The Need For Impeachment

It seems that I just wrote about impeachment not too long ago. Whilst the wrong action was taken–from McConnnell to Murkowski–alas, we have been afforded a last chance to right the ship. I will not berate you, listless-vacuum-Trump Raided-swampy-spineless–GOP with the litany of reasons of your lack of foresight and therefore leadership. We warned you that this situation was coming, that it was in the horizon–and you didn’t believe it. You act like amateurs, I know…but now you’re afforded another chance to right your wrongs. (Mmm, I still think you won’t listen though, but here my case goes.)

After WWII, Japan was focused on moving on away from its past actions simply because of the horrors from the destruction of two nuclear bombs. The time for self-evaluation and self criticism was swift and welcomed. For Germany, in the absence of the former leader through suicide, reality afforded the cognitive space for balanced reflection and denigration of the immediate past for the country as a whole.

We are not afforded that luxury in this climate–all things being equal and assuming Trump doesn’t die of natural causes anytime soon. (God knows his personal love of self would not entertain the possibility of suicide, EVER.) Some issues that the GOP is giving as reasons for not proceeding with impeachment–that it would not bring the country together, that it would not bring reconciliation, and that it perhaps it is too late–shows further lack of foresight and leadership.

Does the GOP think that reconciliation will be possible with a Trump able to run for office again lies in the four year horizon? Does the GOP think that swift censure of its Senators and Representatives calling to overrule the new president’s legitimacy is not needed? If you think not, then you are no true Republicans and neither are you true patriots–you are pusillanimous pussy footers with no leadership nor foresight needed to safeguard our institutions and democracy.

We do not need to for the cabinet to call on article 25 or whatever. We do not need for Trump to resign. WE NEED TO IMPEACH. Only this helps safeguard our democracy from future attacks. The GOP needs to recognize the onus of the situation. You can’t be like Europe pre-Nazi take over, not believing in the inherent evil intent of self serving humans. Evil is out there, it exists, it is rampant; and regardless of how goodly you lead your lives, or how great you believe our democracy to be, or how much you may trust our institutions, or how rampant covid may be, it does not diminish it nor ameliorate it. Know this. Internalize it. Digest it. Own It.

What will bring this country together is the future immobilization of Trump and all he stands for. It destroyed your party, your hallowed Lincolnian house–do not let it destroy our country and our hallowed democratic institutions. Do not let it destroy our standing as a beacon on a hill for all emerging cultures that hunger for peace, justice, and equality. Do not let the inherent integrity, power, foresight, and light of our great constitution fail to offer respite, guidance, and light to future generations of humans forging a path forward towards equality and justice for all. You must right your wrongs or ever live in historic infamy–we will not forget–you must impeach, now. (And while you are it, figure out a way to invalidate all pardons coming from this president and future ones to come.)

Biden’s Strategy Must Reflect The Political Landscape

What a beautiful time to run for office! Few times in a country’s history does fate deal a collective awakening. This is the Second Great American Awakening in a century–the last one we witnessed when Dr. King graced us with his presence. The ingredients for this have been cooking in the pan for a while. (Entertain the following allegory for a little while.)

“The last remaining fruit of the plot of the evil vine planted by Gingrich bore fruit. The plot had spread like wildfire, supplanting truth with self serving lies about what was “good for America.” The undecided had come to believe the lies. The pharisees that had taken over the temple first abhorred the head sprouting from the great deceiver only to succumb to its fire and wrath. The party lead by a great deceiver gave way to the megaphone of hate of the sprouted ugly Trumpian head, shaped boiling red with a mirror at the center, allowing you to see yourself when staring at it.

Few held on to their inner truth and escaped the temple upturned by the head’s wrath. Others managed to cowardly hold on to silence even though they knew that they were still carrying the weight of this evil head on their backs, enabling it. Others drank its juices and became wild and insistent purveyors of all the lies and hate the vines had to offer.

