial that we get ALL THOSE PEOPLE to the polls. The more people who show up and vote Democrat in the midterms, the harder it will be to somehow steal/hack or misrepresent the vote. We have to show up, and do everything we can to protect voters. We are not as naive as we were before 2016, that's got to count for something. If we don't win, as Goldberg says, we won't be able to fix anything. We. Must. Win. And if we are all determined to do that, and do the work, and insist that our voting system be protected - I believe we can do it (but no - not "easily"). There's no reason to assume we can't muster the courage, energy and tactics to protect our votes, that's just handing victory to Russia/White Nationalists/Trumpsters etc. - but you are very right in that we can't "assume" we've got this. This will not be easy. Not at all.
2
You don't have to win in November. It will make it easier.
Just indict the children.
Trump flounts not only the Constitution. Everybody sees it, it's commented on all over, and even one of those other notorious spreaders of fake news, The Economist, asks the question: "Is Trump Above The Law?"
<https://www.economist.com/printedition/2018-08-25>
1
Excellent article, and great choice of an accompanying image: a petulant would-be king frustrated by the result of his attempts to exploit his authority to line his pockets and boost his already outsized ego. Goldberg is right to point out that it would be folly, and a disservice to the country, to focus solely on either ejecting The Great Orange Nothingness or restoring the integrity and function of the Executive and Legislative branches of our Great Experiment.
3
What remains to be seen is if Democrats have the moral courage to follow through if they take back the House. Republicans have shown no shame in their use of hearings and endless investigations in a way designed to destroy Democrats. (Benghazi!!! Her eMails!!!)
What Republicans do for purely partisan purposes, can Democrats do for accountability and justice?
There will be those who will see determined attempts to get at the truth and uphold the rule of law as merely "both sides do it." There will also be those afraid to dig too deep, because America "can't handle the truth."
The reason we have Trump in the Oval Office today is because Republicans have been getting away with murder for years - while Democrats have tried to move on because cleaning up GOP messes is as much as anyone can handle.
Timidity is not a virtue. Democrats are afraid of being labeled "Angry" - but if what is going on under Trump doesn't make them angry, what will?
See Two-Party Opera's take on the Democratic quandary.
https://www.gocomics.com/two-party-opera/2018/08/24
5
If the Democrats do win and Teapot Dome his returns the kettle will whistle a shrill tax cheat. In fact, Allen Weisselberg’s immunity deal allows an open door into the scamathon. Mueller’s bloodhounds smell their prey’s tracks, Goodfellas style. Will Cabinet level defections spell the end of the Administration? “I cannot faithfully discharge my Office’s mandate given the unlawful actions of the President. I serve at the pleasure of the President and resign with my head held high.”
2
What goes around comes around. The Republicans couldn't investigate Hillary and Benghazi enough. When six committees couldn't find her at fault, they formed a seventh. Same result....much to their dismay. Yet when it came to Trump, who brought more baggage to Washington than a traveling circus, one abbreviated committee investigation, conducted so poorly it would make (Chief) Inspector Closeau look brilliant, no problems were discovered.
Be prepared for an onslaught, Congressional sycophants. You have earned what is headed your way.
12
The telltale of Republicans for me was the day when the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They climbed into busses and went to celebrate their victory, smiling, cheering, with Paul Ryan grinning from ear to ear.
Back home at the ranch were millions of Americans wondering if and how they would be able to continue their chemotherapy, pay for their muscular sclerosis medication, go to the emergency room if something happened to their pacemaker.....and on and on.
The Republicans have lost sight of representing their everyday constituents. They’re so busy taking care of their wealthy donors, they don’t even know who their neighborhood constituents are.
They’re low enough, but throwing those who need medical care under their “let’s go celebrate with selfish Donald” bus was a picture I’ll never forget.
As a healthcare provider we promise to do no harm. Republicans, it seems, have never heard the term let alone understand or abide by it. And Donald Trumph has led them their way, yes he has.
7
Republican disdain for investigations and love of corrupt power is nothing new. The GOP has acted like the mafia for a long time. The GOP believes the free market includes illegal and back door activities.
3
That picture tells it all.
An empty desk and an arrogant arms-crossed smirk. The only thing missing is the vice president standing in the background applauding like a North Korean general.
When the democrats restore government in November, Trump should be given a playpen with a swing, a slide and a sandbox and left to harmlessly while away the hours, powerless to do any more harm.
4
Dems sound so weak that they are not ready to win.
They have to put impeachment at the top.
If not, then next time we will have a President worse than Trump.
It is their Constitutional duty.
Why take the oath if you are not going to live by it?
Dems don't have to be nasty like the Republicans but they do have to be tough. They are not tough. They sound very weak.
Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are the chief conspirators. They should be indicted with Trump on the day of reckoning.
7
I don't know if its allowed but when the democrats take control they definitely need to investigate Nunes. That guy obstructs justice like nobody else.
15
Let's take back Congress in November and show the country that the Democrats are the real party of "law and order!"
Pretty simple Mr. Innocent Flag Waving good on both sides patriotic never lies control the message and fake news President.
Release your taxes.
And SHAME on any incumbent or candidate who does not support that.
Flag waving? give me a break.
3
As Paul Krugman warns in another NYT column this morning, can another Hungary or Poland be far behind while Trump and his flunkies in government and the Congress remain in power?
4
Thank you, Michelle Goldberg, for such an insightful article.
3
If ... if ... if. I read a lot, but I find little or nothing about the Democratic Party's vision for improving the quality of American voters' lives.
Maybe nothing beats a noxious cesspool. I'll vote for sure but I'm not betting the farm on a Democratic congressional victory in November.
If Trump's email are subpoenaed he may well delete half of them, acid wash the hard drives and then smash them. That apparently is not a crime.
1
The Truth is not the Truth; Alternative Facts; Witch Hunting; Fake News - these are the murmurings of a group of lost children - trying to shield themselves from the cruel outside world.
Trump only feels that he is POTUS for his 36% plus 1% - the rest of us are the enemy.
Indeed this storm will end if the House turns blue - once the Trump Tax returns show just how much Ruskie money was laundered and how much tax fraud was committed.
I eagerly await spectacle The Donald boarding Marine 1 for the trip from DC back into his special swamp in West Palm.
6
I want a congressional investigation and probable criminal charges regarding the state-sponsored child abuse in the separation of immigrants' kids from their parents. I want kids back with their parents and I want the criminals responsible for these policies to be charged and tried.
4
Let's not get ahead of ourselves wire quite yet.
3
Trouble is that trump will invade Iran, or North Korea, before the election. Bush did. That was the greatest mistake we ever made, many informed people knew it at the time, but it got the ol' "USA!" chants going for a while.
2
@Howard Clark
Actually the greatest mistake we ever made was earlier: not returning the war-declaration power to Congress after Vietnam and Watergate. The Constitution says nothing about allowing a President to start a war.
Just what is the state of the treasury given the spending of this administration? What does Putin and his cronies own in the US? How is the Russian mob impacting on America?
7
“Democrats who are likely to head key committees say they aren’t planning revenge; it’s important to them to show that they can govern.”
Unfortunately revenge has been their exclusive diet since Election Day. I would call it a “leading” disorder. They then try to cover up their addiction by insisting they care about “bread and butter” issues first—even while binging on revenge that coldest dish of all. They are fooling no one.
One wonders what Putin has on trump. One must also wonder what the trump has on Republicans - or more likely what Putin has on Republicans given their antagonism to any investigation on Russians attacking our democracy on their behalf. Like the trump organization, the Republicans have become a criminal organization too and a real threat to justice and the American way.
But isn't this the government Republicans have always wanted? This is full on Republican - ALL OF IT! They're the party of grifters and grifter wannabees - neither Forbes nor the IRS have the resources to ID all the grifters bigger than Wilbur. Look at the trillions Republicans keep giving the 0.1% for doing NOTHING! - and that the rest of us have to work hard for Scrooge-like earnings to pay for the giveaways. Even those who voted for Republicans have to pay for the giveaways to the rich.
"a minority that delights in the helplessness of fellow citizens" - if only we could limit Republican and evangelical law, rules and morals to Republican voters who keep voting for this. See how they really like it. They should be the only ones to suffer under their misguided ideology - leave the rest of us out of it.
Sorry to say that 70 percent doesn't cut it and won't overcome Republican cheating and rigging this November. Like dictators, they rule for life - avoiding investigations and accountability. The GOP ain't gonna give up power in November - or ever - lest they be investigated and held to account.
1
From her pen to God's ears.
1
More nonsense and misinformation from the sour grapes liberals.
It is not mandatory for a candidate to release his tax returns to the public. It just isn't. This is obviously a political ploy by the liberals to go digging into Trump's personal business. If there were any question of Trump violating any laws the IRS, who actually has his tax returns, would be the agency to act on any illegal irregularities in his tax filings. That's their job.
Currently there is a backlog of about 700,000 background check investigations that are delaying people's security clearances. Reform is needed. The DoD is taking over.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/06/03/pentagon...
Brennan has his clearance revoked because he was a security risk. Ask Gen. Clapper. Omarosa was fired because she was a security risk. Cummings is in Congress. He doesn't have a security clearance. He wasn't investigated. He isn't required to take annual mandatory security training. He doesn't know all of the requirements necessary for a person to maintain a clearance and what can cost him that clearance. Trump didn't abuse his authority, Brennan did. If you actually read the security clearance regulations you would see that for yourself.
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus You’re being disingenuous. “There’s no law forcing the president to turn over his tax returns” is a phony excuse. All of the Republican candidates in the 2016 race (17, if memory serves) submitted multiple years of tax returns because they knew that this was expected of them. Trump lied that his taxes were “under audit” and therefore couldn’t be made public; after the election, he flatly refused to make his returns public. This was the first example of our new president’s dishonesty, followed a week later by news of Trump’s $25 million settlement of his $40 million Trump University fraud, which took place during the campaign but somehow did not make the headlines.
In contrast, Hillary Clinton posted nine years of unredacted personal tax returns online, and tossed in the Clinton Foundation returns for good measure.
4
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus
"If there were any question of Trump violating any laws the IRS, who actually has his tax returns, would be the agency to act on any illegal irregularities in his tax filings. That's their job."
Yeah, sure. Life the CIA head that tried to do his job mysteriously lost his sercurity clearance.
1
@David
That's not disingenuousness. It's plain fact. tax returns are personal information and it is not mandatory for a candidate to release them to the public, especially when they have never served in government before. Hillary, on the other hand, had been living off of taxpayer money for several years. See the difference?
I'd love to see Trump's tax returns and I'd love to see every sordid detail about his administration and its enablers come out in the open but I'd also like to see an economic agenda from the Democrats - or is it still too soon, two years after the election? Now instead of identity politics, abortion, and gun control, the Trump cesspool will be the new bright, shiny distraction. Anything so that Dems don't have to put their donor's money where their mouth is. It's why people didn't vote for Hillary in 2016 and the party leaders still refuse to learn their lesson because raking in contributions and dragging their feet on inequality is their real business, not serving the middle class.
Elijah Cummings mentioned drug prices. Why did he choose that? Because that's one more area that won't cost his donors a dime. What a racket.
@stan continople
Mid-term elections are fought district by district and state by state. There is no need for a national Democratic Party strategy, that would only distract voters from the issues they really care about during the midterms. 2019 is soon enough to begin promoting a national strategy.
2
@stan continople I am so tired of this canard. Here's the Democratic Party platform for you. Oh, let's see, what are the first three planks?
Raise Incomes and Restore Economic Security for the Middle Class
Create Good Paying Jobs
Fight for Economic Fairness and Against Inequality
Just because a lot of attention is paid to the crimes of this administration doesn't mean the Democrats have no plans on how to govern. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
https://www.democrats.org/party-platform
4
Since the Republicans have no inclination to challenge an unethical and lying President, because he is Republican, it is incumbent upon all eligible voters to come out in large numbers and vote this unethical party out of power.
6
Like millions of others, I'm still ticked off at the Democrats for not making Obama's Supreme Court pick happen. They rolled over and played dead, which is what I hate most about the party.
Dems in Congress: Stop being the Pushover Party!
7
What are the chances that Trump lied on his tax returns? Hint: look to Manafort, Cohen, et al.
5
What if you hand out subpoenas and nobody comes? What if Republicans lose dozens of elections but refuse to give up their seats? What if Mueller sends agents to the White House to arrest Trump on contempt charges and his secret service agents shoot them down in cold blood?
The final showdown of democracy vs. fascism is coming soon, and it's a mistake to think it will be settled in the courts. The logic is inescapable--when putsch inevitably comes to shove, our armed forces will have to decide if they have a duty to protect and defend our constitution or mindlessly obey their commander-in-chief. What say you, Secretary Mattis?
2
“One thing I’m not looking for is retribution,” he told me. “I’m just trying to get to regular order, I swear to God.”
Wink wink.
Nudge nudge.
Say no more. Say no more.
Two phrases strike me: "Republicans DELIGHT in the helplessness of their fellow citizens." I've been insisting, for some time, that Republicans ENJOY harming people. donald tRump especially likes it. This may explain their voracious need to pursue endless war, and imprison legal asylum seekers. The other is: " a level of accountability that this administration has NEVER faced." That is, indeed, thanks to the unfettered greed displayed by virtually every Republican, serving in government today. It won't be a matter of "revenge," I promise you. It will be a matter of seeking justice for the American public, who have been so duped and used, by the the Republican Party. Let's just make sure that Democrats don't fall into the same trap, since there is always an incredible amount of money, and power, floating around in Washington DC. I want Congress to pass Elizabeth Warren's anti-corruption bill, ASAP. As citizens who have been offended, I hope every voter will turn out for the Democratic Party, but then keep a close eye on them, as is civically responsible. 9 weeks, and counting.
4
90+% chance of winning, pronounced day after day, had a result and an effect that you still can’t get over.
That the same, highly accurate, pollsters are only willing to fake it up to 70% now means we had better get some emergency safe spaces in place for November.
2
While some of the suspicions espoused by the Democrats sounds far-fetched, it will be a good and prudent measure to have a check on this Trump presidency. It should be apparent that NO checks is not working. We simply have no idea of the actual level of corruption and collapse of governance - and having a Democratic House is needed to find out.
5
For those of us who aren't wealthy enough to interest our Representatives and Senators in our opinions, about all we can do is write letters to them, and VOTE. I write letters and I will vote only for Democrats. I sent a respectful email to my Representative, Mike Simpson, about my "concerns regarding President Donald J. Trump" as Simpson described it in his return boilerplate-type letter.
He said "the reports emanating from the White House occasionally give me pause". Occasionally, Mr. Simpson? How about 24/7? He then went on about the separation of powers, and that he and his colleagues are working on "solutions to reduce federal spending, balance the budget, and create jobs for all Americans." He completely left out the part of any responsible oversight of this Trump administration. Just empty words. And so the baloney goes.
VOTE people.
9
"If Democrats take the House in the November midterms — which the model of the statistics website FiveThirtyEight gives them about a 70 percent chance of doing"
We're still using the same voting machines that delivered the 78,000 strategic votes that handed Trump the Electoral College. There was no audit, there is no paper trail and the GOP stopped any attempt at recounts.
"If Democrats take the house in November midterms ...." indeed.
2
The Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the most troubled and mismanaged departments in the U.S. government. Dare I say corrupt? Veterans, including those wounded, disabled or suffering from the shock of war, wait for months for medical treatment, counseling or housing. Presidents G.W. Bush and Obama sought solutions to this problem, without much success. Trump has flat ignored these problems by putting his plutocrat buddies in charge. Is this grounds for impeachment?
4
I'm sure Ms. Goldberg is correct that the Dems will do something with subpoena power, but it remains to be seen that they will ever learn the lesson that the best defense is a good offense. Republicans are always on attack. Democrats, if they run the House in 2019, should pass Medicare for All while they run hearings on the top dozen Trump Administration scandals.
5
Not only all these are distinct possibilities, the Republicans will even welcome the change of returning to the role of the party of do nothing. They are probably looking forward to being in a Democratic majority so they can blame the Democrats for the ills of the country as they did to President Obama and the Democratic Congress back in 2008 on. I would not be a bit surprised if they came out with lines like "the Democrats did nothing to control the excesses of Trump!" Think back, you will find lines akin to this in recent memory.
All said it will be great to have a Democratic Congress to bring some closure to many of the loose ends dangling around.
4
“You’re not going to find out whether this president put the United States in jeopardy because of his financial dealings unless you get his tax returns,”
What makes anyone think that Trump didn't lie on his tax return?
2
From north of the border here, it appears that there could be the possibility of armed insurrection if a balanced congress is not achieved. I cannot see the USA slipping further down the pit into fascism without a ĺiteral fight. It is indeed frightening to watch trump emote daily and drag the planet into conflict and despair. I can also see World War III arise as a possibility if trump is not removed from office.
6
Have you ever seen how a dangerous wild animal behaves when its backed into a corner? The very first thing that needs to be done is to remove Trumps access to the nuclear codes.
6
There is a reason congressional Republicans have remained silent on all things Trump -- they have concluded they will lose the House in the November election.
If that's the case, why should they do anything as politically unpopular with their base as investigating, or even questioning, the many outrages of the Trump administration? They created this mess, they will be kicked out of power, so may as well leave it to the Democrats to do the hard work cleaning it up.
