GOP Eagerly Embraces Trump

EDITORIAL:

The GOP Embraces Trump

Trump is a criminal. He is dangerous man. Stop him.

EDITORIAL:

Corruption, Bigotry, and Intolerance 

The last thing America needs is another four years of Trump in the White House tweeting crazy ass nonsense 24 hours a day, indicting his enemies, attacking the media, and defaming private citizens from a seat in the Oval Office. Come on America, we are definitely better than this guy.

By D. S. Mitchell

 

The Last Thing America Needs

Donald J. Trump, the last thing America needs in public office, has seen his poll numbers skyrocket among Republicans, as his criminal indictments mount. Trump, the forever grifter, is making millions selling his mugshot on T-shirts. The Grand Old Party of Lincoln has collapsed. What we now have in its place is total acceptance of the unacceptable.  Gun packing white supremacists, torch carrying Neo-Nazi’s, vitriolic officials denying the obvious truth, Joe Biden won the election. When Republican politicians like Liz Cheney, and Mitt Romney can’t talk sense to these crazies, and instead leave the party to become unaffiliated voices; it just proves that today’s Republican Party is not the party of your father-or your grandfather; and certainly not Lincoln.

Against The Trump Plan 

When all the votes for the 2020 presidential election were counted, Joe Biden’s ballot tally totaled 81,283,098 votes, or 51.3% of the vote. Donald Trump only garnered 74,222,958 or 46.8% of the vote. Miscellaneous other candidates captured a meager 1.8% of the vote. In other words, Joe Biden, kicked Trump’s butt, besting the Mango Mussolini by over 7 million plus votes. Go Brandon!

In MAGA World, The Biggest Flag Wins

But, those numbers were obviously out of sync with Trump’s election plan. Trump demanded recount after recount, all the while inflaming his supporters, convincing them, falsely, that he was the victim of voter fraud, mostly in the black and brown big cities of the country.  Votes were counted and recounted and lawsuit after lawsuit brought by Trump challenging the election were dismissed. Everyone from the bloated and lawless Bill Barr to Cybersecurity Director Chris Krebs called Trump’s claims of voter fraud, “bullshit.” But, three years later, I still see signs proclaiming, “Trump Won!” usually accompanied by an oversized American flag.

On A Personal Note

I admit it, I’m angry. The MAGA election deniers have highjacked the American flag, as if it is their private property. Pre-MAGA I would fly the flag in front of my house every President’s Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day (my son’s birthday), the 4th of July, and Labor Day, I no longer display the flag on the above noted holidays, but instead I now keep my treasured flag in a drawer. The last thing I want is for anyone, at anytime, to assume I’m a Trumpie. I am furious that these MAGA lug nuts have so brazenly, as if they are the patriots, stolen the stars and stripes as decor for their civil disobedience. I am convinced these fake patriots are an existential threat to our democracy. It isn’t a far stretch to imagine Trump using armed militias to implement Bashar al-Assad tactics to hold on to power if he is ever returned to the White House.

As It Plays Out

Because of Trump’s lies, our country has grown even more painfully divided. Instead of the bloated orange fruit fly conceding the election, to Joe Biden, like every other loser before him has, Trump chose to create chaos, dissent, and mob violence. Authoritarians do that sort of thing, call the validity of elections into question. If Trump becomes the Republican nominee in 2024 I am sure we will see more armed election observers,  more lawsuits, more threats of violence, more white supremacist saber rattling, and more talk of Trump as a lifetime president.

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After Trump, Can Love Break Through?

OPINION: After Trump, Can Love Break Through?

The 1/6 insurrection aftermath is heating up

OPINION: After Trump, Can Love Break Through?

Editor: One year ago thousands of Trump supporters assaulted the U.S. Capitol. January 6, 2021 was one of the most horrific events in U.S. history. There is increasing evidence of behind the scenes maneuvering by Trump and his inner circle to thwart the law and overturn the 2020 election. The work of the 1/6 Select Committee is plowing forward, closing in on the instigators of the insurrection. Donald Trump’s role in the plot to end democracy in the United States is becoming more clear as emails and texts are made public. In the light of the current division in the country Anna Hessel believes it is time to be honest with ourselves, face the truth of what happened on 1/6/2021, bring the culprits to justice, and then move toward healing.

