Category Archives: Federal Politics

Federal Politics, Local Politics, State Politics

Justices Appointed To The Supreme Court By Donald J. Trump

Candidates nominated to become a Supreme Court Justice of the United States (SCOTUS) by Occupier of the Oval Office, Donald J. Trump, who were successfully seated, arguably are of the same ilk as is he.  Mr. Trump is a twice impeached ex-Occupier of the Oval Office who has proven to be a xenophobic incompetent leader who is a liar, conman and charlatan –  this truncated list of negative qualities is obviously by no means exhaustive – who refuses to let go of his ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  Mr. Trump has always been very meticulous when it comes to the people that he chooses to surround himself with so he was likely just as meticulous about selecting those who he nominated to become Supreme Court Justices.

It is well known that Mr. Trump places an all but unmatchable value on loyalty; he expects the three Justices that he chose to be loyal to him!  Based on this it is reasonable to assume that he vetted them thoroughly – whether directly or implied – on the loyalty issue.  The fact that Mr. Trump moved forward and nominated them does not mean that these nominees agreed – again, whether directly or implied – to be loyal to him.  But knowing how Mr. Trump operates – after the vetting, he would have had to believe in his mind that they understood that not committing to be loyal to him was a non-starter to their nomination.  None of the three candidates that Mr. Trump nominated to the Supreme Court could have been confirmed without the strong help of then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham; especially nominee Amy Coney Barrett who was confirmed about a week before the 2020 election!

In light of what Republicans did to President Barrack Obama’s SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland, the blatant hypocrisy of the Republican Party is even more painful to witness and one would think that this shameful conduct by its leaders would cause at least some members to push back against it.  But that is not the case.  The Republicans have no shame and dignity down to every last member of the Republican caucus has taken a back seat.  There are those who cry foul when some Democrats speak of expanding the Court because they do not believe that Democrats should stack the Court: what have the Republicans just done?!  It appears that this new conservative Supreme Court is shifting its focus toward rolling back all of the hard-won civil rights battles that have been accumulated through blood, sweat and tears over the years.  The shift is subtle but it is occurring.  All Americans must be vigilant and remain that way if we are to protect the rights of all Americans.  It is obvious that there are some who would prefer that this American Democracy become an Autocracy.

Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts the current spider-like Supreme Court is not only subtle and stealthy but it is opaque by way of the use of its’ Shadow Docket, especially when former occupier of the Oval Office Donald J. Trump was in office.  It is spider-like, and this was a tactic likely concocted by Chief Justice Roberts, in that it sucks the life out of laws that it does not agree with but is too cowardly to take on head-on for fear of public backlash, and leaves the toothless hull of them in place.  That way, there are those Americans who will believe that the law with its full effect is still in place and the Justices can argue that they did not strike it down.  For example, do you remember when Chief Justice Roberts cast the key vote in gutting the Voting Rights Act?  In the unlikely event that you do not remember that, certainly you remember what the SCOTUS just did by allowing Texas SB8 to stand, in essence overturning Roe v. Wade, without any opinion from a lower court or oral arguments and while admitting that the bill was unconstitutional.

There was an article by Amanda Marcotte in Salon about this decision.  There was also an article by CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer Joan Biskupic concerning it.  In both cases I think that they nailed it with regards to the John Roberts Supreme Court!  You should read these articles and see what you think: Amanda Marcotte’s article is entitled ‘The “soft” overturn of Roe v. Wade exposes how far-right John Roberts has let the Supreme Court go’ and Joan Biskupic’s is ‘John Roberts has lost control of the Supreme Court’.  However, I must push back a bit on Ms. Biskupic’s article because I don’t think that Chief Justice Roberts has lost control of the Supreme Court, rather I believe that it is doing exactly what he wants it to do while shielding him.

Simply reflect on Chief Justice Roberts’ concoction of the spider-like tactic in addressing the Voting Rights Act and the hull of it that continues to exist there while his reputation as an institutionalist remains intact and protected.  And not only should you reflect on what happened with the Voting Rights Act and what just happened with Texas’ SB8, but contemplate this; while the Roe v. Wade controversy has the spotlight, John Roberts’ spider-like, stealthy Supreme Court is further sucking any remaining life out of the Voting Rights Act.  In light of all of this, don’t be fooled by Justice Roberts joining the three dissenting Justices in slamming the majorities’ decision to let SB8 stand.  As Rachel Maddow so often says on her show, don’t watch what they say, watch what they do.  Republicans as a Party have lost their collective mind.  They are flagrantly and frantically working to subvert the will of the American people and replace it with their own will and agenda.

Voters are the only medicine that can cure this problem so Republicans are even working to replace election officials who were elected by the people to oversee America’s voting process with people of their own choosing; people who will count and certify votes the way that they want them counted and certified.  That way, they can place the people into office that they want to place in office and ignore the will of voters!  This entire effort to subvert the will of the American people is predicated upon the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s “Big Lie.”  Keep all of these things in mind when you are at the polls and always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, Local Politics, State Politics

Disbelief, Disappointment, Frustration, Fear, Anger, Stress, Exhaustion…Disbelief: January 6, 2021 Attempted Coup

The more that I reflect on the January 6, 2021 attempted coup by the mob of crazed Trump supporters who labeled themselves patriots while they killed one police officer and injured many others as they stormed the United States capitol, I thank God for the silver lining that this ominous black cloud in American history contained; failure.  It was an attempted coup.  I regularly go through the same cycle again and again: disbelief, disappointment, frustration, fear, anger, stress, exhaustion…and back to disbelief.  It is an involuntary thing that is brought on by the trauma of witnessing the Republican Party shamelessly and relentlessly press forward in supporting Donald J. Trump’s ‘big lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  It does not last long because I always consciously quickly discard it.

And each time that I have reflected on the horrible and shameful event of January 6th and passed through this cycle I see more clearly how fortunate that we Americans are to still have our fragile democracy; to still be moving forward with this Great American Experiment!  I see how extremely close that The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America was to pulling off a successful coup d’état: the margin between America remaining a democracy or becoming an authoritarian  country was paper-thin!

As I reflect on the attempted coup, the things that occurred during it and the things that continue to occur in real-time since then, it is definitely emotionally painful.  It is emotionally painful to the point to where it actually feels like physical pain.  That is why, as previously stated, I quickly discard it.  It is extremely hard to believe that those that we elected to protect Americans and America against all enemies foreign and domestic would turn their back on the oath that they placed their hand on the Bible and swore to in order to take office.  It is even harder to believe that an entire political party would do this!  How can personal political ambition hold such aggregate sway over an entire party especially when to choose political ambition over their sworn oath presents an existential threat to the American democracy?!

