Monthly Archives: September 2017

Another Wrong Question

Media, Politics

 

“IT” is back in the news.  No, I’m not talking about the remake of the the movie based on a Stephan King novel in which children disappear from a small town at the hands of an evil clown.  I know, it does sound a lot like a documentary about Trump’s (oops, Sessions’) announcement to maybe, or maybe not, end DACA.

Related imageIn this case, the “IT” is the alleged 2013 video of Donald Trump being entertained by prostitutes in the Presidential Suite of the Ritz-Carlton Moscow.  Recently, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele again stated the dossier he authored, which included the salacious claim, is accurate.  Yesterday, the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee–chair Mike Conaway and ranking Democrat Adam Schiff–suggested they may go to London to interview Steele personally.

The Internet underground (i.e. bloggers and independent news outlets) have recently refocused their attention on two questions, “Does the “pee pee tape” actually exist?” and if so, “Who has it?”  But, as is frequently the case, the obvious questions are not the best ones.  From my perspective, the more intriguing question is why would Steele even include the episode in an opposition research report in which the bigger story was Putin’s and the FSB’s cultivation of Trump as a Russian asset.

Certainly, the world did not need any further evidence the Republican nominee for president was a sexual deviant.  He had already admitted as much in the Access Hollywood video.  And one more example of outrageous behavior would have minimal shock effect on Trump supporters.  If not for the fact the Moscow affair appeared in a document which suggested acts bordering on treason, one might have expected the source to be The Onion.

Then why include it.  Consider the following.  Verifying the case for Trump/Russian collusion laid out in the 35 page document could be problematic for two reasons.  First, any investigation might compromise intelligence assets who have continued value to the United States and its allies.  Second, many of the sources, especially Russian operatives identified as Kremlin conduits, will never be accessible to the special counsel or Congressional committees.

Therefore, the veracity of the dossier would need to be confirmed through deductive reasoning.  Start with the most ridiculous and implausible claim. In this case,  the Russian government compromised a potential presidential candidate by filming him with prostitutes reveling at the sight of these проститутка (Russian for call-girls) defiling a bed in which Trump’s nemesis President Obama once slept.  If this outrageous allegation is true, one can assume the veracity of other accusations.  Therefore, existence of the video is important to the investigation, but not for the reasons one might normally expect.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

The LAST Thing WE Need

Politics

 

I am willing to bet when you saw the subject line for this post, you thought I might be ranking the latest Donald Trump failed efforts to “Make America Great Again.”  And one knows, the list is endless.

  • Putting a climate change denier in charge of NASA.
  • Creating a generation of “Ex-Dreamers.”
  • Playing nuclear chicken with his emotional twin.
  • Having his legal thugs verbally attack journalists.
  • Pouring more fuel on his obstruction of justice bonfire.

But notice I capitalized WE.  Today, I’m taking a break about worrying about what Trump is doing to America.  By WE, I mean us card-carrying Democrats who hope to bring some semblance of sanity back to Washington following the 2018 mid-term elections.

I’ve said this a dozen times before.  Winning control of Congress is not about convincing the general populace the current occupant of the oval office is incompetent and possibly unstable.  Even Republican senators, representatives and governors are beginning to admit as much.  But if you listened closely to the recent focus group of Pittsburgh Trump voters there were two distinct messages.  One, we knew he was a flawed individual but we thought he would become more presidential.  He hasn’t and we think he is hurting the country.  Two, but most said they would still vote for him over Hillary Clinton.

Bill Maher said it best.  “We should all thank Hillary for her 30 years of public service, but now it’s time for her to step away from the spotlight.”  It appears she has turned a deaf ear.  And here is why I fear she will once again unintentionally raise the spectre of moral equivalency between Democrats and Republicans.

I do not begrudge Clinton making a ton of money from her book.  I plan to read it myself.  But instead of a traditional book-signing tour, the Clinton machine has lined up major events in 15 cities between September 18 and December 13.  And to make it worse, Clinton is charging a fee to attend these events.  I know it’s not illegal to do that, but it affirms the Republican campaign charge that Trump was not the only candidate who was profiting from public service. Now, if you are as ticked off as I am that Trump is holding 2020 campaign tours to energize his base and raise funds to pay his legal defense team, you have to be equally angry that Clinton is holding such rallies.  The press release announcing the tour promises:

Come join Hillary as she lets loose about her experience as a woman in politics, and other topics, in a way she never has before… She’ll connect with audiences with a story that’s personal, raw, detailed, and surprisingly funny. She’ll take you with her on her journey and talk about what happened, what’s next, and what’s on your mind.

Talk about a Democratic Party public relations nightmare in the making.  I hate to think how Trump and his minions will use images of large crowds chanting, “I’m with Her!” or “He’s a creep!”  If you want a preview of the alt-right response, just take a a look at the comments accompanying the article in Rolling Stone Magazine covering the book release.

As John Kennedy said in his 1961 inaugural address, “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”  Ironically, the congressional hearings into the Trump/Russian connection have introduced Americans to some future leaders of the Democratic Party.  These include Senators Christopher Coons (DE), Kamala Harris (CA) and Chris Murphy (CT) and Representatives Adam Schiff (CA) and Jackie Speier (CA).

We have the messengers.  Now we need the message.  Today, Joe Scarborough reminded his viewers that the public opposes virtually every Trump policy position by a margin of two to one.  Immigration.  The wall.  LGBT rights.  The list goes on and on.  The message is there for the taking, “If you believe (public opinion on any major policy issue), you should be a Democrat because we share your belief.”

There is one more thing the party needs.  The space to make its case.  Sadly, the upcoming Clinton book tour will fill that needed space with content and images which do not help the cause.

At a time when we Democrats are imploring Republicans to put country before party, Hillary Clinton, you have the rare opportunity to put country AND party before self-promotion.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP