The United States lost a “force” yesterday. Elijah Cummings, son of sharecroppers, long time representative of his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland passed away. He was only sixty-eight years old. He was the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on the forefront of the battle between the White House and the Congress. And he, along with John Lewis and Jim Clyburn, represented Congress’s best: the leaders from the Civil Rights generation.
Compassion
Most recent memories of Cummings are of conflict with the Trump Administration. But even in that conflict, he showed compassion. It was Elijah Cummings who, when Trump lawyer Michael Cohen came back after lying to his Oversight Committee, offered praise at his willingness to be finally forthright. Cummings was both passionate and compassionate. He recognized that the witness in front of him was going to jail, and was doing his best to atone.
And Elijah Cummings was more than just a partisan. When a young Congressman, a “Squad” member, called out Republican Mark Meadows for being racist, it was Cummings who stepped in. He mediated between the two; explaining that while Meadows had different political views, that, in fact, he was a close friend. When Republican turned commentator Joe Scarborough married co-host Mika Brezhenski, it was Elijah Cummings that officiated the ceremony.
When the President, Donald Trump, called Baltimore a “…garbage strewn, rat infested Hell hole;” Cummings responded without vitriol. He invited the President to come and see “his” Baltimore, and called on the President of the United States to be the President of Baltimore, Maryland as well.
The Void
In our current crisis, it’s unavoidable that we feel a sense of abandonment. We need Elijah Cummings, we need his leadership and his compassion, and we need his strong voice calling on all of us to be moral. It’s gone.
Others will step up. If there is one thing Americans have faith in; it’s in our ability to replace those we lose. The history of America is full of stories of the next person stepping in, rising to the challenge. General Winfield Scott Hancock stepping up for the loss of John Reynolds at Gettysburg. Harry Truman replaced Franklin Roosevelt at the end of World War II. Americans know that history shows the void will be filled.
But we will miss Elijah Cummings.
The President’s Letter
Looking back at the last two weeks, it’s clear that the President “green lighted” Turkey’s invasion of the Syrian Kurds in his phone conversation with President Erdogan. Whether he did that out of a willingness to get out of Syria, or out of weakness when faced with a Turkish threat, we don’t know. What we do know is that Mr. Trump has now circulated the Sunday “letter” to Erdogan. From the Administration’s standpoint, the letter seems to be designed to make Mr. Trump look “tough.” Unfortunately, when read from a Turkish standpoint, the letter seems incredibly disrespectful.
The Great Father
In very simple language, President Trump presented a choice to the Turks. Either pull back from the invasion discussed the day before, or the United States would invoke economic sanctions that would be ruinous to the Turkish economy. That seems plain, and tough enough.
While the entire tone of the letter seems like that of a father writing to his pre-adolescent son, it is the last paragraph that was bound to generate the most hostility.
“History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!”
The President of the United States has warned the proud heir to the Ottoman Empire and Kemal Ataturk that he could be “the devil,” “a tough guy” and “a fool!” He has treated the Turkish government with complete disrespect. It has the same paternalistic tone that US Presidents used with Native American Tribal Chiefs in the 1800’s. And he’s done it from a position of weakness, not strength.
No Position to Negotiate
No wonder the Turks crossed the border without fear of US involvement. All Trump had to deter them was a “stern” letter and future economic sanctions. Erdogan threw it in the trash. Then in a news conference with the President of Italy, Mr. Trump talked about how our former allies the Kurds were even more dangerous than ISIS. It’s hard to see how Vice President Pence and Secretary Pompeo had a negotiating position to stand on.
And the “agreement” reached in Ankara was little different than the phone call. Turkey wanted a twenty mile wide, two hundred forty mile long control zone in what was Kurdish Northern Syria. They got it. Erdogan wanted any militarized Kurds removed from the area. They got that. And he wanted to have an absolute right to use military force to control the zone. And he got that too.
So Vice President Pence had his “Munich Agreement” moment. And the Vice President was smart.
He gave Donald Trump all the credit.