I know that there are a lot of other Americans – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – who feel the same kind of pain that I feel.  I can see this in the faces of many of the cable news reporters and their guests.  These cable news hosts, being the professionals that they are, many times try to disguise the pain that they are feeling and not overemphasize the severity of the January 6th event and the overwhelming danger of the political games that the entire Republican Party is continuing to play.  They try valiantly to accentuate the positive with respect to what Democrats are doing to address the attempted coup and to prevent the same thing from occurring again.  And although they do not go so far as to eliminate the negative by avoiding acknowledging what Democrats are not doing – because they understand the pain and fear that the majority of the American people are experiencing, they do everything that they can to protect those Americans’ physical and mental health without misreporting or underreporting the news.

It’s hard work to watch Senators Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, John Cornyn, Lindsay Graham and many other senators like them completely forsake democracy.  These were politicians who – in the past, even if you disagreed with them on the issues, you felt like there was at least some degree of principle, honor, sincerity and commitment involved in the positions they held: now, principle, honor, sincerity and commitment are completely lacking.  There is no decency!  The only thing that counts is power…and staying in power at all costs!

As far as members of the House of Representatives is concerned, I intentionally excluded mentioning Leader McCarthy and the other Republican politicians in the House along with the senators mentioned above because I am convinced that Leader McCarthy’s word was never worth anything and that he was never an honorable politician.  He was always strictly about Kevin McCarthy and the Republican Party; emphasis on Kevin McCarthy, because his personal ambition has always held priority.  Therefore, although he and his cohorts are just as deep into choosing ‘the big lie’ and Party (Trump?) over their oath and democracy, I still could not bring myself to mention Leader McCarthy’s name in the same breath as that of the aforementioned senators.

That notwithstanding, the ease and lack of patriotic emotion with which all of these Republican senators and House members deal with the metaphorical fire that encapsulates America’s fragile democracy and the existential threat to it – which is only exacerbated by their disregard to their oath of office and their lack of decency, is astonishing.  Politics is indeed a tough profession that is only for those of a particular ilk.  It is definitely not for everyone.

I have always been aware of those people who are cynical when it comes to politics but I never really thought before that politicians could make me more skeptical of their profession than I already am.  Surprise!  The January 6, 2021 attempted coup and the things that have transpired and continue to take place since then have been a real eye-opener for me.  But unlike those cynical folks who eschew politics and find it so distasteful that they refuse to participate in it in any way, fashion or form, I have always done my civic duty and will continue to do so.  That is, if we can preserve our fragile democracy!  And right now, things don’t look all that promising.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, Local Politics, State Politics

It Is Past Time For Democrats To Deal With Senator Joe Manchin

I am almost as sick and tired of hearing Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s name as I was of hearing The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America’s name when he was the Occupier of the Oval Office.  Before the 2020 election that gave the Democrats control of the senate by the slimmest margin possible – 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote, no one even knew who Senator Joe Manchin was; well, maybe a few people in West Virginia did.  Anyway, based on this slimmest of margins situation, Senator Manchin saw the opportunity for a power grab and he took it.

Since grabbing that power, he has been working hard to spread his name throughout America like, I suppose, anything that gets spread by a professional no matter his level on the, so-to-speak, professional totem pole.  There is no doubt that these power grabs when they are available are not uncommon and happen far too often by ambitious politicians.  They are usually winked at by other politicians, especially those of the same ilk, who are awaiting their own opportunity to further their personal professional goals.  That is likely among the reasons why Senator Manchin’s Democratic colleagues are handling him with kid gloves while he runs around with his Republican colleagues and sides with them against getting rid of the filibuster or changing it in any way.  Senator Machin is doing this under the guise of bipartisanship and preserving the voice of the minority Party.

This action by Senator Manchin has not gone unnoticed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and he and his lieutenants, which arguably could include Senator Manchin, are taking full advantage of the situation to allow Republican politicians around the country time to introduce and enact voter suppression laws.  This means that the cornerstone of the American democracy is at stake vs. a long held senate tradition; the filibuster.  Yes, we are talking about preserving the cornerstone of our democracy vs. the tradition of the filibuster!  The filibuster is not a part of the Constitution and there are some who argue that it came into being via a mistake!  Senator Joe Manchin is siding with the Republicans – all of whom, with the exception of two, are sticking together under the guidance of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to support Donald Trump’s ‘big lie’ – in supporting maintaining the filibuster tradition over the right of every eligible voter to vote.

In the meantime, President Joe Biden – who is an honorable and decent man – is also, and sincerely I might add, striving with everything within his power to work across the aisle and govern on a bipartisan basis.  President Biden was a part of the senate for 36 years so he knows how the senate works and that is why, even though the American people are severely divided and obviously polarized, he can still make bipartisanship work.  But Senator Mitch McConnell has been a part of the senate for just as long as was now President Biden so he too knows how the senate works.  The difference is that President Biden has been out of the senate since 2009 and Senator McConnell, who has served as a senator since 1985, is still there.  Senator McConnell has also served as Senate Majority leader.  A lot has changed since President Biden left the senate.  Is Senator McConnell taking advantage of President Biden’s sentiments and passion regarding that body and playing him like a cheap violin?

Whether or not Senator McConnell is taking advantage of President Biden is of much concern but it is not the point of focus.  Americans must keep our eyes on the prize; the franchise: the right of every eligible voter to vote!  If that means putting pressure on President Biden and all of our elected Democratic politicians and keeping it there until they do everything legally possible to secure and protect the right of every eligible voter to vote then so be it.  If it means peaceful demonstrations of all sorts (‘Good Trouble’) then so be it.

It is far past time for Democratic politicians to confront Senator Joe Manchin and deal with him.  They must strategically pressure him because he also has skin in the game: He too, has something to lose.  Knowing Democrats, there is no doubt that they are running scared, wringing their hands and asking themselves what will happen if Joe Manchin switches sides and becomes a Republican?!  Ooh (sound of knees knocking together)!  For all intents and purposes he has already switched sides.  And he will continue to use Democrats fear to consolidate his power.

Democrats lose either way because they refuse to argue their position to the American people from a moral standpoint rather than from a policies standpoint.  They are either afraid to argue this issue from a moral standpoint or they do not understand that the right to vote is a moral issue that demands an argument based on a moral premise.  The Republicans understand this.  And that is why they are running all-out in the opposite direction of morals while there is still time to accomplish their nefarious goal.  They are betting that the Democrats don’t understand that this is the case and that even if they do they are too busy being afraid to do what obviously needs to be done.

