Pardon Me?

 

Oh, my lawdy! I'm starting to get the vapors!

President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter!

What ugly, brutal miscarriage of justice is this?

And don't forget! He PROMISED us he wouldn't do it!

Just because multiple Presidents in the past have pardoned relatives (Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump) doesn't allow Biden to do the same. He had declared repeatedly that he wouldn't do it.

Me? I don't really care. It doesn't affect my opinion of Biden one way or another.

Why did he change his mind?

Biden's earlier declaration was based on a series of misinterpretations and errors in judgment.

1) I think he really thought Kamala Harris would win. It was not a huge mistake. I fully expected her to win as well. We both over-relied on the common decency of the American people.

Oops.

The idea here is that there would be little value in viciously pursuing a President's son, especially for crimes that most are rarely prosecuted for and virtually where no one goes to jail.

2) He then thought that with the Orange fascist in control, he would have little desire to pursue vendettas. I mean, really, what was there in the con man's character to lead you to believe that he would waste his time demolishing opponents he had beaten?

Oops.

3) It would look bad as to their stand against the criminal clown, making it look like they were just like him.

As if he would care.

Oops.

Cut to current times.

King Fool has been accumulating the worst collection of cabinet nominees in the history of ever - billionaires, sexual assaulters, fraudsters, criminals, those who want to destroy the department they head, and on and on. It's embarrassing, really. But I guess MAGA is no longer capable of being embarrassed. It's a cult, worshipping at the feet of their criminal overlord, not a political party.

In that tone, it becomes clear that Mister Vicious is dead serious about retribution. His FBI selection, Kash Patel, has an actual hit list of people who have committed NO CRIME other than stand up to the unholy narcissist-in-chief. MAGA congress members want to prosecute everyone involved in the J6 committee - including witnesses.

Biden had to see this monstrous march to prosecutorial insanity and decided he had to get his son out of the way.

Under that steady stream of vile bile?

I WOULD EFFING ABSOLUTELY DO THE SAME!

The reaction to this shouldn't be "Heavens to Murgatroyd! How dare that man pardon his son after telling us he wouldn't do it!"

It should be, "Why did he do it? Because an unholy s---storm is coming our way! Anyone who doesn't bend the knee will be destroyed!"

Look at Joe and Mika of Morning Joe. They groveled all the way to Mar-A-Lago and, in the process, demolished their feeble little morning show. But you know what? Maybe they feared what standing up to him would mean. Fear led them to choose safety over courage.

And we are going to see this repeated over and over again.

This is how fascists win.

I don't blame Biden for saving his son. It may not be the only pardon to come. He may have to protect many who have committed no crime but will have their lives consumed anyway.

Yeah. There's a lot I could say, but I'll leave it to other posts. One biggie is when MAGAs try to compare the pretend crimes of those who stand against him to the REAL crimes of the Orange Buffoon.

Yeah. It's going to be a rough four years.

Our Democratic Imperative

 

President Biden gave his first State of the Union address last night.

Was it a perfect speech? No. Most speeches are rarely completely perfect. We remember significant lines that ring with us forever ("Ask not what your country can do for you," "I have a dream," "Not red states or blue states, but the United States of America"). Still, we don't remember that even those speeches may have had less memorable moments, maybe even mistakes.

Biden's speech was a poignant calling for the restoration and primacy of democracy. From his opening, supporting a democratic Ukraine valiantly fighting against the autocratic despot, Vladimir Putin, and to the end with a call for a Unity Agenda.

The resistance of the Ukrainian people has been inspiring and brave. Not since Churchill have we seen a political leader as defiant and strong as President Zelenskyy.  

The courage of the Ukrainian people is both ennobling and scary. Ennobling to see a people stand so firm against an invading tyranny, and scary because we all know what's coming - a 40-mile ling convoy coming to obliterate their capital city, Kyiv. Many of these brave souls will lose their lives, and it's breaking my heart.

President Biden emphasized his administration's many accomplishments, including unprecedented job growth, a rapidly rising GDP, infrastructure improvements underway at last, and much more.

President Biden repeated the things he wants to pass and has not been able to do so. I object to nothing he brought up, and I daresay once you remove the political blinders, do most of the American people. Despite his frustration at being blocked by two Democratic Senators, I applaud that he is not surrendering and will continue to fight. It is so easy to fold in politics if you meet resistance like Clinton did when he couldn't reform health care.

