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Mitch McConnell

If the Democrats Didn’t Control the House the 2020 Election Would Be Reversed

December 30, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Will Josh Hawley Succeed where Benedict Arnold and Robert E. Lee failed? (Samuel Corum / Getty Images)

These are times that try men’s souls. And women, too. We are watching in slow motion the United States of America being brought to the brink of ceasing to exist as a single country governed by the Constitution and becoming a divided country with two presidents … once again.

The first effort failed but at a tremendous cost. It took years of fighting, the death of hundreds of thousands, and untold destruction throughout the land to preserve the Union. Ultimately the effort failed to create a single country despite the veneer of having done so. There remain huge swaths of the country where Abraham Lincoln remains persona non grata. Tens of millions of Confederates still prefer Robert E. Lee to him. They now have a president who does as well. The Woke assault on Lincoln expands his rejection creating an even third “country” or division in America. I have repeatedly invoked the possibility that the United States as a single country we know today may not legally exist on July 4, 2026 when it otherwise would be celebrating its 250th birthday. Now we are moving even closer to that fate.

At this point, all that separates the United States from dissolving after January 6, 2021, is the Democratic control of the House. Imagine what would happen on January 6 if the Democrats were not in control of the House. Is there any doubt that if the Democrats did not control the House that the Trumpican House and Senate would vote to reverse the election results and hand the election to their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name? That is how close we are to becoming a country where regardless of how the people vote, the House and the Senate will determine the winner if one party has the majority in both. Our checks and balances would fail us save for the fact that Democrats did so well in 2018 they could barely hold on in 2020. A few more losses by the Democrats and the Presidential election results would be reversed.

Mitch McConnell’s advice to Trumpican Senators not to support the effort to reverse the election is not based on principle. He did not offer the advice out of his commitment to the democratic process or because no fraud occurred. He did so out of the practical reality that the Democratic-controlled House would not approve anything the Trumpican Senate passed. Therefore the vote was futile.

He also knew it was possible the Trumpicans would not have a Senate majority after the Georgia elections. He knew that Romney and perhaps a very small number of Republicans might oppose the coup attempt. His concern is for 2022, too: Trumpican Senators running for re-election in a Biden presidency will have the label traitor affixed to them. Trumpican Representatives don’t care. The way House districts are configured, these people have little to worry about in terms of backlash as 126 already demonstrated. The situation is different in statewide elections. Being a traitor will help Ron Johnson stave off a challenge or win the Wisconsin primary unopposed but will it help him win the election where the Democrats won in 2020? So the Trumpican Senator votes are for show and to prevent the wrath of the Sore Loser being unleashed upon them.

Consider the prospects for 2024. As repeatedly stated here in these blogs since 2016, there is no Republican Party as the party of Lincoln. It’s dead. Even the Lincoln Project knows there is no hope for taking the party back. They have become Independents or Democrats. If Chris Christie or Larry Hogan want to run as Republicans in 2024, they will have the same chance Bill Weld did in 2020. It’s the Trumpican Party.

Assuming for the moment that THE DONALD does not run in 2024 and only designates his daughter as the Vice Presidential candidate, who will be the Trumpican nominee?

Mike “sold his soul” Pence?
Mike “sold his soul” Pompeo?
Nikki “sold her soul’ Haley?
Ted “sold his soul” Cruz based on the presumption he has one?
Josh “sold his soul” Hawley?

How will Trumpican voters be able to differentiate among the candidates? They all will boast of having sold their soul. The real question is not how will the Trumpican voters decide among this cast of soul-sellers, but who THE DONALD will pick as his heir to run with his daughter. The issue for all the soul-sellers is not to get on the wrong list, the one where the disloyal people go if they fail to be loyal and support the coup. Pence and Pompeo already may be on that list. Pence still has a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of THE DONALD even if the Senate vote fails.