So here we Democrats are again taking to the streets and demonstrating in order to do what our Democratic politicians do not have the nerve to do to preserve the American democracy.  And once again we find ourselves hoping against hope that they will eventually grow the spine to do before it is too late.  We can send a message to politicians like those who wink at what Senator Joe Machin is doing and to Senator Manchin himself through our vote that now is not the time to try to further his personal ambitions through a power grab.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, State Politics

SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts’ 2013 Voting Rights Decision

In an article that I wrote and posted to this website on August 5, 2015 entitled Chief Justice John Roberts’ Voting Rights Decision, I said that United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ decision to gut the Voting Rights Act (VRA) was either a gut wrenching decision for him or a time for him to celebrate: I said that only Chief Justice Roberts knew the true answer to this question.  Well, now we all know that answer: Based on the ruling that the Court made along ideological lines on the last day of rulings for 2021, it was not a gut wrenching decision.  It was a time of celebration.  Chief Justice Roberts sided with the other Republican Justices in further gutting the VRA.

Following are the first four paragraphs of the previously mentioned 2015 article.  I believe that they will be beneficial in helping my readers to realize and accept the fact that the Supreme Court is not an A-political branch of government, as it has long been esteemed to be, but that it is just as political as are the parties in the legislative branch of government:

Chief Justice John Roberts’ Voting Rights Decision

When U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts made his decision in June 2013 to declare Section 4 (b) of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional it was either a gut wrenching decision or a time for him to celebrate having finally achieved a goal that he had been chasing ever since he graduated from Harvard.  By siding with those who were in favor of declaring Section 4 (b) unconstitutional, in a 5-4 decision – quite reminiscent of the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000 that made Bush 43 President of the United States of America; he rendered the Voting Rights Act virtually powerless.

Was his decision to all but destroy this piece of legislation that the U.S. Department of Justice “considered to be the most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country” a gut wrenching decision?  Was it something that kept him awake at night as he contemplated the devastating impact that it would have on all of those who would be hurt by it if his decision was wrong or was it something that was more closely related to what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg suggested this Voting Rights decision was in her dissent statement?

According to the New York Times, in her dissent statement Justice Ginsberg, in referring to a case in Alabama that disparaged black people said; “These conversations occurred not in the 1870s or even the 1960s – they took place in 2010.  ” ‘Hubris’ is a fit word for today’s demolition of the [Voting Rights Act] V.R.A.”  No one really knows whether it was a gut wrenching decision or a time of celebration for Chief Justice Roberts except Chief Justice Roberts.  Why don’t you read ‘A Dream Undone then decide for yourself which of the two you think that it was?

Even if ultimately it turns out that his decision is more closely associated with the statement that Justice Ginsberg made in her dissent statement than it does to having been a gut wrenching decision, that does not make Chief Justice Roberts a terrible person.  It simply means that politics and politicians impact upon all of us including U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

This 2021 Supreme Court ruling has been touted and praised by the Arizona Attorney General, the Chairperson of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Republican Party in general.  Because the Republican Party has increasingly become a Party that is reliant on white voters and is already replete with them – in particular old white men, and refuse to spend the time and energy to create a bigger tent, they fear the changing demographics in America and so have come to know and accept that cheating is the only way that they can win.  So they cheat.  And they do it brazenly and without shame.

It is hard and it hurts deeply to watch the people that we elected to office and put our full faith and trust in to protect our democracy and us against all enemies foreign and domestic whither under the pressure of those enemies.  It especially hurts to see those officials who swore an oath to protect this country and us become subservient and kneel and kiss the ring of a former ‘Occupier of the Oval Office’ just to keep their job; a job that they know that they are not doing when they acquiesce to his ludicrous demands.  What is worse is that they know that this man is a liar, cheat and a conman who was unqualified and unfit for the office that he held and is not worthy of their support or that of the American people.  We know this because they themselves have labeled him with these negative terms and more!

It is freighting to witness the failed coup that occurred on January 6, 2021 and then watch an entire Republican Party with the exception of one or two Republicans block an investigation of that event and attempt to sweep it under the rug and move on!  Not only that but they cling to the former ‘Occupier of the Oval Office’ who allegedly incited the insurrection, proclaim him their leader and support and promulgate his claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him!  To be clear, although those two Republicans – Senator Mitt Romney and Representative Liz Cheney – took the position that they did, it does not warrant labeling them as heroes and showering them with adulation.  It’s their job to stand up for democracy and the American people.  Democrats and Republicans can have their differences on policies and how America should move forward as a democracy but there can be no differences when it comes to whether or not America should remain a democracy!  And if either Party says that America should not be a democracy, all Americans must stand on the side that says she will remain a democracy!

In light of what the Republican Party is so openly doing to destroy the American democracy, where are the voices of the Democrats and why aren’t they pushing back against this existential threat to it?!  With the Republican Party fighting with every tool in their arsenal regardless of the fact that they know that what they are doing is based on Donald Trump’s ‘big lie’ and America and the rest of the world are aware that this is the case, where is the urgency from the Democrats to at least blunt the Republicans steamroller type progress until they can stop it completely and save our democracy?!  Where are the voices of those generals like Jim Mattis and John Kelly who expressed concern about Mr. Trump’s leadership and about him referring to America’s generals as “My generals?!”

Finally, where is the unity in the Democratic Party under these dire and threatening circumstances?  Where is the voice of President Joe Biden?  Perhaps he is doing everything that he can possibly do to thwart congressional Republicans in Washington and around the country from achieving their nefarious plan to stay in power at all costs; even if it means making America an autocracy.  Perhaps he is planning strategically on how to deal with Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema who – if one did not know who they were, could reasonably argue that they have an R following their names with the way that they are conducting themselves under these extremely challenging circumstances.  If these two senators want to stand with Republicans against democracy based on the flimsy excuse of preserving a senate rule that – if the situation were reversed and Republicans were in charge of a precarious fifty fifty seat senate they would change in a heartbeat to move their agenda forward, then perhaps when Senators Machin and Sinema run for reelection they should run as Republicans.   Hopefully the aforementioned strategic plan includes dealing with them now and – with the support of voters – when they come up for reelection.

It appears that for some reason unknown to most of us Democratic voters and Republican voters who understand the situation and value our democracy, the Biden administration is not taking this all-out assault on voting rights seriously enough.  The fact that Republicans are putting every roadblock to the right to vote in place that they can prior to the 2022 election and in the event that these old school voter suppression tactics don’t work, backing them up by passing laws that will strip powers from other officials elected by the American people who currently oversee elections so that they can overturn elections that they disagree with is frightening and has a chilling effect on democracy.  Democrats cannot afford to wait until the fall of 2022 to address this problem.  They may find that they have lost their majority and that it is too late.  Oops!  And with all of the laws and other obstacles that Republicans are putting in place, with that “oops”, Democrats might never be in the majority again!

As a result of the lack of urgency exhibited in this matter by the Biden administration civil rights organizations have met with the president and vice president and informed them that they will push forward with grassroots efforts to protect voting rights.  These groups are acutely aware that far too many people have bled, suffered and died for the right of the franchise for people of color and subsequently others who were purposely left behind by those in power, to allow it to be taken away by those who refuse to accept change: By those who refuse to respect the voice of the electorate but would continue to do what they want to do and, in order to ignore the electorate but continue to win elections, rather than change their ways, put forward policies that honor the wishes of the electorate and govern accordingly, opt to instead change the electorate.

Americans do not have to put up with this kind of governance.  We can make sure that the American government remains a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people.  But in order to do this we must remain engaged.  And for those of you who are not already engaged, you must get engaged now and remain engaged; our democracy depends on it.  So always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!  Through your vote you can send a clear message to our elected leaders and all of those who dare to attack our democracy in an effort to undermine or destroy it that this is unacceptable and will not be tolerated!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, State Politics

Does The Republican Party Have A Problem With Democracy? Yes, It’s Not An Autocracy!

The Republican Party has morphed into something that is all but unrecognizable to Americans and the rest of the world, especially since America is the leader of the free world.  And what’s even more frightening, they are continuing to devolve!  No one knows what the final version of this monster will look and be like.  The Republican Party has given itself over completely to a disgraced former Occupier of the Oval Office who allegedly caused the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, is suspected of – wittingly or unwittingly – collaborating with Russia to further Russia’s interests at the expense of those of America, using the U.S. Department of Justice as a tool to punish his enemies and reward his friends and is plagued by lawsuits.  And finally, he is continuing to state publicly that he is still The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and that he will be reinstated to office in August 2021.  Mr. Trump is leading the Republican Party into oblivion and all of the members of this Party are afraid to consistently confront and challenge him even though he is an existential threat to the American democracy.  All of these members are cowards!

I am not saying that these Republican politicians should not be afraid.  Their jobs and careers are at stake and they have more than just themselves to think about; they have their families to think about.  Just like anyone else, they have the responsibility to do their part to feed, clothe, and shelter them.  What I am saying is that these politicians – even though they are afraid, must step up and do what is in the best interest of America.  They are not there to do what is in their own best interest, although that is what most of us regular working folks would do, or what is in the best interest of their political party.  These elected politicians do not have the luxury of doing what most regular working folks would do because in order to be officially placed in office, they swore an oath to defend the Constitution and to protect America and defend her against all enemies foreign and domestic.  This subjects them to the same standards that apply to anyone else in positions of trust and authority; people like policemen: More about policemen later.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to do the same thing to President Biden that he did to President Obama; he wants to gum up the works.  Senator McConnell has already publicly vowed to do everything within his power to block President Biden’s agenda.  And although House Leader Kevin McCarthy has not verbalized his intention to follow Minority Leader McConnell’s lead, his actions indicate that that is exactly what he plans to do.  All of the Republicans in the House and Senate are supporting Mr. Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ in which he says that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  Some are supporting the ‘Big Lie’ by openly siding with Mr. Trump while others are supporting it tacitly.

Many people are giving Representative Liz Cheney and Senator Mitt Romney credit for their bravery in speaking out against Mr. Trump.  They do not deserve credit for being brave for this!  What they are doing has more to do with self-preservation and political gain than it does to do with fighting to preserve the American democracy!  Representative Cheney and Senator Romney are among those previously mentioned tacit supporters!  Representative Cheney cannot even bring herself to publicly admit that those states that are putting laws into place that make it harder for people to vote while using Mr. Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ as their foundation for these laws is wrong!

Based on the way that the Republican Party is conducting itself, it is bound-and-determined to place Party above country and it does not care who knows it.  Not only do Republicans believe that American voters have a short memory; they think that we are stupid!  And just like they don’t care who knows that they are placing Party above country, they don’t care that American voters know that the Republican Party thinks that we are stupid; otherwise, why would they be so brazen about defending indefensible positions?  They do not care that those things that they are defending are devoid of any rationale and completely ludicrous as long as they are sticking together as a Party!  They believe that they will be readily reelected just like most of them were in 2020.  All Republicans do now is talk about retaking the House and Senate in 2022.  Their mantra could easily be ‘to hell with democracy right now, let’s retake the House and Senate!”

In a 55 to 34 vote Republicans – fueled by votes whipped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, blocked a bipartisan bill that would form a commission to investigate the January 6, 2021 Capitol Insurrection.  Eleven senators did not even bother to vote!  Nine of those non-voting senators were Republicans and two were Democrats.  Although the Republicans were on the short end of the vote with only 34 votes, because of the filibuster rule they were able to prevent a bipartisan majority from moving forward to establish this commission.

All of these Republicans are aware that the majority of Americans want to see this commission formed and that they want commission members to get to the bottom of the January 6 insurrection.  But again, they do not care that this is what the American people want and they do not fear any reprisals that they might be faced with.  Instead of concerning themselves with what the American people want and what reprisals they might face, Republicans are busy rigging the election system so that they will be elected or reelected despite what the majority of Americans want.  They are doing things like moving forward on introducing and passing voter suppression laws in at least 43 states around the country, gerrymandering districts so that they can select their voters rather than have their voters select them and continuing to promulgate and support Mr. Trumps ‘Big Lie’ which says that the 2020 election was stolen from him.  Republicans have abandoned the rule of law because they believe that they can get away with doing so: They really do believe that voters are stupid!

Speaking about abandoning the rule of law, that provides the perfect segue into the ‘more talk about policemen’ statement that I made earlier in this article.  As you probably already know, Republicans love to ‘talk’ about the rule of law and how much they really love and support the American policemen who are on the front line when it comes to enforcing the law.  Evidently, they love to talk the talk and it is just as obvious that they fail miserably to walk the talk.  In other words, they love to talk about how they love the rule of law and those who enforce it.  But when it comes to actually supporting the rule of law and assuring that those policemen who enforce it do so with integrity and have Republicans’ support in creating and maintaining a workplace environment that is tantamount to the need to assure that all Americans have confidence in the system, they consistently are found lacking.

Why do I say this?  Here are three excellent examples; 1) Mr. Trump was impeached twice and the Republican-controlled senate failed to convict him despite overwhelming evidence that supported the fact that he was guilty.  2) Republicans refuse to admit that Mr. Trump incited the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot – for what they view as lack of proof – and they continue to side with him on his ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen from him and 3) they recently blocked a bipartisan bill that would have formed a commission to look into the January 6, 2021 riot that would have gotten to the bottom of what caused the riot and either exonerated Mr. Trump or provided proof of his guilt.  They blocked this commission even while knowing that a number of Capitol police officers were injured during this riot and some were even killed!

