People are frustrated that Trump and pals aren’t deterred by the threat of subpoenas. I have some bad news: You can expect lots more Trump-GOP lawbreaking before this is over. These three things are appening at once: Trump and friends openly break laws; The Trump-FOX GOP pretend it isn’t happening; and The Trump-FOX-GOP accuse Democrats …
Trump kicked off his 2020 reelection campaign with these words: “The only thing these corrupt politicians will understand is an earthquake at the ballot box. . .” Trump’s critics see much irony in that. What about: All that nepotism? The shameless way the Trumps are profiting from the presidency? The Mueller report’s discussion of “the …
One theory is that we are in the grip of something new and terrifying that has never before happened: The rise of an American autocrat. Another theory is that what we’re witnessing has deep roots in American history, and has been building for years. Historian Richard Hofstadter, in his classic 1964 work offered an eerily …
Jason Draut asked this: Yes, a Fox-Trump-GOP talking point is that Carter Page FISA warrant used to kick off the Special Counsel investigation was invalid, therefore the Special Counsel investigation was a sham and Trump was a victim. This is what Trump was getting at here⤵️ The claim is nonsense. To get a warrant, the …
Why the Trump-FOX-GOP keeps repeating false talking points about the FISA warrant. Read More »
I’ve returned from Texas, after a stop in Santa Barbara for the Indivisible March. My detention center journal is now complete. Preliminary Remarks Raices needs Spanish speaking lawyers, or lawyers with translators. My husband is a native Spanish speaker, so we go as a team. The law: If asylum seekers arrive without documents, they can: …
I was honored to be the guest speaker at yesterday’s Indivisible / Santa Barbara march. The video is here. Here is the text: We are here to make our voices heard. This is democracy at work. If you’re like me, perhaps, in the past, you took American democracy a little bit for granted. Some of …
Speech at the Santa Barbara Impeachment March, June 15, 2019 Read More »
Joe Walsh, former GOP congressman and right wing radio talkshow host tweeted this about Trump supporters: I responded. [View here as a Twitter thread] Hi, Joe: Trump’s followers love it when he lies and fights—because they understand that the lies destroy. Scholars Hahl, Kim, and Sivan in “The Authentic Appeal of the Lying Demagogue: Proclaiming …
The equation is: Victimization (my post from two days ago) + Sadopopulism = cruelty This is how we get to the kind of cruelty we see at the border. Yale professor explains how such cruelty is possible. We start with the anxiety and anger created when the dominant culture (white Christians) feels victimized by encroaching …
Ideas in this thread are from Harvard history Prof. Steven Levitsky and Columbia Law Prof. David Pozen. On Mar. 26 Prof. Levitsky gave this lecture answering the question: Is American democracy in trouble? Spoiler: Yes—but there are ways to get through this. Scholarship has established that the older and richer the democracy, the more resilient …
💠I am in favor of opening impeachment hearings. 💠I believe Nancy Pelosi is handling matters correctly. Here is how both of the above can be true at the same time. Let’s begin with Pelosi’s own words as she speaks to Kimmel. Forget the headlines. They often pull phrases out of context to get clicks. Ignore …
Pelosi, Impeachment, and why the Nixon analogies probably don’t work. Read More »