Neil Katyal likes to say that the Vice President on January 6 is like the envelop-opener at an awards ceremony. Yes, you are the Master of Ceremonies, but you have no authority to change the vote totals. You can’t simply say, “I want my favorite movie to win and who cares how the academy voted?” True enough but so what? The Vice President has and will take advantage of the opportunity to let the coup have maximum coverage. He will let Trumpicans throughout the land know that regardless of what the Supreme Court, dozens of judges, the Attorney General, and a host of others have said, the election really was stolen, THE DONALD really won in landslide and the only reason he is not being recognized as the duly elected winner is because Democrats control the House.

That will be the message on January 6th or 7th when the debate is over and the votes have been taken. Depending on how many well-armed Trumpicans have gathered in Washington, that is when all hell will break loose. As in 1861, many states will not recognize the results of the presidential election. In exactly what form they do that remains to be seen.

If the Democrats did not control the House, the election would be reversed, the coup would succeed, and the American experiment would come to an end.

Since Democrats do control the House, the election results will stand but many states as in 1861 will not recognize the authority of the illegitimately-elected President.

After that, all bets are off. Josh Hawley deserves the credit for letting his desire to be President of the United States of American in 2024 jeopardize whether or not there will be a United States of America in 2024 as there is today.

White House Down: There Is No Republican Profile in Courage

December 24, 2020
by Peter Feinman
This time the assault is real and led by the President

“White House Down” is a movie about a physical assault on America.

“Tantrum Trump” is about a political and social media assault on America that could become a physical assault on January 6, 2021.

“White House Down” had people who rose to the occasion and became heroes.

“Tantrum Trump” has no profiles in courage, no heroes, no Howard Bakers. The Sore Loser is acting to cement his legacy as the biggest baby in American history, a whining, weenie with no morals, no ethics, and no conscience, who has no objection to destroying the United States even without being actually on the Putin payroll.

Despite this, what’s left of the Republican Party will not act to stop him.

All the way back in October 2019, I wrote a blog Will Mike Pence Become a Profile in Courage? My conclusion then as now is NO!!!!!!!!!!! No matter what he will never invoke the 25th Amendment. He will certify the election of Joe Biden on January 6. But he will do nothing to prevent the savage chaos which will engulf the United States during the last four weeks of his term in office.

Back in June 2020, I wrote a blog Mitch McConnell: Howard Baker (Time to Go) vs Stay the Course (Go Down with the Ship). My conclusion then was that he would stay the course even if it meant going down with the ship. That did not happen on Election Day but it could happen on January 5. Still he will not rise to the occasion no matter what harm the Sore Loser inflicts on the country, the Republican Party, or the Republican Senate Majority.

Remember the talk about his creating an alternate TV network (or show)? What he is really doing is creating an alternate party. He has always been a Trumpican first, last, and only. Now he is not only unhinged, he is unleashed. He sees January 6, 2021, looming before him. He knows the Democrats will support the election of Biden. He knows the Republicans will support the election of Biden. He knows he needs to make sure the number of Republicans left in Congress are too few to override the Trumpicans. He needs Vice President Brown Nose to continue to be for him what he is to Putin.

At long last, some Republicans are finally seeing that the long-time-Democrat-and-Clinton-supporter doesn’t care about the Republican Party. It was only a vehicle which he could hijack for his own needs as he was unable to do with the Democratic Party. His exultation of the loss of Republican Mia Love in the 2018 elections was simply a prelude to what is occurring now. Tom Friedman asks “Will Trump Force Principled Conservatives to Start Their Own Party?” (NYT 12/23/20 print). His answer was, “I Hope So.” Friedman thinks at some point, “some Republicans will say ‘enough.’”  He wrote that before “Krakatoa, East of Java” on the night of 12/23. It still isn’t enough.

We are facing the extraordinary situation of a sitting President openly attacking his “own” party. He is actively undermining his own party. He is doing this now even before he leaves office and relocates to Mar-a-Lago where he can’t legally live anyway. His desire for revenge against still-Senate-Majority-Leader Mitch McConnell trumps any concern for the Georgia Senate elections. He couldn’t care less about those Republican incumbents having to explain why they supported a disgraceful bill. He couldn’t care less about those Republican incumbents having to explain why they oppose a $2000 relief check. He couldn’t care less if those Republican incumbents lose. In fact, when he had his hissy fit, he never even thought about them.