Our democracy is obviously at risk and, unfortunately, Democrats are not taking the threat nearly seriously enough.  Instead of marshaling all forces and stepping up to meet and defeat this existential threat, we are harping on the need for bipartisanship and insisting on supporting an obscure senate rule in order to preserve the integrity of the senate; go figure!  In the meantime – as I mentioned earlier in this article, Republicans are running around trying to put voter suppression laws into place in as many states as possible so that they can win regardless of the wishes of the majority of the American people!  Are Democrats continuing to bring knives to a gunfight?!

Have we not learned anything from dealing with Republicans over all this time?  How they regularly break their own rules and only believe in and act upon their so-called desire for bipartisanship when it is convenient for them to do so?!  Are Democrats so naive that they fail to realize that if the same situation that the senate finds itself in now were reversed and Republicans had the advantage that they would immediately move forward with their agenda with or without the support of Democrats?!  If they are, whoa!  And strap in Democrats because we are in for a long, rough, stressful and possibly tectonic ride.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, Local Politics, State Politics

Cops Around The United States Are Still Killing Black People

Cops around the United States are still murdering Black People.  What are politicians in Denver, Colorado doing to address this problem?  Right now, it appears that they are doing the same thing as virtually all of the other politicians throughout the country…nothing!  Well, maybe – again like all of the other politicians – they are talking about it.  They are saying things like “our policemen need better training, our policemen are expected to handle situations that are really not a part of their expertise; things like mental health situations, there are a lot of good police officers and we really need to get rid of the bad apples” and on-and-on they go!  Blah, blah, blah, blah blah.  And like all of them have been saying since forever, they continue echoing the same old line saying, we can fix it…but it’s not going to happen overnight.

Overnight?!  Black folks have been complaining about unequal justice and being mistreated by the police since long before the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed!  Overnight?!  I would say that prior to 1964 until 2021 goes far beyond overnight, wouldn’t you?!  I agree with the statement that Jason Johnson made on MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace’s Deadline: White House show.  Mr. Johnson said, and I paraphrase here; we have to break this down and start over, you can’t train this out of people!  Mr. Johnson was referring to America’s policemen and the biases that far too many white police officers have against people of color; especially Black people.  He was saying that these biases are baked in to the police culture.

The real problem is that most politicians are unwilling to risk their cushy, prestigious jobs in order to do what really needs to be done to fix the policing problem in America.  They refuse to break things down and start over.  They know that an extremely large percentage of Americans refuse to even acknowledge that America has a problem in terms of racism and prejudices.  Many white people still believe that Black people still have the same opportunities that they do if we are willing to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” and work hard.  There is no doubt that many of them just say this but don’t really believe it but there are likely many of them that really do believe that this is true!  These politicians do not want to face the wrath of those who say that all things are equal because they risk losing their jobs if they do the right thing and work to fix the problem.

Unfortunately, Denver politicians and politicians throughout Colorado fall into this category of the “I can’t risk my job” group.  Denver and Colorado are a microcosm of what is happening at the federal level of our government.  But all of these politicians are our elected leaders who swore an oath to do what is best for America; shouldn’t they be willing to risk their jobs to uphold that oath?  Shouldn’t we expect them to be willing to risk their jobs to uphold that oath; especially when they are privy to information that is not available to the rest of us and they know that even if they face the wrath of some of their constituents that to risk their jobs is the right thing to do?

I shared my feelings about the problems that Denver has with its police force with my City Council representative, Stacie Gilmore, and suggested that she could perhaps take the lead in talking to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock about working to address this problem in an effort to mitigate it by getting ahead of it by using innovative methods to clean up the Denver police force and even possibly make it a model for other police departments around the country to use as an example to remake their police departments.  On about July 9, 2016 – subsequent to speaking to Councilwoman Gilmore, I wrote a letter to Mayor Hancock.  In that letter I provided him with a template that I believed would be beneficial in helping him to address the policing problem in Denver.

I had been writing about the policing problem in America long before I wrote to Mayor Hancock on July 9th and provided him with a template to reform the Denver police force.  In retrospect, I now believe that the template that I provided to Mayor Hancock fell far short of what actually needs to be done to correct the problem with Denver’s police department: We need to apply the remedy that Jason Johnson suggested that America needs to apply to all of its police departments!  The show of force that the police demonstrated at the United States Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection vs. that which they have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate against peaceful protesters around our country is an excruciating reminder of the biases that exist in the American police forces.

Case in point: During the January 6, 2021 insurrection the insurrectionists were obviously in charge and not the police.  Even after these people had stormed the capitol and actually broken into it while a joint session of congress was going on to certify now President Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, the police were handling them with kid gloves.  They were cajoling them and asking them if there was any chance that they could get them to leave the building!  The police were doing this even after many police officers had already been badly injured by this crowd!  Some of these policemen who were defending the capitol even died!

Compare this to how police in Aurora, Colorado handled a much smaller group of people who were holding a violin vigil to honor 23-year-old Elijah Jovan McClain, an unarmed Black man who died after being placed in a chokehold by the Aurora, Colorado police.  What happened in this case?  The police showed up in large numbers clad in riot gear.  They proceeded to pepper spray the crowd until it dispersed.  These protesters were playing violins!

The city of Aurora and the city of Denver are adjacent to each other so they are obviously close neighbors.  And just like they are close neighbors, the Aurora police force and the Denver police force are not much different when it comes to policing Black people and other people of color vs. white people.  Both cities police departments treat Black people and other people of color like they are second-class citizens who are unworthy of being treated with the same amount of dignity and respect as that shown to their white counterparts.

I never heard anything back from Mayor Hancock or my City Council representative about the template that I shared with them and I have not noticed any visible improvement in the way that the Denver police treat Black people and other people of color.  Notwithstanding, I continue to hold on to the hope that things will change for the better and I will continue to do what I can to help bring about that change.  And if the mayor or my City Council representative should finally decide to contact me about that template I will be sure to tell them that it is time to upgrade it to the Jason Johnson approach; we need to break this thing down and start over.  We will have to somehow figure out how to use that model to break things down and start over.  And if we can’t do that, then the city of Denver will just have to start from scratch.  But the bottom line is, the problem absolutely must be addressed!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

 

Federal Politics, State Politics

The Face Of Jim Crow 2.0? Republican Lawmakers

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent persuasive and unrealistic.  Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” (President John F. Kennedy)

Almost all Republican lawmakers – from the very top at the federal government level all the way down to the state and local levels, are supporting the bill that was recently made law in Georgia making it harder for citizens of the state of Georgia to vote.  Many of these lawmakers are openly supporting this law while others are tacitly supporting it.  But make no mistake, all of them are supporting it; as regards those who are providing tacit support, their silence is deafening!

