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7/20/2018

RESISTANCE, INSISTENCE and PERSISTENCE = A NEW DAY IS DAWNING!


By now, we probably all know much of what Donald J. Trump said and did in Helsinki (and afterward).  I will spare you all the quotes, and instead  list a few examples of what some others had to say:

Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???  (John O. Brennan, in widely reported tweet (16 July 2018)

You have been watching one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president at a summit in front of a Russian leader that I’ve ever seen. (Anderson Cooper, in his first comments after the end of joint Putin-Trump news conference, as quoted in "TV Anchors Agape After the Trump-Putin Appearance" by Michael M. Grynbaum in The New York Times (16 July 2018)

President Trump must clarify his statements in Helsinki on our intelligence system and Putin. It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected — immediately.  (Newt Gingrich, in tweet after the Helsinki summit news conference (16 July 2018)

Because Trump is unable to see past himself, he sees the Russia meddling investigation as only about him and the collusion claim, and thus calls it a witch hunt. But the investigations are much more about what Russia did, as the House and Senate reports long since established. 
This is a disgraceful moment. … The president’s party knows better. I know they do. I served with many of them. America needs them to speak out with clarity and conviction not just in this news cycle, but until there’s common sense governing America’s foreign policy.  (Brit Hume, on Trump's responses to questions at Helsinki, in tweet (16 July 2018)

And more from multiple sources:  Just a few of the comments that I heard on TV from politicians, guests on political news, experts in intelligence and many more related to the disastrous remarks made by Donald Trump at Helsinki press conference with Vladimir Putin.

giving aid and comfort to an adversary (“enemy”)
against his oath to “defend the Constitution of the United States"
Took word of a lying, murderous dictator against that of his own government
refused to back his own country; siding with Putin
Trump has colluded with Russia on cover-up of election interference (a cyber-attack) – an act of betrayal at least; is providing cover by questioning US intelligence services
investigation of Russian collusion is driving policy;  lack of concern about cyber attack

And so, bigger questions begin to arise:
 Is this enough to make Republicans stand up and defend this country instead of defending Putin and Trump?

While some leaders have come forth with very critical statements, like those of Senators John McCain of Arizona, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, plus Gov. Kasich of Ohio, and others like John Brennan, former head of the CIA and Dan Coats, current CIA head, there are still very disturbing indications that the rank and file aren’t the least upset by the buffoonery and possibly treasonous behavior of Mr. Trump.

We need to take a look at a recent poll of 453 Republicans and 399 Democrats conducted by Reuters/Ipsos  after his controversial summit and joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “More than half of Americans disapprove of the way U.S. President Donald Trump is handling relations with Russia,” 

However, his general level of support has not changed that much, according to that same poll:  “Forty-two percent of registered voters said they approved of Trump’s performance in office in the latest opinion poll, compared with a daily average of between 40 and 44 percent so far in July.”
“Among Republicans, 71 percent approved of his handling of Russia compared to 14 percent of Democrats.  Trump still enjoys broad support among Republican voters despite criticism from party leaders about his words and actions while standing alongside the Russian leader answering questions from reporters, the poll results showed.”

There may be another level of questioning being undertaken.  According to a report about cyber space, there was a decided jump in searches for the words “treason” and “traitor” – by over 1,300%!  Of course, there is no way to know what percentage of which Party was most concerned with these phrases, but one thing is clear:  people are questioning the substance of what Trump was displaying.

Finally, the NY Times identified a small break, perhaps, in the Teflon protection previously afforded Trump based on interviews held with Republican voters across the country, along with a sample of swing voters who “appeared to process Mr. Trump’s comments with alarm.”
But whatever ‘break’ there may seem to be over Russia and Trump’s performance at Helsinki, the Times had this assessment: 

“They quickly sorted themselves into two camps: those who winced at the episode, or at least questioned it, and those who continued to defend Mr. Trump without hesitation.

If history is a guide — and polling, too — the second group is significantly larger within the party. And for Mr. Trump’s true loyalists, the Helsinki meeting and its aftermath have once more inspired a sense of fury and grievance on his behalf. It is not merely that they support the president in spite of his Russia stance, like Republican lawmakers who grimace at times but largely embrace his agenda. Increasingly, these voters have absorbed Mr. Trump’s every viewpoint, his scapegoats, even his language tics as their own.”