By Anna Hessel

The Crush Of Charlottesville

Back in 2017, I took one of the DNA tests that are so very popular.  Since I was adopted as an infant, my curiosity about my heritage peaked with regularity – I was giddy with surprise to learn that I am multi-racial.  Thrilled that the Lord has chosen to bless me with an interesting rainbow of cultures in a world where racial tensions dolorously abound.  On August 12, I looked on in horror at a group who call themselves ‘nationalists,’ terrorize Charlottesville, VA. One of them drove through a crowd in his Dodge Challenger, injuring 19 individuals and killing Heather Heyer.  Heather was a beautiful young woman, who was a local paralegal.  Little did I know, at the time, this was a foreshadowing of worse things to come.  This hideous act prompted then-former Vice-President  Joe Biden to run for president in 2020. In my opinion, his election is the only good that has come out of this.

Worse Is Yet To Come

On January 6, 2021, a similar, yet even more heinous act of violence occurred at our nation’s Capitol Building.  I find only small comfort in the fact that James Alex Fields, the man responsible for the horrific Charlottesville attack, was sentenced in 2019 to life plus 419 years. The sentence though appropriate does not bring back Heather Heyer.  Nor does it heal the scars, both physical and emotional,  of those who were injured, or who witnessed her murder. This callous disregard for life, an act of cowardice and pure evil, a precursor to the insurrectionists actions one year ago.

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David Shadrick: The Perils of a Conscience

David Shadrick: The Perils of a Conscience

David Shadrick: The Perils of a Conscience

Dave Shadrick is back. He wants to talk about Liz Cheney and the disintegrating Republican Party.  Join Dave every Sunday for his slightly twisted view of the world. Sometimes painful, sometimes funny, sometimes hair raising, and then sometimes it is, Just Dave. Enjoy!

Allman Brothers: “Whipping Post”

Allman Brothers: “Whipping Post”

Allman Bros. Band: “Whipping Post”

Dave came into the office and suggested Calamity Politics Juke Box Choice of The Day in honor of Liz Cheney. So here we go friends, Dave’s Juke Box Choice of the Day, The Allman Bros. Band doing “Whipping Post.” Lyrics below.

Whipping Post

By Gregg Allman

I’ve been run down and I’ve been lied to.
And I don’t know why, I let that mean woman make me a fool.
She took all my money, wrecks my new car.
Now she’s with one of my good time buddies,
They’re drinkin’ in some cross-town bar.
Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.
Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’
My friends tell me, that I’ve been such a fool.
But I had to stand by and take it baby, all for lovin’ you.
Drown myself in sorrow as I look at what you’ve done.
But nothing seemed to change, the bad times stayed the same,
And I can’t run.
Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.
Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’.
Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.
Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Gregg L. Allman
Whipping Post lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Speaking To History Not Re-Election

OPINION:

Liz Cheney: Speaking To History Not Re-Election

OPINION:

Liz Cheney: Speaking To History Not Re-Election

Liz Takes a Stand as Republicans Move to Force Her Out

By D. S. Mitchell

Deep Trouble

Elizabeth Lynne Cheney 7/28/66 is an American attorney and Republican politician.  Liz Cheney is the House Republican Conference chair, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership.  Cheney is the daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney. She is the sole (at-large) Representative from Wyoming and she is in serious political trouble.

Trump For Elise Stefanik

Cheney serves on two powerful House committees, the Armed Services Committee and Natural Resources. It is believed Ms. Cheney will be removed as the 3rd ranking Republican  sometime within the next week when the House reconvenes. Donald Trump has come out against Cheney and has thrown his support behind New York Representative Elise Stefanik. Since Trump’s announced support, both Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy (CA) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (LA) have come out to publicly support the Stefanik for Cheney swap.