Meanwhile, as Democrats start to conduct the many investigations the Republicans should have performed, Republicans will return to their role during the Obama years: accusing, blaming, and obstructing. After all,they do that far better than they govern and it's very popular with their base.
Until (or unless) the electorate thoroughly repudiates the politics of the Trump era via repeated thrashings at the polls, this pattern will continue.
12
@David S. "There is a reason congressional Republicans have remained silent on all things Trump..." They are getting what they want--further personal enrichment via tax cuts; further enrichment of donors via tax cuts; further enrichment of donors via relaxation of safety rules for industry; red- meat for the Evangelicals and Vatican loyalists; xenophobic laws... What's to criticize?
3
We can only hope enough concern citizens get off the couch and vote. Trump won mainly from indifference from the majority of the voters. This let the more rabid right have an outsize voting power. We got a long row to hoe. We need to fix how we elect congress so it really represents the whole county fairly instead of giving small rural areas more voting power per capital than the urban areas where most of us live. This has to start at the state level before we can get to the federal level. Because that is where voting districts are drawn up.
1
Hey, Michelle, I appreciate your column. But let's not count our chickens, shall we? The GOP is above nothing, as you well know. They would subvert an entire voting system if they could, and in their wildest dreams, not allow any Democrats to vote. We all know what they're capable of now.
4
Is every single person who loathes what Trump is doing to this country asking, encouraging, badgering, nagging everyone you know (those who feel the same, that is) to get registered and then VOTE November 6? It is on each one of us. No one can sit this one out. Comments and complaints mean exactly nothing without action at the ballot box. Let's go.
4
This country has many, many things that it has never come to terms with. When this nightmare administration is finally gone, perhaps we can address the many, many times (before Trump) that impunity has reigned in this country--from the killing of minorities by police for bogus reasons to the killing of volunteer soldiers in wars whose rationales were a sham to Wall Street going unpunished for its transgressions against our people.
The Republicans are such comic book villains that when we finally revert to a Democratic majority we may begin to delude ourselves into thinking that everything is rosy. No. This period of crucifixion should cause us to come to a honest reckoning with what we have hidden from ourselves for too long. Impunity in the United States had become a fact of life long before Trump.
Yes, first things first. Vote out the cancers on our nation.
When we are clear headed again, perhaps we will raise to prominence a presidential candidate who will tell us that war under his or her administration will be a last resort only, that the gap between the rich and the poor will not be a chasm, that justice will be equally distributed to all of our people. Then he/she must follow through.
The winning back of Congress by the Democrats is only a FIRST step. We must then face our own sins. There will be no one else to blame at that point.
We can never again become complacent. And above all, we have to turn a harsh light on what we have allowed ourselves to become.
15
Boys and girls. Your efforts are commendable.
But what if:
Republicans keep house and senate
They get another supreme court seat
Elections next in 2020
Talk about nightmare usa.
3
Democrats need to come out fighting if they win the House. Their investigagtions will be vilified on Fox News and by the rabid right-wingers like Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows as more deep state action. Democrats should actually move to impeachment, which there is already plenty of justification for in this corrupt administration. They may go the route of subpeonas and hearings, which are of course necessary, but they might find themselves fighting propoganda on a level they've never encountered before. They will need to immediately bring in a team of crack advisors on how to fight the good fight in the media too because the lies and defamation on right-wing media about what they're trying to do will be on a scale we have not seen even. The right wing Trumpists will feel existentially threatened and they will turn this country upside down and shake it empty of its contents in order to keep their power. Do not underestimate the media war they will wage to destroy truth and justice.
1
Does anyone really believe the Russians, having successfully installed their man in the White House, are going to stand by and let him be rendered impotent by a Democratic takeover of Congress? If your local vote wasn’t rigged in 2016 it will be by the time November 6 rolls around.
3
If the 538 pollster could be relied upon, Hillary would have been president.
1
“Democrats who are likely to head key committees say they aren’t planning revenge; it’s important to them to show that they can govern.”
Ms. Goldberg, I love your writing—this piece included—but why use the word “revenge” at all? If there’s one thing the GOP has been good at for years it’s in “branding” (like cattle, not toothpaste) sensible Democratic policy issues with the red-hot iron of right-wing zealotry and fear-mongering. Don’t fall into the trap they set; we need our own language, repeated incessantly every minute of every day leading up to the elections.
You say “revenge,” I say, “super-majority good governance.” And if we need to distill it down to a single word, how about, simply, “sanity?”
3
I am waiting to see if the Democrats take over the House and start doing the oversight that has been neglected by the Republicans trying to protect the calamity in the Oval Office.
I also expect to start reading opinion columns, articles and segments on cable about how the Democrats are overreaching and need to stop investigating the corruption that has taken place.
Lets see when the games start in the DC circus.
5
PART 2
As more and more voters don't vote, the fewer and fewer votes true radicals with disturbing agendas will need to get control.
Lenin took over the geographical behemoth of Russia with a HANDFUL of true believers.
In 1776, Jefferson, Washington, Adams were in the MINORITY.
Thus the need for a second amendment to arm the winners against the Tories or other British sympathizers, not some foreign invader.
My point, and you don’t have to agree, is this. Get out the vote
Vote like your political party, your country and your children’s future depends on it. Because it does.
Instead of stealing elections with a few thousand gerrymandered votes, put up some numbers that show the majority of the country wants and supports an agenda of tax cuts for the top 1% and corporations. The destruction and coffer looting of Social Security. The effective end of Medicare and Medicaid. The gutting of social programs for the less fortunate and the starving of the beast.
I’ll take my chances on the party of big ideas (Yes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, The War on Poverty, school breakfast and lunch programs, Voting Rights, Women’s Rights, Abortion if you want it, Planned Parenthood, Student Financial Aid and on and on.
If the majority of people DON’T those kind of things then at least we have reverted to what the framers intended.
Rule by the majority. Not by a paltry few thousand.
.
1
“One thing I’m not looking for is retribution,” he told me. “I’m just trying to get to regular order, I swear to God.”
Than don't call it retribution, call it what it is: consequences under the rule of law.
4
Pollsters think the Dems have a good chance to take over at least the House. I don't see that. Plan to see some "great", probably manufactured news for Republicans sometime in late October. Trump is the master of replacing bad news with blame onto others, of creating diversions (like the tweet on South Africa last week), and generally manipulating the news via his house organ Fox. They know the score and will pull out every dirty trick possible to seduce voters to stay with them.
2
The Democrats realize they have overplayed their hand, so they are trying to double back by pretending that their chief interest is in governance. It is obvious, however, that if they ever came back into power, they would use their committee chairmanships to engage in a political vendetta against the President. The American people are sick of it. They will not let it happen.
2
Spot on, Ms. Goldberg. And the photograph says it all. He looks, and behaves, like a three year old being told to eat his broccoli.
Other than the pomp and photo ops, he really hates his job, the part that actually entails work (which he delegates to others), reason (as if), and intelligence (which he does not possess.)
He may be smart, but only in the reactionary sense. There is a difference between being smart and being intelligent, much less intellectual.
4
I am among those totally aghast at the monster in the oval, and equally dumbfounded by his gleeful supporters.
I also have faith in our system and Robert Mueller, but I don't know if these can overcome the madness which has been unleashed.
I hope so, but I am not overly confident.
The first and most important step towards ending this madness is to elect a Democratic Congress in 2018. To that end, we all should be doing all we can between now and Election Day. Here are some concrete things you can do:
1. Vote. If your state allows early voting, vote early. If you're not registered yet, register today. If you're registered unenrolled, Republican, or other, re-register as a Democrat. Send a message with your registration, and with your vote, that you are committed to wresting control of Congress away from the Republicans who allow Trump to commit crimes with impunity.
2. Donate money. Give to the Democrat running for Congress in your district, not the national groups, which pay higher prices for TV ads. If you can give the federal maximum of $2,700, do that. If not, give all you can to help the Democrat running where you are.
3. Volunteer with the Democratic campaign in your district. Ask to knock doors or make phone calls in your own neighborhood, where your appeals will mean the most.
4. Make sure your spouse, your parents, your children, your friends, everyone you know locally or online is doing the same as you.
We all have a part to play in this effort. Let's make sure that the Democratic campaigns in all 435 districts are as strong as they can possibly be, and on Election Day, let's send a powerful message to Trump and to the world that America will not stand for this any longer.
3
And here I was all set to go to bed...at 10:14 PST. But, I just had to read about the Mar-A-Lago gang of three attempting to shadow manage the VA. My dad was a WW2 vet. He had a 100% service related disability rating. When he got sick in 2005 the VA took care of him. They did an outstanding job. Every step of the way. He lived at the CREC in Martinez CA for 7 months while he rehabbed. The care was amazing...the staff amazing.
Trump's self serving buddies need to be barred from the VA...in any capacity. The temptation to see the VA as a big pot of money to get their mitts on is just too big a risk. Yes, the VA needs help modernizing...but they don't need to be hijacked either.
9
FiveThirtyEight had Hillary ahead the whole time leading up to the 2016 election, too. 70% is nice to hear, but my seatbelt is tightened until the November elections are over. As I wait, I have to wonder what distraction President Bone Spurs may come up with in an attempt to prevent the impending losses. I also have to wonder what dirty tricks the Russians, Republicans and the NRA have up their sleeves that we will never know about. That backstory, though unspoken, is deafening. Lastly, perhaps the most defeating pondering I have done is about the potential failure of Nancy Pelosi and her crowd (where's Tommy Perez??) to beat these corrupt conmen of the GOP. If they can't beat these do-nothings, they don't deserve to be their either. Should be a slam dunk.
2
If A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, then an empty desk is a sign of an empty mind...
4
Goldberg in a nutshell: Every accusation is fact. Trump is guilty until proven innocent. Democrats aren't interested in impeachment....until 5 seconds after Pelosi gavels the new House in session.
The only truth in this article is the contradiction in the two quotes from Elijah Cummings. Cummings, unparalleled Trump hater, "swears" he isn't interested in impeachment. But his second statement about "getting back to order" is a thinly veiled declaration that order = Trump removal.
Democrats want Trump out, period. It is party orthodoxy, top to bottom. If the annoying rule of law gets in the way of a coup, they'll settle for two years of not stop investigations, innuendo, and leaks.
I won't hold my breath from Goldberg to write and article asking for unredacted copies of the FISA documents or for investigation of the Clinton - Fusion GPS - Perkins Coi - Bruce Ohr connections. Where Trump is concerned, potential exculpatory facts are irrelevant.
3
@GeorgeB Purdell No -- Goldberg in a nutshell: Many more of the pretty plausible accusations need investigating.
4
@GeorgeB Purdell
Of course Democrats want Trump out. He is a scourge on our government, makes an ugly laughingstock of our presidency, and betrays nearly every democratic ideal upon which this country was founded.
Yes, some want Trump impeached. They believe that he is an amoral, corrupt narcissist who couldn't care less about defending the Constitution, the rule of law, the freedoms enumerated in the bill of rights, even our electoral process. That he doesn't hesitate to trash anything that stands in the way of his personal self interest. That what is already public knowledge about his words and actions rise to the level of impeachable offenses, worse than Watergate.
But here's the difference, between them and the Republicans - the Democrats will conduct a legitimate investigation into wrongdoing, and accept the results when they are done.
The Republicans finished gathering any useful facts about Hillary Clinton *years ago* and they just can't stop themselves from trying to trash her and bring her down, not satisfied by defeating her at the polls. They are ruled by spite, whereas the Democrats are still proponents of the rule of law.
Will impeachment procedings begin if the Democrats win the House? Maybe. But not certain. They, at least will wait until the Mueller investigation is concluded to examine whether they should.
Which is a far sight more than the Republicans would do if their roles were reversed.
1
Saying something is not normal is not very compelling. After all mass shootings are normal in this country. People who want change are not looking for normal.
1
Democrats largely believed the entire Benghazi investigation was a charade and a waste of taxpayers money. Republicans will believe any investigation led by democrats about Trump will be a charade and a waste of taxpayer money.
There is a zero percent chance that there will ever be a dozen or so republican senators who will vote to remove Trump from office.
So what really changes? Little to nothing. Yes, there might be some state charges and some flunkies like Manafort or Cohen maybe in serious legal trouble. But we have one and only one chance of getting Trump out of office. That comes in 2020.
Stop wasting time on nonsense and start developing candidates and a platform that addresses the destruction of the middle class and the middle of America. Or deal with eight years of Trump instead of four.
4
@Concernicus
I say - do both.
Democracy matters.
If we want to stop the destruction of the middle class, empowering it through government is essential.
If we want to stop the the destruction of the middle class, we need accountability for those who continue to exploit it for personal gain.
If we want to stop the destruction of the middle claas, we need to make self governance work, not continue to disable it.
The right's "small government" meme has taken a legitimate concern about government overreach into people's personal lives and used it to undermine democracy, frustrate the will of the people, empower big money interests, promote hysteria over bogus issues like immigration, to prevent action on the real causes of middle class erosion.
A functioning government based on a thriving democracy is essential to a robust middle class. The current illiberal Republican Party, knowing this, works to undermine democratic norms and principles. The Democrats, in spite of their many faults, and they are legion, want to work within the framework of our democratic republic to achieve their agenda. And that makes them far more accountable to the interests of working people, than the Republicans.
I say, give them a chance to make government work again, because there is no good alternative to democracy.
Impeachment? No! The Party of Greed would just use this to pump the base, to use as a distraction and hide their own collusion in this criminal administration. The focus should be on winning the election. If the we, the Democrats, win the election the first job will be to plug the holes in our Ship of State to keep it from sinking any further. Then balance the load to correct the present listing to the right. We may not be able to change the Captain but when can change as much of the staff as we can to stabilize the course and get us headed back to a safe port. Revenge is all consuming and it`s going to take all our focus to reach that safe port. Once we get there and repairs are underway then we can examine the complicity and collusion of all, including the Captain, that were responsible for endangering our mission, maintaining Democracy.
We know what will happen if the Dems win no meaningful leverage in Nov 2018: more, much more, of the same. The Dems winning massively in Nov (both House and Senate) is something about which progressives plus anyone who cares about real democracy can at present fantasize about to their hearts’ content, but I find it hard to imagine just what form the house-cleaning (no pun intended) would take, and what the balance would be between (a) re-establishing the rule of law; transparency in government; freedom of the press (from intimidation); and truly representative voting procedures; and (b) foolish, short-sighted, or cynical partisan revenge; naked power-grabs; grand-standing; and eventual Democratic graft and scandal.
The most (?) likely outcome -- Dems taking the House only -- invites speculation about the near-term future. It will be interesting, and likely frightening, to see what Trump and his cronies; the most amoral and cynical among the Republican congressional leadership (Mitch McConnell, foremost); and the dark-money plutocrats -- will all be doing to impede, obstruct, and suppress the efforts of Democrats and others to move our government toward some degree of healthy functioning. Heaven knows how vicious and destructive will be the acts of the worst of the right wing when their power, ascendance, and yes, impunity, are threatened, and how many (or few) of the Republicans in the House and Senate will find the spine and integrity to do the right thing.
1
''This culture of impunity'' can last two years in total built into the Constitution by the founding fathers, or it can go on for four. (and possibly longer) It all depends on you (the voter) if anyone is going to be held accountable.
If all of these possible ''crimes'' barely register in the press, then that is a whole other discussion that needs to be had. The Press cannot hop on whatever bandwagon that comes along (especially opinion writers). They must do they job and do it as diligently as possible.
This President alone has had over FOUR THOUSAND confirmed lies (so far) yet even today there are members of the press that do not use the term ''liar''.
This President boasted ON TAPE about sexually assaulting multiple women, yet even in this column there is the watered down expression of '' you know what ''. It would seem to me that people do not know, and/or have forgotten.
People (especially Democrats for tactical reasons) do not use words like '' impeachment'', or ''treason'',
If one (especially one in government or the President himself and/or members of his family) has actively worked with a foreign power to work against the state/achieve power, then what do you call it ?
Impunity requires the help of others. Seems like they are getting it by not only their base, but from us as well.
3
Amazing to hear you reference Teapot Dome. Did anyone in their right mind ever think a president would come along to made doughy old Warren G. Harding look like Churchill?
It has happened twice now in this magical new century as we brace for even worse brought to you by those staunch defenders of mendacity and hypocrisy, the Greed Over People party.
4
Today, America has ONE PARTY RULE, just like China, Russia and other totalitarian and communist nations. And, just like those nations our government is now corrupt to it's core.
The Trump administration is the most corrupt administration in American history.
If we want to end this corruption we must replace the Republicans in the House and Senate with Democrats to maintain our system of checks and balances. Without checks and balances absolute power corrupts absolutely.
7
@Ronny
It's funny how you know something but the light doesn't really come on until out of the blue there is that one thing that does it. Thank you, Ronny. Your sentence, quoted below, suddenly brought it home. We are fighting for our lives.
"Today, America has ONE PARTY RULE, just like China, Russia and other totalitarian and communist nations. "
1
If you don't want Trump to become President for Life, you must vote on November 6 for the Democrat … a vote for a third-party candidate or a non-vote is a vote for the Donald.
3
70% is like 0% if you remember how confident we were that HRC would be elected.
Down goes this article from my fridge:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-voters-will-not-like-what-...
and up goes Ms. Goldberg's August 27, 2018 column. Thanks!
