Comey Firing: Key Day in History?

I remember how Right Wing World used to pick on
Hillary Clinton's looks. Now they ignore Donnie's.
Funny that.

The firing by (shudder) President Donald Trump of FBI Director James Comey could be a key day in history.

Why am I, runner of a half-abandoned hobbyist blog, qualified to say such a thing? I'm not. But call it a hunch. It simply feels momentous, this day. The left sees it as the move of a desperate man, but with the horrifying possibility of actually working. The right is overjoyed, seemingly unable to see Trump in anything but the most forgiving light. I mistakenly thought this was a very temporary effect of both winning an unexpected win, and of making liberals unhappy.

But Trump is very, very good at making liberals unhappy. And, if you haven't figured it out by now, conservatives like little more than "liberal tears." It's becoming very clear, that is largely what the whole Trump thing is about. He can hire people wholly unqualified for their jobs, to the point of opposing the very agencies they're put in charge of. He can use worse English than Sarah Palin hopped up on goofers. He can embarrass us on a world stage, show the most rudimentary of knowledge on civics. Doesn't matter how oafish, cartoonish, buffoonish and asinine he displays himself to be, they love him, because he pisses off the correct people.

For everyone not under that thrall, the experience is quite different. This is a presidency off the rails. An absolute train wreck that just gets worse as the days go by. And the suspicion of corruption, and even collusion with the Russians seems far more plausible. It's feeling more and more like an unfolding Watergate-type scandal, and the Comey firing feels like a key moment.

Depending on how much focus this story holds on the news cycle, and whether it grows, or peters out, it's still key. Because if Trump survives it, and we move on to the next outrage. If nothing comes of the Russia investigations, and in two months the story is on Trump insulting another ally, then that key moment will be, he got away with it.

And that will make a lot of people wonder, what on earth would or could be his undoing, if he can skate by after probably colluding with a hostile foreign government (not to mention the many and varied conflicts of interest, nepotism and the rest).

But, if this is the moment when some of the saner conservatives (they are out there, they've gotta be. . .right?) begin to peel off, and get on board the anti-Trump train. Or at least start demanding some real answers. I guess we'll see which way it unfolds together. Maybe I'll try to poke my head in here a bit more often as we find out.

[Excerpt]

Trump's love-hate relationship with James Comey

The same day FBI Director James Comey announced he was recommending that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not be charged in connection with her use of a private email server, then-candidate Donald Trump walked onto a stage in Raleigh, North Carolina, and proclaimed: "Our system is absolutely, totally rigged. . ."

Read more at: CNN

LBJ Knew Nixon Sabatoged End of Vietnam War

He was a crook. And a traitor? Image from The Atlantic

There have long been stories about the 1980 presidential election, and how Ronald Reagan engineered the release of the long-held Iranian hostages, but only after the election. The motive was that Jimmy Carter would be much less likely to win the election if the hostages were still held captive and/or that he'd get a boost if they were rescued. As it turned out, the hostages were freed immediately after Reagan was sworn in. I still remember the fuss made about it, though it was probably all kind of a setup.

As bad as that sounds, it would seem to be fairly small potatoes compared to what seems to have happened in 1968. Because preventing the end of a war, just to get elected sounds much worse than the nickname "Tricky Dick" is famous for. The Vietnam War went on for seven more years after that. Richard Nixon claimed to know how to end the war, but in truth seems to have deliberately sabotaged the early end of it when there was a chance. Lyndon Johnson thought Nixon's behavior was treasonous, but was restricted from saying anything due to the way the knowledge was obtained. Here's the big question: will history reflect this new knowledge? Or is it too unpleasant? And if Reagan and Nixon both pulled a fast one in order to get power, who else has?

Image from LibertyRoulette

[Excerpt]

Newly Released Secret Tapes Reveal LBJ Knew but Never Spoke Out About Nixon's 'Treason'Rumors and whispers of Richard Nixon's 'treason' -- sabotaging Vietnam peace talks to help his Presidential campaign -- have floated around for years, but newly released tapes from Lyndon Johnson's Presidency confirm that LBJ knew about Nixon's behaviour and didn't bother to report it.. .

Read more at: The Atlantic

And now, a purely ponderous sidebar: Aside from the lives that would have been saved, and everything else that would have been spared as a result of a much shorter war, consider the following. The sixties were a time of great upheaval, and an amazing amount of cultural and pop cultural change. Though much of that change came from the "British Invasion" in pop culture, and the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK, Vietnam was a huge motivating factor. If the war had abruptly ended in 1968, what would be different about our history? Without protests, would the counter-culture and hippies have died out? How would the soundtrack of the war, the evolution of music have changed? If Nixon had lost, what would the entire 1970s have looked like? Without the post-Watergate years, and the following Carter malaise, would there have been a need for Reagan's "morning in America?"

