(Wrongoâs taking a bit of a Christmas break, so after Monday, posting will be light. We’ll be back on a normal schedule NLT Monday, January 6th. Wrongo truly appreciates you guys sticking around for all these years!
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year â letâs hope it brings change we can believe in.)
A succinct summation of the weekâs news:
Branding has consequences:
The never ending story:
Who to believe:
Rollerball broke out at the Dem Debate:
2019âs alternative âAway in the Mangerâ story:
Lover’s Leap, New Milford CT after this weekâs snow – December 2019 drone photo by Quadco Joe
The House Judiciary Committee voted to send two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the full House. The vote took just two minutes, and as Wrongo said yesterday, it will be portrayed as the party line vote it was, with 23 Democrats in favor, and 17 Republicans against.
It was a tribute to the political polarization in todayâs America, with striking diversity on the Democratsâ side, as well as lack of diversity on the Republicansâ side. From Marcy Wheeler:
âThe Democrats who voted in favor included 11 women, and 13 Latinx and people of color (Ted Lieu missed the vote recovering from a heart procedure). Three (plus Lieu) are immigrants. One is gay. These Democrats voted to uphold the Constitution a bunch of white men, several of them owners of African-American slaves, wrote hundreds of years ago.â
All the Republicans who voted against were white, and just two were women. They voted to permit a racist white male President to cheat in order to get reelected, in violation of the rule of law.
This is a clash between the America that is coming, and its past. Itâs unclear who will win this battle, but the stakes are high, and will become even higher in 2020.
Wrongo believes that rushing to an impeachment finding was a strategic error by Democrats. This should have been moved along slowly. House Democrats needed to go through discovery on all the obstruction of justice, Constitutional emoluments and separation of powers violations, campaign finance violations, and bribery violations. They should have taken the time to use their Article I power to get the oversight disclosure and testimony they have been denied by the Trump White House.
But, no. The House Democrats didnât do any of that. Instead, they focused on one phone call when there was little reason to rush, and plenty to be gained by keeping Trump on the defensive for the next year.
A deeper dive into the issues could have made an Impeachment Resolution with a more effective result. It wouldnât have changed the outcome of the vote in a Senate trial. But it would have provided continuing education to the public, along with fuel for effective articles and ads about Trumpâs lawlessness.
With the weekend upon us, itâs time to contemplate all that must get done between here and New Yearâs. Wrongoâs list is too long, but somehow, he hopes everything is done by then. However, letâs start by kicking back and forgetting about the list, the Impeachment and budget deal. Letâs clear our minds, and have another Saturday Soother.
Start by brewing up a large cup of Mexico Chiapas Dark Roast ($13/12oz.) with its notes of dark chocolate, hints of molasses and brown sugar. Itâs from Sacred Grounds Coffee in Sherman CT, who weâve featured here once before.
Now, listen to Nocturne “Reverie Op. 19â by Giulio Regondi. Regondi was a Swiss-born classical guitarist, and composer active in France and (mainly) the UK. It is played by Drew Henderson:
Those who read the Wrongologist in email can view the video here.
Trump survived the week. The Democrats got just about everything they hoped for out of 32 hours of impeachment hearings. Current and former Trump administration officials told different parts of a consistent story, and reinforced a consistent narrative of wrongdoing.
But Trump liked the week, since no cracks emerged in Republican defenses. On to cartoons. The real Impeachment jury:
Hearings gave another platform to GOP conspiracy theories:
Behold the noose of Sondland:
GOP talking points:
Trump and Bibi: Two pleas in a pod:
One if by Facebook! Two if by Twitter:
Prince Andrew will be spending more time with family and less with underage women:
Lockhart Mountain, Lake George, NY – November 2019 photo by goldengoddess69
After seven public hearings with 12 witnesses over five days, the impeachment inquiry moves to a new stage: a public report and a handoff to the House Judiciary Committee. Whatâs not clear is whether witnesses close to Trump, like Bolton, will ever testify.
The House Intelligence will deliver a report to Judiciary that lays out their case for impeachment. The Republicans will submit a minority report of their own, once Dems publish theirs.
Weâll have new editions of the same two narratives that have been with us since the start of the Mueller investigation. This leads to the weekly question: How can Republicans not see the facts? Republican lawmakers, aides and strategists surveyed by CNBCâs John Harwood have uniformly treated Trumpâs misdeeds with Ukraine as an inconvenience, an annoyance which will blow over. Hereâs a quote from Harwood:
âLawmaker #3 âNo. I think the attitude is, so what? âSondland did his best to protect the President. Over half the Dems were for Impeachment before the whistleblower. People see what they want. This is still too complicated for the average person to understand. But follow the polls.â
And we need to think about what will happen in the Senate after they receive the referral for impeachment. The GOP will use the Senate trial to put both the Bidens and whatever they think the Dems did in 2016 on trial.
It will be a circus. Trump says he wants a trial, and wants to be the first witness. They will out the whistleblower. Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) said: (emphasis by Wrongo)
âAnd now we’re going on to the main event and that’s in the U.S. Senate…So we’ll finally be able to get to the truth. So I’m talking to my colleagues in the Senate, these are some of the witnesses that you need to call and these are some of the questions that you need to ask. First, you have to hear from the whistleblower.â
It wonât take much for the Republicans in the Senate to convince themselves that they were right all along, that Trump was justified in pressuring Ukraine president Zelensky. Theyâll say that nothing happened, there was no harm, no foul and hypocrisy be damned.
Are the Dems smart enough to hold simultaneous hearings in the House to surface more about Trumpâs obstruction? BTW, donât you think Hunter Bidenâs Burisma board seat is unseemly at best? Why donât the Dems just do a proper investigation? But for his last name, Hunterâs credentials for a paid board position seem quite weak.
If you havenât become cynical about Republicans in the years since Obama was elected, just wait two months.
America will have national elections in 2020. The circus in the Senate will hopefully lead to historic turnout for local, state and federal candidates. Wrongo feels optimistic that something new and better is coming. The path to that new political reality is steep and difficult, and we all must walk it.
Enough! Letâs slide into a Saturday Soother, that time of the week when we try to escape the horror show around us for a few minutes, and contemplate both our inner world, and the world around us.
The first snow covered the fields of Wrong on Tuesday. The short days and the drab colors remind us that spring is a long ways off. This weekend is about preparing for Thanksgiving, the arrival of friends, and a quiet celebration of all that we enjoy, from family, to friends, to our great country.
Letâs kick things off by brewing up a mug of Warm November Rain coffee ($20/12oz.) from Chicagoâs Dark Matter Coffee. The roaster says it has notes of black tea, tangerine, and bakerâs chocolate.
Now settle into a comfy chair and listen to the enchanting âPavane, Op. 50â by the French composer, Gabriel Faure, written in 1887. It was originally written for piano, but is better known today in FaurĂŠ’s version for orchestra. Here it is played live without an orchestra by 12 Cellists (!) from the Berlin Philharmonic.
If one cello is great, imagine just how fantastic 12 cellos can be!
Those who read the Wrongologist in email can view the video here.
Wednesdayâs two hour debate hosted by MSNBC and the WaPo gave 10 Democratic presidential candidates yet another chance to introduce themselves at a point when there is less than three months before the first votes in Iowa and New Hampshire.
But, while Wrongo likes them all in the abstract, none of them is world-class. They each have strengths, and while it is still early, and most still have time to grow into the role of top-tier presidential nominee, none is there yet.
A note about the Ukraine impeachment hearings: Shouldnât the other candidates be willing to defend Biden against the attacks by House Republicans and the administration? Shouldnât they spend some time attacking the Republican Party as a corrupt entity that must loose power?
Or, are they worried that the Bidens actually may be a little dirty?
The candidates seem to be relying on a calculation that detailed policies are the right way for their campaigns to win the nomination and ultimately, the election. For Wrongoâs money, the candidates should be attacking Trump, the undemocratic Senate, and Supreme Court. Warren gets closest, with her stressing corruption in the corporate and political domains. But most Democratic primary voters arenât into the wonky details of âmy plan vs. her planâ.
Here’s Wrongoâs take on how they did.
Warren, Buttigieg and Sanders finished in the top tier. Sanders in particular seems to be a better candidate since his heart attack, while Mayor Pete barely squeaks into this group. Warren led the field in talk time with 13.4 minutes to Mayor Peteâs 12.8. Sanders was in fourth place, with 11.8 minutes.