His throwing the Republicans under the bus has produced strange moments in American history. Consider the situation of his chief of staff. A lifetime ago in October, I wrote:

When Marked Down was appointed Chief of Staff, I was very happy. “Why?” you might wonder. In the House of Representatives, Marked Down was one of the fiercest Trumpicans. He was loyal to core. For him, Russia and the Ukraine were hoaxes. He attacked Fake News. He was one of the chief Flying Monkeys defending the Wicked Witch of the White House from any and all witch hunters in any and all witch hunts.

Now he is in meetings with criminals, traitors, and nutcases talking about martial law. If there is one thing Confederates prize above all else it’s the sending of Federal troops into states to seize stuff. It’s like a dream come true for every Confederate and right-wing militia.

Speaking of right-wing militia’s, their moment of truth will soon be upon us. They have been called to action. They have been called to Washington, DC. They have been called to “Stop the Steal.” Back in September, I wrote the blog Will the Militias March on Washington November 4? Obviously I was wrong on the date. I was not thinking about January 6 or all the post-election actions which have transpired. So while the question raised has been answered in an immediate sense, the true issue raised in the blog about the actions the private militias will take has not.

What will they do when all the legal maneuvering comes to an end? For months they incessantly heard about a rigged election. They have heard about the end of the world as they know it if their Lord and Savior, the Chosen One, Blessed Be his Name, is removed from office. They have seen it on Twitter. They have seen it on Foxhub and other stations.  Now the moment of truth has arrived. The clarion call of Sarah Palin to take back the country rings true. Now is the moment. Now is time to act. If not now, when?

Suppose a few hundred armed militia decide to march on Washington. What will the response be?

Suppose a few thousand armed militia decide to march on Washington. What will the response be?

Suppose 250,000 armed militia with motorcycles and trailers packed with provisions pour forth in caravans from around the country and descend on Washington as they did in South Dakota. What will the response be?

Suppose there is a million man march in support of the one person who can save the country. What will the response be?

I have no idea. Who even has the authority to stop an insurrection led by the Commander in Chief? The local police forces could be overwhelmed. Who could stop the private militias from entering the Capitol? The previous actions in the Michigan statehouse are small-scale compared to what potentially could occur. I don’t even begin to know how you map out a defense against caravans of heavily armed private militias descending on Washington especially if they are violating no laws in traveling there. Oh, you say, they don’t have a parade permit as if that would stop thousands of people bent on saving their Savior.

At this point, no one knows what will happen. We don’t know how many will show up?  We don’t know what the impact will be on Representatives and Senators trying to reach the Capitol amidst maybe thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands heavily armed private militias screaming “Stop the Steal! We know where you live.” There is a lot of uncertainty still with two weeks to go and four weeks to go. It’s hard to imagine the situation not getting meaner, uglier, and deadlier as the Sore Loser becomes more and more desperate, more and more unhinged, more and more unchecked since there are no profiles in courage in the Republican Party and no one will rise to the occasion.

 

P.S. Finally, there is the burning question all Americans are asking: When will Rudy get his Christmas pardon?

Monsters from the Id: Does Trump Know a Krell Society Is Suicidal?

June 10, 2020
by Peter Feinman
The Monster from the Id Has Learned to Tweet ( https://www.imdb.com)

Spoiler Alert: “Monsters from the id” is a key phrase in the sci-fy classic Forbidden Planet. The story takes place in the 22nd century. It involves a rescue effort of a previous ship and colony. The would-be rescuers learn that the people from the first ship had died a hideous death. They were ripped apart by some apparently monstrous and invisible force. Only one couple survived.