And all of these Republicans are openly attacking democracy in an effort to silence American voters of color to try to assure that white Americans will always rule no matter the will of the American people as a whole.  What they do not seem to realize is that they are taking away the voices of white Americans as well: Or maybe they do realize this but simply do not care as long as they, those that are currently in power, will remain in power.  Mr. Donald J. Trump – previously the occupier of the Oval Office, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Matt Gaetz are among a number of Republican congressmen who have said that Republicans will never win another election if congress makes it easier to vote.

Donald J. Trump, the immediate past The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, has emboldened Republicans and no matter how brazen their acts, they are doing exactly what they want to do no matter what their constituents are telling them that they want them to do: They are showing their true colors and like gangbangers they are flashing the gang signs of the gang that they belong to, the Donald J. Trump Republican Party (DJTRP).

They want everyone to know that they are proud to be a part of the DJT-led Republican Party.  And like with any gang, those who flash the signs of that gang who are not totally committed to the gang or who are fake gang members – if caught – will pay a terrible price.  They will be challenged in a primary election (primaried) so that they will never reach the general election.  In some extreme cases their political careers will be ruined, chasing them completely out of politics.

These Republican politicians who come under attack by Mr. Trump and the DJTRP gang, depending on how ambitious they are and their individual political calculus, react in different ways.  Some of them suddenly decide that it is time for them to retire.  Some, like Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger who refused to be bullied by Mr. Trump into cooperating with him to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in Georgia, have buyers’ remorse and try to kowtow their way back into Mr. Trump’s good favor.

Still others, like Senator Mitt Romney, go completely silent and slowly fade to black as if they are some sort of minor supporting actor in a theatrical play.  No matter how they react, they are abdicating their responsibility and sworn duty as America’s elected leaders by voluntarily placing the decision of whether or not American democracy will survive into the hands of the DJTRP: And they are doing this while aware that American democracy is under full frontal attack, that the reason for this attack is founded on lies and myths and that those supporting the DJTRP are supporting Mr. Trump and his gang based on these lies and myths; especially Mr. Trumps “big lie” which claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him!  These Republican lawmakers are completely aware that there is an existential threat to the American Republic!  Who are these people that “We the People” placed all of our confidence in to protect America against all enemies foreign and domestic; are they at all recognizable?!

Although it is easy to point out Republicans because it is their party that is leading the charge to support Mr. Trump’s “Big Lie” and punish those who refuse to support it, there are a few Democrats who must be held to account for what smacks of placing their political ambitions ahead of country.  Chief among those few Democrats is Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.  Although according to a national poll released by Data for Progress and Equal Citizens – 67% of Americans support H.R.1 (For the People Act) which when broken down by party affiliation equals 56% Republican, 68% Independent and 77% Democrat – Senator Manchin still feels that he knows what is best for all of America and since the For the People Act does not meet his criteria as the proper solution to this particular problem, he says that he cannot support the bill.

Because the senate is controlled by Democrats by an extremely slim margin (Democrats and Republicans each hold 50 seats) and Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote is needed to break any tie votes, Senator Manchin’s vote is crucial.  Senator Manchin knows this and so therefore knows that he wields great power.  This power appears to be presenting him with a challenge that he is finding hard to deal with; or not.  Whether or not this is due to his political ambitions is hard to determine but he is unabashedly basking in the large amount of press attention that he is suddenly receiving.

This feeling of “I know what is best for America and only I can fix the situation” is not something that is without precedent with Senator Manchin.  Senator Manchin and Republican senator Pat Toomey worked together in 2013 on a senate compromise version of a gun bill passed by the House that they were confident would be passed in the senate. But it failed because it could not garner the 60 votes that it needed to overcome the filibuster.  And still, here we are in 2021 having the same old discussions about gun control even after all of the people that have died between 2013 and 2021 – and before that, and lawmakers are likely to do the same thing that they have always done: Nothing!

This time – as mentioned previously in this article, we are not only confronted with violent gun deaths that have been perpetrated by individuals using assault rifles, but we are faced with an obvious frontal attack on our democracy.  And even under these circumstances Senator Manchin seems determined to exercise his “I know what is best for America and only I can fix the situation” power: He seems to be eager to be the first to let the press know that he does not support the House gun control bill or the For the People Act and that he is against eliminating the filibuster or in any way altering it.

What is Senator Manchin’s angle and how hard and how far is he willing to push to achieve his goal, whatever that might be?!  Has he fallen victim to his own political ambition?  Maybe…maybe not.  But whatever it is that is driving Senator Manchin, when the reckoning actually arrives, one can only hope that he will come down firmly on the side of democracy.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, State Politics

Politics, SCOTUS And The Republican Party

At this point in our American democracy it can be reasonably argued that decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States are at best, highly questionable and at worst just short of a political joke.  And since the appointment of three (3) Justices by the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, somewhere in between that “at best” and “at worst” assessment, it is hard to label these SCOTUS decisions as anything other than Party tainted: That is, whether decisions are made in favor of the interest of the Republican Party or against it, Party is definitely taken into consideration when making rulings.  To make matters worse, Mr. Trump has constantly added fuel to that fire of questionability by referring to SCOTUS Justices that were confirmed and seated during his tenure as occupier of the Oval Office as “my judges” or “my Justices.”  And whenever those Justices have supported rulings that he disagreed with, he has openly railed against the Supreme Court and lamented the incompetence and lack of courage of its Republican Justices.

To say that these decisions are highly questionable is not meant to suggest that these SCOTUS Justices are not decent people or that their aim in making decisions is to intentionally undermine democracy or the will of the majority of the American people in order to help the minority and hurt the majority, or to help the political party that they are affiliated with.  The unfortunate thing is, however, that since the Mr. Donald J. Trump era – and his appointment of three (3) Justices to the Supreme Court, there is now so much more room to question SCOTUS decisions because of doubt that Mr. Trump brought about during his time in office due to his myriad lies and unorthodox so called leadership.  I remember the high level of confidence that I had in the unbiased decisions that I believed that the SCOTUS would make even if I disagreed with those decisions.  Can you recall the time when you felt that way too?

I said that what I stated in the first paragraph of this piece is not meant to suggest that these SCOTUS Justices are not decent people.  And I mean that.  But I do mean to suggest that since Mr. Trump was elected The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, politics has suddenly taken a major leap in the effect that it has on how the Court functions overall.  Are these Supreme Court Justices now Justices in name only and in reality simply Senators and Representatives in black robes?  SCOTUS Justices are granted their “for life” positions in order to assure that they will make their decisions based on their interpretation of the law and not out of loyalty to their party or fear of any kind of political retribution.