Harris, Booker and Yang are in the second tier. All had strong performances, but Harris in particular seemed to return to the form she showed in the first debate. Itâs interesting, but it may not be enough, particularly since she isnât currently top-three in her home state of California. Yang and Booker made the most of their limited talk time. Yang got 6.9 minutes, vs. 11.5 for Booker and Harris.
Biden, Klobachar and Steyer finished in the third tier. Biden talked for 12.6 minutes, and had good moments, but the gaffes remain. Steyer did well, but should drop out, as should Klobachar.
Gabbard trailed the field.
A few words about trying for consensus with Republicans. When candidates like Biden, Mayor Pete, Booker and Klobachar talk about unity and consensus, Wrongo hears them saying they will not fight for real change to our corrupt system.
Regarding Biden: Heâs from an era where the Parties weren’t as ideologically coherent and polarized as today. There were both conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans, so a liberal Democrat could find common cause with liberal Republicans on certain issues or, with conservative Democrats on other issues on the basis of partisan allegiance.
That doesn’t exist anymore because those guys are gone. Policy success on an issue now depends largely on partisan and ideological alignment. So, all that “working with the other side” means in practical terms, is an expectation of failure.
For Biden, the question should be: “Why aren’t those Republicans who are willing to work with you not defending you now, when you’re at the center of a fabricated scandal?” The basic premise of his candidacy is that his personal connections with Republicans will overcome their ideological or partisan viewpoints, so heâs operating under a delusion.
In sum, the Democrats running for the presidential nomination are beginning to look like Richard Russâs novel âEmpire Fallsâ: The leading Dems are The Old Crank at the End of The Bar, the Slightly Senile and Slightly Pervy Retired Priest, the Woman Schoolteacher Who Knows Everything and the Cub Scout Going for His Presidency Badge. It’s somehow not that lovable here in reality.
A final word about the impact of the impeachment hearings, and how they overlap with the debates. The initial debate question was about the Ukraine scandal and impeachment. From Charlie Pierce: (emphasis by Wrongo)
âThis is an unprecedented moment. A sitting president is under an impeachment inquiry, and likely will undergo a trial in the Senate, while also running for re-election….sooner or later, the issue of whether or not this president should be removed before the voters pass judgment on him is going to come to a very sharp point….â
These arenât simple calculations. So far, there isnât sufficient evidence to get 20 Senate Republicans to vote to convict the President on impeachment articles.
And the Mueller report didnât grab the American public, so it will be ignored by Republicans.
The questions are:
Whether what weâve heard will change the minds of enough Independents and a few Republicans?
And/or, will it fire up enough Democrats so that they turnout and overcome Republican efforts at voter suppression next November?
On Saturday, the twitterverse was alive with the news that Trump made an unscheduled visit to Walter Reed Hospital. At least, that’s the story theyâre putting out there:
âTrump, 73, made an unannounced visit Saturday afternoon to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
âAnticipating a very busy 2020, the President is taking advantage of a free weekend here in Washington, D.C., to begin portions of his routine annual physical exam at Walter Reedâ, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.â
So was something wrong? Nobody who knows the truth is saying, and thereâs an excellent chance you will know the truth before you read this.
There are many theories circulating, including that theyâre trying to extricate Lindsey Graham, whose head is apparently stuck in Trumpâs ass.
There are really just two options: Either Trump had a sudden health scare, or that the White House is so incompetent they had no idea a surprise hospital visit by a president would lead automatically to us believing that something is wrong. On to cartoons.
The real Quid Pro Quo:
Both sides have an argument:
Some will excuse any evidence:
Dems feel theyâre writing the last ticket:
Whatâs good for the goose would never be good enough for the Trump gander:
Long-time Trump adviser Roger Stone guilty on all counts:
âIâm all for super-progressive tax systems….Iâve paid over $10 billion in taxes. Iâve paid more than anyone in taxes. If I had to pay $20 billion, itâs fine. But when you say I should pay $100 billion, then Iâm starting to do a little math about what I have left over….You really want the incentive system to be there without threatening that.â
Hereâs what would actually happen to Gates under Elizabeth Warrenâs tax plan: (emphasis by Wrongo)
“The Warren campaign calculates that under Ms. Warrenâs plan, Mr. Gates would owe $6.379 billion in taxes next year. Notably, that is less than Mr. Gates earned from his investments last year. Even under Ms. Warrenâs plan, thereâs a good chance Mr. Gates would get richer.”
