Most people I’ve talked to in the past few years, no matter their political affiliation, are aware of the incredible CORRUPTION in the politicians who are our “leaders” in Washington D.C. This has been an issue for as long as I can remember, and it was put on “steroids” with the Supreme Court decision in the “Citizens United” case. “Citizens United,” essentially, put the flood of money flowing into D.C. politicians (and Governors, and others as well) into the “fast lane.” I don’t know many Americans who are not “fed up” with what’s going on. Trump was “elected” (of course, with the help of the Russians, James Comey, and the voter suppression laws passed in republican controlled legislatures around the country) to supposedly “drain the swamp.” Well, surprise, surprise, the “swamp” is getting more crowded – and, Trump, himself, is at the head of the “crowd.”
We’re watching a classic “white collar” investigation unfold right before our eyes. Trump is liable to be giving away secrets we would never have known even via his tax returns had he not decided to work in concert with Vladimir Putin and the Russians in his attempt to win the presidency as all of these investigations unfold. Trump, of course, has been publicly fawning over Putin for years. In fact, now that he’s our so-called president, I believe Trump is more jealous of Putin than ever. Putin can have people who are “dissidents” simply removed from the scene. They can mysteriously end up poisoned (that seems to be a favorite method for Putin), they can mysteriously slip and fall out of high rise windows, they can disappear, they can be “gassed,” or they can simply be jailed – which is what Trump is now lamenting in regard to his power in dealing with “opponents,” like Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Barack Obama, and many journalists – that he simply can’t have them “jailed.” You remember, I’m sure, the chants of “lock her up” during Trump’s campaign rallies in regard to Mrs. Clinton?
Well, it appears “the hens are coming home to roost.” As Trump was claiming Mrs. Clinton was the most corrupt candidate in American history he must have had a sense of confidence that “we the people” would never know the truth about his own misdeeds – which, it now appears, have been going on for maybe decades (and makes the Clinton’s look like raw amateurs). Trump has proven to be a pathological LIAR, so with the exception of his faithful, brainwashed, supporters, he has absolutely no credibility. I have friends who are “a political” who say he makes their stomachs crawl. Personally, as someone who often watches/listens to MSNBC, I have to turn it off the MANY times they broadcast his speeches or press conferences or whatever. I’m embarrassed he’s our so-called president when I hear his words. I’ve always been one to want the president to succeed, even presidents I don’t support politically, but this man – what I can only call a “so-called” president, I look forward to the day he’s out of office. It can’t come soon enough for me. This going after political opponents is third world stuff.
Now, if you’ve been on this site before, you know that I believed (and still believe) that President Obama’s biggest mistake in office was to “look forward instead of back” when it came to the illegal actions of the Bush/Cheney administration – which included WAR CRIMES. There are likely MILLIONS of people DEAD (at least hundreds of thousands) as the result of Bush/Cheney decisions regarding the invasion of Iraq – which was clearly ILLEGAL. Who knows when, or if, Iraq will recover from the destruction caused by the Bush/Cheney decision to instigate “regime change” and make a play for Iraq’s oil. I believe, to this day, that was the worst action EVER taken by an American administration and Cheney left the groundwork for Trump – as the “unitary” executive.” President Obama could have allowed the investigations to uncover ALL that was done and the “rule of law” would have prevailed. I said, at the time, in any criminal proceeding the authorities MUST “look back.” I believe this is why Trump and the republicans are “shocked” he’s being investigated.
Now, we have a president who feels he’s above the law and a republican House that is actually attempting to “short circuit” the special counsel’s investigation into what happened during the 2016 election by targeting Rod Rosenstein and then Robert Mueller. Republicans have been led to believe there’s no accountability for their actions which are contrary to that constitution they all carry in their lapel pockets – a constitution they swore an oath to defend. Trump is pushing the “unitary executive” philosophy beyond even Cheney. But, as I predicted at the time, that’s how it works. For “we the people,” it’s much easier to give up rights than to get them back. And, the next president will be reluctant to “roll” anything back. We saw that with President Obama. Allowing accountability for Bush/Cheney would have seriously “crimped” his available “tools” as he contemplated continuing Bush’s “war on terror” – whatever that is. At some point, our “leaders” will discover the more we “entangle” our troops around the world to “keep us safe,” the less safe we are and the less safe the rest of the world is.
To me, as I’ve said before, these members of the House, Trey Gowdy, Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, and other right wing republicans are attempting to enable Trump’s fascist tendencies by going after the investigation into the Russian “interference” in our election. Well, I’m reading “Russian Roulette” by David Corn and Michael Isikoff right now and it’s a real “eye opener.” This Russian ATTACK on our nation is serious and it’s real and we’d all better wake up and realize what’s going on. And, the “leaders” in Washington DC who are enabling it – to defend an AWFUL man who has clear fascist tendencies (and many followers who are clearly, at a minimum, neo-Nazi’s), is an incompetent leader, and who is un-repentently ENRICHING himself while in office – clearly violating our Constitution and “thumbing his nose” at “the rule of law,” should, themselves, be considered to be “obstructing justice.” The Mueller investigation SHOULD be allowed to finish UNIMPEDED! Period! End of story!