Michelle you may well need another article signature photo. One with a sad droopy face. You may be too young to remember the TV show "Lets Make A Deal"- but you should check it out. The contestants made guesses as to which of 3 closed doors the Grand Prize lurked. After the guesses the host (Monty) opened one of two doors to show that the prize was not behind that door and subsequently asked the guests if they wanted to change their guess based on the "new Knowledge". Many wondered or thought about the odds changing. Are the odds now 50/50 instead of 2 to 1. You can change your pick now Michelle. Think about it
Those who support Trump say that they know about Trump's corruption, but think that their overall policies trump that corruption. They want to overlook the fact that no policy can be effectively implemented if the government is in the hands of those who openly flaunt their corruption. Are we to know if our Supreme Court is to be taken seriously if we hand it over to justices who are not sufficiently vetted and rammed through the Senate? Can we know if our Veterans are receiving the care they deserve if millions are siphoned off to corrupt officials and pirates? The list goes on, but republicans have their head in the sand if they think they can ignore corruption for the sake of dubious policies.
3
Good points, Goldberg, but even if the Dems do manage to overcome gerrymandering, Russian interference, and electronic voting rigging, you can count on the integrity-free lame duck GOP to burn it all down on their way out the door. Ryan and Gowdy aren’t retiring just to “spend a little more time with their families.”
2
"The shock lasted about 48 hours". Thats because the media was wrong Michelle. Democrats and their cohorts in the media once again immediately went into hysterics, falsely equating well, if Cohen was guilty, how could Trump not be guilty? Its because they suddenly realized what fools they made of themselves. Candidates could spend any amount of money they want on their own campaign, period. While paying hush money to someone may sound lurid, it isnt illegal. So once again, Democrats and theur media cohorts attacking Trump with a false narrative. So how mnay more of these fals narratives are Democrats going to use to "investigate" Trump? Well, if they could be so elaborate as to get the FBI to obtain FISA warrants based on Democrat campaign paid for "dossiers", skys the limit, right? Great platform for Democrats to run on. They have zero policy initiatives or ideas to strengthen the economy, so lets keep the President so busy he cant succeed at anything. Problem for Democrats is - what are they afraid of? If Trumps policies are so bad, let him fail, right? They are scared to death that his policies just might work, and Americans will like it.
1
Whatever happens in November todays so-called Republicans, and those whose votes keep them and their stooge in power are on the wrong side of history, to their everlasting shame. Honourable and honest Republicans must see it's time to cut and run. It's going to be a long hard road rebuilding the Grand Old Party, better start now.
Until (if ever) we're anticipating a green rather than a blue wave, my focus will remain the degradation of the planet and the cavalier treatment of human-habitat essentials such as clean water. Everything else is somewhat idle speculation, especially considering that we already have one-party government, the one that supports an economic system that's proven itself catastrophic for the environment; superficial parameters (such as "red" and "blue") notwithstanding.
3
As long as America is shackled with an electoral college, an election between more than 2 candidates ensures a continued future of minority rule.
In Nov 2016, no one foresaw a Trump victory, but everyone knew the Republicans would maintain control of the House and Senate. Americans who voted their 'conscience' in 2016 and chose Johnson, Stein, Bernie Sanders or Ann Romney must accept their part in enabling Trump's minority victory. If we continue to bicker among ourselves over ideology, we will likely help re-elect him again in 2020.
22
@Paul Jannuzzi
Thank you for pointing this out--we cannot say it enough. I am so sick of hearing that "the American people" elected this loathsome, inept human being, when it was actually the result of the endlessly gerrymandered electoral college.
2
"Cummings, meanwhile, said he plans a two-lane process, combining attention to national issues that transcend Trump with scrutiny of the administration."
Don't get ahead of yourself Mr. Cummings, Democrats aren't yet offering a way ahead for working class Americans. Obama proved that by his lack of prosecution of Wall Street banksters, working class Americans will stay home in droves if they feel that their party is working against them, or at least, not working for them.
7
Obama won reelection after he decided not to prosecute the Wall Streeters.
I very willingly married the love of my life knowing the majority of her large family were staunch conservatives. After more than thirty good years I am still amazed by the lack of interest my in-laws have for what their government is doing. These are very intelligent people but the level of accountability they hold their government to remains at the thinly veiled surface. This all changes, of course, when the Democrats are in power. Even though I'm not included in those family discussions, I can feel the heat of disdain should I happen to mention the words "Obama" or "Hillary". The coming Days of Retribution and Atonement should prove interesting in my family and many of yours. Perhaps a Reconciliation Council will be provided by the U.N. (just joking, all you reactionary uncles!).
26
As far as I'm concerned the media should have been asking every single day why this administration and Mitch McConnell felt there was no need to examine or strengthen our election systems since Jan 2017. trumps downfall will be Russian money laundering. But Putin certainly does not want us to find that out because then he will no longer have any hold over trump. Rigging our elections has not only become massively important to Putin but also massively important to the Republicans. With Democrats in control the 'base' will no longer be able to ignore what is happening in this country.
26
@Chris
Where was the MSM (and where were you Chris) in questioning the Obama Administration when Obama knew well ahead of the 2016 election that the Russians were meddling? Obama knew about that, and chose to do nothing.
There have been multiple reports about the actions being taken to strengthen security around voting for the November elections. You simply do not see any of those reports in the NYT.
1
@Steve Obama did not choose to do nothing. Do recall, however, that anything he did would have been construed as attempting to influence the election.
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/21/587614043/fact-check-why-didnt-obama-stop...
Just last week a bipartisan group in the Senate tried to introduce a bill that would have fortified election security. The White House blocked the bill.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/election-security-20...
Also, Hillary, Obama...boring. Move on. Alas, trump will not let you.
@Chris
Incorrect. Obama did nothing on that issue. Perhaps he was paralyzed with fear of having his "pen and paper legacy" tarnished by one side or the other, but, he still did nothing rather than take action - a variation of "leading from behind".
The left keeps on hating/resisting/assaulting because of Hillary losing. The left keeps on giving Obama credit for anything positive under Trump. Boring. Move on, and everyone else will too.
It may not happen in 2018 but eventually Democrats will take over the House. No matter how much time has passed the criminality of the present administration should not be forgotten nor forgiven. The present abusers of the public confidence must be exposed and punished as example to future generations and to bring back the dignity that has been lost.
27
All I can say Ms. Goldberg is from your lips. . . While I am hopeful that the Dems will take back the House majority so that committee chairs will be occupied by Democrats, I am so leery of what the polls predict since the fiasco in the 2016 presidential election.
My fingers are crossed, but my level of anxiety is pretty high. I know I and many millions of Americans will be following the mid-term election on November 6th as if it were a presidential one. In a real way, it is.
37
@Len, You and I both Len since Republican national policy is to remain elected or get elected by any means necessary like the corrupt stolen election of 2016.
1
Reading the comments, many people seem to discount polls entirely after what happened in 2016. It's an interesting overcorrection. It could be a positive one for Democrats if it keeps everyone driven to vote in November. But people should remember what polls do: they give the odds of certain outcomes. One of the commenters said that fivethirtyeight has zero credibility because they predicted Hillary in 2016. Well sure - that was the most likely outcome. But one time out of ten, an outcome with a 10 percent chance comes out a winner. The polls weren't wrong in 2016, we just got a fluke result.
So, as a Democrat I'm not taking anything for granted but I am glad we have two chances out of three to take the House.
35
@Nelda
One thing to keep in mind Nelda. Mike Pence is a serious and staunch religious conservative. I don't think he's a racist and a bigot but he is working for Trump so one never knows.
Stepping on the queen bee might make the workers bees mad!
The question is whether the American public is sufficiently savvy about the way our government is supposed to work to be able to recognize this benefit of voting Democratic.
Civic illiteracy is a big problem in this country. I would venture to say that only a small minority of voters understand what, exactly, Congress is supposed to do besides write laws. The investigation power has not been used much in recent years and, at least since the days of Clinton, there hasn't been a great deal of interest in questions of executive authority.
I would hope any investigations that might happen also touch on the administration's deliberations regarding national monuments, decisions to exit the Paris Agreement and the Iran nuclear weapons agreement, the way the administration is working with NATO, and the appalling actions at the Department of Education.
We'll see, but I do hope enough Americans see the benefit of accountability to give control of both chambers of Congress to the Democrats.
51
if you listen to what conservatives say, and watch what they do, you can't help but come away with the distinct impression they are good at politics and conniving to get their way, but the outcome they want is a massively powerful, daddy-like president supported by loyalists in Congress and the judiciary - in short, a king who gets the credit (possibly the blame) for everything in government, who calls all the shots, makes all the rules, and comes to all the decisions. they're not so interested in the details or finer points, as long as the evil old government never impinges on their "rights" to do anything they please and ravish anything, any place, or anyone they chose.
conservatives believe actual democracy gets in their way and in that they're probably right.
Last month the Economist published a revealing article on our undemocratic "democracy," saying the U.S. electoral system is rigged to favor minority rule by the GOP: https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/07/12/americas-electoral-system-...
The only way to overcome this is with a resounding blue wave victory in November, one whose results are unquestionable and irrevocable, followed by a string of electoral reforms including campaign finance curbs, abolition of the Electoral College, reversal of Citizens United, revocation of many state voter suppression laws and redrawing of gerrymandered districts to return our democracy to majority rule.
47
@Christy should note the wall: a Supreme Court, once the latest far right, reactionary justice is installed. Thus, stalling and walking out of any attempt to have the far right rule all of us, with another reactionary cutting down access to fair elections, is crucial. As many hearings as you want. Once in the courts, most reforms will die at the highest bench: stall.
3
@Christy
Unlikely to abolish the Electoral College Christy, I don't think anyone believes that the Left will get the numbers in both houses and each state required to remove it;
"The electoral college is enshrined in our Constitution, which means getting rid of it requires a constitutional amendment. That's a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate and the ratification of three-fourths (38) of the 50 states".
2
@Christy
It's highly unlikely that the Electoral College will be eliminated because of the constitutional requirements...however...there is a way around it through the National Popular Vote bill. Twelve states have already signed it into law with eleven more on the cusp. Go to www.nationalpopularvote.com for a complete informational guide.
Please, hope that the investigations the Democrats conduct will lead to criminal prosecutions. The Republicans need to be held accountable, not just by losing their seats, or even by impeachment, but by doing the jail time they deserve. But even if the Democrats cannot take Congress, if they are successful at the state levels there may be state law prosecutions. And state law convictions cannot be wiped out with presidential pardons. With some persistence and hard work this administration will become the poster child for the consequences of thinking they are above the law. Make sure you vote Democratic in your state elections as well as the national ones. And ask for paper ballots with hand counting.
46
"If Democrats take the House in the November midterms — which the model of the statistics website FiveThirtyEight gives them about a 70 percent chance of doing — that helplessness ends."
Don't forget that 538 gave Hillary a 71.4 percent chance of winning. So much for polling.
If the Democrats actually do win one or both Congressional houses (the Senate is the preferable one given its role in advise and consent) then 2 years won't be enough time to expose the massive malfeasance done under the Trump administration. It will require at least keeping control of one or both Congressional houses in 2020, and if Providence decides to shine her light upon America, the Presidency as well.
But whatever happens this year and in 2020, the single most important thing is to get Trump out of office. He has done such overwhelming damage to our country that it is hardly possible to put it in words. Even if the Democrats lose both houses, winning back the Presidency would go a very long way toward reestablishing our global stature and credibility.
Of all things, Trump must go. If we have to wait until 2020 for that salvation, so be it. But it must be done.
19
@Max Dither
"Don't forget that 538 gave Hillary a 71.4 percent chance of winning. So much for polling."
The same statistic gave Trump a 28.6% chance of winning.
3
The 71.8 percent gave her that, assuming she would take 3 million, more votes nationally. Why they couldn’t predict was the mal distribution of votes... in effect their prediction was very accurate.
5
These are roughly the odds of rolling a 6 or higher on 2 6-sided dice. However, I'm sure that if you roll a 4, you'd claim the entire branch of mathematics called statistics is wrong. While I'd like the Dems to gain control of at least 1 chamber of Congress, probability laws state that while it's highly likely they will, it's not guaranteed. What we need to be worried about are efforts to illegally influence (i.e. fix) the outcomes then hear that the models were 'wrong' somehow. Gotta love people who openly claim that 2+2=5 nowadays or when asked to provide an example of 2 integers adding to 10, will answer 8+2 (and only 8+2) and if you think otherwise, you're somehow un-American.
Robert Reich offers another solution, one that, at first, sounds as extreme as Trump himself: annulment of the illegitimate 2016 election. But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. An annullment means that every Trump appointment and executive order could be rolled back, voided or reversed as the fruit of the poison tree. And as Trump knows, an annulment is much easier to deal with, and much less expensive, than a divorce.
http://robertreich.org/post/177349093095
47
@David. YES! I think this annulment approach is a great idea, it was never legit to begin with.....plus prison time for those who committed crimes.
2
@David, let’s make that happen in 2020 by electing a qualified adult to be POTUS.
2
The Democrats need to coalesce around a well crafted, inclusive platform that lets the American voter know where they stand on a wide range of issues and how they plan to address those issues. Anti-trumpism is’nt going to get them to the goal line.
19
Let’s not count on subpoena power or magical events or lightening to strike.Let us instead keep the faith in our judicial system. It has been the bedrock of our democracy through years good and bad.It is working still.Our founding fathers built in checks and balances which have served us well- let us support the system and keep the faith.
4
Janet,
I’d like to think that our judicial system would be the bulwark that stems the tide of corruption and hurtful policies. However, given the number of judges this administration has approved, some with seemingly sketchy qualifications, your optimism seems frail vs the realities.
In addition, the specter of yet another hyper conservative Supreme Court nominee leads me to fear that the judicial system will act in accordance with laws instead of with political expediency.
The courts have, in fact, pushed back on many of the administration’s actions, but are being barraged daily with new legal insults. I hope you’re right that they can serve the nation’s best interests, but my expectations, at this point, are very tempered at best.
14
@Janet Michael
Not when the judicial system is also run by the Republicans. It will be just a rubber-stamp of approval.
1
Subpoena should be the responsibility of both Democrats and Republicans. Do the right thing. Americans deserve a president who is worthy of and will restore dignity to the office.
8
@mjb Except as we've clearly seen that Republicans have no interest in using their oversight power for one of their own, it's time to kick the bums out and find some folks who'll do the job.
2
I seem to recall that fivethirtyeight also placed strong odds on Clinton winning the White House. Given what we've seen since in state races and news of states ignoring calls for greater transparency in the voting process, and given the extent of gerrymandering, nothing should be taken for granted at this point. Every last vote is critical this November if we are to retain our democracy. It is that cut and dried.
12
@Michael
Indeed, every last vote for all the reasons you’ve stated. Which is why it is the responsibility of those of us who live in blue states/ blue congressional districts is to actively lobby our families and friends who live in purple/red zones to do what they must to achieve a check on this one party dumpster fire known as the Trump administration.
8
The integrity of the November elections should concern all Americans. Polls indicated Clinton would win in 2016. Polls predict a blue wave. This provides little confidence.
Congress under Republican leadership displays little interest in assisting states to secure and protect a system which shows signs of vulnerability. Trust in our electoral process is crucial. This should be a bipartisan issue every American supports.
15
So ProPublica figures the Dems have a 70% chance of regaining the House...
That reminds me of one of the predictions from the 2018 campaign that had Hillary at a 90% chance. Personally, I'm not entirely hopeful, but sometimes hope is all we've got when it comes to voter turnout.
God bless those individuals working to increase voter turnout in key states. When the Dems turnout, we win. Here's hoping!
13
My concern, with so much at stake for Republicans and for Trump personally, that the security of our electoral systems might be jeopardized to the point of invalidating the results. It almost does not matter if the results being invalidated through security breaches will be in favor of Republicans or Democrats. Once doubt is planted in the minds of the voters as to the validity of the results, how else are we supposed to right this ship that is our democracy gone awry? I hate to say it but I do not trust GOP almost as much as I do not trust Russia when it comes to hacking our voting systems.
14
@Marianna Returning to paper ballots and public counting of the votes might go a long way toward reestablishing the public trust .
1
538 had Hillary in 2016. Credibility - zero.
That said, the GOP cares about only one thing - stuffing the federal court system. They are playing the long game. All of Trumps foibles and follies are convenient distraction.
4
We are witnessing the sacking of a modern democracy. The GOP who are running this government must be making a commission on the looting of Washington to ignore this modern day Brutus.
Donald J. Brute, if you will: shanking America for what it's worth.
The country is one catastrophe away from martial law. Is it any wonder why Trump has increased the military budget? And working 'with' Putin to what end? The wholesale changes in Washington are happening at such speed that while we’re in disbelief to Trump’s daily Twitter storm, we’re oblivious to the decontenting of departments, of acts and statutes.
18
HGT remarks about looting by Trump henchmen: the military inflated budget was designed to make it imperative to cut back all aspects of government via unconscionable debt. There goes Social Security and Medicare, because “there is no money” will be the mantra. Bannonesque Koch brothers and similar billionaire peculiars, imbued with righteous indignation at demands for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by our populace, prefer to crush governments. Taxes must go, except for the little people, Leona Helmsley said.
2
The only way out of this nightmare is for people to get out and vote during the midterm election.