Gates wonât have to pay as much as he thinks. The fundamental question is whether itâs ok for a billionaire to add 6% less to his massive fortune under Warrenâs plan? Can billionaires still be successful executives if they donât pocket every last penny they can lay their hands on?
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg doesnât think the current Democratic presidential field is sufficiently deferential to the rich, so heâs running to make sure we get there.
When you think about it, two billionaires, Bloomberg and Steyer are running as Democrats. A third, Howard Schultz, billionaire behind Starbucks, tried to run as an independent. All wanting the job of billionaire Donald Trump.
Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has said he would fight the Warrenâs taxes on billionaires. Tim Perkins, a billionaire venture capitalist compared the âprogressive war on the American one percentâ to the Kristallnacht and anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany.
Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman of Blackstone, compared a tax increase for people like him to Hitlerâs invasion of Poland.
Why does anyone care about the tax concerns of these people? They never have to think about money, and neither will their heirs. Itâs a familiar story, the astronomically rich are willing to donate large portions of their wealth, so long as interfering with their cozy power relationship with politicians is off the table.
On to cartoons. No plan goes unpunished:
America has a difference of opinion on health insurance:
Bill Barr waves his God flag:
GOP wants to take a few shots at the whistle blower:
Trump misunderstood which turkey could do him a favor:
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kyoto, Japan â hat tip to blog reader Ottho H. for finding this photo.
The first flakes of snow fell on the fields of Wrong on Friday. Temps were around 24° at daybreak, with winds of 20+ mph, so it felt like winter. Weâve emptied the fountain that birds have used since the spring as a source for drinking water. Other than cleaning leaves out of our gutters, which wonât happen until most of the Oak leaves are down, weâre buttoned up for winter.
Whatâs not buttoned up is the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Michael Bloomberg has finally jumped in. The story is that originally he believed Biden would win, so he stayed out. But, most of us believed despite the polls, that Biden had no chance. First, because he is certain to blow himself up as he has in the past. Second, the smell around his son Hunterâs role in Ukraine makes it difficult for Dad Joe to stake out a winning moral position opposed to Trump and his kids.
âIâll be surprised if Michael Bloomberg wins the Democratic nomination. We are living in a political era characterized by economic dissatisfaction and populism, and a 77-year-old Wall Street billionaire doesnât look like an obvious nominee for a left-of-center party during such a time.â
Itâs difficult to know how this shakes out. First, is Bloomberg serious this time? Heâs been down the road this far at least twice before. Second, if heâs in, who gets hurt?
Does Bloomberg hurt the moderates Biden and Buttigieg, while simultaneously helping Sanders and Warren? Is that his plan? Or is Bloomberg underestimating Biden? He canât hope to dent Bidenâs strength with non-whites, so whatâs his path to the nomination? Lots of questions.
Finally, in a follow-up to yesterdayâs column about Elizabeth Warrenâs Medicare for All plan (M4A), hereâs a Cook Political/Kaiser Family Foundation opinion poll about M4A in the key Midwestern battleground states:
It doesnât seem that Warrenâs plan can be a winner in the Midwest.
Weâve had enough of politics and political problems for this week. Itâs time to build a fire and have a Saturday Soother. Letâs start by brewing a mug of Bengal Spice Tea from Celestial Seasonings. Wrongo prefers his with a side of single malt. Now, sit by the fire and contemplate where all of your winter jackets and gloves are hiding.
Next, watch the embedded video by the Apartment Sessions, a Brooklyn NY-based multimedia artist collective that produces monthly videos with a rotating ensemble of NYC/New England-based professional musicians. This performance was recorded for Halloween on a moving âJâ train in the NYC subway. They perform Stevie Wonderâs âSir Dukeâ, with Ben Levin on the Telecaster. Wrongo knows that few people click through to watch the video, but todayâs is a must watch.
Itâs the most fun any of us are likely to have in the NYC subway:
Stand clear of the closing doors please.