The planet had been inhabited by the now vanished Krell people. It turns out that these superior beings had transformed themselves from physical beings into ones tapped into the energy of the planet. One unexpected problem occurred. The transformation brought their ids with them. Given the virtually unlimited energy now at the disposal of the Krell, it was only a matter of a very brief time before the monsters from the id led to destruction of all of them until none were left. When one of the humans gained access to the surviving Krell technology, it was the monster from his id that destroyed the other members of his crew and started to destroy the crew of the rescue ship.

We do not have a device that can transform physical beings into energy but we do have the technology to unleash the monsters from the id on the world. The technology that enables the destructive power of the id to wreak havoc is Twitter. Through it the impulsive thoughts of a person may become a veritable smoke monster from Lost as its viciousness is released into the national discourse.

This ability to instantaneously transform thought into verbal energy via Twitter is easily abused. It is a technology that should only be used by adults and which can be quite dangerous in the hands of an immature child. Back on August 2018, I explored the intertwining of Twitter and adolescence (Omarosa and the President: A Case of Arrested Development – Suppose Life Is Not a Journey?) I quoted Jennifer Senior’s op ed on the topic (“The High School We Can’t Log Off From” NYT, 8/5/18 print). She wrote:

Twitter is a dark reservoir of hatred, home to the diseased national id. It turns us into our worst selves — dehumanizing us, deranging us, keying us up, beating us down, turning us into shrieking outrage monkeys hellbent on the innocents of Oz. It uncomplicates complicated discussion; stealth-curates our news; hijacks our dopamine systems, carrying us off on a devil’s quest for ever more dime bags of retweets and likes.

Most Twitter users know that the medium has an unfortunate tendency to transform adults into anxious adolescents. But perhaps it’s time to start thinking about this problem clinically. The fact is, Twitter is changing us — regressing us — in ways developmental psychologists would find weirdly recognizable.

Should we be surprised that a man who’s so frequently compared to a needy adolescent has chosen Twitter as his favorite medium?

For the 7th-grade smart-aleck dumb-aleck, Twitter is the perfect invention.

To substantiate her perceptions Senior draws on an internet expert.

Clay Shirky, one of the shrewdest internet theorists around, has noted that the faster the medium is, the more emotional it gets. Twitter, as we know, is pretty fast, and therefore runs pretty hot. (Emotional tweets, research has shown, travel more swiftly than anodyne ones.) We often become creatures of our limbic systems when we tweet. Our self-regulation deserts us (been there); our prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive function and impulse control, goes offline; we become reward-seeking Scud missiles, addicts in search of a fix.

She still is focusing on the mature adult. Her analysis is based on adult having a developed prefrontal cortex going offline. She has overlooked the situation of an immature child in an adult body who does not have a developed prefrontal cortex such as our Little Donnee Waney.

MONSTERS FROM HIS ID

Regrettably we just experienced an instance of Twitter at its worst. Lately our immature child president with no self-control or superego has been giving full vent to the monsters from his id. First there were his series of tweets accusing Joe Scarborough of murder. Now he is piling it on a critically hurt 75-year old who had the misfortune to be knocked to the ground while peacefully protesting. By the time Little Donnee Waney and his Fox (and OANN) Flying Monkeys are done, this person will have become the second Seth Rich, a key operative in a terrorist conspiracy to take down the duly elected President of the United States who is America’s greatest President and who has done more for black people than any president save maybe Lincoln.

In my previous blog [Mitch McConnell: Howard Baker (Time to Go) vs Stay the Course (Go Down with the Ship)], I posited that Mitch McConnell was going to have a decision to make about the 2020 elections. At some point he was going to have to decide what his assessment was of the prospects of Trumpicans maintaining their Senate majority and what could be done if those prospects were negative. I suggested the situation was not immediately urgent, it was fluid, and you never know what might happen next.

Little did I know how right I was. A day later, the embattled simple-minded President succumbed as he always does to the monsters from his id. Like the little child scared of every noise or bump in the night, Little Donnee Waney saw an evil terrorist conspiracy where none existed (just as he had done with supposed fraud in voting by mail). He immediately unleashed the monsters from his id on the world.

“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?”

Now all Trumpican candidates and Mitch McConnell have a totally unexpected decision to make.