Naughty Girl
McCarthy claims the reason Cheney is losing her leadership role is because, “she isn’t the best policy messenger for the party. ” I see it as strange, considering Cheney is one of the most consistent conservative voices on everything. In fact, she has voted more with Trump than Stefanik has, by nearly 20% of the time. What is going on here is that Liz  has a conscience and she is willing and seemingly eager to speak out against former President Donald J. Trump. And of course there was her vote to impeach Trump over his part in the capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Rising Star
The move to replace Cheney is proof that Stefanik, who was elected to a fourth term from New York state, has seen an ascendancy in her career since she began her ardent public defense of Trump.  Sources say that Trump first noticed Stefanik during her interrogation of witnesses during the House Intelligence Committee hearings on the alleged Ukraine quid pro quo. That performance gave Stefanik a place in Trump’s PR efforts during the Senate trial. In February 2020 Trump praised Stefanik in a speech celebrating his acquittal in the Senate, “she looks good, she looks like good talent.”
The Message
Stefanik opposed the second impeachment of Trump earlier this year for his role in the January 6 insurrection.  She claimed the House action was a “partisan ploy with no basis in the Constitution.. ..The Democrats’ decision to impeach the President with one week remaining in his term further fuels the divisions in the country during this very trying time.” Total B.S. I say.
McCarthy Kisses Trump Ring
Trump and McCarthy are keeping in regular contact over the Cheney issue.  “They’ve definitely spoken recently” said Trump aide Jason Miller. Master puppeteer has McCarthy and Scalise singing his song. The Heritage Group confirmed Cheney’s lifetime vote score is 80%. Stefanik’s is 48%. And even when it comes to votes in support of Trump  Cheney voted 92.9% of the time while Stefanik backed him 77.7% of the time.
GOP Faces Divide Over Trump’s Big Lie
This battle has nothing to do with conservatism. Or, according to the data, about supporting Trump’s agenda while in office. Sadly, Scalise, McCarthy, Stefanik and others have higher ambitions. Each hoping to rise in a GOP that is controlled by former President Trump despite his two impeachments, lawless abuse of power, alleged sexual assaults, failed re-election bid, false claims of voter fraud,  failure to effectively handle the pandemic, with more than 441,000 deaths during his tenure in office.  I’m sure a lot of GOP politicians wish the Orange One would just go quietly into retirement, but why should he, the Republicans keep feeding him red meat, and kissing the ring.
 They  Spoke Up Once
Kevin McCarthy, Liz Cheney, and Mitch McConnell have each harshly criticized Trump’s role in the capitol insurrection. McConnell and McCarthy made the bet that criticizing Trump’s reaction to the insurrection once would allow them a quick return to the Trump umbrella in a party that still embraces Trump. But Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Mitt Romney all  said, “hell no,” and drew a line in the sand over the 1/6/2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, as well as the run up to that day and its aftermath, all centered on Trump claiming, despite all evidence, that the 2020 election was “stolen”.
Ideology

The once holy Republican foundational creed has been thrown overboard as the Republicans have moved to a cult of personality around Donald Trump. The version of the GOP that Romney, Kinzinger, and Cheney embraced  no longer exists. The Republicans have replaced the old party with a Trump dominated party focused on populist, autocratic, anti-free trade, and deficit blind budgets. Trump appears to be the Republican favorite for the 2024 presidential nomination.  Hopefully, the country has had enough of Donald J. Trump. If we haven’t had enough we need to prepare ourselves for a totalitarian future if  Trump’s increasingly radical authoritarian behavior is sent back to the White House.

A Lonely Defense

Liz Cheney has been on a lonely defense of the truth, (1.)last year’s election was not stolen, (2) that Donald Trump incited a riot at the Capitol in an effort to overthrow the 2020 election, (3) a bipartisan commission should be convened to understand the insurrection, (4) continuing the big lie is an ongoing threat to democracy.  In a 5/6/2021 Washington Post Op-Ed Liz Cheney made the case that the GOP may be irrevocably harming itself in the eyes of Americans by ignoring Trump’s offenses against the basic democratic principles that underpin the country. She made it clear that the GOP is “at a turning point.” The party must choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution, or blind fidelity to the Trump scam.

The Future? 

The message is clear, Liz Cheney is about to be voted out of her leadership position, Mitt Romney the Republican presidential candidate in 2012 was booed at a recent GOP function, and Adam Kinzinger is being primaried.  Donald Trump will continue as a driving force in the Republican Party for an unknown period of time. Traditional conservatives like Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, and Adam Kinzinger’s are defending a vision of the Republican Party that is gone, if it ever did exist.  These few crusaders have put principle over personal loyalty to an ex-president, but I personally think they will be left to wander in the wilderness until Donald Trump’s hold on the party is broken.