I think it would make a great novel, the diverging path of history at that moment in 1968. Especially if it was written by someone who was really knowledgeable of not just the history but of politics at the time, and what really might have been. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'd have seen some of it, since I was born in 1966!

MoveOn Ad Casts Romney in Nixon Role: "Tricky Mitt?"

But will it stick?

Rove's Executive Privilege Won't Stand Up in Court

Photo from source, Raw Story

Well that's just dandy. But what if it never makes it to court? Why do people like Rove seem to always get away with it? Sheesh.

[Excerpt]

Expert: Rove executive privilege claim won't stand up in court

NYU professor says Bush power claims 'wider than Nixon'

In the waning days of George W. Bush's presidency, it seems that every week brings a new showdown with Congress over the president's refusal to let his aides testify in the investigation of the US Attorney firing scandal. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

No Blogging Tonight. . .Probably.

I've been informed by The Other Half, that we are going to play cards with friends this evening, so it is unlikely that I'll have time to post anything, at least not until very late (for tomorrow's blog). It's too bad too, because I had several pretty nifty ideas, and they may be out of date tomorrow. The hazards of marriage. . .

So since I won't be around, I thought I'd better find something entertaining for readers to find, so you'll know I didn't just flake out.

But hey, if you haven't been here since yesterday, scroll down through a few blog posts. There are probably a few things there you didn't see--I put lots of stuff up yesterday!

From: AmericaBlog

Lawrence O'Donnell OWNS Pat Buchanan

It is scary that occasionally I agree with Pat Buchanan these days, especially as it relates to the Iraq War. But I still remember the scathing, nasty speech he gave at the 1992 Republican National Convention--the speech that essentially changed me from a Republican to a Democrat. He may well have lost the election for George H. W. Bush with that speech.

So, I feel a sense of schadenfreude when occasionally Pat Buchanan gets put in his place. Here on MSNBC's The Verdict with Dan Abrams, Lawrence O'Donnell does just that. Good.

Keith Olbermann: Bush Worse than Watergate

Have you ever heard the famous Richard Nixon quote, "When the President does it, that means it is not illegal?" Well, the Bush Administration has been behaving as if that quote made it TRUE. And since it is often easier to absorb this sort of information by seeing video rather than reading long paragraphs, here is an excellent clip of Keith Olbermann and John Dean explaining it for us.

Democrats Start Contempt Trial, Recall Watergate

Photo from Medal of Freedom

I've had something of a crummy day, and political news hasn't improved my mood. . .until now. THIS lifts my spirits! Go get 'em guys. And if this doesn't work, I will paraphrase Dolly Parton's Doralee Rhodes from 9 to 5: "Well I say we hire a couple of wranglers to go up there and beat the shit out of 'em!" Works for me.

[Excerpt]

Dems invoke Watergate in contempt trial

President Bush's refusal to let two confidants provide information to Congress about fired federal prosecutors represents the most expansive view of executive privilege since Watergate, the House Judiciary Committee told a federal judge Thursday. [snip]

"Not since the days of Watergate have the Congress and the federal courts been confronted with such an expansive view of executive privilege as the one asserted by the current presidential administration and the individual defendants in this case," according to the House's filing. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Bush More Unpopular Than Nixon

Photo from source, Raw Story

President Bush's approval numbers have been stuck, anywhere between 24% and 35%, depending upon the poll. He seems to hold onto the 25% of the populace so wedded to their political ideology that they'll never abandon him. And he picks up a few percent here and there from the stragglers.

But now, for the first time, his strongly disapprove numbers have eclipsed even President Richard Nixon, garnering the lowest numbers in the Gallup poll's history. Way to go, Commander Guy!

[Excerpt]

Topping Nixon, Bush disapproval soars to highest level ever recorded in Gallup poll

The little noticed statistic -- publicly noted on Gallup's poll writeup -- made a single headline in Google News. The story, at Editor and Publisher, was titled "GALLUP: Bush Finally Tops Nixon -- In Unpopularity -- As Call for Iraq Pullout Hits New Peak."

Gallup details Bush's falling numbers in a series of graphs. . . They note that Bush's "strongly disapprove" rating is the highest Gallup has ever measured for a US president, though the category is not polled in every survey. . .

Read the rest at: Raw Story