As far as how one might define a decent person, are virtually all of the Republicans in the House and Senate not decent people because of the way that they are conducting themselves out of political ambition right now?  What about former Vice President Mike Pence as regards the op-ed that he just wrote referencing the 2020 election and its widespread voter fraud and what appears to be his proclivity to ignore the January 6, 2021 failed coup by Donald J. Trump supporters that could have cost him his life?  And what about all of the false statements that he has made about the 2021 HR-1 bill, the For The People Act; does this make him not a decent person?

It seems reasonable that any person, regardless of whether they are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, can see that these Republican politicians in Washington and around the country are ignoring democracy and the Constitution and blindly pursuing their political ambitions full throttle.  The 33 or more Republican controlled state legislatures around the country that are striving to pass laws that will disenfranchise voters attests to this.  For example, what kind of sense does it make for Georgia’s state legislature to put forward a bill that would make it a crime to provide food and or water to voters waiting in line to vote?!  The only purpose of this is to make it more likely that those waiting in line will become so hungry or thirsty that they will give up waiting to vote and go home! It seems that the main concern of these politicians is to stay in power regardless of what the majority of Americans – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – want.

It is unlikely that Republican voters around the country are not able to decipher what is happening and why it is happening.  But since these Washington Republican politicians and other Republican politicians throughout America are operating using fear tactics and appealing to their constituents based on those constituents’ deepest and darkest fears, they have been extremely successful in convincing their more reasonable constituents who are not a part of the cult-like Trump base to tolerate their political antics.  With their confidence buoyed by this success, they are living in the moment: they have power now and, to them, that is what counts.  It appears that Donald J. Trump, the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, has taught them well.

Finally, President Joe Biden emphasized before he was elected and has continued to emphasize since his election that he wants to use bipartisan legislation accomplishments in the congressional legislative process in Washington to unify Democrats and Republicans there and thereby unify all of the American people.  He has insisted on reaching across the aisle to Republican lawmakers in an effort to create this unity.  He has also often talked about compromise and the necessity of working with Republicans to legislate and move America forward together.

But is unity even possible with the Republican Party as it exists today?  In order to have unity in a two party system it is inevitable that compromise must be involved.  This raises the question of how does anyone compromise with those who refuse to recognize and accept obvious facts and the truth?  Since Republicans continue to push Mr. Donald J. Trump’s “big lie” by overtly or tacitly saying that President Joe Biden is not a legitimate president and that Mr. Trump is still the president and refuse to acknowledge that the January 6, 2021 insurrection was carried out by Trump supporters, how can that not be a non-starter?!

Given the circumstances, perhaps President Biden and the Democrats should just go it alone to equitably conduct the business of the American people.  Perhaps Democrats should increase the number of Justices on the Supreme Court?  Perhaps they should get rid of the filibuster?  Perhaps those centrist Democrats, like Senator Joe Manchin, who are so willing to side with Republicans to gum up legislation that will address the dire needs of Americans due to the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, should revisit their rationale and maybe that will cause them to rethink their political calculus.  Perhaps Democrats should do all of these things; after all, so far Republicans are sticking together no matter how ridiculous their positions on the issues are.

I have heard a number of commentators on the cable news shows that I watch talk time-and-time again about how, even in the midst of success, that Democrats fret and wonder about what will happen if they should make a mistake in the midst of this success; a mistake that would cause them to lose this success and force them to return to operating as they had been before that successful situation came about.  And with this in mind, they become frozen by their fear and become much less effective in passing much needed legislation that will help the majority of the American people; Democrats, Republicans and Independents.  This is exactly what the Republicans want when they are the minority party and not in power.  Democrats play right into their hands and Republicans rule whether they are the minority or majority party.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said that “if you are depressed, you are living in the past.  If you are anxious, you are living in the future.  If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”  It certainly appears that Democrats fall into the anxious category of Lao Tzu’s words of wisdom.  Having said that, someone needs to come up with something to help us Democrats out so that when we are in power we will focus on living in the present; that way, we will be at peace and can boldly move forward with or without Republicans and conduct the business of the American people.  This is especially true in the wake of the grave damage that has been done to the American democracy by the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and virtually the entire Republican Party that has knelt, kissed his ring and pledged allegiance to him.   It is understandable that President Biden wants unity and bipartisan legislation as he leads America forward.   But if that unity is not possible, we must move forward anyway: And we must do that now!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, State Politics

Trump, Democracy’s Ultimate Big Bad Wolf

The ultimate big bad alpha wolf – Donald J. Trump – and his pack of loyal, marauding fellow wolves tried their best to destroy the American democracy and almost succeeded: but they failed to utterly destroy it.  This pack of loyal marauders consisted of almost all of the Republican members in the United States House and Senate, including House Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.  Many of the Republican controlled states around the country, whose Representatives and Senators voted to impeach Mr. Trump, censured those Representatives and Senators at the state level.  Really: After Mr. Trump was impeached for inciting the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, these states actually censured these Representatives and Senators for upholding their oath to defend America against all enemies foreign and domestic and, instead, kissed Mr. Trump’s ring.

The failed insurrection occurred because Mr. Trump lied repeatedly to the American people after he lost the 2020 presidential election.  He repeatedly claimed that the election, which was fair and one of the most secure in the history of our country was rife with fraud and rigged against him.  He lost by a landslide, based on his own definition, but claimed that he had won by a landslide.  He openly pressed states to change their electoral vote counts, encouraged his followers to “Stop The Steal”, and even asked Vice President Mike Pence to use his power – power that he did not actually have, during the vote count certification to nullify electoral votes that would certify President Joe Biden as the newly elected President of the United States.

Although Mr. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote, the Senate acquitted him by a vote of 57 to 43.  In order to convict Mr. Trump, two thirds (2/3) of the senators would have had to vote to convict him.  Since only 57 senators voted to convict, they did not meet the two thirds (2/3) threshold.  Among those who voted to acquit Mr. Trump was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Immediately after Senator McConnell voted to acquit Mr. Trump, he took to the senate floor and gave a scathing speech excoriating Mr. Trump.  Senator McConnell said, he did it.  He is fully responsible for the insurrection that occurred on January 6, 2021, he said.  Anyone listening to Senator McConnell’s speech, had they not known that he had just voted to acquit Mr. Trump, would have sworn that he had voted to convict him.  Of course this did not go unnoticed by Mr. Trump.  Shortly after the senate trial and despite that Senator McConnell was among those who voted to acquit him and despite all of the loyalty that Senator McConnell had heaped upon him over the four years that he was in office, Mr. Trump savagely attacked him…and his wife.