Along came the Angel of Justice to punish the evildoers all over the Earth and a great plague was sent. Invisible and deadly, the plague infected millions…”

To bring heft, setting it in biblical terms, is fitting. Covid-19 quarantines forced us to stay inside physically and it forced us, often, to simply be; to delve within; to discover our worse and our best parts. Most importantly, stopping made us awaken and made us recognize truth, plain and simple. When the video of George Floyd came, we saw it for what it was and, having stopped to catch a conscious breath, we began to march. We began to expose America’s truth throughout time and added names to this forming collective quilt. The flood gates opened and once these torrents that clamor for peace and justice and accountability and equality, they cannot be ever again shut. We echoed acts as subversive as the declaration of independence.

This is the political landscape that Biden/Harris enter. So to reflect it, these actions must be taken:

1.- No debates unless Trump releases his tax returns. The frame of this narrative is to be presidential. It is to put a full stop to the nonsense. Let’s be clear, the man in the White House has so maligned our democracy and integrity as a nation that he does not deserve yet another bully pulpit. Full Stop.

2.- Begin a “Speak To America Tour” on TV and via zoom. Explain the decision on debates and hold your ground, put it all out in the open. Harris can hit all the women TV shows as well. The country does not need to know more about Biden or Harris. Biden would not benefit from debates. We know who you two are and, most importantly, we know who you are not. (We do need concrete statements on what you would do differently.)

3.- Focus instead in the most massive registration and bring out the vote effort in American history. The country has not been this ripe for activism in decades, take full advantage of it. (You have She the People and Stacey Abrams for starters.)

4.- Be present in the American consciousness. Talk every week about what you would be doing differently if your were in charge. Speak with kindness, respect, and understanding.

5.- Last, and most importantly, make sure that this fact is drilled into the American consciousness: ELECTING A PRESIDENT TO OFFICE WITHOUT ELECTING HIS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS IS LIKE VOTING HIM INTO OFFICE WITH HIS HANDS TIED BEHIND HIS BACK. So spread this simple fact that we seem to not understand as Americans. (We can only blame ourselves for gridlock, tbh.)

Take this opportunity to show up at events that buttress congressional House and Senate candidates. Show your support throughout all the down ballot races. Introduce the idea that the possibility of tabulating all votes may take weeks after election day in some places; the virtue of patience so democracy can do its proper job is needed; set the expectation and continue to encourage mail in voting.

I believe that if this strategy is practiced not only will you be known at every dinner table with what you would do but also we will know your heart and what you need to make you win and be a successful president. This strategy shifts the focus away from Trump on a weekly basis, almost as if not mentioning him but when you do it is because you are laying out the facts of what you would do differently.

Let it be known that the veil has been lifted, we have come to know that the great silent majority is actually made up of us, not them. We march together, from all walks of life, not only in America but in the entire planet. We are the beacon on a hill. Now let’s recapture America and the liberty, democracy, and freedom for which it stands.

Be A Spiritual Warrior

To be a spiritual warrior, one must have a broken heart; without a broken heart and the sense of tenderness and vulnerability, your warriorship is untrustworthy. ~Chögyam Trungpa

There is a common belief within all mystical practices in every religion that not only are we all connected but that we are, in essence, one.  It is a knowledge that is easy to forget in the physical trappings of existence—whether it be consumerism, democracy or autocracy, or the constant identification with self of the mind simply awake (not to be confused with the awakened mind.)

As in a trance, we live in this world–intrinsically a dual one–full of pain and suffering; love and fear; wellness and sickness; poverty and wealth.  Seldom is there a moment of solace, a time for introspection as we put the phone or tablet down and simply remain in the moment.  True Self discoveries are rare nowadays, but every discovery eventually leads to the discovery of Self (not self,) that which remains when all else is taken away.  My guru used to call it, “Isness.”