IF THEY RUN, THEY CAN’T HIDE

Things were bad enough already for Trumpicans seeking to maintain their majority in the Senate. Even prior to June 8, Trumpicans knew that the majority was at stake. As if the real issues ⸺ coronavirus, recession and unemployment, China ⸺ partially due to the President’s ineptitude and mismanagement weren’t enough, he has gone out of his way to complicate the election for them. First, there was his domination of Lafayette Square in the greatest military victory by and American President ever (The Battle of Lafayette Square: The Greatest Victory in American History).  Second, there was his monsters-of-the-id tweet about someone even older than him being a key operative of a terrorist conspiracy. Third both he and the Trumpicans are learning that it’s not Law and Order as usual.  It seems as if every Trumpican senate candidate should have a giant bottle of hydroxychloroquine, disinfectant, and antacid on their night stands.

If McConnell didn’t have a headache before, he should have one now. In the previous blog, I discussed Ron Johnson and how the Wisconsin Senator might want to reassess his Trumpican loyalty come January, 2021 when his re-election campaign starts. Consider how this loyalist tied himself up in a knot in response to this latest expression of the monsters of Little Donnee Waney’s id:  he hadn’t seen the tweet, but he also didn’t want it read to him. “I would rather not hear it,” he said as he ducked into an elevator.

Some Senators don’t have the option of ducking the issue for long. For loyalist Steve Daines of Montana, his re-election campaign just became more difficult. “The violence we are seeing across the nation is heartbreaking. We all need to pull together — both for civility and peaceful dialogue.” What are he and the other Trumpican candidates going to say when asked during the campaign:

When the President said the number of coronavirus cases would drop from 15 to zero, did you believe him?

When the President recommended trying disinfectant as a cure, did you agree with him?

When the President suggested Scarborough was guilty of murder, did you agree with him?

When the President said he went down to the bunker to inspect it and not for safety as Bill Barr said, which one do you believe?

When the President said Gugino was a terrorist agent, did you believe him?

So why don’t Trumpicans tell the truth? Do they still live in fear of the monsters from his id and the base that he can release? What is he going to do? Tell people not to vote for the disloyal incumbents and candidates? They should stay home instead? They should just vote for the President and leave the remaining ballot lines blank? They should let the Democratic candidates win?

As I said, Mitch McConnell has a decision to make. He does not have the luxury of coping by being in denial in response to polls that the presidential campaign does. At any moment another monster from his id may be released on the world to make matters even worse. And by the time McConnell decides he needs to do something about it, it will be too late. In the movie Forbidden Planet, the heroic captain acted in time, got the girl, and they rode off into galactic space together. Unfortunately for McConnell, this is the real world. The immature child president playing imaginary games can unleash the monsters from his id at any moment. He will continue to do so until the Red Wave does to the Senate in 2020 what it did to the House in 2018.

 

Todd Alcott (https://davallone.tumblr.com/post/125863268306/monsters-from-the-id)

Mitch McConnell: Howard Baker (Time to Go) vs Stay the Course (Go Down with the Ship)

June 8, 2020
by Peter Feinman
Will the Red Wave Be as Successful in 2020 as it was in 2018? (amazon.com)

Mitch McConnell has a decision to make…if he hasn’t made it already. McConnell is an adult. He lives in the real world. The Senate Majority leader has a transactional relationship with the President of the United. McConnell’s decision will be based on his analysis of the political situation and the November elections. Whether or not his assessment turns out to be accurate is not the subject of this post. Instead it is to examine the parameters of that decision-making.

McConnell’s political agenda is a fairly simple one.

1. Help rich people get richer
2. Appoint conservatives to judge positions
3. Don’t help, you know….those people.

His assessment of the election results will be based on how those results affect his ability to achieve his agenda.

HELP RICH PEOPLE GET RICHER

To fulfill this objective requires the support of the House, the Senate, and the White House. Following the 2016 elections, McConnell had this trifecta. As a result he was able to pass a tax cut for the wealthy. This goal already was part of the agenda for the former party of Lincoln even prior to the election.