6
Goldberg stated the biggest issue Democrats are facing when she wrote..."The president’s former lawyer testified that Trump directed him to commit felonies to cover up alleged affairs in advance of the election. The shock lasted about 48 hours." If the shock lasted only 48 hours then that's a clear sign that most Americans have decided they are done with the anti Trump newspaper articles,TV segments, & tweets. It's beyond overkill. There is no Trump criticism that is overwrought, no worries about trajectories that are implausible, no rhetoric that would be better tamped down. We all see the excesses as they flow through our social-media feeds. Even some of the NYT pundits have fallen over the ledge with their anti Trump venom. I didn't vote for him & I don't like the way he is governing. But I no longer have any appetite for the non stop wall to wall 24/7 coverage about the latest Trump blunder. The Democrats can hold hearings until there's ice on the equator. It won't change the mind of one person that voted for Trump. If the Dems get control of Congress in November they should spend their time crafting & passing good legislation. If their intent is to hold hearing on Trump for the next two years then I and many Americans will be very disappointed. We get it. Trump's not a good President. But stop reminding us of this fact every two seconds. We elected you to solve our nation's problems. Period. Mueller will do his job. If the evidence is there he will bring it to light.
4
@Bill Brown You are right that, if the Democrats win the House, they should concentrate on doing the people's business. But I think the members of Congress quoted show their understanding of this. After all, the Democrats are the party that genuinely believes in the role of government to advance public good. They need to demonstrate that.
But holding hearings is also an appropriate role for Congress and part of the checks and balances envisioned by the Founders. If you are open to Mueller's work, you should also stay open to the findings of Congressional committees, and urge others to stay open too.
7
the ability to secure tax returns is a highly technical and extremely intricate question of statutory and Constitutional law. Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code is the governing statute. It is about 30 pages long and has been amended about 30 times. Subsection (f) provides that disclosure of tax returns is legal only if made in secret executive session. Whether returns disclosed in such sessions can be made public depends on review of the precise purpose of disclosure as provided in several clauses of the Constitution. And since Trump is certain to oppose disclosure, a sensitive separation of powers issue rises. other considerations -- adding to the complexity of the matter -- include whether a criminal investigation of the President -- as opposed to an impeachment investigation -- serves a legitimate legislative purpose and whether disclosure solely for the sake of disclosure, rather than for impeachment, is an appropriate exercise of Congressional power.
I could go on and on. But suffice it to say that a team of highly trained, highly specialized government attorneys are the only ones with even a chance of reaching a credible conclusion. Ms.Goldberg has a masters in journalism and has written a book about Christian fundamentalists. She has no legal training. Nonetheless she has concluded that the returns can be disclosed, having reflected on the matter in a sentence or two.
Reporting by the seat of her pants.
1
Interestingly, this laundry list of accusations apparently does not include collusion.
20 months of investigating and no collusion found.
4
Unless you're secretly Robert Mullet, you have no idea what has or has not been found. And collusion may be a possible crime, but there is proof, from Cohen, of demonstrable ones that have been committed.
But you go on defending the indefensible.
1
@Tuco, Interestingly there have been multiple indictments, some guilty pleas and a conviction. Interestingly 13 Russian GRU officers have been indicted as a result of Mr Mueller’s probe.
“Collusion” may not be a crime which the president likes to remind us of daily. However, 18 USC 371 conspiracy is a very real and often prosecuted crime in the federal system. 20 months you say? This is not a Law and Order episode. Remember that the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind surely. May God save our republic.
7
@Tuco
Probably because they're not searching for that?
1
This Russian "hacking" of our election systems is a short word for a long, now proven operation of probing and learning different ways to manipulate the software of electronic voting systems and implant chaos and doubt about the results.
November is the objective of these aggressive attacks by a foreign power.
Contact your state Congressional reps and make sure they are pushing for a red level of defensive operations here.
About 30% of our state systems are electronic.
Talk about impunity.
If our November election results are sabotaged...
9
A column by turns depressing and hopeful.
But I’m not terribly optimistic that enough American citizens care enough—love their country enough—to effectively abort this presidency in November.
The Democrats on various House committees say the right things: “it’s about oversight, not revenge,” as they should. But the Trump administration has produced a malaise across the country. The Senate is in the president’s pocket, the House is his doormat and most—if not all—of his Cabinet appointees wear a mask (literally) and carry a gun (figuratively) to work every day, and that’s if they show up at all. All on the taxpayers’ dime.
The conviction of the president’s former campaign manager and the guilty plea of his former lawyer would have brought down any previous president; not this one.
His coziness with a Russian dictator don’t seem to have the red-light warnings they once had. The Republican Party hasn’t crossed the Rubicon; it has blown up the pontoons in which it crossed.
America is a much different place from what it was just three years ago. We’re like a huge zoo, and the GOP opened all the cages and allowed the dangerous animals to go free. We’re all on our own. We have one chance left to get this right. But do enough Americans care?
We’ll have the answer on the morning of November 7th. If we win, the real work will begin in earnest: rounding up the threats to democracy that will still be out there as long as Donald Trump holds office.
Can we do this?
5
Why would any taxpayer not want to know what's happening with their tax dollars? Why wouldn't anyone want to know if we are a country based on law and order? Why wouldn't any voter want the truth?
Vote in 2018 for American democracy.
18
This is why it is so important to donate to Democratic campaigns like that of Betsy Rader, who is running for OH-14 against Republican David Joyce. Rader is refusing to take corporate PAC or NRA money. Joyce is taking both, and has already broadcast misleading TV ads with that money. Our individual donations of a few, or a few hundred dollars are tiny compared to those from Big Dark Money, but we “real people” outnumber the corporations.
2
@Michelle Goldberg, this opinion piece really should be a "before the Labor Day rush to get out of office" article. I respect fivethirtyeight's due diligence but these are extraordinary times and all that statistics they do won't matter. All the polls they refer to are really darts against a dart board used by drunken participants.
I have not and will not read or have any faith in polls after the 2016 disaster, it is just a waste of time. I'll wait till the votes are counted and recorded. Democrats are known for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the last Presidential election is a classic example.
3
One other thing abut the subpoena power. Lying to Congress is covered by 18 U.S.C. §1001 - in relevant part:
"(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation ...."
However, it is broadly recognised that Sessions DoJ is extraordinarily unlikely to prosecute any member of the Trump administration, or past member for lying to Congress. However, the general federal statute of limitations is 5 years under 18 U.S.C. §3282. So if Trump does not get reflected in 2020 (and it is not a Republican in the White House or House/Senate), well think what say an democrat as Attorney General might do.
13
'What you see and what you read is not what's going on...' Let's take Trump at his word. He has an October surprise that will invalidate the mid-terms.
2
I am nearly 70. I have cancer. I will certainly go out soon. I have always believed in honesty. "Follow the money" is completely true. There are some who found out early that making money in this life is (especially in America) all that it's about. Regardless of the lip service that is given to democracy and god and country and all that other stuff. Indoctrination and lies. The revolution will go on since the truth will never be stopped. Education IS important. And it's not about Harvard or MIT. Those folks are at the front of the line to "get rich" and become corrupted by money. The old boys and girls networks do in fact exist just as Mar-a-Lago does.
22
Courage, Bill. Primary grades education, including preschool, and civics lessons, with the importance of the vote and the powers invested with and by the people, are the most important facets. Literacy rules!
Russian envy and malice have jabbed us, now it must be payback time for traitors.
1
Trump will either resign when Republicans lose their majority or when his and his family’s crimes are revealed by any of the New York investigations or Mueller’s; so, the focus of Congress will then be better served and necessitated to be put upon the horrific entity which lurks in Trump’s shadow—to mute what will be its ravaging ravings and intents.
3
In other words, we're in a battle to save the soul of our democracy. Vote blue!
22
The Democrats must at least win the House. The alternative is unthinkable.
5
A 70% percent chance for a Democratic House takeover is no joke. The odds are in our favor. But it doesn't remotely mean it's a sure thing, no matter how many times members of the media say the Dems are favored.
It's little better than 2 chances out of 3, with nearly 1 chance in 3 the R's prevail. And remember, Republicans have built in advantages for House elections. Large numbers of districts have been gerrymandered and few voter suppression activities have been curbed. And deep pocketed donors, flush with billions in tax cuts, will spend countless millions.
Too many pundits and voters thought Hillary had the 2016 election in the bag. Unfortunately, voting can seem less urgent when the results seem 'guaranteed.' Add to that the general level of dissatisfaction with the leading contenders, and you get an unusually high number of voters deciding to cast protest votes for third party candidates - a total waste of effort.
And so we now have Donald Trump as president. A man who is manifestly the most unpopular (by depth of dislike), incompetent, and probably criminal president in our history.
The big lesson is to disregard the polls and vote like the life of our nation depends on it. Every vote counts. Trump is just getting started and may well destroy our democracy if left unchecked. Republicans certainly won't lift a finger as long as he appoints radical right wing judges, deregulates us back to the stone age, and vilifies immigrants and people of color.
VOTE!
8
I would say to this columnist, there is no point in counting your chickens yet. Unfortunately, I don't think we've bottomed out. Still way too many voters happily ensconced in their Facebook feeds where only news they want to see (or that Russia has decided they should see) gets through. It will probably take something that personally impacts voters, such as Trump lobbing a bomb which blows back on the U.S., to focus this electorate's attention. Never forget that the people who comment on NYT articles are tiny minority that Republicans (and most Democrats for that matter) just pay no attention to.
4
Democrats have chosen to not reach out to the Trump party.
Instead, buoyed foolishly by hopes of a blue wave (the same Tsunami that was to sweep Clinton in), the Democrats are dumping college age, minority, socialist, community organizers who are antithetical to theTrumpian way, into the election fray.
Threats of retro-active oversight are equally appealing.
Republicans retain Congress.
4
@A. Reader: we've heard quite enough from the tRump party. The tRump party can go pound sand. The Democrats are the party with the big tent, welcoming ALL except racists, bigots and misogynists. We welcome college-age, minorities, socialists/progressives, community organizers, senior citizens and those who respect individual rights to choose what is best for ourselves and our bodies. Those who don't agree...well, you'll also benefit when the Democrats are steering the ship.
2
@Cindi T-
Yes, we welcome all and have a big tent, but Trump has a solid 90% party approval, as well some Dem support.
And now that we're fighting for our very existence, Dems decide to shed senior leadership and experiment with the delegate structure. Why? --- to appease the Bernie Sanders crowd and placate Progressives.
Trumpians can pound sand? They're pounding us. We lost the Presidency, the Senate and House, the Supreme Court and the majority of Governorships and State legislatures.
The point is we're fielding candidates just guaranteed to alienate Republicans, not welcome them-- and at a perilous juncture. Furthermore, these actions will energized Republicans and splinter Democrats.
In fracturing Democratic grass root support, 3rd party candidates thrive just enough --just enough to win elections for, yup, Republicans.
I agree that we'd all benefit...if only the working class believed that ... but they don't.
Trump will either resign when Republicans lose their majority or when his and his family’s crimes are revealed by any of the New York investigations or Mueller’s; so, the focus of Congress will then be better served and necessitated to be put upon the horrific entity which lurks in Trump’s shadow—to mute its ravaging ravings and intentions.
2
Trump's secret ingredient, which keeps his approval rating from plunging among his base, is that he is seen as the enemy of the liberal establishment. He is the hero of those who believe their way of life is under constant threat, not only by those who don't want to work for a living, but also by those who are willing to steal their jobs at reduced wages. Call it whatever you like, racism, fascism, whatever; this is the root of his support, a fear that all Democrats are Socialists and he is their champion against them. He may be a crook, but he is their crook. In the coming election and moving forward, the focus can't be entirely upon defining the depth of his criminality and punishing him for it, but instead has to be on proving that he has lied to his base and has in fact done nothing to make their lives more secure. But even this is not enough, Democrats have to prove, as they have in the past, that they care about the plight of the average family.
16
The problem is that you can have all the proof needed to convince a rational person how Trump is just a con man ripping off America but his base refuses to accept any of your evidence. Pretty pointless.
3
This column sounds too much like the 'deep states' road map for revenge. I'd venture the author lost some moderates and independents with this game plan.
For my $ .02 I'd take the quiet road and just present a litany of transgressions that have to be corrected. Endless pursuit in the spotlight keeps them in our hair longer. Let's just get rid of them.
1
I wish the Democrats would get some real teeth and bite back for a change. For instance, Trump is very proud of the stock market gains in his term, over 20%. So ask your voters, what was your raise last year? 3% 2%?
Do you know what your share of the national debt is?
Do you really want to evict immigrants so you can have their sub-minimum wage jobs picking crops, cleaning hotels, and caring for the sick and elderly?
The Trump Voters are just not hearing how Trumps policies will really affect their lives.
32
@EW
What were raises during Obama's 8 years? Answer; 2.2%
What have raises been under Trump? Answer; 3.4%
So now you're worried about the National Debt? How much did the National Debt increase under Obama? Answer; it increased from $10.9 T to $19.7 T. It almost doubled under Obama. Please send me a link to your comment of concern about the National Debt under Obama's Administration.
What the Left chooses to misunderstand is that most Americans do not have a problem with immigrant workers coming here to take the jobs you describe. Most Americans just want them to enter the country legally, so that the presence of non-citizens can be controlled and monitored. Our broken immigration policies are stalled because neither party wants to work together, which has driven the Right to want to control entry by building a wall. The Left is playing the long game hoping to grant voting rights to illegal immigrants.
Precisely. Follow the money. I am amazed, and disturbed, that the IRS hasn't uncovered any wrongdoing despite tons of circumstantial evidence that would have triggered a fraud audit in a normal citizen.
Was money obtained from Russian creditors under terms resembling an undeclared 'gift'? Was Money from the charity illegally diverted for public or political use?
If the IRS sniffers have ascertained nothing so far it basically means they're either incompetent or intimidated, like most of Trump's opponents.
1
I would also hope the Dems figure out a way to ensure the proper completion of the 2020 census. That is going to be the underpinning to much evildoing if reps are left unobserved.
4
It seems wishful thinking to assert that Trump is "deeply unpopular," and I say that as a Trump-loathing reader who has literally been sickened by the way the tangerine nightmare has responded to John McCain's death. When it comes to Trump, I know plenty of of people outside New York who still swear by the guy. Not "at" the guy, mind you, as I do.
4
@JM
Plenty of us inside NY who swear by the guy. His developments did wonders for NYC. He took over the Wollman Rink project from the city, completing it under budget and ahead of schedule. He undetook numerous skyscraper developments, either renovating buildings or building them, creating many beautiful residences that believe it or not, lots of liberals live in. Think about what his reputation was before beating Democrats in an election.He had a cameo in Home Alone for christs sake. Would Hollywood do that with a "racist criminal"?? Thats the real Donald Trump, not the horrible person Democrats and the media portray him to be, just like they did to John McCain during the 2008 campaign, and Mitt Romney, and George Bush, and Bob Dole, and......well, you get the picture.
@Sports.....ok, you're being sarcastic, right? "Plenty of us inside NY swear by this guy"? Define "plenty".
The Constitution and American tradition contemplate that the Legislative Branch has continuous oversight of the Executive Branch.
Only in recent years have Republicans adopted what would have once been unthinkable by promoting an Imperial Presidency with Congress relegated to the role of the enabler of anything the president wishes to do.
To modern Republicans, it doesn’t matter if they privately think what President Donald Trump wishes to do is foolish, ill-informed, immoral, unconstitutional or criminal. If he wants it, Trump gets it. The Senate and the House has a single job under this autocratic rule: cover it up or put some lipstick on it.
A victory in the House in the midterms will change everything. Michelle Goldberg is absolutely right about the magic of subpoena power.
3
Every article on this subject I read seems to assume that the subpoenas will be obeyed. What happens when (not if) the subpoenas are ignored or their validity is challenged in court? Would the Trump administration risk a constitutional crisis by forcing many of these to be litigated all the way to the Supreme Court?
In transactional analysis, if the opposition forces you to play win-lose, you change the game to make it lose-lose. Transactional analysis is all Trump understands. In this case, the House tries to tie up the White House. The White House replies by tying up the House.
2
@ChicagoWill
Just look at all the subpoenas the Justice Department ignored from congress. There will be lots of headlines in the MSM, but little if any action, assuming that the Left retakes the House.
If you thought Trump seemed haggard already, just wait. There is absolutely no way his staff are prepared to meet the regulatory onslaught that awaits if Democrats win the House. The two year backlog of basic accountability alone is enough to sink a super tanker. Trump was in trouble even before you add the more serious accusations into the mix. Republicans are awaiting a massive tsunami now. I wonder what Trey Gowdy's dodge will be this time.
Here's the point: You can't run government like a private business. For the past 18 months, that's exactly what Trump has been trying to do. Not just a private business either. Trump is attempting to run the country like a shoddy family-run private business. That's essentially how Trump's CFO described the organization's various business dealings. I think you can trust the accountant on this one. He just signed an immunity deal with investigators.
Trump failed to grasp the most fundamental principle of public office: Everything a public official says or does is answerable to the public eventually. We can debate the timeline to exposure but the information will come to light. That's the nature of public service. Trump is about to learn that lesson the hard way.
21
It’s so revealing that theses people would put together a list of their failures. Not only have they no character, but apparently take some pride in not doing their job. It occurs to me that the authoritarian, one party rule these people aspire too would be a great personal boon to them. Instead of doing the difficult work of legislating they would basically sit in their offices and lick boots. Honestly, what is a congress or parliament in an autocracy for other than window dressing.