We are witnessing a great American awakening now.  Pandemics, like wars, affect populations en masse and the intrinsic equality of everyone’s experience bubbles up to the surface, becoming an indelible awareness of our sameness.  Quarantine has forced us to stop, to breathe, to masticate the meaning of our path over and over, consciously or not.

The current presidency has also slowly been affecting and infecting our psyche.  The morals that our parents instilled in us and the American dream that we were taught about as children is coming to terms with the opposite America Trump and all his followers are wanting to keep alive.  There comes a time when, in moments of collective affliction, our spirits rise and scream out: enough is enough!

This cry for freedom, for justice, dwells within all of us–a longing that never goes away, free or enslaved, literally or not.  It is what built this country and within that spirit we have taken to the streets for we are “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”  The veil has been pulled away and we see our bothers and sisters marching with us and the belief that we are in the majority and that this means something, is slowly dawning on us.

It is like we have been the slave of the narrative of hate and subjugation long enough.  Nothing will stop us now.  As we progress forward, however, it is important to understand the power of your vote—for it is your strongest voice.  We have this luxury that most of us take for granted and that Republican legislators everywhere are constantly trying to take away for they know the true power of it.

So your awakening must continue.  You need to realize the power that the Republican narrative has taken away from you, your belief that your vote does not count, that it does not make a difference.  Well, guess what, are your eyes opened now?  Do you see the hordes of people following you and with you virtually and physically worldwide?  It is sad that for some of us with out the internal will to see this depended on seeing it around us before believing it for ourselves.

But not to worry, this is how revolutions are made.  You must know that this is only the beginning, because Republicans will try to hold on to power and will make all kinds of excuses come November–and this is where the pandemic could hurt us in another way.

Imagine that we are not even out of our first wave now and doing badly with it but that we may get another wave in the fall, come November?  The Republicans will gladly quarantine us then, push us to the brink so that we do not exercise our vote.  So we must remain vigilant.  Register to vote.  Call a friend and make them register to vote.  Repeat.  And last, come November, SHOW UP.

We owe it to each other, to our ancestors, and to the generations to come.  If not, all of their pain and suffering to safeguard our right to vote was in vain.

The Gingrich Republican Era Comes To An End

Leadership–whether it be used for the common good or evil–begins with a deep seated belief in ideas that shake the personal self to the very core, indelible, of how the world should be.  In smart politicians, these ideas come to shape the way they see the world and themselves within the body politic.  And the smartest of them all are able to inspire those around them, make headway where none tried before, and bring their vision to life in subversive ways.

Gingrich came to subvert the Republican party as he knew it.  He came to lead with a bombastic approach, wailing at the c-span cameras of yore as if he were in control of a full classroom, hungry to prove his ways right and shine a path forward.  His tactics of framing the discussion in the language he wanted became the way for Republicans nationwide and their attack lines lead many to successful campaigns.  These attack lines were with ripe with allusions to a glorified view of what America should be and what part of it should always be defended.  Their narrative was to name call, degrade, and always claim a moral high ground.

All of these were the precursors of another head growing out of the party that would eventually be called Donald Trump.  Trump became the morphed replica of the Gingrich era and all he stood for, and he was ready to use all of the ammunition against all opponents at all costs.  “Daffy Dukakis” had molded into “Little Marco,” “Low Energy Jeb,” “Lying Ted,” and “Sleepy Joe.”  Gingrich’s brash hypocrisy against Clinton for Monica while he had his Callista, became the carte blanche for Trump to know that he could survive grabbing women or paying hush money with the electorate he was going to easily manipulate.

Republicans were left dumbfounded when one of their own had come into their household and gutted all of them to win the nomination for president.  The carnage!  The fear he came to instill in all of them–especially McConnell and Graham.  There were very few within the party that had not drank the Gingrich/Trump juice but it was all too late, he was in with an electorate that the Gingrich Revolution had primed and pumped–like hogs to the slaughter they were prodded and made angry.