McConnell recognizes that those days are over. That political confluence is not likely to return. If anything the 2020 census will probably make it even more difficult to attain the political trifecta. At present if he wants to help rich people get richer, he has to do so through economic recovery acts. Otherwise, there would seem to be little he can do anymore to help rich people get richer in this Congressional term or the next.

APPOINT CONSERVATIVES TO JUDGE POSITIONS 

To fulfill this objective requires the support of the Senate and the White House. During the past three years he has had exceptional results in appointing conservatives to judicial positions. McConnell recognizes that the window of opportunity may be closing here due to the loss of the Senate, the White House, or both. As a result he has been seeking the retirements of older judges so he can replace them with young conservatives. So far that initiative has not been successful. Still, one can anticipate that he continue to appoint these judges right up to the very last  moment on December 31 if he can depending on the election results.

If there is no change in the Senate and the White House, then the urgency is off and McConnell can wait to the new session.

If there is a change in only the White House, then the urgency remains and he will seek to use every moment he has left. In the next session, he will oppose the nominations of new Democratic President. He will stymie the recommendations of the former Democratic Vice President just as he had done to the former Democratic President.

If there is a change only in the Senate, then time is urgent.

If there is a change in both the Senate and the White House, then time is urgent.

So at this point, it is in McConnell’s interests to appoint as many conservatives to judge positions as he can.

DON’T HELP, YOU KNOW….THOSE PEOPLE

McConnell has had two opportunities this year to help people he does not want to help. The economic freefall as the result of the coronavirus forced his hand to provide temporary relief including to the people who were hardest hit by the virus. Now that the medical crisis officially is over and the economy officially is back from the recession, McConnell has put the brakes on any additional help. Why should expensive Democratic states that subsidize the Confederate states with their taxes get any assistance to perpetuate their wasteful ways helping the wrong kind of people?

McConnell supported the efforts of the commander in-chief to use military force to liberate Lafayette Park from the heavily-armed terrorists who had surrounded the White House.  The death of George Floyd has witnessed four previous presidents preaching unity. What an excellent opportunity for McConnell beyond boilerplate to spurn any sign of compassion or desire for unity in the country when it includes the wrong people.

McConnell needs to maintain control of the Senate so in case Biden becomes President the world isn’t turned topsy turvy and the rich are called upon to help those who aren’t rich.

SENATE ELECTION PROGNOSTICATIONS

What is McConnell’s assessment of the Senate election results?

At present the Senate configuration is as follows:

51 Trumpicans
45 Democrats
2  Independents who caucus with the Democrats
2  Republicans who caucus with the Trumpicans

Previously, I had raised the question of how Mitt Romney would caucus in the next session (Where Will Mitt Romney Caucus in 2021?). Depending on the Presidential and Senate election results, his vote could be the determining one in who controls the Senate. Now there appear to be two Republicans with Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski joining Romney. Together this amplifies the power of the Republicans in determining the control of the Senate in the next session.

Consider this quite possible scenario: the Democrats lose one seat in Alabama and pick up three in Arizona, Colorado, and Maine. Under these results the Senate configuration will be:

49 Trumpicans
47 Democrats
2   Independents who caucus with the Democrats
2   Republicans.

How will the two Republicans caucus if they have the power to decide who controls the Senate? In the interim, the Trumpicans will continually demonize Murkowski as a traitor, will not support her if she chooses to run for re-election, and will not welcome her in the Trumpican party.  In other words, the Trumpicans will do everything they can to encourage her to caucus with the Democrats in 2021 where that one vote might mean the difference. The other Republican Senator already voted to remove the President from office and is on the trump list. If the Democrats prevail in the Presidential election, it is easy to imagine the two Republicans caucusing with the Democrats.

