I watched the Rachel Maddow Show<\/em> on MSNBC last night. I watch her a lot, she has great insights into what\u2019s going on politically, and she has access to the most significant guests. Last night it was Chuck Schumer, the man in the center of the current political storm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rachel is a storyteller. Listening to her takes some getting used to; she might take ten or fifteen minutes to get to the meat of her story. There\u2019s always lots of background and history; and often a \u201cwow, how did that little thing become this big thing\u201d moment. So I watch Rachel. I watch so much, that one of my \u201cground rules\u201d for writing these essays is to not let Rachel drive this narrative. She\u2019s so good; I\u2019m not interesting in competing. Also, many of \u201cTrump World\u2019s\u201d followers watch Rachel as well. No one needs reruns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Rachel made a strong point last night, on the way to her big story on the President\u2019s Impeachment. As she often does, she got me thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was na\u00efve. It was a long, long time ago in our current post speed of light political era. It was last September, three months ago. It seems an ancient story now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was na\u00efve, as the outlines of the President\u2019s actions in Ukraine became apparent in those first few weeks. We first heard hints of the story: hints of the Whistleblower\u2019s Report, of our President asking for \u201ca favor\u201d from the President of Ukraine. As the story emerged, we heard that that there was a mob-like \u201coffer you can\u2019t refuse\u201d request made on a phone call in July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The arguments then were about what was actually on the table. Even the President\u2019s supporters, Fox News commentators, Senator Lindsey Graham and others, noted that if there was an actual \u201cquid pro quo; give me this and I\u2019ll give you that,\u201d the President was in \u201creal trouble\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So when the President himself released the \u201credacted transcript\u201d of his July 25th<\/sup> call, it sure seemed like a confession to a crime. And when we found out that the call was not just a \u201cstand alone\u201d action, but part of an overall plot that started with Rudy Giuliani back in March or even before, it made the criminality even clearer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The President of the United States committed extortion, a form of bribery. He asked the President of another nation, Ukraine, to start an investigation into Trump\u2019s anticipated political opponent in 2020, Joe Biden. He offered a \u201cbribe:\u201d a White House meeting, and, as we later learned, hundreds of million of dollars of military aid. It was aid and recognition that Ukraine desperately needed as the beleaguered country faced negotiations with Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement of an \u201cinvestigation\u201d alone would achieve what Trump needed to do. In 2016, the Trump campaign could count on the fact that Hillary Clinton had a higher negative image than even Trump did. It was an election of who was disliked more, of which voters were willing to \u201chold their nose\u201d as they cast their ballot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump acts on \u201chis gut,\u201d and that gut was telling him that Joe Biden was the Democrat who would emerge as the nominee. Biden had a much lower negative image than the President did. Trump needed to \u201cbring Biden down,\u201d to make him more Hillary-like. Then the Trump Campaign could replicate the \u201cmagic\u201d of 2016, winning the Electoral College even if the popular vote went to his opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if the shining \u201cnew guy\u201d in Ukraine, the anti-corruption candidate and a former TV star, just like Trump, newly elected President Zelenskiy, would open an investigation into Biden and his son, it would solve the \u201cnegatives\u201d problem. The Trump Campaign could spend millions of dollars on media, flashing black and white images of Biden, his son, and stacks of money. They just needed the go-ahead, the announced investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those are the facts that emerged as the leaves changed color in October. And then the President went outside with the helicopters and reporters, and just said it. Ukraine, he said, should investigate Biden. So should China. He wasn\u2019t joking, \u201ctweaking\u201d the media as his allies claim. He was committing crimes in broad daylight, and daring Congress to do something about it. This even after we knew that \u201c\u2026 Russia if you\u2019re listening, find Hillary\u2019s emails\u201d triggered Russian attacks on the Clinton computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Trump \u201cdoubled down\u201d again, sending his Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, to the press podium in the White House, to ADMIT TO THE CRIME, and tell the press, and the world, to \u201c\u2026get over it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was na\u00efve, back then in the fall. I thought that Americans, looking plain truth in the face, would realize that Trump had to go. I thought that Congressmen, and Senators, would solve the equation given to them by the House Intelligence Committee: two plus two equals four. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But they didn\u2019t. They found every excuse, obstruction, and obfuscation to hide behind. They willingly defended Donald Trump over the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Then even compared the suffering of Trump to that of Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They say that Trump is \u201cKing\u201d of the Republican Party. I scoffed at that, but I was mistaken. I just listened to Congressman Van Drew of New Jersey switch parties from Democrat to Republican. He sat at the \u201cright hand\u201d of Trump, and literally pledged his \u201cundying loyalty\u201d. He just needed to take a knee, and kiss the ring, and the image would have been complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was na\u00efve. I thought better of our elected leaders. I thought they would choose the Constitution over their political loyalty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Long, Long Time Ago<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Transcript<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Repeating The Past<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Facts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Naivety<\/h3>\n\n\n\n