For over a decade they had told the American people that it was the Democrat’s fault that there was a do nothing congress, that it had become a swamp.  (The Democrats never espoused an overt assertion to this narrative because in all propriety they all believed that this was the only way to legislate and the only way to move forward was to deal with all the extraneous wheeling and dealing, pork, tenure, etc.  They also, wrongly, underestimated the successful impact of mob mentality on the swing electorate.)

Mobs are always ripe for a demagogue or an altruistic leader; they long to be led, either by hatred and fear or by love and progress.  The desire to belong is built into our consciousness, a pack mentality of sorts.  But here is where the plot thickens–what drives us more, especially after a time of crises, is a longing for peace and justice, for the common good, for innate kindness.  These have become the proverbial set of movers to any psyche or persona–public and personal–since the beginning of existence.

So we allow ourselves to fall in love with Obama, because the hope he brings inspires us.  The Gingrich era of Republicanism, dying, continues to fight nevertheless.  And, in the absence of a powerful leader to continue, the beast sprouts a new head and swing voters are led astray and lied into thinking we get rid of the swamp by electing the biggest snake in it of them all.  Kudos to Trump for keeping the Gingrich momentum all to himself but, alas, as if by divine intervention, a plague strikes.

With nothing else to do, many of us are forced to look inward and come to terms with ourselves, our families, our role in the world, our communities, our existence and death in specific and general terms.  Out of this anguish comes the tipping point from a great creator of equality, technology.  We are able to bear witness and come to terms with our darkest selves.

There is an exorcism of sorts that is happening in our culture right now, a birthing of sorts, of shedding of old skins and of that which is unnecessary.  All of a sudden we awaken to see that we ARE in the majority.  We realize that an expensive megaphone of hate is just that, loud and expensive and nothing more.

So at a time of this Second Great American Awakening that is going against everything that Gingrich Republicanism and Trumpism stood for, there is no turning back.  The emperors have no clothes, the veil is torn, and we see everything as it is.  What more rightful way to defeat the darkest forces in our culture than now with our vote.

So protesters, make your vote count, make your protests now count for something.  There is a political path forward.  Let us shore up our activists, those patriots raising their hands to serve in political office and register to vote.  Make November be the end of the era of this many-headed beast and may we put the nails in that coffin.  And to our legislators and judicial appointees, please act now to prevent ANY eventuality of our vote not being exercised or counted, in person or by mail.  Much hangs in the balance, but as we take to the streets and the ballot box, it is up to you that there is a ballot at the end of this tunnel for us to place our votes in.

Long, Too Long America

I quote, il miglior fabbro, yet again:

 

Long, too long America

Traveling roads all even and peaceful you learn’d from joys

and prosperity only,

But now, ah now, to learn from crises of anguish, advancing,

grappling with direst fate and recoiling not

And now to conceive and show to the world what your

children en-masse really are…

 

–Walt Whitman

 

So here we are, going through a pandemic as well as coming to terms with old wounds bleeding out, decades of neglect rearing their face.  I am with the protesters even now, as I observe curfew.  I am with them in anguish and anger, with them in heart and spirit.

Most of us, by marching–by being present, by witnessing–seek to continue to bring injustices to the forefront of our collective consciousness.  We long for a semblance of justice, we long to be heard, we yearn for change in our lifetime.  We also know that the world is listening.  Our protests have spread to cities not just across our country but abroad as well.

An unfortunate outcome has been the rioting and the looting, the mob mentality seeping through.  What has been the most obvious to me so far, however, has been the absence of political leaders and leaders of faith marching alongside and taking charge of making sure that marches are productive and not destructive.  There have been no high profile leaders that I know of being activists on the ground.

How on earth do you expect us to vote for you if we do not see you in the trenches with us?  How do you expect your message to resonate if you cannot speak our language?  Here we are having to deal with a hater in the White House for what seems an eternity–these long 4 years–someone who is not really a president of the people but a preacher of hate, a figure so divisive that his presence, compounded with the effects on the working class of the current pandemic, has our blood boiling over.  Enough is finally enough!