5
Great article. The catalog is an indictment earned by the swamp things. However, you write of the Dems that "it’s important to them to show that they can govern." Given the changes in the electorate and in the western world in general, that may be a devastatingly prescient phrase. Trump and Brexit are two major milestones in the populist madness that besets politics. But look at Ireland, where the Pope got fewer than a hundred thousand welcomes and where the Taoiseach (prime minister) is openly gay. The tasks facing the Dems are vast and they may be intractable. The ability of the Dems to fix all the problems may ensure the re-election of Trump, unless unprecedented levels of discipline and patience descend on the voters.
4
If you are republican, and are worried about (re) election in November, what would you do?
Campaign with mail flyers.
TV ads.
Resist all efforts to eliminate gerrymandering.
Stay silent or aid and abet the process of voter purging, cross checking, and the closing of polling places.
Remain silent about any potential efforts by Russian hacks and disinformation campaigns in the web and on social media, because it benefits you. This is happening now, and will only intensify, with calculated Democratic targets in the lead up to the election. Putin will still be working behind the scenes, and the Republicans are very grateful.
7
Ms. Goldberg, you are like a gleaming gem in a perfect setting. Thanks again!
22
All the talk of the Democratic or blue wave needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I just don't think the Republicans are going to let Democrats take charge of the House of Representatives. With or without Russian help, they will figure out a way - possibly illegal - to maintain their grip on power. After the fact, Republicans can thwart any action to place the rightfully elected officeholders in their seats. No investigations, no action whatsoever to assure the integrity of the midterm election.
Otherwise, they will be facing a real existential threat to their party and it's power. They know this as indicated by their "spreadsheet of investigations" none of which appear to be without merit.
They are planning it now and will stop at nothing to maintain their position of power and control.
21
Sad, and the US purported to be the worlds greatest democracy. What went wrong when so few people can control the majority? It is no wonder of the disillusionment of young people and general voter apathy. What good does it do? All we can hope for is that the fall elections install people with ethics and a better sense of doing things for the country and not be shills for the wealthy. Until that happens we are not so great.
13
If the Dems take the wheel, Trump goes from an authoritarian back to a mere President governed himself by oversight from the legislative branch.
I’m just saying this to remind myself that the Constitution does indeed work... as long as American voters want it to work.
24
The Democrats could do a lot even without having a majority in the House.
There's too much focus on Trump. Much of that is by his own design. Democrats should instead focus on what their colleagues in Congress are doing, or not doing to reign in the administration's policies.
The EPA has relegated our children to higher cancer rates, our elderly to more lung disease and everyone to tainted air and water.
Education has one goal, privatize. Recently they made it easier for profit-making colleges to cheat its students.
HUD rule changes in effect promote housing segregation and the continued defunding of public housing while we are in the midst of a housing crisis.
Banking regulations are getting rolled back, public lands leased to private oil companies, endangered species left unprotected and the Justice Department clings to outdated practices rooted in the 1980's.
While these are administration policies, they are all allowed and endorsed by the GOP.
Let's not forget Trump's commitment to endless war in the Middle East.
There are no shortage of issues where the government once protected the public and now is protecting the corporate bottom line. But therein lies the problem.
The Democratic Party wants the campaign money from those same corporations. So it's easier to criticize Trump than offer a clear counter-policy that is solidly behind the public interest.
Are they better than the GOP? Yes, but not better enough.
12
@drspock - You are right. Focus on the issues that affect regular Americans on a daily basis - education, veterans, cost of healthcare, environment. Democrats win on those. Ignore Trump not honoring McCain. That won't change anyone's vote or get people out to vote. All the bread and butter things will.
4
@drspock: Ryan and McConnell are not for turning. McCarthy or any other likely successor to Ryan are even worse.
1
Since the FBI doesn’t seem to be doing much about it, I would like the Congress to get to the bottom of the outing of the FBI informant Stefan Halper. To do so they would have to subpoena Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes.
19
The Dems will never impeach Trump as they most certainly want to run against his corruption in 2020. They want to make the 2020 election a referendum on corruption of Trump and the corruption of his party. So, if Dems get control of the House, expect to see never ending hearings into not just Trump, but all manner of his administration, and the dealings of many of the GOP members themselves. “Corruption” not “Collusion” will be the Dems 2020 message.
17
Regaining control of the House gives Democrats the ability to hold Trump 100% accountable for his actions, his wrongdoings and the damage he has foisted on the USA. Forget impeachment. Without the ability to convict, any such action empowers Trump and neutralizes the Democrats. So the best and most feasible course is to hold Trump and the GOP responsible for their deeds. For the Dems, it's the right strategy. For Trump and the GOP, it's the nightmare scenario they've been ducking for almost two years.
28
@Mike McD You expressed your sensible thoughts, so well. Trumpster has seriously damaged the Republican Party and the Party leaders have brought on the damage themselves by not holding Trumpster accountable for his disgraceful behavior.
His misogyny, bigotry, lousy judgment and hostility expressed towards friends and foes, foreign and domestic is a serious stain on all well-meaning USA citizens. His endorsement of and "cozying up" to thugs and totalitarian dictators is completely alien to our USA culture.
I cannot exempt Republican leaders and Trumpster supporters from my disgust and my decision to oppose those leaders and nearly all he stands for. His VEEP is not better.
The sooner they and their motely crew are voted out-of-office, the sooner decent folks from all political practices and philosophies may restore our national dignity, culture, and dignity.
Yet another excellent column emphasizing the importance of this fall's elections. It would be wonderful if Trump could be on the ballots. The destruction of America is not a Presidential duty.
18
@Cone
Why is this excellent? It is nothing but a regurgitation of unproven accusations.
Trump haters know the collusion angle can't pass legal muster. So their tactic is to shout every accusation long and loud from now till November.
With help from biased media and readers and listeners who seek articles telling them what they want to hear and believe, the tactic may work. Win or lose, we certainly emerge from November more polarized than ever. I wonder if the Republic can stand if Democrats like Cummings and Waters and Pelosi attempt what will be clearly percieved as a coup in 2019.
Please Democrats, be smart if we win big in November---prepare for 2020. Yes, corruption can be a piece of the campaign strategy, by then, we may have a Trump family member locked up--but, more importantly, get some real middle class legislation under your belt. Let's begin with shoring up the Affordable Health Care Act, then proceed to prescription drugs, alleviate the student loan mess, start an infrastructure project, and go after the obvious tax loopholes that allow the 1% to become even richer by the day. In addition to providing some relief to the middle class, this strategy would smoke out the GOP's obvious war on the middle class---watching McConnell rail against lower drug prices, or restoring pre existing conditions, or putting for profit college out of business, or running up the deficit is a made to order campaign ad. Finally, please downplay cultural issues, until we take back the White House: guns, immigration, affirmative action, LGBT issues are off the table--The Republicans would like nothing better to than to draw democratic candidates into debates over bathroom rights or eliminating ICE.
25
@ACJ Your ideas are spot-on. I'm hoping cooler heads in the Dem party will prevail, and find a way to address the past two years, correct the damage when possible, and look to the future at prevention. That's going to require a lot of support from all of us.
4
@ACJ I get where you're coming from, but for a lot of the democratic base, minority issues are everyday issues as important as anything else. This idea that African Americans not wanting to see their children gunned down is a distraction, or the cruel treatment of immigrants isn't as important as tax reform is something that comes up a lot, and it's just unfortunate.
4
@ACJ: I couldn't agree more. I hope the Democrats don't repeat their previous strategy of "seizing defeat from the jaws of victory."
1
The thing that gets me is that if this president was a Democrat, the GOP wound be screaming for impeachment. No matter how the Dems treat Trump's actions, the Republicans will obfuscate or ignore any efforts to call Trump to task. The photo of Trump for this op-ed says it all. This miserable human being of a president is always angry, and he will continue to lash out with lies and bluster at very opportunity, so talk about impunity? It seems like no matter what is done to call Trump to task, it is an uphill battle, where justice is couched as a witch hunt, and truth is fake.
9
Rep. Cummings is absolutely right. If Democrat returns to power in the House, we must participate in governance but not political revenge. I detest Trump and his cronies. However, we must understand that Trump wants authoritarian power and he must subdue the democratic institutions, the press, the court, the legislature, to do that. We cannot fight Trump on his level because we must preserve these institutions otherwise we lost. Authoritarianism on the right, and the left, are both disastrous. We should remember at the passing of Senator McCain that it is not about winning but doing the right things. We must have faith that doing right can right the world.
6
@Peter
Thanks, Peter. Good points. Someone has to return our government to actually functioning for the American people. Plain, ordinary day-in-day-out legislative actions, hearings on the issues being considered, in short, a government that functions rather than the constant jockeying for position and power the way we see things under McConnell and Ryan.
1
@Peter
Tell us, what Trump has done that has violated rule of law Show us where the Constitution has been violated, or Trump has violated free press, or courts, or the power of the legislature.
Democrats have have two years to take down Trump, and they have yet to produce a thing that will stand up to legal muster.
There is little more pathetic than the indignation of those who hold themselves to be superior to the rest of us but lack the political power to put us in our place.
@GeorgeB Purdell
My apologies that you feel threatened by my comments. I have no interest in putting anyone in any place. I only advocate participating in governance if Democrats would win the house and voting Trump out in 2020. I won't go into details here but I do not support a pointless impeachment trial because there isn't enough votes in Senate to convict and a seating president cannot be indicted.
Democrats need to get out front on the issue of impeaching Trump if they take back the House. It's impossible for Democrats to remove this President through the impeachment process, and they need to make that well-known to voters because Republicans will scare voters by telling them Democrats will use the impeachment process to remove Trump. The impeachment process starts in the House and can proceed with a simple majority vote (technically, that vote renders the president "impeached"). It then goes to the Senate where a conviction - which would punish the president and possibly remove the president - requires a two-thirds vote. That's 67 Senators. Democrats have zero chance of having 67 seats in the Senate as a result of the midterm elections. Zero. Less than zero. 95% of American voters don't realize this. This is where Democrats fail over and over: selling reality to swing voters. Republican gerrymandering makes the going tough, but there are enough swing voters in enough districts to take back the House. Dems, please, attack Republican lies with facts, where and when it's possible.
4
These investigations would amount to impeachment by a thousand cuts. Impeaching Trump buys us Pence. Perhaps more evil than Trump and more efficient but too smart to commit impeachable offenses.
What Democrats need is am oversight regimen that exposes the evils that Trump's administrators are inflicting on ordinary people. The catalogue of 'evil' regulations that actually protect people that the Trump administration are eliminating. Oversight must consist of a systematic program of exposing Republican--not just Trump's destructive policies -- as well as giving people some idea of what Democrats will do for ordinary Americans if they take over the government.
6
Let's stop charade. If the Democrats win the House, they will proceed to impeachment. I guarantee it, and any pundit who suggests otherwise is being dishonest. Whether they are actually able to impeach Trump or not will depend on how wide their majority is. If they have a very narrow majority, they may not be able to muster enough votes, but regardless they will file articles of impeachment.
Barring a seismic revelation, it is very unlikely that the Democrats will be able to convict Trump in the Senate and remove him from office. To do that they will need Republican votes, probably almost 20. Ironically, one of their best hopes will be the man they mocked for calling Russia our number one geopolitical foe--Mitt Romney.
One of the reasons the Democrats will fail is their hypocrisy. Trump probably deserves to be impeached and removed, but the Democrats set the precedent with Bill Clinton that obstruction of justice and lying under oath are just not serious enough to remove a president from office. There is no way the Republicans are going to impeach a president of their party over some convoluted theory of obstruction involving firing the FBI director or for committing some technical violation of campaign finance law.
And after the Dems fail to remove him, Trump, like Clinton, go around claiming he was "acquitted," and will be well on his way to reelection, thanks again to Democratic and liberal hypocrisy.
1
@Charles: You're kidding, right? Not to excuse Clinton's misdeeds, but lying about an affair is hardly in the same league as colluding with a hostile foreign to steal an election. There are numerous reasons to impeach Trump, but if Dems are smart they won't make impeachment the focus of their majority. Fixing the damage Trump has caused is at least if not more important than punishing him...
5
@Charles
Oh for goodness sake! Charles, you criticize the writer for their assertion and then make a stronger assertion with far less evidence.
2
If Democrats in 2008 had spent two years of nonstop congressional hearings on the Iraq war and related subjects, they would not have suffered slaughter in the 2010 election. They can assure victory in 2020, and thereby influence redistricting and much else, if they spend 2018-2020 exposing Republican collusion with the corrupt Trump administration.
2
Getting additional information about criminal behavior through committee subpoenas is pretty useless. More criminal behavior will be revealed of course, but what can be done with that information? Impeachment is an impossibility with the current Senate - 2/3 of those folks, meaning 15 Republicans, must vote for removal if the House impeaches. Indictment and prosecution at the federal level will not happen to a sitting president.
His felonious business and political friends are receiving immunity to give information that cannot be acted on, so nothing will happen to them either, with a few exceptions.
Mueller's report will be read and discarded and no action of consequence will be taken as there is real recourse as I describe above. Trump could be indicted for State of New York crimes such as tax evasion while he's in office. And when he leaves he could be tried and jailed for his federal criminal behavior. But he could also be pardoned by a Republican president. Justice is not being served and our democracy, our system of government is being corrupted and corroded by this man and his Republican senate. Unbelievable.
Our democracy and system
3
Accountability is critical. The republicans will attempt to paint themselves as unwilling passengers on a runaway train with Trump as the engineer and Nunes, Zinke, Mnuchin, Ross, Pruitt and various other indictable right wing extremists as ticket takers, conductors and dispatchers.
A measure of sanity and even bi-partisan comity would be welcome and an eventual return to regular order a wonderful thing but, the republicans who treated our democracy like a personal piggy bank/toilet must be dealt with definitively and severely.
10
I'd be careful. Democratic overreach is just the thing to get Trump reelected. Most voters don't live in New York.
3
Having come of age during Watergate, the most frustrating and defeating element was the key individual responsible was not held accountable. I recall many Republicans justifying President Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon as demonstrating Nixon’s resignation was punishment enough and he did not deserve criminal indictment as a private citizen. Well, yes he did. There are tapes to prove it and the GOP was simply protecting itself from further blood letting. The false narrative Watergate congressional hearings tore this country apart was created - a criminal trial would permanently divide this country. No. Many Americans, like myself, were horrified at criminal acts from the Executive Branch. A trial would further diminish and divide the GOP.
Today, we are experiencing the consequences of the GOP setting out to purposely divide this country. Whether to prove a false narrative envisioned nearly fifty years ago or to make sure they retained political power in the face of corruption, cowards have banded together and have run away from democratic and American values - the greater cause was discarded for the treachery of an anti-democratic agenda. The rule of law and justice for all does not work for Republicans. Majorities in Congress are running away from their constitutional duties. This makes it all more important for all who value democracy to have the courage to fight for it.
8
This needs to happen it is imperative. Many in the GOP have failed to do their jobs. They have been in deriliction of duty. Far to long and need to be voted out of office.
3
Fighting for the soul of our democracy. That sentence is potent. That sentence implicitly means: Democrats, (because whether you are an Independent, Libertarian, Green Party member, Socialist, etc., you must vote for Democrats in November if we are to save democracy), fighting to preserve the essence of what the American Revolution was fought for. That sentence implicitly means: defeating an enemy. The enemy is the Republican Party - leaders and members.
Fighting for the soul of our democracy. We have been in this fight for over a generation, going back to the late 1940's. At that time the armies realigned and changed identities. Democrats purged their racist members. Republicans warmly welcomed all racists. The old Party of Lincoln became the new Party of Trump; the Democratic Party divorced itself from the South and became the Party of ALL The People.
Fighting for the soul of our democracy is an existential fight. Democrats have long fought battles with Republicans over voter suppression, gerrymandering, the Second Amendment, women's rights, minorities rights, ALL The People's rights, etc. But now the battle is for the soul of democracy, the very survival of our democratic republic. The fight is for our heritage - a sacred gift preserved over many generations of Americans who sacrificed that we might have what the Founding Fathers created in their wisdom.
November is existential. What Democrats may do after taking the Congress is secondary. Primary is saving democracy.
11
@jabarry
Try "fighting for the soul of our Republic".
We don't need mob rule, fomented by angry and violent leftists willing to shout down any speech save that which the left holds true.
We don't need "rights" expanded to any consumable good or service that will buy votes at the next election.
We don't need a Constitution amended at every whim of the "we know better than the founders" left.
Voter suppression? Bunk. The only voting "right" challenged today is the ability to vote illegally.
Gerrymandering? Democrats are the Kings of the gerrymander and kings of crying foul it the opposition dares to redraw district lines to any advantage.
Racism. Democrats are the party of racism. They crave racial mistrust and strife. It is their life blood. The party will collapse if we ever get sick of Democrat party race baiters.
For the record, I have mixed race members in my family. I'm more concerned than ever for our little ones' futures, not because of Trump or the Republicans, but because of hypocritical and opportunistic race-baiting democrats. I want them to succeed based on who they are. Democrats want them to be an aggrieved and resentful identity group.
Assuming the Democrats were to control the House following the mid-terms, wouldn’t all the sensible and lawful efforts they undertake be viewed as just more partisan “payback”, thus perpetuating this ongoing political warfare?
If we have learned anything since 2016, it is that Republicans and “the base” care nothing of democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law. It is all about power with IMPUGNITY (as Michelle so correctly notes), and any efforts to restore those sacred values that have defined our nation will be viewed by them as purely partisan.
So how can the Democrats restore our democratic and Constitutional values to a fractured society? Elijah Cummins said it best when he felt we should not seek retribution. Rather, govern democratically. Reach across the aisle. Change the House rules so the majority of the majority don’t control the legislative agenda (see www.nolabels.org/the-speaker-project). Expose the vast corruption. And don’t impeach unless the evidence of treason with Russia is clearly established.
Perhaps the salutary benefits of the Trump Administration fiasco will be the start of a national cleansing process of our sick and wayward political system. We know that that will never happen with the Republicans. But the Democrats may have the opportunity to lead by example and save our democracy in the process. That prospect is surely worth our vote in November.
7
Can someone explain to me how trump is able to have all these rallies at the taxpayers expense? What government business is being accomplished at them?
32
@JR
"Can someone explain to me how trump is able to have all these rallies at the taxpayers expense?"
Exactly! And we could include: What government business is being added or planned while he tweets, watches tv, plays golf, gives his hate-speak during interviews, supports the alt right and Manafort? Isn't he supposed to be working for all of us? Of course he is, but he doesn't understand the enormity of the job and he doesn't know what to do - hence, tweet, watch tv, etc.
6
@JR "LOL. Nothing matters." Like a toddler, Trump lives to challenge boundaries. If no one calls him on the fact that he is spending our money on rallies, he will continue to do so.
1
@JR
Perhaps the same government business that was accomplished on all of Obama's fundraisers and golf outings. You know, like going to a fund raiser in Texas, but refusing an invite to visit the over-run border. Or ignoring VA outrages because fundraiser were more important.
They all do it and there's no way any congress is ever going to pass legislation to diminish the advantage of incumbency.
Corruption is the rule of the day in the Trump administration and within Congress. Corruption on the scale we are seeing it leads always to authoritarian rule and that is happening now. Most Americans resist the idea of a strong man running the country. In November registered voters have the chance to correct the course and vote for checks and balances on the abuse of power we are seeing now.
45
The problem underlying all of this is our complete neglect of democracy learning within our “democratic” society. If Congress continues to ignore this as they have in the past, whatever fixes they manage in the near future will be overridden by those who can buy power from poorly prepared citizens.
13
Come November vote like the lives of your children and grand children are at stake, because they are. The "let them eat cake" attitude of Trump and the Republican party must not endure or it could become the economic norm for future generations of Americans.
Running Trump out of town with impeachment is not enough. The Republican party needs an overhaul from McConnell on down.
96
The GOP have had absolute power since Jan 2017. It is time for the Dems to get to a position to check on what the GOP has done. The cabinet members need to be investigated, the Trump tax returns need to be published and the Trump family need to be told to either get into an official position or get out. This is all long overdue. The GOP should have done all of this 1.5 years ago and have not.
34
@toom
Wrong!
Democrats had absolute power when the Reid Senate had 60 democrats. That's when they shoved the ACA and Dodd-Frank down our throats. You remember that "you have to pass it to see what's in it" legislation don't you?
Trump has been checked by Schumer's lockstep minority more than once.
Counting on a surge of Democratic voters to come to the polls in November is problematical according to my Republican friends. As a lifelong liberal Democrat living in the deep South, I've kept my relationships intact, helping me as a writer. Right or wrong, Republicans here believe that threats of massive turnout by minorities, young people and women are nothing more that hot air boasting, something that won't happen.
I pray they are wrong.
57
@Doc
Yes, we hope and we pray. But hopes and prayers aren't enough. If we don't turn out and vote, we deserve everything we get.
2
@Doc, minorities, young people, & women are the demographics r’s have marginalized (with impunity) for years. I’m with John Lewis saying the upcoming election shouldn’t be about revenge...but...it would be so sweet. People come out from the margins, it matters. Resist. Persist. Vote.
3
@Doc and i pray that they are right. there's nothing more faux than a "young person" wearing a che guevara t-shirt, busy enjoying the daily fruits of democracy and capitalism....
The key issue in many of the administrations abuses lies in following where the money comes from and where it goes. I am praying for a Democratic victory to get at the core of the problem and save our country from Trump's crooked administration.
30
Watching the local TV station, Channel 2, WKTV, out of Utica, NY, gives insight into what Republicans are doing. Claudia Tenney, the incumbent, is running for a second term in the NY 22 Congressional District.
Her advertising always features Nancy Pelosi. Anthony Brindisi, her Democratic opponent, is going to knuckle under to Pelosi on everything from immigration to gutting Medicare. Pelosi, Brindisi and the Democrats are "wrong for America."
Donald Trump came to Utica for a fundraiser to support Tenney. She got a lot of attention with live coverage of Trump disappearing into a hotel and waiting for the motorcade to leave.
I don't know if Brindisi has a chance of beating her. Trump is still popular here in Central NY. I fear that similar campaigns are unfolding across the USA. Republicans have a lot at stake and they know it.
15
I would love to see his tax returns reviewed. However, I believe he’ll resign first if that’s his only option to keep them secret.
40
@Jan202021 Considering that he has lied about everything else, why would anyone expect to find that he was honest in filing his tax returns? There will certainly not be a line item showing the millions paid by the Russians (if there were such) so that won't help show him guilty of treason. The returns might give tax accountants a big belly laugh to see how he used the loopholes, but most of us without his money people won't understand how he finagled the bottom line to get big refunds, rather than paying his share.
2
I don’t think his resignation would accomplish that
1
Although it is in the national interest to immediately remove Trump from office, that may not be in the interests of Democrats if they retake the House in November. Instead the next two years may be filled with House investigations into the litany of Trump’s crimes and abuses. The prostrate and wounded president would then run for re-election in a considerably weakened state. He may not even win his party’s nomination.
24
@fjbaggins I oppose Trump, but not certain impeachment and promoting Pence is in the national interest.
1
@Bluecheer Trump is a criminal president who poses a substantial threat to the republic. Pense is a very conservative politician, but I don't believe him filling out the last year of Trump's term would threaten the rule of law, the First Amendment, or other important democratic institutions in the way Trump has the last two years.
1
The news that N. Carolina must change their congressional districting from the Republican Gerrymandered districts can make Dems victory more likely.
But in any case the country needs change.
The Republican Party has become tainted and appears more corrupt than any since the Tea Pot Dome scandal.
That is another reason that a delay in approving a Trump appointment to the SCOTUS.
If we don't make a drastic change in the midterms, the Democracy is in peril;. Resist, Vote.
131
@tom
One can make a case that things are worse than with Teapot Dome: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-trump-administrations-no-goo... ("The Trump administration is in an unethical league of its own"). That essay is already 6 months old, and does not have the latest indictment and conviction figures related to the Mueller probe.
If Democrats and Independents do not get out and vote in November, we have only ourselves to blame.
2
I believe there is a better idea, Ms. Goldberg. The Democrats should focus on winning elections through putting forward better ideas and then try to work with the GOP minority to implement them. And let Robert Mueller do his job and indict and convict people who have committed wrongdoing. The House should not tie up half of its time trying to investigate Trump and his ilk.
Winning elections will not only change policy, but also force Trump from office. I don’t believe he will run again in 2020 if he does not have a GOP majority in Congress and faces the potential for investigations and impeachment.
That being said, I am not a fan of impeachment here. Our country cannot continue to be non-governed and frozen by inaction, and swing wildly back and forth between extreme GOP and Democratic policy changes every two years. Vote the bums out and begin governing. Work as best we can with the other side. Let’s fix what needs fixing.
Continual investigations by Congress may feel good to ideologues, columnists and the 24-hour news industry, but it will paralyze governance and accomplish little. We need less polarization and more problem solving. This cycle of mutual political destruction based on who is in charge of Congress by a couple of votes has to end.
32
@Jack Sonville your recommendation sounds so reasonable and wise, and it would be if the misdeeds of the Trump administration were not so gaudy. Re-setting norms must start with exposing and punishing crimes. Democrats are not in it for the joy of a food fight, as you seem to suggest. They are in it to reclaim the soul of our democracy (per Mr. Cummings).
Yes we must get back to governing, i.e. advancing sound policy, but not without also attending to essential housekeeping. Both must, and can, be accomplished.
72
While I respect your opinion, Jack, I strongly disagree with your view about the potential damage of impeachment proceedings. On the contrary I believe it is absolutely necessary that Democrats hold this president accountable in order to educate and help heal this country.
Americans, especially those who support him and those who didn’t vote, need to know exactly what Trump has done to earn impeachment. Too many are ignorant about the Constitution and the laws that make this country great (great in an ideal sense- something we can all strive to attain) and the White House cannot just ignore and flout those laws. This man and his ilk have desecrated the Office of the Presidency and the only way we are going to reestablish trust and respect in that Office (besides voting someone in who truly understands the tremendous responsibility of that Office) is to hold the current occupants accountable for their actions. Only when the memory of Trump’s impeachment is burned into the mind of every American (like with Nixon) will chances of this happening again be lessened in the future.
4
@Kim
Ordinarily, I would agree. But I harken back to what Gerald Ford did with Nixon. He recognized that the country would be polarized and paralyzed for years if "the Nixon Show" continued on. So he pardoned Nixon and moved the country past it. I am not suggesting a pardon for Trump; rather, that he be allowed to slither back to the faux gold-encrusted hole where he came from. History will punish him plenty. So will the NY AG, who is investigating various aspects of his business, with the help of information generated from the Mueller probe.
1
The fact that so many did not feel the 2016 election was worth voting in has made this election the most important one in modern history. Anyone who fails to vote better not tell me about it unless they are on the way out the door.
120
It is beginning to appear that the assumption of invincibility and criminal actions, mostly among Republican, are not the exception but the culture. If investigations cover not only Trump but all of Congress and the Administration, newer and larger holding facilities would have to be built, assuming that the crimes were prosecuted as they would be for non governmental felons.
The fact that Mnuchin, Carson, Zinke, Pruitt, and Shulkin have not been indicted for embezzlement suggests that they will not be. Would DeVos's striking protection for students cheated by loan companies in which she is involved be considered a crime? If so, would she be prosecuted?
41
Thanks .And now all that has to be done is for Democrats to administer a stinging defeat on the Republicans in the November elections.But will they?
15
The majority may want to see accountability, but the people controlling the election do no.
The suppression of voting rights, electronic voting and gerrymandered districts suggest the House will remain Republican - unless there is a huge Democrat turnout.
I'm not optimistic.
54
Sure, okay, no revenge. But what Wilbur Ross is; what Betty DeVos is, what needs to be done with this cabinet isn't revenge, it's stopping them cold in their tracks so they don't destroy anything else. And my confidence level with leaders like Schumer and Pelosi aren't particularly high.
115
@MARCSHANK What Wilber Ross is? What Betsy DeVos is? Well, what are they? What they are is in power. As long as the Democratic leadership keeps getting bashed by people who have little concept of the big picture, Betsy and Wilber will remain right where they are.
Try a little loyalty, or better still, stop and think if it's not bad enough already where this country would be without Schumer and Pelosi and many Democrats serving and trying to prevent what Trump and the Republicans are trying to do to this country. Try a little gratitude and vote.
3
A 70% chance of a blue wave in the fall elections? Those odds aren’t even as good as the polls saying Hillary was going to win. And she lost.
36
@MShe won the popular vote, and in 2018 it is the popular vote that counts. No Electoral College to deal with.
84
Sorry you are wrong. Electoral College is the deciding factor. Without it only 14 counties would decide,leaving the rest with no voice which is what the democrats want. Seen it in her travels. Always big money heavy liberal areas. No blue collar cause we are beneath her standards, no rural for the same reason. Even her husband said that's the reason she lost.
8
@Barry Lawhorn We aren't voting for president in 2018 where the Electoral College plays a part. I believe that is what Ansie Woods was suggesting. Therefor the popular vote, if applied fairly, is what would be in play.
11
This is why everyone who even has the slightest bit of pause about the state of the nation needs to vote for a Democrat this year (even if only in the House, where they would only have a two year term and the Senate can keep churning out conservative judges at breakneck pace). The status quo is not how the Founders envisioned our country operating and there needs to be at least some check on Trump's power before he takes the country down with him.
97
If things stay as they are, I am afraid our Democracy may not last. If the truth gets buried, it will be extremely damaging, and will open the doors to even greater corruption in our nations highest office.
I sure hope reasonable Americans from across the political spectrum will vote to restore integrity to the presidency, and send a message to Washington that we will not tolerate this corruption and deceit.
53
If the Democrats do not take over the House in the midterm elections and thereby possess subpoena power, the long dark night of our nation’s soul will continue.
GOP “realists”—self-serving opportunists one and all—will continue to ignore Trump’s incompetence, corruption and cruelty and to subordinate the national interest to the interests of what is now the Trumpuglican Party. They will continue to abandon conservative ideals, to undermine the rule of law, to defy political norms and to persuade their base that the “invisible hand” of the market is NOT attached to a strong plutocratic arm. They will continue to promote the policies of privatization and deregulation that advance the interests of their greedy, all too greedy, donors.
Communal bonds and institutions that actually conserve civil society will further unravel and democracy will be consigned to the dustbin of history.
51
I don't think the Republican party "will go quietly into the night" but will amass a campaign fraught with frightening claims against their opponents and the president will be spearheading the charge and stirring up hysteria throughout September and October.
If you think his tweets were insulting and undignified, wait until about six weeks before the election when his twitter fingers will be going 24/7 to keep the dems in the minority.
The Supreme court is not active now so there is no real hurry to push Kavanaugh through and certainly the last person to satisfy on this note is McConnell. He is the real obstructionist in the political arena. It was beneath a majority leader not to call for a vote on the Obama nominee.
There is not much that can be done to curb the president's hostility and bitterness toward his perceived enemies. The truth will never occur to him, nor will it occur to those incessantly feeding at the president's trough. The one who seems to have fallen the furthest was America's mayor after 9/11 but now appears to have become a cartoon character with his pronouncement that "truth isn't truth." Whether a measure of sanity will prevail in November is one thing that cannot be handicapped. And if one thinks the midterms are going to be vicious, wait until 2020. The president will run for a second term the campaign will likely be all "fake news, rigged systems, fire and fury" and the rise of authoritarian rule in the U.S. Sad!
65
McConnell is not an obstructionist. He is a traitor.
4
Very well written article Madam.But I have been reading these things in pieces for quite sometime but there is no action.In case the Democrats dont get majority in November though they are 70% sure,does it mean that the President has done no wrong.Is there no other mechanism which can be used to dethrone the President if he is guilty?
16
A 70% chance for Democrats is not strong enough security unless people actually Vote! In particular we must activate the non-voters of 2016. Do not waste time trying to convert Trump supporters; they are completely unreachable, as has been demonstrated over and over, outrage after outrage.
106
One can always hope. Hope that enough people turn out at the election to stop this madness and regain control of the government. Hope that if regained, then some politicians and others will have to answer for their corrupt actions. Hope that we can once again become the country that the world has looked up to and that we can regain at least some of our dignity.
22
It would go a long way to correcting the horror that is the Trump administration if the Democrats we're able to win a majority in the House. However that is not a slam dunk.
With the gerrymandering, the purge of voter rolls, the closing of voting places, and the appointment of right wing judges, it is going to take the efforts of all of those who support our democracy.
Register to vote! Urge your family and friends to register! If you can afford it, support groups that are fighting against voter suppression! We only have 71 days until the most important election since the Civil War!!
74
If one of Trumps children is criminally charged the whole scam will explode. As will Trump.
It could happen tomorrow.
It will happen before a new House is seated.
82
"This culture of impunity is less a result of Trump’s political skill — he’s deeply unpopular — than of one-party rule." The snarky parenthetical, written with characteristic passive aggressiveness and the passing of an (erroneous) judgment as a fact, says it all. I voted for Hillary Clinton. But printing disproven opinions--if he were so unpopular, how did he get elected--masquerading as legitimate argumentation is a big part of why this ship is sinking.
8
@Andrew, calm down.
13
@Andrew You do realize he lost the popular vote. And popularity tends to fall, not rise, when a president takes power.
4
@Andrew: Haven’t you been paying attention? He got elected in spite of his unpopularity, because of the archaic electoral college which gives rural states more clout than urban areas, gerrymandering and voter suppression by Republicans and the help of Russians, whether or not the Trump administration was actively involved in the Russian interference. As a reminder, Hilary Clinton received almost 3,000,000 more votes in the general election, making her the most “popular” choice.
3
Would caution reliance on five-thirty-eight’s “predictions” of the “chances” of winning an election. That sort of talk is likely what depressed voter turnout in 2016, because, after all, Donald Trump had a “less than 5% chance” of winning. Elections aren’t games of chance, they depend on the public voting.
34
Which is precisely why they are games of chance.
2
You forgot to include the Russian interference in the election in your analysis.@J Nayaran
Nothing matters ... until, at last it does matter. It is in Republican DNA to support the leader of the party, but only until that leader is more costly to keep than lose. Politicians famously will eat their young if need be. Recall that when partisan support for Nixon dropped below 30%, he was forced to resign. If Democrats win the House, as Nunes opined, it all goes away.
