Perhaps I’m missing something. As I understand it, the nation is in crisis. The number of COVID cases in the US is approaching 3.4 million and the death toll is rapidly approaching 140,000. There is no sign this is going to turn around any time soon. The economy is operating on the brink with high unemployment rates and a shrinking GDP (Goldman estimates it shrinking by 4.6% in 2020). In addition, as we have all seen on the news recently there is just a tad of civil unrest and demonstrations against ongoing police brutality. And, internationally there is the latest report of Russia putting a bounty on US soldiers in Afghanistan; China reneging on an agreement about the autonomy of Hong Kong; Turkey declaring that a site that has been a World Heritage Site since 1934 is now going to be a mosque; and the ongoing issues with Venezuela, Iran, and basically the rest of the world.
One would think that would be a pretty full plate for a president and Congress to tackle. They all seem like kind of important issues. Americans dying – kind of a big deal. After all, when Ebola arrived in America during Obama’s administration resulting in 2 American deaths, the Republicans talked of how he should be impeached. Hmm. And when 4 American’s were killed in the Benghazi incident, Hillary Clinton was subjected to 7 or 8 separate investigations. Hmm. So far, almost 140,000 Americans have died and the president and Congress are doing ???? Hmm
With the potentially full plate of issues that are facing this country that are adversely affecting the health of the nation, the economy of the nation, and the national security of the nation, let’s take a look at the issues that this president and the Republicans are choosing to spend their time on:
- President Trump felt it was important to grant clemency to his long-time friend Roger Stone who was convicted of multiple crimes, all of which stemmed from an investigation into President Trump.
- President Trump asked Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Munchin, to look into eliminating the tax exempt status of schools and universities. The US education system is already falling behind other places in the world and I’m sure this will help accelerate that decline
- And speaking of education – the administration is saying they won’t renew the visas for any student at a university which switches to totally remote classes (the university taking such action to presumably protect the health of their students, teachers and the communities in which they live).
- President Trump is very vocally pushing for all schools to fully open this fall, in spite of the pandemic. Hmm? And he and Secretary of Education, Betsy Davos, are threatening to withhold funding for those schools that do not comply – which is right up Betsy Davos’ alley since she is doing everything, she can to defund public education and push money into private charter schools.
- The White House and Republicans in Congress are trying to discredit, Dr. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert. This is part of the standard Trump playbook – never admit your mistakes and always find a scapegoat. Character assassination is one of Trump’s favorite sports.
- Senator Lindsay Graham has stated that he will have Robert Mueller testify before the Senate judiciary committee.
- Senator McConnell is only interested in pushing more conservative judges onto the bench which he is able to do with amazing dispatch. But every time a bill comes over from the House of Representatives, he puts it in his desk drawer and it never again sees the light of day.
- And lastly, the president is, of course, spending a lot of brain cells on how to get re-elected, in spite of dreadful poll numbers.
As a citizen, I sure wish the president and his supporters in Congress would get more focused on the really big problems. I kind of feel like we’re all on the Titanic, there’s a gaping hole in the side, we’re taking on water and the president and his supporters are telling all of us to go enjoy the buffet in the dining room as opposed to having us muster near the life boats.
There is an old saying, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned,” and I’m sorely afraid that is what we are witnessing. The nation is on fire and Trump and his associates are fiddling around. Perhaps the more appropriate adage for today is, “Trump golfed while America burned.”
Good article. Your article shows a common thread in the Republican Party. A scenario of a Nixon redux would be a good example if Nixon didn’t get caught on the tapes and remained president. Nixon would have pardoned the whole “Plummers” group like Trump is going to do with his “Plummers” group. There has been an anarchist element in the Republican Party that wants to destroy the Democratic Party even if they have to break the law. These Republicans consider all Democrats as Communists since Nixon was on the board of John McCarthy during that witch hunt in the 1950s and I believe this anarchist group in the Republican Party consider the Democrats as an enemy to our country that gives them their justification. I believe that their foundation comes from the John Birch Society. The John Birch Society (JBS) is an advocacy group supporting anti-communism and limited government. It has been described as a radical right and far-right organization.
And the list goes on Mike, it’s really disgusting. My view is that we need to get the D’s in control of the executive and legislative branches and then they need to immediately “repair” the faults in our democracy that (1) allow a candidate to win the presidency while losing the popular vote; (2) get rid of the cheating mechanisms (e.g. voter suppression, gerrymandering) and corruption / influence peddling (PACs and Super PACs); and (3) fix the mechanisms that are now allowing the executive branch to operate corruptly and without oversight. These issues have been with us for way too long and it’s time to fix them before the next version of the current moron shows up.