And where are our faith leaders–those not hiding behind the racist facade that Trump easily feeds them (leaders whom Christ himself would call pharisees.)  I have not seen any of our faith leaders marching or organizing and leading the march towards productive acts in speeches or voter registrations.  Where is Stacy Abrams, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren?  And faith leaders–from Ebenezer Church to Lutheran Churches to Mosques and Synagogues–do not tell me that you are too busy preparing for an in person service during this pandemic: your speeches online or to the press will not do.  Are you afraid to show up and be counted?

And Mr. Biden, your interviews mean nothing if you are not behind the scenes making sure that all of this energy is channeled more towards good and positive action than destructive behaviors.  Kudos to the police chief who engaged protesters and marched with them–how is that for courage, dialogue, and subversive act of leadership?  Our leaders need to know that their absence makes it worse not just for the protesters but for the police as well.  President Obama, news flash, yea you are not president anymore, but you need to come out of the shadows at this time, and ubiquitously.  Make us see that your past warriorship for peace and justice was real and that this desire still runs through your veins.  You are America.

The country is so ready, more than you know.  Your view is clouded by the conversant culture that you participate in.  Whether this culture is dismissive of sorts and tries to normalize the situation of Trump’s actions with this same dismissiveness, resignation, humor, or a combination of those.  Or with the culture that believes that we should only work with the political electoral systems in place.  Or with the culture that whispers that we deserve it because we did not win the White House and that we must be in the minority.  Well guess what, if all of us would speak out, would show up, would be present, would bear witness, we would drown out all the hate from MAGA and Trump.  We would open eyes from both parties that this, this Trump thing, we never really signed up for.  Whether it starts with Dorsey and Taylor Swift stepping up to add to the voices stepping up daily–from news announcers to political pundits to educational leaders.  The movement is just starting.  Those of you with thousands of followers owe it to the rest of us to step up and speak out because I KNOW that we are in the majority and our African American brothers and sisters need us now more than ever,

So make these protests count–speak up, show up, be true.  All that America stands for is riding on your simple public concerted acts.  Make this movement a drive to get people registered to vote and to participate in the many ways that everyone can in this great informational and connected democracy of ours.  This is not a Republican thing nor a Democratic one, it is an American one.  The time is now.

 

 

 

A Longing, Deferred: Coming Together As A Nation, Without The First Couple.

I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. –William Faulkner

 

It dawned on me one afternoon of continuous TV news and press briefings and covid-19 updates. While we were all coping with the quarantine normal, our prayers and thanks slowly and valiantly started coming out, everywhere.

 

After the silent tsunami of the virus, this tsunami of coping together started being seen in social media and TV commercials and news reports of thank you notes for those on the frontlines. There are now hashtags, cars honking for grandma’s birthday, video calls full of love and hope and thankfulness.

 

Some of us cry when we read what is happening in the front lines or scream at the TV when we hear no leadership coming from the White House. And some of us also worry, Still. A lot. We are apprehensive about what the new post phase 1 pandemic America will be.

 

One thing became clear—and this is what dawned on me that afternoon. We have not turned to our president to console us, to provide us with the spiritual strength to carry on, to inspire us to keep hope alive and move forward. And we have not expected it either.

 

And we have been ok with it—it was not an expectation that we carried with us. It is like we knew not to count on the first couple to be there for us in spirit. Let that sink in. Truly question yourself—whether a Trump supporter or not–did you expect it? Why not? That’s not the job of a president? Ha, ask that of Wilson or Churchill during WWII or Bush after 9/11!

 

And then I had to do a consciousness change and think: WWBD—what would Barbara do? WWOD—what would Obama do? WWMD—what would Michelle do? WWRD—what would Reagan do? What kind of conversation would any of the immediate first couples of the past 50 years have with the nation?

