#440 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday August 26)
Good morning,
There is a lot of noise in the news and social media regarding the January 6th Committee, the warrant executed at Mar-a-Lago, and the various lawsuits against Mr. Trump, his businesses, and his compatriots. Many of Mr. Trump’s supporters will deflect with “What about Bengazi?” and “the Russia collusion hoax” and “the Hunter Biden laptop.” As for the willful taking of classified government documents, besides Mr. Trump’s various (often conflicting) explanations, people try to compare this to Hillary Clinton’s email servers. Of course, these are as different as night and day.
I think there is a need to establish categories of scandals that are related and peel them away from those which are not similar. By analogy, while both are violations of the law, a “California stop” at a stop sign is of different magnitude from driving 100 miles and hour down Wilshire Boulevard. If we can categorize the missteps and scandals of our political leaders, we can begin to compare apples to apples and to measure the relative dangers of each . For instance, one can argue Bengazi was an example of incompetence; whereas, the actions of Trump in connection with January 6 were, at minimum, anti-democratic, and possibly/probably treasonous or criminal. They are not the same.
I’ve made an effort to catalog the various scandals of our times into several categories—I think if the Democrats can get the public to understand the nature, magnitude and severity of these different scandals, they’ll be better off:
Treason and uprooting democracy
The Trump “Big Lie” about fraudulent elections that has spurred on violence and diminution of faith in our democratic institutions
Trump inciting supporters to descend on Washington, get fighting mad, and march on the Capitol. All while being goaded on and minimizing security (e.g., knowing many protestors were armed and authorizing reduction in security and delaying sending in reinforcements for over three hours)
Trumpists orchestrating plans to reduce access to polling places and drop-off locations, running believers in Trump’s Big Lie for election oversight positions, and modifying state laws to allow legislatures to substitute their judgment for that of trained non-partisan election professions, all in anticipation of a manipulation of the 2024 election
The attempt to withhold Congressionally mandated aid to Ukraine in return for support for the Trump campaign
Trump’s failure to return classified government documents required by subpoena
Relatives Benefiting from their name and access—seemingly not the exception, but the norm…
Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and the Trump sons have benefited from their father’s presidency
Hunter Biden trading on his father’s name for profit
Whitewater and the Hillary Clinton cattle futures scandal
The Trump actions violating the emolument clause
Government incompetence in foreign affairs
Benghazi
The Afghanistan withdrawal
Not having a plan for Iraq after the military victory
Beirut barracks bombing
Doing something wrong while trying to do something right
Iran-Contra
Trump pushing back against China but doing it ham-handedly in rejecting the Transpacific Partnership and starting a trade war
Personal failings/crimes
Clinton’s dalliances
Trump’s dalliances
Hillary’s emails
Trump’s emails
Trump’s use of his charitable foundation for personal gain
Trump’s raising money from supporters to fight “election fraud” but instead directing it to other personal causes
ALL SCANDALS ARE NOT THE SAME
The “whataboutism” practiced by Trump supporters is deafening. Whenever confronted by examples of the moral, ethical and legal failings of Mr. Trump, the attempted coup, and the manipulation of the electoral system in anticipation of the next election, there are cries of “what about Biden’s lap top?” or “what about Hillary’s emails?” Hunter Biden’s laptop and his garnering of business advantage have no comparison to the Trump family’s bilking the U.S. government, using foreign governments to improve their political fortunes and, worst of all, trying to circumvent democratic government and spread lies in the effort to perpetuate their own coup.
When the Republicans take control of the House, get ready for wall-to-wall inquiries of Hunter Biden. The key to their strategy in avoiding a reckoning for their toadying to Trump is to deflect and create false equivalency with the January 6th Committee.
A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS
Another installment of “what am I wasting my time thinking about?”:
Remember in junior high school a person two years was the equivalent of a generation? When I was in ninth grade, a seventh grader wasn’t worth giving the time of day and an eleventh grader was practically middle aged.
Live theatre in Los Angeles requires that everyone wear a mask. While everyone complied before the show, it was complete chaos on the way out, as people ripped off masks and ignored ushers’ requests to comply. Why is this so hard for some people?
There is way too much honking of horns these days. Are people worse drivers, warranting the increased admonishment? Or are people just meaner, and would prefer to lean on their horn than let someone merge in?
Given the lower batting averages the past several years, is it time to lower the pitchers’ mound again? And why in the world is Pete Rose still banned from Hall of Fame consideration?
Universities are granted nonprofit status by the federal government. This ostensibly acknowledges the public good performed by them. Now that the lie has been exposed regarding “student athletes,” should this be reconsidered?
Best regards,
Glenn
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