Although after his acquittal by the senate Mr. Trump is faced with potential criminal charges for his alleged involvement in inciting and possibly helping to plan the January 6 insurrection and that he is faced with myriad other legal and civil charges, he cannot help but to be Donald J. Trump; the Donald J. Trump that he has always been, is now, and always will be.  So, he is continuing to move forward to stay in power and ply his trade; whatever that might be.  And just like the scorpion in the story of the scorpion and the frog, Mr. Trump cannot resist stinging even if his sting could likely cause his own proverbial death.

He will continue to sting because it is in his nature to do so.  He will continue to sting because he still wants to be king: and if he cannot be king – which in his mind means only that he cannot be king at the time, then he will be the king maker and manipulate those whom he makes king.  And if there ever comes a time when he can be king again, he will sting to death anyone that he has made king in order to make room for himself.  And he will do it without remorse.  Again, he will do it because it is in his nature…and to be frank, it appears to be the one thing that he truly enjoys.

Eulus Dennis –author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line

Federal Politics, State Politics

The Last Twelve Days Of The Donald J. Trump Of The United States Of America

Following are the highlights of the last twelve days of The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America followed by my thoughts on the path forward:

Day 12: Trump refuses to attend the inauguration of Joe Biden/Kamala Harris

Day 11: Trump says he regrets making Peaceful transfer of power video

Day 10: Under pressure from Democrats and Republicans, Trump finally lowers White House flag to half-staff for the death of those killed, including a Capitol police officer, in the January 6, 2021 insurrection

Day 9: House Democrats introduce Article of Impeachment; Republicans Object

Day 8: Vice President Mike Pence refused to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America from office

Day 7: DONALD J. TRUMP IS IMPEACHED…FOR THE SECOND TIME: TEN (10) REPUBLICANS VOTED FOR IMPEACHMENT

Day 6: Without Twitter, Trump goes silent

Day 5: Trump meets with the My Pillow guy, Mike Lindell to discuss…who knows what

Day 4: Democrats in congress grow more afraid that their Republican colleagues in congress will kill them

Day 3: Angry and isolated, Trump remains silent as aides that remain try to control him

Day 2: The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America and First Lady Melania Trump snub the President-Elect and soon-to-be First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, as they prepare to leave the White House

Day 1: Trump issues 143 pardons or commutations

Day ½: THE RECKONING: After refusing to participate in the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris inauguration, Trump flees Washington DC aboard Air force One before the swearing in ceremony.  And at high noon, he is no longer the Donald J. Trump of the United States of America: He slithers back into infamous anonymity in the opaque world of Donald J. Trump the con man while vowing to remain a powerful political force and kingmaker.  Only time will reveal if this is true or not but either way, the high noon of his term in office will likely be a record in history which states that he incited an insurrection, was impeached for a second time…and, possibly, convicted for a first time

Now that Mr. Trump is no longer the occupier of the Oval Office but a private citizen and Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is now the President of the United States of America, Republicans are already singing the same old tune that they always sing when they are not the majority party… “let’s lower the temperature and seek unity.  Unity seems to be every other word that Republicans utter now.  Unity (unity) is (unity) the (unity) thing (unity) that (unity) we (unity) need (unity) now (unity).  Let’s (unity) lower (unity) the (unity) temperature (unity) and (unity) unify (unity) our (unity) country (unity)!  Unity (unity) is (unity) what (unity) the (unity) American (unity) people (unity) want (unity)!

And yes, our new president is also calling for unity…and that is okay.  But why is it that, in the infinite wisdom of these Washington congressional Republicans, that it is only after Republicans have defied even any notion for unity while they are in power, broken all of the rules and did all of the dirt that they could possibly do each time while they are in power, that the American people want to lower the temperature and have unity only after they are voted out of power?!  Republicans are in full control when they are the majority party.  But when they are in the minority party, Republicans are in full control (smile, smile, wink, wink – aren’t they Mitch?)…if Democrats allow them to be.

Republicans have always looked upon Democrats as being weak and so have taken full advantage of this (perceived?) weakness.  President Biden is right to call for unity and to reach across the aisle to Republicans.  But he must not be naive when it comes to his ole friend, Mitch.  Anyone who has watched Senator McConnell operate knows that he is a stone cold predator where politics is concerned and that, as such, he will devour anyone in his path when it comes to his agenda.  In this respect, Senator McConnell is no different from Donald J. Trump, the recent The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.  If he is not held to account and kept in check he has proven that – just like the recent The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America, he will be emboldened.

He has not yet paid a price for what he did to President Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, and for gleefully dubbing himself “The Grim Reaper” and leaving more than 400 bills sent over from the House, under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to die without ever making it to the senate floor for a vote.  Just one day after the inauguration, Senator McConnell is already busy stirring the pot by fighting with Senator Chuck Schumer and threatening to gum up the works in the senate – you know, kind of like he did with President Obama – if Senator Schumer does not agree to share power exactly the way that he wants him to share it.  So please give this some serious thought President Biden and please, please make the right decision.  Let what The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America ultimately morphed into before the American people elected you to replace him, possibly saving our democracy, serve as your guide.  Do not under any circumstances, even naively, become an enabler that will allow Senator McConnell the slightest possibility to become what Mr. Trump was while he was in office.

There is no doubt that the majority of the American people are completely exhausted as a result of all of Mr. Trump’s antics while he was in office and now that he is gone, want to forget about him and move forward.  But despite our exhaustion and the pain that we are certain to experience by continuing to reflect on him and talk about him, we also want to extinguish the buckets of flame and thoroughly clean up this mess that Mr. Trump left on America’s doorstep when he exited the White House.  In order to do this, I am confident that the American people are willing to endure this pain for a little while longer.

Among those things that need to be cleaned up (and cleaned out) are the Trump loyalists that Mr. Trump has openly attempted to burrow deep into the Biden administration and other key areas of personnel who have long been the backbone of helping to run the government and attend to its affairs.  According to credible reports, it already appears that one of these Trump loyalists placed into a high level of the government’s intelligence community was placed there with nefarious intentions in mind.  This makes the insurrection that took place at the United States Capitol allegedly at Mr. Trump’s behest an even more significant event.  Follow-up must be done on these things and all evidence collected must be thoroughly scrutinized.

Finally, no matter how long that we must view our government from a bifurcated vision perspective – enthusiastically looking toward a promising future while assuring that we are not waylaid by non-closure of nefarious past events, I proffer that it is extremely important that all of us as American patriots do this.  We must do it if we are to retain our republic and continue to work to establish a more perfect union.

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line