22
@Mynheer Peeperkorn
I kind of agree. Republicans have been happy to go along as usual so long as they can shield Trump from any oversight. Should Democrats take control of the House, I feel like we will see a lot more Republicans realizing that Pence can do everything Trump has been doing (at least the things that they like) without the drama.
14
When Steve Calk loaned Paul Manafort 15 million dollars that he knew he would never be repaid, he expected to be appointed Sec. of the Army. It was a bribe and barely anyone noticed. If the Sec. of the Army was for sale, why not sell officer promotions the same way? Give the President a gift and become a Colonel or a General. But seriously, if we're going to order our military into harms way, we have the moral responsibility to provide our Soldiers with the best, most qualified leadership possible. As a veteran and a parent, I wouldn't demand anything less should my children choose to serve.
I see a pattern that extends far beyond the DoD to all branches of government, be it education, environment, treasury, Veterans Affairs. Positions are being bought and sold in a medieval spoils system, where the counts and barons pay their due and keep the spoils. The rampant cronyism and corruption in this administration is far more corrosive to our institutions than most people realize and the damage will take many years to repair, if it's even repairable.
155
Some liberals (and a larger number of conservatives) in recent years have advocated a reorganization of the two major political parties, in order to make each one a vehicle for a unified ideology. In this way, allegedly, each group would enjoy more success in advancing its agenda, without the need for compromise with moderates within its own ranks.
Conservatives, with their dominance of the GOP, have clearly advanced much further down this road than have liberals. Neither party, however, has become a more effective instrument for the enactment of its platform. Not enough Americans identify as liberal or conservative to enable either party to dominate Congress and the presidency.
Democrats under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have continued to show a greater willingness to compromise than have their political opponents, but our gridlock is a tale of two political parties, not just one. Democracy thrives on partial victories, not on the political annihilation of one's adversaries.
7
@James Lee, there comes a time in the affairs of men and women when a just consideration of the rights and duties of the citizens requires the extinction of a party of corruption and plutocracy. There is no need to worry about the absence of an opposition. Just as 200 years ago, the one surviving party will generate its own antithesis. One can hope that the thesis/antithesis will not be forced by law, as it is now, to be merely binary.
17
@James Lee: my own experience as (yes) a community organizer (unpaid volunteer) in local politics is that roughly 45% of voters are liberals and 45% are conservatives (regardless of party) and cancel one another out. All elections are therefore decided by unaffiliated SWING VOTERS.
The Congressional Republicans aren't just covering for Trump. They are covering for themselves. Remember the NRA money laundering scandal. Two top Republicans were just indicted on criminal charges of insider trading and abusing campaign funds. (The first two in Congress to endorse Trump, BTW.)
It's not just Trump and his cronies. the whole Republican party is rotten to the core.
223
@Philip S. Wenz
I'm with you on this. I wonder if the hostility of Congressional Republicans to the Russia probe is because they fear being themselves exposed as having
colluded with Putin. GOP = Grateful Of Putin?
I am worried about the integrity of the vote rigged voting machines and gerrymandering. Our country is going the way of fascism and we have to stop it. Vote Democratic in November because your life depends on it.
117
From interviews reported in this article, if Democrats do take the House, there is little evidence that they will bring much more than marsh mellows to the GOP's knife fight. In other words, Republicans play disciplined and they play much more hard edged than Democrats. For example, in 2009-2012 Democrats held solid majorities in the US Senate. Yet they allowed the GOP to tie the Senate in knots with hundreds of filibusters, and hold at bay hundreds of Obama appointments. By contrast the GOP has done just fine in less than two years in moving the appointments of a record number of federal judges. Can't wait to hear Schumer, Pelosi and Company intone about "responsibility" and " process" in 2019-20. While Republicans eat America's lunch.
36
Thank you, Michelle, you are my favorite NYT columnist these days.
I'm not sure the election won't be rigged, though. We'll have to come out in overwhelming numbers.
86
It would be much more honest of Ms. Goldberg if she was to acknowledge two fundamental principles:
Number 1: no sin, no matter how trivial, on the part of the Republicans will be forgiven or excused.
Number 2: no sin, no matter how serious, on the part of the Democrats will be condemned or criticized.
With that kind of clarity, it will be easier to understand the point of view represented by Ms. Goldberg.
10
@Maurice Gatien
I think you flipped the words "Republicans" and "Democrats."
61
@Maurice Gatien, you are snide without the merit of intelligent sarcasm.
23
"On Sunday, Axios reported that Republicans are circulating a spreadsheet of investigations that House Democrats could undertake....."
We know the Republicans are corrupt, but who knew they were quite so stupid as to compile a charge sheet of accusations against themselves? If Al Capone had done anything similar, he could have been put away for more than tax offenses.
60
The question for me is not whether the Democrats have the votes to take the House - they do. The question for me is what the Democrats will do if the Republicans once again steal the elections, as they have done a number of times before. In the past, the Democrats, from Al Gore, to John Kerry, have graciously (and much too promptly) conceded.
That must not happen this time. We are now watching an entire political party - the GOP - try to rally its base by saying, "If we don't keep power, everyone will find out how crooked we've been". Their base, God help us, is just deranged enough to buy it.
303
I don't want to see revenge politics. Or, even get even politics. Enough is enough. We need a bold vision and comprehensive legislation that realigns the GDP towards working families period. Don't waste our time with ideological and identity politics. Put butter on our bread and make America great again by making the middle class and working families the preeminent focus of legislative goals.
Repeal or suspend the Tariff Hartley act to strengthen workers bargaining rights for starters.
13
@Smoke'em If U Got'em
We may not want revenge politics, but we do want justice. The Dems need to guard against being spooked into avoiding a pursuit of the latter because the GOP accuse them of the former. The Republicans are experts at playing the victim.
You need to understand that the GOP is invested (and I mean that word literally) in opposing anything that benefits working families at the expense of its wealthy benefactors. If you think that goal can be achieved without resorting to ideology and politics, I have a bridge on Brooklyn to sell you.
58
@mancuroc But that always been a losing argument when it's been properly exposed as a fraud. That's been the bane of Democrats. They have been complicit by virtue of relying on the same funding source for elected office.
Rallying around a constitutional amendment that bar's private or corporate money form elections would give them the higher ground. Can or should we demand anything less for starters?
1
@mancuroc You are absolutely right. Not investigating the bankers and holding them accountable after they tanked the economy in 2008 was a mistake. The democrats didn't want to drag the country through a messy investigation, instead focusing on righting the ship and improving the lives of all Americans. That decision only emboldened the oligarchs who doubled down on their support of republicans. This president and the GOP must be held accountable and justice must be served.
4
No, it's not normal. Democracy is fighting for its life and may well die on that first Tuesday in November.
Oh, there will be elections every 2 years, but they'll be about as fair as the recent Russian Presidential election.
Remember what "Democracy" was like in the South from the end of Reconstruction through the 1960's? It wasn't.
63
@Dadof2...Democrats ruled the South from Reconstruction through the 1960s. Sobering thought, isn't it?
I still don’t think Trump has read the Constitution he swore to uphold.
29
Perhaps they could make brightly colored flash cards of the major points.
When Five Thirty Eight and the Times gave Hillary a 91-percent chance to win the election, I was horrified. "That means Trump has a 9-percent chance of winning -- 1 out of 11!", I thought. This was too much like Russian roulette (no pun intended) -- I wouldn't put a gun to my head if I had a 9-percent chance of blowing my brains out. So a 70-percent chance of winning the House in November might be encouraging, but the alternative is a sobering thought indeed.
83
538 had Trump’s chance of winning the electoral college at 29% the night before the election. Even assuming there was no interference via electronic voting machines or Russian hacking, those are not terrible odds.
6
@John Chatterton If the odds were 100% on one side there would be no point to hold elections
1
@P.Dion, you're wrong. If someone says the odds in an election are 100% you can be sure they're lying or incompetent or the election is fraudulent.
2
I can certainly see the writer's point of view. No elected or appointed official should be permitted to act with impunity or a total disregard of the law. I would be a pretty sad American if I tried to defend Trump on this. Some of his actions are indefensible.
But then the actions of Lois Learner were indefensible thus she pleaded the Fifth. Then we have the Holder Fast and Furious debacle which ultimately led to the death of an agent. And can we ever forget the daily drama revolving around Hillary and the servers? And what of Comey, now on a book tour, who famously laid out which laws Clinton violated then gave her a pass. Subpoena power? It did not seem to work well when it involved Clinton so I see no reason why it should work now.
Don't tip you hand MS Goldberg lest you give your Republican counterparts some ideas for creative writing!
5
@old sarge, please find out the facts. Clinton violated no laws, according to Comey. Lois Lerner did nothing wrong. Fast and Furious was no good, I agree.
20
It is chillingly clear that the GOP is now the party of fraudulent ideas, corruption, and hateful fantasies. That's it. That's all. If we can't establish at least one bulwark against that by winning the House, I now worry that Dr. Krugman's dire prognostications will be our new normal.
72
The November midterm elections will be the most important in our country’s history. Period.
124
Our chant will be "Vote them Out!". Followed by "Order in the Court!"
How long a list of misdeeds will it take before enablers, apologist, and supporters begin to feel that maybe trump is not quite what they had hoped for and that his policies are really hurting them? The Tax Cut lies, the Opioid Crisis, Attacks on Medicare and Social Security, Health Care...Hmm?
The time is quickly coming to stand up and decide what America will look like going forward...A Country of Hope or a Hopeless Country.
19
Democrats may take back the power to investigate & prosecute, but if prior examples are any guide, they may well decline to do so. We should have had a national conversation after Vietnam & we never did, it was so much easier just to switch to 'morning in America'. Obama let the whole Bush cabal off the hook by 'looking forward, not backward' on Iraq, & at the same time papered over responsibility for the bank fraud recession. The vast majority of today's Democrats have been eager to 'work across the aisle' at numerous times recently. Half of them are afraid to criticize Trump for fear of losing their seats. I am not convinced that this administration will ever be held accountable. Democrats just want to 'represent all the people' & have no gumption for confrontation. It's one main reason why we are in this mess as deeply as we are now. We need a genuine opposition party & the Democrats are still trying to think up a message.
25
Ms. Goldberg writes, "This culture of impunity is less a result of Trump’s political skill — he’s deeply unpopular — than of one-party rule." I have to disagree.
Trump is still wildly popular with his base. More than 40% of this nation has stood by him for more than 18 months now, after every action he's taken to trash this country, both domestically and internationally. And they are all he needs to retain absolute power.
Democratic hearings in the House will not change this. Trump's rabid supporters have shown us they care nothing for facts or evidence. Democratic hearings will no doubt show a surfeit of evidence of corruption, lying, cheating, and any number of criminal activities by Trump. And yet these will have absolutely no effect on his base.
Republican voters no longer want their leaders to be accountable, even to the rule of law. With gerrymandering and two senators per state, Republicans will control this nation indefinitely. And they are terrified of Trump voters. To cross Trump is political suicide for them.
This culture of impunity Ms. Goldberg writes of is exactly what drives Trump voters. They believe that their status as white Americans somehow elevates their authority in this country, that their rights are more important than those of their brown-skinned neighbors. And now that they have absolute power, they will not give it up after any election. This chapter of our history will not end peacefully. Bet the rent on it.
68
@Kyle Reese....seems various polls show his base shrinking----many articles on this come up in google.
One is the Fivethirtyeight blog, May 24. "Donald Trump's base is shrinking."
"The number of Americans who strongly disapprove of Trump has sharply risen since early in his term, from the mid-30s in early February to 44.1 percent as of Tuesday. In most surveys, Trump’s strongly disapprove rating exceeds his overall approval rating, in fact."
This will likely increase. Some voters may not admit it to pollsters. Many may not even respond to polls.
17
Trump's base does seem to be a lost cause. I did detect the tiniest spark of hope on that front from an interview with a juror in the Manafort case. The woman is an admitted Trump supporter, who believed the only reason the prosecution went after Manafort was to get to Trump. Still, she voted to convict because the evidence was overwhelming. Maybe, just maybe...
6
@Kyle Reese
Sounds like we have a Terminator after us, Kyle.
The end of the GOP. They have been digging their own grave for decades, it’s way past time to fall in. Seriously.
55
@Phyliss Dalmatian Yes, Phyllis, you're right, but before they fall in we need to get out there and give them a good solid PUSH!! Everyone has to vote.....an this time no flirting with third parties! That's how we got into this mess, now and back in 2000.
Just a mere two years ago today, Adam Schiff along with the other 7 members of the Gang of Eight were apprised of the Russian interference by John Brennan. Harry Reid wrote of his concern to James Comey that the matter be investigated and that the public be notified. McConnell and Ryan deliberately tried to muffle out “Russians” to “malefactors.”
Here we are with the Republicans still trying to smother Mueller’s investigation despite all that we have learned about the Russian attack on our democracy and with their full compliance of Trump’s embrace of Putin and his assault on our intelligence services.
Adam Schiff has been alert and focused on finding out the truth. We have had two years of unmitigated attacks on this country by Trump and his enablers within and from Russia without. It is time for Democrats to prevail and to see justice for the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by Trump and company.
157
@Ichabod Aikem...Why did Brennan, Schiff and the Gang of Eight cover up the Russian interference? They are all powerful political actors with access to many media outlets. Yet, they allowed the 2016 election to be subverted by a foreign nation. They should be tried for treason. Include Comey and that NSA guy, Admiral Whatever, in the list of traitors. What did Putin have on them that bought their collusion and compliance?
1
Me. Goldberg, please! We all know what the democrats can do with that subpoena power! And yes, fantasizing about it does make many of us feel good - but it really is pointless, to talk about it now, as if they have that power already.
Trump and his enablers know it too, they understand perfectly well what’s at stake for them in november. And they will do whatever they can to prevent the Democrats from taking control of the Congress. (and they don’t appear to mind if the Russians help them a little along the way, again).
So let’s not celebrate just yet, please.
31
To me, taking back the House is imperative because it reestablishes the regular order that the GOP ceded to Dear Leader Donald. It would be a form of legal non harmful torture for the elderly grifter and his fourth rate administration.
I want to see those tax returns, to understand the corruption in the cabinet and senior WH staff, to recover the gains accrued by the Trump family under the emoluments clause, etc. I want Mueller to be allowed to continue his investigation unimpeded. I want these people to ultimately resign and then go to jail.
I no longer care about impeachment. I think two years of investigations will be far more fertile, casting a much wider net and sweeping this corrupt regime into prison.
Vote on November 6.
182
i am voting all Democratic. Until I die. Wasn't that way when Reagan ran. Be forewarned. If you were surprised by Hillary's loss and Trump's win, then ask yourself this: Am I doing enough to help get out the vote?
Where are the volunteer armies of vans and busses to pickup the elderly to take to their polling place?
Where are the attorneys going to be deployed in the key areas in the Field when voting rights and hours long lines are being suppressed?
Where us the Democratic counter Cyberwarfare team?
...beware to count your chickens until the eggs are hatched...or more currently: play the last play and don't give rest until the vote is over.
72
It would please me immensely to see this administration's malfeasance laid bare. But these Congressional investigations take so long and have become such kangaroo courts that they offer no real sense of justice.
14
Seventy-odd years ago Karl Popper wrote a book called "The Open Society and its Enemies," in which he predicted the downfall or Nazism and Communism on the grounds that a single-party system cannot function for any extended time. One-party rule closes off new ideas, reduces dynamism, and ultimately results in ossification, where the country is no longer able to adapt to new situations.
This may not be what the GOP wants, but I doubt many of its members have given this much thought. But it is where they are taking the country.
Will we go the way of Germany and Soviet Russia? November may tell; 2020 may slam the gates.
21
Regardless of what happens in November, the next two years will be ugly. If the Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress you can expect that President Trump will be enabled and emboldened, his excesses expanded without check.
But if the Democrats take over at least the House, they will soon be bogged down in two years of irresponsible
Republican complicity. I don't look forward to impeachment, in fact I would much prefer to vote Trump out. But with the power of the subpoena I suspect we will soon learn the depth and scope of this man's toxic misrule and it can not be ignored.
As for the President's response to increased scrutiny, well, his capricious and juvenile meltdowns are well documented. In both of these scenarios, only Putin comes out ahead.
31
This gives one hope for a Democratic takeover of both houses.
Yet, it’s pathetic we have such a polarized and divisive political climate at all. How does are country work with such animosity on Capital Hill that we must resort to one party rule to enact anything?
Congress fails to act as a unified body, and only becomes more partisan and vindictive with each year. We lose out on meaningful legislation. We lose out on comprehensive reform. Our country gets iterative band aid solutions to complex problems calling for bipartisan leadership.
Anyone listening??
6
The question is how we got here so quickly after Obama? Where was the Democratic Party as all this was in the process of happening? Where were Schumer and Pelosi, whose only job seems to be to maintain their pathetic powerless power?
The GOP has been working incredibly hard under the whips of the Koch Brothers, Mercer (Pere et Fille) and other such people. They have been delivering the goods to their masters on all fronts. Why aren't they stopped in their tracks by the Democrats?
Gordon Later in his book The One Percent Solution lays it all out: starve the Trade Unions (their economic and political power), kill public education, kill safety nets. All of this at the local and the federal level. Make people think that even the bone they are being thrown is more than enough for them. Lower expectations of the 99 percent.