This analysis excludes the other potential seats which also may be won by Democrats. Since all the candidates haven’t even been selected yet, it is too early to be realistic about the final results in the Senate. In addition, who knows what other events will occur between now and November (or October with early voting). It’s not so long ago that the coronavirus dominated the news. Now that the President of the United States has dominated Lafayette Square as he deployed his forces to take back the country, the results of his great victory have yet to be factored into the polls. What will the reaction be when coronavirus deaths in the United States hit 200,000? What will happen in the international arena? What will the response be to the October indictments of the Deep State including Obama and Biden as co-conspirators? So it easy to understand why predictions for the Senate remain fluid.

One should also keep in mind, that depending on the election results, Trumpican Senators up for re-election in 2022 may experience an agonizing reappraisal. If the vaunted red wave predicted by the Trumpican in chief dooms Trumpican control of the Senate as it did the House in 2018, then Trumpican Senators may want to reevaluate their position.

Consider Wisconsin as an example. In 2016, Wisconsin was not Trumpican during the primary. It barely was so in the Presidential election.  In fact, the then Republican Senator won by a larger margin. Since then the Senator has converted to the Trumpican cause and is gung ho on indicting Deep State Democrats. However, also since his election, Democrats have won statewide elections for governor and a state judge. Democrats also have gained popular vote victories for Congressional and state legislative seats but due to gerrymandering have been unable to turn those state majorities into victories. That may change after the 2020 census. Regardless, in statewide Senate election in 2022, Johnson will be running as a Trumpican. Or will he like other Trumpican Senators running in 2022 see the light and have a change of heart? Will it be too late?

Everything above is based on possible scenarios. The situation is very fluid. Maybe we will try again to buy Greenland? Maybe a hurricane really will hit Alabama? Maybe North Korea will launch a missile or detonate a bomb or both? So as McConnell assesses the situation for the Senate, there are a lot of variables to consider. As we get closer and closer to actual voting, many of the variables will stabilize. Then it will be possible to get a better fix on the results. Then it may be too late to do anything about the prospective results if they are adverse to McConnell who himself is a candidate. In the meantime, McConnell will do everything he can to appoint conservatives as judges and not to help you know…those people despite everything which has occurred.

National Emergency Crisis: The Howard Baker Moment Is Now

January 11, 2019
by Peter Feinman
Canadian Terrorist Burning of the White House during the War of 1812 (Columbia Pictures)

During the course of American history, the country has faced many national emergency crises.

During the War of 1812, Canada burned the White House and the Pentagon in its terrorist assault on the country. To pour fuel on the fire, almost two centuries later Canada imposed on its weaker southern neighbor the worst economic treaty in American history. It is only when our Lord and Savior ascended to the Oval Office, that he rectified the wrong with the greatest economic treaty in American history….although he had to shut down the government to get Congress to pass NAFTA II.

Turning now from the alternate reality to the real world, there have been national emergency crises that tested the mettle of the Oval Office occupant.

The Day of Infamy.

The Cuban Missile Crisis.

9/11.

Each of one these events became a defining moment for the American President. They became the events through which the American people saw whether the President had the right stuff to rise to the occasion and safely steer the ship of state. They became the events historians would study and school kids would learn in districts where American history is still taught. What they all had in common was that the threat to the country came from outside, the crisis was foreign-generated.

Sometimes the crisis could be economic in nature:

“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Sometimes the crisis could be in nature:

“Heckuva job, Brownie.”

For better and for worse these events also became defining ones of the President. Who can forget the picture of the President of the United States having fun tossing rolls of paper towels in Puerto Rico?

“Wee. I’m having fun. It’s all about me. Wee!”

Through this photo-op, We the People had the opportunity to see for ourselves how the current occupant proved he was an A+ president with this heroic display of leadership.

Now we come to the current national emergency crisis. At this point, it is no secret that “Build a Wall!” was a great campaign gimmick to shout in professional wrestling arenas. The call and response of who was going to pay for the Great Wall of Trump was an added bonus. The audience really got into the show that was being presented just as it does at a real professional wrestling match only this time they apparently thought it was real.