Those who read the Wrongologist in email can view the video here.
Wrongo and Ms. Right will be heading back to the US on Monday morning, so this is the last post from London. The news from America was both typical and troubling again this week. But letâs start with a UK-based cartoon from the Financial Times that drives home the point about how long itâs taking to negotiate a Brexit deal:
Meanwhile, back in the USA, the GOP Congress Critters who broke into the hearing were simply following orders:
What happens when you have the best lawyers:
New White House Ukraine strategy:
Letâs send healing thoughts to Jimmy Carter, who broke his pelvis this week:
Nice message from London:
October 2019 iPhone photo by Wrongo
It occurred to Wrongo that the diversity in England is due at least in part to being the headquarters of the British Empire, followed by being a part of the EU for what is now 47 years. With Brexit, those who voted âLeaveâ wish for a country that is less diverse.
Royal Albert Hall, London, noon sound check for tonightâs DJ Spoonyâs Garage Classical show. The show is sold out â October 2019 iPhone photo by Wrongo
The yelling of Republicans in the House can seem muted when youâre 3,000 miles away in England. This, from the Guardian:
âHouse Republicans who tried to storm the secure area in the Capitol where Laura Cooper, the top Pentagon official on Ukraine was testifying, have effectively shut down the interview, according to a senior Democratic lawmaker…More than two dozen House Republicans, led by representative Matt Gaetz, tried to force their way into Cooperâs deposition, even though they are not members of the three committees leading the inquiry…â
The âsecure areaâ is whatâs called a SCIF, or Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. These are sealed conference rooms that are protected from electronic intrusion. They exist so that members of Congress can receive highly classified information about how the nation collects information on its adversaries, and on very sensitive intelligence operations. They exist all over the government, in the military, and in the defense contracting industry. Meeting attendees have to leave their electronic devices outside of the room, under the supervision of a security-cleared attendant.
Some, but not all of Gaetzâs Congressional storm troopers surrendered their devices at the door of the SCIF. Those that didn’t caused a serious security breach. Despite their mob efforts, the deposition itself took place, but after a five-hour delay.
This single party effort to disrupt testimony is significant, and possibly symbolic of where the GOP is today. Cooperâs testimony is on the DODâs response to Trumpâs refusal to provide funds to Ukraine, funds that had been duly appropriated by Congress.
This is the effort by a mob to suppress evidence. From Marcie Wheeler: (brackets by Wrongo)
âIn short, a bunch of Republican Congressmen (and a handful of [Congress] women) are staging a faux riot in order to prevent the DOD from telling Congress how the White House prevented them from following the law that prohibits the White House from withholding funds without a good reason….â
Hat tip to Rep. Pascrell for the term Banana Republicanism.
Marcie also reported that nine of the 43 rogue Congress critters actually sit on the committees that are conducting the inquiry inside the SCIF. Those nine are in the room all the time. They can ask questions of the witnesses. They can file minority reports if they disagree with the majority findings. So they canât expect anyone to believe that theyâre shut out of hearing the classified testimony.
In fact, it is most telling that they apparently arenât leaking anything to the press, or to their colleagues!
Here in the UK, Boris Johnson, the British âTrump-lightâ head of government, reluctantly follows the dictates of the law despite his desire to force feed Brexit to his country. In the US, Trump and his Banana Republican cohort no longer bother to pretend.
Some of these rioters sit on the Judiciary Committee. Others apparently sit on the Armed Services, and Homeland Security Committees. Their actions should lead to getting booted from those committees and instead, being relegated to the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress, or to the Joint Committee on Printing.
The press should be asking GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy if heâs going to remove these people from the committees that handle sensitive information for violating security protocols.
A question for Mac Thornberry, (R-TX), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee:
âShould Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Bradley Byrne lose their seats on Armed Services for the manner in which they violated security protocols?â
A question for Mike Rogers, (R-AL), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee:
âShould Mark Walker, Debbie Lesko, and you, lose your seats on the Homeland Security Committee for violating security protocols?â
This kind of breakdown in the orderly function of the House represents an existential threat to this country. If an opposition party can freely intimidate witnesses and shut down depositions without consequences, then the Constitutionâs power of impeachment is useless.