And so, we come inevitably to a question that has gone unaddressed in too many quarters, (including in Congress and in the DNC, for instance):
Can people still support Trump and not thereby become complicit in “adhering to” and “giving aid and comfort to the enemy”?  In other words: supporting Trump now has the strong possibility of being translated into protecting and aiding Putin and Russia, an enemy sworn to destroy American influence at the least, and American way of life and form of government at most.

Is it therefore incumbent on the rest of us to defeat the forces of “aid and comfort?”  Personally, I believe it is time for the leaders of the Democratic Party to realize the gravity of this fight.  But just as gravely important are the attitudes and involvement of the grassroots voters in this fight. 

 I raise another question:  under these circumstances, can the complacency and inaction among grassroots Democrats and Independents also be seen as complicity in the battle for our values, our norms, our principles and our democracy?

We are now at a juncture in our history – like the Revolution or the Civil War – where we have to decide what matters; to decide what form of government we shall have.  To decide whether, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, the current government has become so “destructive…it is the right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”  
                          
The Declaration includes this caution: “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes… But when a long train of abuses and usurpations…evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government , and to provide new guards for their future security.”

It is now past time for resisters and activists to demonstrate beyond the picket lines that our form of government may be the best ever conceived, but right now, is in dire need of repair.  At such moments, and historic junctures, we must re-examine our fundamental principles and values.  Because, believe it or not, this fight between the forces of destruction, and the forces of construction and reform is always fought basically over principles and values.  Example:  the philosophy behind fascism or communism against the forces of democratic equality and freedom always comes down to the issue of what, above all,  is valued the most. 

We are in a battle for the principles of rule of law, not of men; of right and peace against war and destruction.  We are in a fight for the values of equality before the law and equal opportunity; for the ultimate authority of the People’s will – free and fair elections, for instance.  We are in a struggle to maintain the fundamental rights of all people to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness; which has to be translated into structures, institutions, policies and procedures that enhance that vision, not shatter it. 

We cannot allow attacks upon children, women, seniors, veterans; or, upon labor, those with disabilities and special challenges, the poor, that portion of the  population that is weak from age and disease.  We cannot abide the destructive and worthless values of narrow nationalism, false patriotism as well as racism and any other prejudice that might determine our future.  We must not give in to know-nothing forces that encourage the destruction of our environment (and our planet).  We cannot allow a contrary ethic of profit and enrichment for an oligarchic elite to finance the destruction of the humanitarian state that believes that the well-being of human beings transcends the division, the inequality and yes, the expense of maintaining an aristocracy that seeks to be free from the constraints and guidelines – norms – that the rest of us accept in order to enhance and protect the lives of all.

It is past time to re-claim our values and our foundational principles.  It will take another Declaration, not of Independence, but of common purpose.  And it will take a bolder spirit of reform and change than we have mustered to this point.  We must become the Vanguard of Truth, of Justice for all, of Equality and Opportunity - the front line, not just of resistance, but of INSISTENCE that our system has become encrusted with false values and with structures and institutions that are not in sync with a future that is impinging upon us at this moment. 
We have not been bold enough to make the changes that must be made to release our democratic values from the cage in which they  have been constrained, separated from their parental principles.  We must put People first, for that is what makes this country great.  We must resurrect our basic principles in new forms and structures that put people before profit.  We must rejuvenate our larger vision of a world at peace, and not at each other’s throats.  We must lead in re-strengthening a world organization, not withdrawing support and resources thus undermining it. 

There is so much to do, and so little time.  Let us Persist by not just opposing approval of Brett Cavanaugh for Justice of the SCOTUS.  Let us find someone (of whatever political background) who has shown dedication, not to a political philosophy or ideology, but to a set of humanitarian principles and values that will inform each decision made (perhaps similar to Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland).  Let the people find him or her and let us tell Donald Trump and his captured legislators that this is who we want on the Supreme Court, rather than someone chosen by mouthpieces for the Right-wing radicals.  After such a clear alternative is presented to, and rejected by Donald Trump, let us turn to voting out of office all those who keep ignoring our values, our needs and our fundamental right to be heard on all matters before this government. 

Second step: we must Get Out the Vote in November to demonstrate that a new wave is breaking, a new movement is being born, and that representatives who cast their lot and their votes to maintain welfare for the rich are dinosaurs who cannot lead us from this lowest point of our democracy into a new world of Reform and Reconstruction – only the People have that authority and that resolve!  SO, let us resolve to vote in droves on November 6th, 2018, and let us alert Jurassic Park to expect some new residents!