One of in the indelible images of the campaign, at least for me although I have not seen it replayed on the cable talk shows, occurred after the Mexican President stated that Mexico would not, in fact, pay for the wall. At the professional wrestling arena campaign event, the immature child responded to Mexico in true hissy fit fashion:

Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
You are going to pay and the wall is going to be ten feet higher!

Many people have forgotten that campaign promise to build the wall ten feet higher. What made the moment indelible was the young white man sitting behind him and to his right. When Little Donnee Wannee declared that Mexico not only would pay for the wall but that it would be ten feet higher, this young white man leaped to his feet and thrust his arm to the heavens. It was a great display of the perfect con at work. One wonders how this individual feels now knowing that there never was any expectation that Mexico would pay for the wall and it would be the expense of the American taxpayer if built.

What began as a fraudulent con now has become real. Back in December, the wall looked like it would slide into the abyss never to be constructed. Nothing had happened in two years. The route had not been documented the way the Alaskan Pipeline was before it had been constructed. Eminent domain proceedings had not been initiated to seize the private property along the planned route. Environmental plans had not been filed. I don’t even know if a final design had been selected yet alone one that was ten feet higher. All in all, the world’s worst manager had demonstrated how he had been a serial failure in business by doing nothing to prepare for the construction of the wall in event Congress did approve it.

Following the 2018 election, it looked like time was running out. December was the last opportunity to pass a spending bill with a Republican majority in the House. When the weeny President caved, Ann Coulter was there to provide him the “backbone” that he lacked. Now it was an issue. The line had been drawn in the sand and he would not back down.

There is a saying that when you are in a hole, stop digging. That adage does not apply to this President. After all, he is a winner, He never loses. He won the election in 2016 including the popular vote since all the illegal votes for Crooked Hillary should not have been counted. He won the election in 2018 since he added two seats in the Senate and loss fewer seats in the House than Obama had. That was true on Election night when the losses were only in the 20s and remained true as they creeped up and reached 40. Hannity told him so.

The talking heads often talk about how he needs to show his Republican base that he is fighting for them. That misses the point.

The talking heads often talk about how he needs to placate Fox, Ann, and Rush. That misses the point.

The reason why this truly is a national emergency crisis is because he has to show to himself that he is a winner and not a loser. Even though the wall started as a campaign gimmick it now has become the measure of whether he is a winner or not.  If the wall is not built then NanChuck won and he lost. That is unacceptable. Therefore the wall will be built no matter what, no matter what it takes for him to build it even if the government remains shut down months or years or he has the military build it. NanChuck have left him no other choice but to play the national emergency card.

On one level, the national emergency crisis provides an easy way to end the government shutdown. The Senate could immediate pass all the funding bills submitted by the House or the one it passed in December with no funding for the wall. After, the funding is being taken care of through the military due to the national emergency crisis. Therefore the spending bills to reopen the government could be passed and signed into law right away.

Lawsuits would gum up this process. We know that the military is not ready to build the wall. We know that despite all the fuss about their being a crisis RIGHT NOW, nothing would happen right now. We know that Captain Chaotica does not have the mental necessities to manage such a construction project. But at least if it appeared that the national emergency crisis was underway with the military charged with building it, the justification for shutting down the government would be over. A lawsuit stopping that process also would continue the shutdown of the government since no spending bill would be signed if no building was authorized.

Now we come to the Howard Baker moment. Mitch McConnell is no Howard Baker. Mitch McConnell will never be a profile in courage. Mitch McConnell will never rise to the occasion. But the Howard Baker moment is not about a Senator or Senators going to the President, it is about Republican Senators going to Mitch McConnell. It is about Republican Senators going to Mitch McConnell and saying enough is enough. It is about Republican Senators going to Mitch McConnell and saying the needs of the country come first. It is about Republican Senators going to Mitch McConnell and saying the Republican Party cannot afford another victory like the one in 2018. It is about the Republican Senators going to Mitch McConnell and saying we must pass veto-proof spending bills with no spending for the wall and PASS IT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THERE IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY CRISIS AND IT IS THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

Will the Republican Senators rise to the occasion and provide the leadership We the People need?