As time goes by, Trump will become more and more desperate in his actions – not just because of the investigations he’s yelling at his TV about. The policies he is “pushing” on “we the people” will have consequences no matter what. In Trump’s first year in office, as he was bragging about how strong the economy was and taking credit for it, I CORRECTLY pointed out he was taking credit for what President Obama left to him. It is in the second year and beyond that you judge the decisions of any administration, that’s when their budgetary decisions take affect. Well, the second year is here and it should be clear to just about anyone things are getting a bit “dicey.” Yes, employment remains at “full employment” – which, obviously, is a good thing. It would take someone who doesn’t pay attention to economic trends to fail to understand the “trend” has been “steady” for, now, over the past 8 years. It started under President Obama and it was still gaining “steam” when Trump took office.
It’s true the stock market took a “jump” upon Trump’s “election” due to Wall Street anticipating the tax scam that WILL funnel over a TRILLION dollars to the Americans – and multi-national corporations – which were already flush with cash. The most egregious result of that tax scam is looming on the horizon – and, that is a boost to inflation which will put the brakes on the economic recovery. Whether it leads us into recession is still a question – but, I can certainly see a rise in interest rates sufficient to put a lot of people in the home building industry in trouble. With home prices, where I live, averaging close to $300,000 for the average home, a one percent rise in rates will be very consequential.
Trump is doing lots of “damage,” as I call it, while we’re all “sleeping.” Recently, I read reports his EPA head was removing the auto efficiency standards put in place by the Obama administration. I remember Reagan doing the same – and, encouraging people to buy gas guzzling vehicles – and, Detroit’s automakers went along. Ultimately, it almost destroyed the American auto industry and I hope we’re not looking at a repeat. But, Trump is bragging about “bringing back coal” and he’s clearly been absent in the “climate change” debate. When oil prices get to the $80 per barrel OPEC is targeting inflation will be even more of an issue. Combining that with the problem of stimulating an economy when it was unnecessary (the tax scam) could create a situation that republicans didn’t consider when enacting their scam. Obviously, at least to me, the tax scam was simply a payout to their “donor class.” Yikes!
I agree with those who say republicans are good at winning elections (they believe in “the end justifies the means” theory) but, they have no idea how to govern. This is becoming even more apparent as we watch the Trump fiasco play itself out. Our so-called president is at the forefront of republicans feeding off the public “trough.” Watching Trump “advertise” his property as he’s charging “we the people” exorbitant prices for him and his entourage virtually every week – as he visits one of his golf courses each weekend – is sickening. This past week he had “7 hours” of “relaxed” conversation with the leader of Japan at the “Florida White House” which included, of course, a round of golf. Well, a round of golf takes about 5 hours, so you can see why the conversations were so “relaxed.” I forced myself to listen to most of the press conference after these “relaxed” conversations – and, once again, I saw that foreign leaders have figured out how to “play” Trump. Just flatter him! In fact, Japan’s prime minister, ShinzA Abe, referred to Trump as “Donald.” While “we the people” were funding a “wonderful” couple of days for Mr. Abe, Trump was going “chaching, chaching!” This happens every week via the man who was going to “drain the swamp.”
The only question which remains in my mind, regarding Trump, is how bad will things get before “we the people” come to our senses. It’s apparent that in the 2018 election there will be lots of energy among those who feel as I do regarding wanting to change the make-up of the Congress. There appears to be little chance that democrats will gain control of the Senate – in fact, I believe they could lose a few seats based on how the “election map” is constituted. However, there’s a good chance the House will no longer be the embarrassment it’s been under republican control for the past few cycles. I don’t believe even the republican gerrymandering of 2010 will save them this time. Remember, the past two elections, democratic candidates for the House, nation wide, have received more than a MILLION more votes than republicans, but continue to be in a significant minority. The “wave” that is coming very well may be strong enough to overcome that disadvantage.
People need to understand that democrats regaining control of the House will not “drain the swamp.” It will NOT result in Trump’s impeachment – unless Mueller’s probe or the Cohen investigation in the Southern District of New York uncovers criminal activity by Trump which republicans can’t simply ignore – republicans will have enough “power” no matter what happens in 2018’s election to keep Trump in office if that’s what they choose. They may be ill-advised in doing so, but that’s what appears to be the case. Mitch McConnell, in the Senate, is really good at one thing – and, that’s OBSTRUCTING! He will block anything he chooses to BLOCK while he’s still the majority leader in the Senate and, there’s no way democrats will have enough power to actually impeach Trump. I’ve said, from day one, it’s up to the republicans to end the Trump nightmare. It would really be naive to believe republicans actually would “drain the swamp.” They’ve been funneling money from America’s middle class essentially to themselves since the days of Reagan – HUGE amounts of money. They will not stop until “we the people” vote them into the history books! Period! (and, if you’re watching Fox “news” you’ve been BRAINWASHED and you should look elsewhere for your information. Fox is part of the swamp)