 

The fact of the matter is that there is no leadership of the heart there. (I can totally picture Marianne Williamson agreeing.) But it’s true. And we know this. It’s true not in an esoteric or hard-to-fathom way. It is as obvious as Lysol commercials warning us not to do what the president just intimated. It is as obvious as Pence not wearing a mask when visiting a hospital. It is as stark a reality as the complete absence of the first lady.

 

But we kind of expected it. Yea, we did. And many of us wonder how ridiculous or disingenuous it would sound if Trump all of a sudden expressed deep felt sympathy or an understanding of the gravity of the situation on the American soul and collective psyche.

 

So here we are, surviving and coming together despite the fact that there is an emotional wasteland residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He has not tamed our indomitable American spirit—it lives within us and with it we move forward.

 

So there is a longing, not just for quarantines to end or for people to be well and not suffering. There is a longing beyond the banal hope of normalcy. There is a longing to be led with fearlessness and kindness and inner strength; a longing rooted in our core by the founding mothers and fathers of this great republic. May the future smile on us and allow us to become whole again.

 

 

VP Land of Choices

It’s not just because Trump gets a fail grade in handling the pandemic—I have been giving him fail grades since he started office—it’s that the only fail grade I did not give him was the one in which he out maneuvered his opponents AND the general electorate and got voted into office. Let that sink in—yes all of you Democrats especially, and read on.

 

Plenty of you have written op-eds telling Joe who to pick, which cabinet positions to give to whom—heck, I am not surprised if one of you has not already picked a few new paint jobs for specific rooms or what the future first lady’s cause celebre should be! So calm down little donkeys and let’s get some facts clear.

 

First, Biden was pressured to say that he would pick a woman—a mistake on his part to acquiesce, not because of the woman part—but more on that later. A presidential candidate should pick someone that s/th/he/y feel/s comfortable with; my momma used to say, always trust your gut! Secondly, s/th/he/y should always pick a winner—not one that will outshine her/him/they. Thirdly, that VP candidate should be able to carry the torch in case of mechanical failure while driving the presidential suite.

 

So why on God’s great Earth would you pick a losing candidate from the group—especially if at Biden’s age and hint it might be one and done. So yea, no on Kobluchar/Harris/Warren/etc. The people already spoke—thank you but no thank you. Capisce? Let that sink in my little burritos. There are plenty of Cabinet chairs to give out coming out of that busted piñata to give honor to all considered (the country (1^st), the candidate, and the cabinet position.)

 

In my opinion that leaves a lot of great patriots to consider.  The short list becomes Susan Rice, Stacey Abrams, and Gov. Whitmer. Ms. Rice has the brains and pedigree, I feel that she would be fantastic–a no BS minority woman.  (Small concern on how her family would fare with all the attention considering her son’s political views.)  Stacy Abram’s infectious smile and adeptness at getting votes (may I emphasize this—that woman, charming as all get out, CAN get votes) is a plus, nothing beats true grit of lengthy experience.  She would bring an energetic, activist spirit to the ticket, however.

 

So that leaves photogenic/telegenic Gov. Whitmer. She is female, a lawyer, a Democrat from a swing state, and a Governor. She was also an educator and a state representative. She is also younger and she chose an even younger lieutenant governor from Detroit. The lieutenant governor, who is black, had also worked for non profits and was director for MoveOn.org. So for you lefties out there, this is all part of your crop, so feast on that.

 

Enough said except that well, it has to be a woman, right? Let me make it clear—when it is time for a woman to be president, it’s going to happen. It’s like with your loved one, when it is the right person, it will not be pulling teeth—it will be easy as pie, a right fit. That woman is not on the horizon yet. Even though Gavin Newsome is—how is that for a grain of thought? Smart, leftie, business savvy, a Governor.

 

But I am not too worried, 2024/2028 will bring its own candidates and I hope of all shades of the rainbow as Biden courteously steps down after bringing all of us together.

 

Now let’s work to put him in office and regain America’s true greatness and might, a strength measured in our humility and kindness. While I do not hold all the accolades of those who opined on the subject before me, rest assured that this post is deeply rooted in a constant, burning love and admiration for our great republic and its forebears.