With all this in the fore and background, it is pretty pathetic that we have to rely on the power of subpoenas (that is if the Democrats win the House in November) to get to where we thought we always were: in a free, democratic society where the American Dream is actually not the American Nightmare.
31
@Blunt Yes, this is the reality. The Democratic leadership is sold out to many of the same donors as the republicans, they just pretend to be standing up for the working class and the poor. I don't know what's worse, openly embracing the elites while championing cutting benefits like the republicans or lying about standing for the little guy like the dems.
2
Where were, are, Schumer and Pelosi? In the minority, which is where apathetic, or egotistical, voters and nonvoters on our side put them.
Don’t look to them. Look in the mirror. Then go volunteer on the democratic campaign of your choice.
5
@Blunt
"Where was the Democratic Party as all this was in the process of happening? Where were Schumer and Pelosi, whose only job seems to be to maintain their pathetic powerless power?"
My question exactly.
The low energy 80-year-oldsters have not been leading the Democrats for decades. Instead they've been running interference for the Republicans.
They lost the Presidency, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and most of the State Houses.
Democrats need to wake up and realize their so-called Democrat leaders are on the same corporate donor pay rolls as the Republicans.
That makes them Republicans.
The picture says it all. The flag of the United States. Trump does not care about his country, only about himself. The flag of the President of the United States. By his actions, Trump is an embarrassment to the presidency. A rack of challenge coins given to prove membership in an organization and promote morale; they are also collected by service members. Trump is a member only of the Trump Organization, and he destroys morale; he has never served. Pictures of his wife and children are pushed off to the side. A soldier on horseback. Trump is no soldier, and he destroys public lands. The Resolute Desk, empty. Presented by the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland to the President of the United States as a memorial to “courtesy and loving kindness …” Trump destroys relations with our international allies.
Trump is merely an occupant of the Oval Office. He is a short-term renter, and he rents our time, wasting it, leaving it and our country rendered. We don’t have time for anymore of this.
71
@Blue Moon it’s curious, I haven’t seen pictures of his wife, children, grandchildren behind that wide, empty desk in photos of the Oval. It looks to be only two back there, and they appear to be his parents.
5
@Gretchen
Yes, it looks like his parents behind him; in other photos I've noticed family pictures on tables to the sides.
It's also easy to ridicule the gold drapes. Trump likes gold in his residences, and he clearly lusts for money, and perhaps they match his hair? But other presidents (recently Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) had the same:
https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-oval-office-white-house-des...
1
If Russia puts a thumb on the election scales (again) - and I think not only that they will, but it will be a heavier weight - then 70% is not going to be a winning number...
26
When a nation has declined to the point that one of its two major parties has no capacity at all for setting and enforcing its own legal and moral standards, when one party is clearly willing to overlook criminal and ethical trespass on an almost daily basis, it is up to the people to hold that party accountable at the ballot box. That there is even a question whether the people will do so indicates the nation itself is in dire peril.
55
@Eric Caine
I shouldn't have to tell you this, but it is a two party agreement to overlook the criminal and ethical trespasses you speak of. Do you really think that the Democratic Party is blameless in this? All of the institutions of power and finance are corrupted, only with the complicity of those institutions that are supposed to investigate and hold corruption to account could we find ourselves where we are today. As one commentator expressed recently, does it really take a special council to convict a white collar criminal? Yes, it does. That is because most of the 20% who control 85% of the wealth of the nation are white collar criminals, to some degree or another, or directly benefit from the criminality of those that are. That's where we find ourselves today, in a country that believes that there are no constraints on the wealth accumulation of the individual even when that accumulation of wealth causes the poverty and misery of others.
2
I remember the story about LBJ verbally beating up a senator in the Oval Office. This was his routine for years as perhaps the most effective Senate Majority Leader in our history. At the end of the tirade, the senator, bristling in outrage, informed the president that “I am the senior senator of the great state of [whatever]! I will NOT be bullied!” In a classical LBJ response, he retorted “I am the sitting president of the United States! I LIVE to bully!”
Trump does, too. His impunity has nothing to do with one-party rule: if Democrats manage to flip the House, Trump will deal with a Democratic House majority. He won’t get as much as he would under an undivided Republican Congress, but he’ll get enough.
Michelle really needs to get out more. Trump is deeply unpopular with those who gather with her at Pete’s Tavern or the Blue Bar (at the Algonquin), but he remains overwhelmingly popular among Republicans. Her arguments are those of a frustrated, elite (and elitist) set of “outs”. Trump continues to deliver for the almost-63 million Americans who elected him. As long as he does, he can continue to depend on their support.
But every subpoena issued by a vengeful Democratic House, should one materialize, will be matched by another by a contemptuous Republican Senate against Hillary and her 30,000 erased emails.
Instead of issuing subpoenas, how about working with Republicans to protect what Democrats can of their agenda and NOT freeze our politics solid … yet again?
10
@Richard Luettgen
Please tell me more about working with Republicans. Has that worked recently? Where do you think an opening might be? I don't see one with this Congress.
81
@Richard Luettgends Who needs to have gotten out more? Working w/ Republicans? The way they tried to do under Obama? Reach across the aisle? Agree to justices? What log have you been under? Michelle is absolutely right that what we must do is reestablish norms of American behavior & values. If the GOP wants to find their souls along w/ the rest of us, all to the good, but somehow I think they'll be just as obstructionist as they have been & I hope they get railroaded out of town.
212
@RKD, RL lives under a rotting log save a few moments of clarity about one issue. It's just his way.
4
The line, "barely registered in the headlines", is striking. Why do the urgent issues raised have so little apparent prominence?
More importantly, is there a better way to keep this in the forefront? Is it worth a new approach to keeping a prominent timeline, a who's who, a recap of significant corruption, venality, dishonesty or competency issues? A clearer way to drive home the effects of policy or enforcement changes?
Recently, hundreds of papers coordinated a response regarding the importance of free speech. Are there other valid ways to coordinate efforts across news organizations to confront misinformation, or is this a dangerous taboo?
102
@Laura Very good idea! I'd like to see an easily accessible account, kept up daily, in a special, clickable category of all the questionable and/or dangerous actions taken by this administration (like Devos's outrageous "findings" or corruption of cabinet members, etc.). Washington Post keeps a running tally of lies; perhaps the NYT could keep a running tally of decisions and corrupt activities.
I took a picture of 2 paragraphs of Goldberg's column this morning just so I could "memorize" the instances of corruption. It's so easy to forget amid all the tweets and news items about Prima Don (an epithet coined today by a clever commenter).
2
You'd think the Republicans would be concerned about a 70% chance of losing the House, but they seem relaxed. My guess is they have it in the bag, that they've made provisions to rig the vote, which is easy as there are no safeguards and no oversight.
And why would anti-Democratic Republicans comply when asked to hand over power? They might not ever get it back.
They've stopped trying to cover up malfeasance, in fact it's pedal to the metal - like they're untouchable. They're on the wrong side of DACA, the tax giveaway, Healthcare, even Social Security, like the voters do not matter.
It is also strange that the Democrat leaders don't seem to care about the integrity of the vote. Does anyone?
379
@Fourteen. The 538 also said that Hillary had a 95% chance of winning.
7
@Cjmesq0
"The 538 also said that Hillary had a 95% chance of winning."
And yet they won that.
There have been many anomalous elections that exit polling said went to Democrats where Republicans were sworn in. The Republican party is smaller than the Democrat party and they stand for nothing that the People want, yet they won most of the State Houses, the Presidency, both houses of Congress, and have the Supreme Court.
Something is wrong.
3
@Fourteen
Something is badly wrong. Basic statistical analysis on "close races" (defined as races whose numbers defy a prediction of any confidence) over the past 18 years shows that the GOP has won a proportion of these so large that the odds of it occurring naturally border on the astronomically improbable.
The system is indeed broken. Badly.
2
I'm 31 years old and I can never remember a time of such internal uncertainty caused by our own doing. The big question was whether or not the 42nd had extra marital relations with an intern, not if he was colluding with a foreign agency. My father fought for this country and I'm grateful and thankful to all of those that served - this President has sullied the flag my father fought for; what an embarrassment to that flag he is.
781
@Old Millenial. I recommend Bret Stephens recent writing ascribing the breakdown of respect for the Presidency to Bill Clinton’s sexual misconduct. I think the breakdown started much earlier -with Richard Nixon. Difficult times seem to produce great leaders. Good times seem to produce weak ones (John McCain vs George W Bush for example). Over time we tend to lose our humility and our perspective. What this country needs is a good existential crisis to pull us together. War or economic collapse on a grand scale. I regret the pain and loss that will entail, but apparently that is simply the cost of unity of purpose in our self obsessed society. Perhaps Trump is just the man to deliver that much needed catastrophe.
4
@Brian Cornelius, I don't recommend Bret Stephens' silly, superficial, GOP-friendly partisan analysis. Stephens may abominate Trump but he hasn't escaped the Republican ideological prison.
7
I am old enough to remember Nixon's presidency, and that's what this reminds me of - but this is worse in numerous ways.
1
I really don’t like Donald Trump,
He’s an awful pain in the rump,
Believes he is smart,
A thinker apart,
Non-white immigrants he would dump.
By instinct he makes his decisions,
Impacted by gross imprecisions,
He acts from the gut,
And all thought free but
With results not what he envisions.
A return to the past he’s depicted,
The rest of the world he’s evicted,
His pleasures are carnal,
The payments gosh darnal,
His "fixer" is rarely restricted.
The chutzpah of Rudy he’s tapped,
Who for Trump’s survival is apt,
For eons has been,
Redolent with sin,
Conspiracy theories unwrapped.
235
@Larry Eisenberg. One of your best Larry. Thank you!
2
@Larry Eisenberg.... gosh darnal! One of of your most brilliant and fun posts for sure. You've got plenty of inspiration.
Btw, I've noticed that some CNN TV hosts are using the word 'michegas' lately re Trump and his swamp creatures. which is new. That's yiddish for craziness---what could be more apt? Keep it in mind in case you figure out a way to use it.
1
I love this one Larry! good poetic movement wrapped around witty ideas! Thanks soooooo much......
1
"Still, Republicans are right to be worried." That would be a good thing if they were worried about the effects of climate change on our nation, wanting to provide affordable health care, an economy that works for We the People and not just for corporate 'personhood' and the 1%, quality public education, reasonable gun regulation, etc. But of course they're only worried about losing their death grip on their own personal power, keeping Prima Don shielded and making sure their puppetmasters get what they want. They are 'right' to be worried, but what they actually need is a sense of shame for what they are and some basic human decency.
464
Russian-Republicans have made their political bed...and it has nothing to do with democracy, representative government or the will of the people.
Politics is a dirty business, but Republicans have made a criminal business.
The Republican Party pretends to support states rights, until it wants Trump's proposed federal pollution laws to supersede California's clean emissions law.
It pretends to support states rights, and then vetoes cities like Birmingham and Charlotte when they want to raise their city minimum wage.
Republicans have long nullified the American voter via voter suppression laws and tactics, the gerrymander, Electoral College, the undemocratic Senate and gaslighting 24 hours a day about every single public policy issue there is.
What does the 2018 Republican Party stand for today ?
Greed
Power
Corruption
Hypocrisy
Tyranny
Oligarchy
Rigged Elections
The same things that Vladimir Putin and his circle of corrupt cronies stand for....nation be damned to stagnation, fake elections, crumbling infrastructure and white Christian nationalism.
One would think reasonable Americans with a pulse and an IQ above room temperature would notice the spectacular stench coming from the Trump Dumpster fire and be inspired to vote for some Democratic oversight instead of continuing to let the Grand Old Pyromaniacs burn down the country and the rule of law.
You'd really have to hate America to let these Republican crooks and cretins drive the country over another GOP cliff.
1176
@Socrates all the above is obvious the real challenge is getting the many blind followers to see they've voted against their own interests. We need to address the needs of the entire country & convince people we have their backs.
If we don't start bringing everyone under the tent it will be a short lived partial victory.
5
@Socrates
I like your closing comment, "You'd really have to hate America if...."
That is unless you love your guns, are really well to do, hate abortion period, hate the fact that America is a nation of immigrants and believe in the demise of "white" America. That is the sliver of America that won't buy into your thesis that you would have to hate America if....
Luckily, this is a shrinking sliver rather than an expanding one.
For example the tax cuts are not working for far too many Americans and the from an economic standpoint, farmers especially should be cautious because of the president's love of his tariffs. While they may agree on guns, abortion and the importance of white America, they are being hit hard by isolationist policies.
So yes, you are correct that you have to hate America if you let the GOP continue their strangle hold over our democracy.
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@Socrates
I'd add voter suppression to the list of Republican policies. Done with phony voter ID laws and especially with laws that prevent ex-felon from voting.
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Just reading this gives me hope. Thank you Michelle for the reminder, in such practical terms, that there are people in Washington who not only know how to right the ship but who are determined and capable of doing it.
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@Mari Gorman
Reading this column doesn’t give me hope, it scares me. The more that congressional republicans understand what will happen if they lose control of the house, the more they will dig their feet in, publicize their lies, and work legally and illegally to suppress the vote. I don’t want them to be worried, I want them blithely unconcerned and confident.
And of course, maybe they have their own reasons to be.
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Perhaps this is to energize the Dems, but yes, I agree. Why warn the GOP? All that need be said over and over is "Dems, we can be victorious if we VOTE!" That is the best strategy.
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@Nancy Nancy, Republicans don't really need Op-Eds such as this one to realize their hold on the House Majority is in jeopardy. If the mainstream Media goes silent and plays dead as you suggest, it's not going to lull the Republican Party into a state of overconfidence.
The party knows it is in trouble and that the hens will be coming to roost in a couple of months' time. That ship has already sailed.
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"Regular Order !" is indeed the cry of the day, as it will fall to Dems to examine and clean up (again) the mess being made by Pres. Mayhem, who pretends he is merely breaking norms when he's actually been breaking law(s).
We suspect the unbelievable story about 'the Mar-a-Loco' crowd of cronies running the V.A. is just going to be the tip of the iceberg:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/08/three-of-trumps-mar-a-lago-buddi...
And GOP'er committee chairman Benghazi! Trey Gowdy hasn't issued a single oversight-related subpoena to Agent Orange from KAOS ?
Worse instead of facing the music with voters for what GOP'ers have been doing, they're retiring - to K Street and 'think tank world' !
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@R. Law, It is convenient for them that they will be moving to K-Street. They will not have far to go to respond to the subpoenas
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@R. Law: Exactly correct when you say "tip of the iceberg". While Trump is famously derelict in filling critical leadership positions, few are aware of how pervasive the invasion of political hacks has been throughout the government since his coronation. Bush II was famous for installing political officers but Trump has done him one better, installing said officers AND handing much of the day to day operation of things over to private entities, as with the VA. This is not an iceberg, it's a massive frozen comet hurtling at us unseen in dark space, hiding behind piles of blank paper in files stacked high, idiotic and moronic grins meant to distract from serious deliberation and a phalanx of flying monkeys trained with the precision of a drill team to obfuscate, undermine and plunder.
As a vet, VA patient and volunteer at the VA for many years, the scenario of 3 little pigs sipping drinks and deciding VA policy from a table at the 19th hole reminds me of episodes of the twilight zone. Considering the cabinet as a whole brings to mind another classic, "The Untouchables". My concern is whether there's enough resolve, resources, will and vision left in DOJ to accomplish the massive and herculean task of bringing them all to justice. I'd like to think many of those journeys from congress to K St. will not pass go, and be interrupted not by appearances on dancing with the stars, but by stints in federal supermax. Or put them all on a pirate ship in service to admiral bonespurs.
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If the Republicans in Congress were good and upright and honest, instead of corrupt like the president, they wouldn't have to worry about subpoenas if the Democrats win big in November, now would they? Is being decent too much to ask of them?
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@Linda
"If the Republicans in Congress were good and upright and honest,"
This counterfactual conditional takes counterfactuality to a previously unknow level of inconceivability - makes flying pigs look entirely plausible.
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The models at 538 and similar places are likely way off, largely because they cannot possibly factor in what is likely to happen in the next two months. Scandals, convictions and plea deals are more likely than not, and there is a way-bigger-than-we-want-to-admit chance of another botched response to a natural disaster. In a typical election year, such a vote-changing event is fairly unlikely in the last two months of a campaign, but we are many miles from typical.
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@Alan,
I don't know about that---70% chance of victory doesn't mean the Democrats get 70% of the vote---it means there's a 30% chance that they don't win. That leaves a lot of room for the uncertainty you mention.
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@Alan
also - these polls and calculations are always of the "if the election were to be held tomorrow"
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@Andrew Winton
I don't think even The Onion would suggest that one party gets 70% of the vote. Statistical models often have limitations that are not obvious, and this seems like one of those times.
Hard to overstate the importance of the Nov. 6 congressional election - If Democrats don't at least retake the House, the next election may not be held at all. The GOP is clearly heading us down the path to autocracy.
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@John Archer -- oh, they'll let us vote.
They just won't allow any dissent.
Otherwise, yes.
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@John Archer
I disagree. If the Republicans keep the house and senate in the next election, there will be elections in 2020. Russia still holds elections, they just know the results before the election.
What you are actually voting for is the rule of law, and a habitable world for your grandchildren.
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@John Archer
And don't just vote. Work at your local Democratic headquarters to register voters and help get their ballots properly counted. Multiply yourself though others.
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