President Biden presented a unity agenda, four things he thought could pass with bipartisan support. Again, they are things a majority of us support, even Republicans.

I know where Biden's instincts are. Despite their unprincipled opposition, he thinks he can still garner Republican support. I love Biden. I think he is a good President, the leader we need at this perilous time.  

But he is wrong. Republicans will not support country over Trump. Yes, there are still a few reasonable Republicans left (Cheney, Kinzinger, Romney*), but the vast majority are still in thrall to two-time popular vote loser and twice-impeached narcissistic fraud, Donald J Trump.

The Trumpian core of the Republican Party is at heart an anti-democratic, authoritarian party. January 6th was just a symptom of their efforts to remove democratic choice from our system. The level of delusion in these people is startling and has been and will be discussed in other posts.

Thank you, President Biden, for being the source of reason, hope, and democratic fervor in these darkening times.

God bless you. God bless the troops. God bless the Ukrainian people.

T. M. Strait

*reasonable in supporting democracy and opposing Trump, not necessarily in supporting the Democratic legislation designed to help the American people. But that's ok. At least they're fighting in the marketplace of ideas, not in the cesspool of authoritarian wet dreams.

The Promise and Perils of the Politics of Hope: Saturday Political Soap Box 262

 I am grateful beyond measure that Biden/Harris won the election, and the Age of Trump will be coming to an end.  Over 80 million people voted for Biden/Harris, winning the popular vote by over six million, and by inverting 2016's electoral college vote - what was Trump 306 Clinton 232 was Biden 306 Trump 232 in 2020.

But...

Close to 74 million people voted for Trump.  They took a look at the two candidates and voted for the fascist wannabe, the racist con artist, the misogynistic narcissist, and said, "Oh, yeah!  I'd like a big second helping of that!"

I am grateful that the Senate will be adding two new Democratic Senators, Mark Kelly of Arizona and John Hickenlooper of Colorado.

But...

We left in place Moscow Mitch McConnell, Lyin' Lindsay Graham, and Susan Effin' Collins.

I am grateful that Georgia turned Blue, something I had grown skeptical of ever seeing.  I look forward to the Senate runoffs, where we could send John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, two Democrats to the Senate.

But...

Georgia is a distinctive baby blue, a very thin margin of blue, and the Democrat's record in statewide runoffs has been abysmal.  The Republicans will be way woke and will turn out en masse to nip this in the bud,  Every single Democratic voter...EVERY SINGLE ONE WITHOUT EXCEPTION...will have to turn out to even have a ghost of a chance.

And if both seats don't turn Blue, McConnell will be left in charge of the Senate, and all the great hopes of the Biden administration will go up in smoke.

Biden does not want a political civil war, a cultural divide.  He wants to reach out to and include Republicans.  With a divided Congress, it will be our only chance to get things done.

But...

I see no evidence that Republicans are willing to compromise on anything.  Because 74 million voted for Captain Bone Spurs and seem to be most loyal to him, there is little reward for actually trying to govern the country.  McConnell will be inclined to repeat the same strategy of complete defiance he used at the beginning of the Obama administration - he was rewarded for his obstinance by huge seat gains in 2010 - why would he do anything differently now?

Biden will return to the correct belief that the gravest crisis facing the world is climate change.  

But...

74 million people voted for a climate change denier, showing they don't really think it is a serious issue. That is a lot of resistance to work through.

Getting rid of Trump was the minimum needed to put democracy back on track and check this country's descent into fascism.  There are many roadblocks and perils to restoring genuine hope to this nation, but none of it is possible without that first step.

But...

The threat is still out there.  A Senate either controlled by McConnell. or one so deeply split as to be ineffective. A House with a reduced Democratic majority.* A Supreme Court with a 6-3 uber-right majority.  74 million people endorsing Trumpism.  And Trump and his nastiness are not likely to go away, as he will probably escape convictions for his many crimes and take over a television network (like Newsmax or OAN).

Yes, it's not all puppies and roses.  But without Trump losing, things would be even darker.

As Superman would say, "We fight the neverending battle for truth, justice, and the American Way."*

Once again into the breach, my fellow Progressives, my friends of all stripes who are committed to the restoration of American Democracy.  

The neverending battle continues.

* the loss in House seats was strictly Blue dogs and moderates.  Progressives GAINED seats, and every single candidate who supported Medicare For All won re-election.  Being Republican Lite is NOT the answer.

**these are things Superman said, but I may have paraphrased them together.