 

A Path For Pete, (Part 3) Post IA & NH

So here we are, levelheadedness has prevailed.  Cool, calm, collected Pete has remained above the fray and although he has not delivered all the incisions necessary to bolster his overall message, he is continuing to deliver.  Intelligence is key as a president, and if Klobuchar et al would start thinking right, they would know that experience by their standards is not what is swaying voters minds.  It is the message, stupid!  (Not, “The Economy, Stupid” (which will be Trump’s mantra..))

There is something that experience cannot teach you but the distillation of life and human behavior can–and that is to sound genuinely presidential because it is echoed from an unwavering inner belief that you are the one; that you are the best suited to be chosen next.  Pete has the burgeoning of that spirit, and now, after swatting away flies–you are too young, you are too inexperienced, you are too white–he must now amp it up;  because people hearing your message and knowing what you are truly about will become easier as the field winnows.

From now until Super Tuesday, your mantras:

•  As I said before, Democrats choosing another older white man to represent them against Trump will be a losing choice.
•  Sanders will not fare well in this economy and uncommitted Americans will not like the choice of an angry Socialist VS an angry, demeaning, turd-tyrant.
• Hammer message #2, let message number 1 take care of itself.  Begin to hammer in that label: “angry socialist” in a kind manner.  Kindness will be key when being on the attack, it will be effective with an electorate tired of the lack of it from Trump and this electorate you hope will become your future one.
• Reach out to past (or non viable) contenders and see who can be brought into the fold.  Maybe form a Green Initiative with Insley and Steyer?  Criminal Justice Reform with Harris?  Eventually Health Equality and Justice with Warren?  Immigration Reform with Castro?
• Running as a “Uniter.”  This act would be disingenuous if you do not successfully reach out to past/losing contenders(see #4.)  Americans have a hunger to become intertwined by ideals that will bring them together.  Never before have any of us experienced this divisiveness in our lifetimes and never before do we hunger and thirst to be united and rightfully feel that America is on track again as a force of good in the world.  The desire for justice and equality lies dormant within and it must germinate and be awakened again.
• Running as a “Centrist.”  While once in office you may veer more towards an agenda more akin to the American left, it is key to make everyone see that this is the best strategy to beat Trump, be a centrist.
• Running on a platform centered on a “Moral Compass.”  Expand on your faith, and your struggles as a minority (show perhaps vulnerability.)  Make people feel a kinship with you–with this you inspire trust and with trust you get elected regardless how great the economy (Obama built) is going.  Show how this will make you the right person to bring people together to make the right reforms to our democracy.

This is key here, while Obama was running as the change candidate, your candidacy should be about Reform to our democracy and way of life as Americans in all ways–in the way we treat each other, in the way we interact with the rest of the world, in the way we intrinsically know that all humans are created equal, in the way we respect this earth, in the way we figure out how to have our great wealth benefit the general population.  You have to become the Reform Candidate.  Comparisons to others will fade as you come into your self.

Godspeed.

Republicans Should Hire Chess Players and Not Lawyers—regrets and the vantage point of looking back

I am an Ordinary American—a simple restaurant server—and, as such, profess to know very little about political strategy, expenditure, and capital.

Five things I would think about if I were Mitch McConnell regarding impeachment:

The expenditure that you and your colleagues are doling out defending Trump. Not following Trump’s leadership and falling out of line has had severe consequences for many of you, so you have put Party before personal principles time and again ad nauseam but now you are putting Party before the well being of the Republic. At this critical step you will no longer just be continuously overlooking his potty mouth and putrid self serving heart but the great Constitution upon which we stand.

Lets say that you are able to go with your speedy Senate trial, which Pelosi will up end anyway. Do you think that what Mulvaney, Blair, Bolton, and Duffey have to say will forever remain unknown? What will you do then if what they have to say ends up being damning? What if all of this is known right before the next election?

