As always, please go to the links for the full articles/ op eds.
Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs and their deserving head coach Andy Reid on winning the Super Bowl last night 31-24. Among the true football fans offering congratulations was this "jenius:"
The Chiefs, of course, represent Kansas City, in the great state of Missouri. The "jenius" has since deleted the tweet and replaced it with one referring to the correct state. But not in time to avoid some shade:
He’s not wrong, dammit. pic.twitter.com/z2ZO07GZjy— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) February 3, 2020
The looming acquittal of said "jenius" by Senate Republicans on Wednesday is the subject of several articles and op/ eds this morning. Here's E.J. Dionne, Jr.'s take on the "Trump 51" who voted against hearing witnesses:
This was no ordinary roll call. It was a direct assault on American democracy and our core freedoms. Whatever the flaws of our system, we could once believe that a president who tried to bring down a political opponent by conspiring with a foreign government — and using American taxpayer dollars in the process — would be punished. The Trump 51 told us that such faith is for suckers.
The moral and intellectual bankruptcy of a party that once crusaded against slavery and led the fight to amend our Constitution to guarantee equal protection under the law was exposed by the tortured rationalizations offered for its capitulation to absolutism. [snip]
There is one thing we need not fear: that the Republican apostles of surrender to Trump (and to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his coverup sidekick) have set a precedent for their future behavior. On the contrary, we know that they will do exactly the opposite if a Democrat is president.The editorial board of the Washington Post takes direct aim at one of the most vile, treacherous members of the "Trump 51," Sen. Lindsey "Huckleberry" Graham:
Mr. Graham’s behavior has been particularly shabby as he has threatened to misuse his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the former vice president. He has announced a formal probe and asked the State Department for documents. “We’re not going to live in a world where only Republicans get looked at,” he said in December, indulging in a toxic (and unwarranted) display of grievance and implying that Mr. Biden’s demonstrably benign activities in Ukraine are equivalent to Mr. Trump’s corruption.
But there is no moral equivalence. There is no reasonable case against Mr. Biden. The case against Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is just as definitive in the opposite direction. Mr. Trump had no good reason to press Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden, an American citizen whom U.S. authorities were not themselves investigating. He did so anyway, to no conceivable benefit to the United States. That Mr. Graham would suggest that the two belong in the same universe shows that he is so poisoned by partisanship, he either does not understand or has lost all moral direction.
Everyone is in the loop (surprise!):Mr. Trump’s corrupt scheme to persuade the president of Ukraine to slander a political rival did not succeed. It is pathetic that U.S. senators would do the job instead.
A midnight court filing on Friday night revealed that the White House is refusing to release at least two dozen emails directly related to Donald Trump’s withholding of military assistance from Ukraine. The filing, authored by an attorney from the Office of Management and Budget, described the until now hidden documents as communications by Trump or his immediate advisers “regarding Presidential decision-making about the scope, duration, and purpose of the hold on military assistance to Ukraine."
In other words, the idea that Trump withheld military assistance to Ukraine because of concerns over corruption, or the need for more “burden sharing” — as Trump’s defense team has stated throughout hearings in the House and the trial in the Senate — could be directly revealed by an examination of these documents. Which they will not share.
As CNN reports, the Department of Justice withheld the existence of these emails until just hours after the Senate had made it’s vote to not subpoena any further witnesses or documents in Trump’s impeachment trial. This appears to be another staggering example of how Trump has used the full power of the executive branch to paper over his actions, block access to key information, and simply prevent the release of the truth.(our emphasis)Kerry Eleveld has a silver lining and a call to active engagement:
But here's the silver lining: During a time when Washington commanded the attention of most Americans and when polling consistently showed that voters overwhelmingly craved resolution, Senate Republicans exposed themselves a nothing short of tools of Trump's regime. They no longer serve the people, they serve him and him only.
Pundits across spectrum smelled trouble for Senate Republicans. "I think (McConnell) underestimates the backlash to this vote," conservative radio host Charlie Sykes told MSNBC. "I think people are going to be a lot more angry about this vote on the witnesses than folks in Washington really understand. And it really does put the Senate in play."
Former GOP operative Nicolle Wallace called the vote “political suicide,” adding, “I hope they take it." They did.
So as we enter the start of the Democratic nomination contest in earnest on Monday, bundle up all that rage and take it to the polls. Let it drive your engagement and participation throughout the rest of the year until Election Day.Of course, tonight are the Iowa caucuses, which (for better or worse) may produce multiple "winners" and potentially end some campaigns for candidates deemed non- viable. HuffPo has a "things to watch for tonight." (November can't come soon enough.)
Finally, do yourself a favor and check out Infidel 753's link round- up for the most comprehensive selection of interesting finds across the internet. It's so much more than just politics -- more like a digest of life happening around us.