Go beyond Republican or Democratic political capital being won or loss. What state would the country be in? How will the citizens of this great nation be feeling en masse? How would our divisions be breached? Do you personally stand to benefit from the continuous chaos like Trump always benefits from or when does your heart and moral compass kick in—at your too-late dying breath or now?

Did you think of bringing in Lott and Daeschle to advise the Senate on how best to proceed? The nation will not believe in you or the majority senate party if you do not have a fair trial, even I know that. So you proceed with the continued propaganda engine?

While it may be true that some Democrats wanted to impeach long ago, it was only because they had this bull in the China shop breaking historic norms right and left and many felt outrage. But then that bull came for the sacred urn of our Constitution—there was no turning back then, so here we are.

Pelosi will hang the articles of impeachment over your head for months if need be until those closest to the President are heard. (I also predict that the Chief Justice presiding would go beyond his bounds as well and rule on the side of the Constitution, so beware—hard times will require never before employed tactics.) What is there to fear—truth? Most were afraid of their despots throughout time, be it Hitler, Stalin, or Robespierre. They came down falling and they did not rule in a place where a constitution like ours was in place. Do you think that what our founders intended will slowly disintegrate now?

Yes you have read letter after letter from reputable writers on the decline of the Republican Party; on questioning your morals; on the hardships of continuously defending this president; on how your party is now spouting Russian propaganda. Aren’t you tired of it?

I’ve been through it at 1.0 lite compared to you 1000.0 heavy and am done with it. What gives? What do you feel when you go to your office, clear the room, shut the door, and are there alone in silence? In that silence are you afforded peace of mind, in your personal faith a sense of justice, in your practice of leadership a strength of right? In the end, when you shut the door, turn off the news reports, and breathe, you are only Mitch—nobody owes you anything and you owe nobody anything.

I will quote Faulkner’s banquet speech,a fellow born southerner of yours, for he said it best, (with my insertions)

I believe that [The Great Constitution of these Great UNITED States] will not merely endure: [IT] will prevail. [IT] is immortal, not because [IT] alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because [IT] has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.

And IT shall ever remain our Beacon on a Hill.
—OA

Finally, Impeachment Proceedings

While some fear the path we are about to undertake as a nation, I have no fear, and trust that the mechanism of sound government that has led us here will lead us out of it.  I also feel that the country as a whole will be the better for it.

On the point that this will damage Democrats in the long run for it may achieve nothing–and not go beyond the House–I say this: if the least we do is impeach the bastard only in the House, the Republicans will have a leader smeared by such censure going into the general election plus this act will have riled up the democratic base and push more folks to show up at the polls.  If Gringich is comparing this to the Clinton impeachment, a word to the wise: that’s the impeachment that really should have never happened, perjury regarding an extramarital affair that should have been between Hillary and Bill to begin with.  This is way different, and we are just beginning to uncover the whole lot of it.

Do not underestimate the results of Trump’s house of cards crumbling.  Who knows how many whistle blowers will come out of the woodwork–they may be all racing to open that door first lest they be ridiculed by a nation later on.  What else is stored on that separate server?  And remember, people who live in glass houses should have never thrown so many stones.  What about all the previous–some respectable public servants–that left or got fired by Trump?  What will they have to say now?  And how much?

History will judge us so poorly, even as we prepare to impeach, for having elected him in the first place and for his party allowed to be played and bullied by him from the primaries on.  All will come to a head next November and our true mettle will be shown.

In the meantime, let’s hope that public opinion and whatever else comes out of this investigation will lead the Senators to finally fight for America and leave the cesspool of so called “partisanship” aside.  May this process help drain some of the stinking mess in that swamp.  I look forward to Moscow Mitch and Little Lindsey eat their words as they face American TV cameras announcing the intent to proceed with impeachment proceedings.  Now that would be the best Christmas present that branch of government will have ever given to the people it supposedly represents!