Republicans railed against federal budget deficits when a Democrat was in the White House.  Now they don’t think red ink is such a big deal.  The budget busting tax cut they rammed through Congress last December confirmed their hypocrisy.  Some conservatives in the U.S. House continue to complain about the burgeoning federal debt but they are eager to use it as a battering ram to breakdown the social safety net and weaken the federal government.

President Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal years 2019 through 2028 didn’t get much attention in the media this spring but it provides a partial blueprint for the Republican agenda.  Thanks to the Congressional Budget Office and Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation we have a detailed analysis of Trump’s spending plans.  Every voter needs understand what he’s proposing before November.  Make no mistake; this election will have huge consequences.

As expected, Trump wants to extend and make permanent those provisions of the 2017 tax act that are due to expire in 2025.  This will add another $600 billion to federal deficits over 10 years.  To offset the revenue lost due to his tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, Trump wants to scale back federal programs and services.

Health care is always the number one target of GOP spending cuts, particularly Medicaid.  Trump’s budget assumes the complete repeal of Obamacare, which would cancel the Medicaid expansion in 33 states and eliminate the federal subsidies it provides to purchase health insurance.  Federal Medicaid funding would be capped on a per-enrollee, inflation-adjusted basis and states would receive block grants to manage the health care needs of its less fortunate citizens.  Total federal support for Medicaid over the next decade would be reduced by almost $1 trillion, leaving millions of Americans without adequate health insurance.

Medicare is one of the most popular federal programs and one of the most expensive.  Perhaps because Trump promised not to touch Medicare during the campaign his budget only cuts $114 billion from Medicare spending over 10 years.  Still, his proposals would require Medicare Part D beneficiaries to pay higher out-of-pocket expenses for some prescription drugs and reduce Medicare payments to certain health care providers.  Most Republicans in Congress favor much deeper cuts.  They want to transition Medicare from a government entitlement to a premium support program where profit-minded insurance companies would control health care for the elderly.

Another favorite for Republican spending cuts is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), which helps needy individuals purchase food.  The Trump budget would cut $70 billion from this program through 2028.  Republicans will also push to impose strict work requirements that will eliminate many current beneficiaries.

The President’s oft touted trillion-dollar infrastructure program isn’t funded in his budget.  He provides for a mere $43 billion in more spending to repair roads, bridges, airports and the like over the coming decade.

Trump would only reduce Social Security benefits by around $18 billion over 10 years.  Most of that would result from some restrictions on disability insurance benefits.  But congressional Republicans want to further reduce benefits by applying a lower annual inflation adjustment rate called chained CPI.  Many of our elderly would suffer even if a few dollars were cut from their monthly benefits. And over time these yearly reductions would add up.

The President proposes cutting subsidies for federal student loans that would save the government $103 billion between 2019 and 2028 and he would reduce outlays for job training.  Trump would increase defense spending by $674 billion and slash budgets for other government agencies by a whopping 37 percent ($2 trillion) over the next decade.  The State Department, the EPA, the Small Business Administration, the Transportation Department and the Agriculture Department would be degraded by budget cuts from 29 to 15 percent respectively.  Federal funding for education would also be cut significantly.

Republicans frequently talk about freedom – except, of course, for a woman’s reproductive rights and the LGBT community.  Primarily they mean freedom from government control.  But I keep wondering what they envision for the average American?  What public good is accomplished by giving tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy?  How is the welfare of the nation improved by cutting health care benefits and food stamp funding?  Whose life is improved when environmental protections are eliminated and public education is downgraded?  And how is the Republican brand of “freedom” good for the elderly, the poor, the sick and the hungry?

The way I see it, there are three major components of American society, the people, the government and corporations.  The people have lost significant influence due to special interest money in politics while major corporations have steadily gained power.  These large entities aren’t concerned about public welfare; their quest is to increase shareholder profits.  Yet Trump, who campaigned as a “drain the swamp” populist, and the GOP want to cripple the federal agencies that are responsible for protecting us from corporate abuses.  Isn’t it obvious that the deep budget cuts Trump is proposing will eventually leave Americans at the mercy of a corporate plutocracy?

Wresting control of Congress from Republicans this fall isn’t just about getting some leverage over Trump and applying real oversight to the corruption that is permeating his administration.  It’s also about preventing wealthy special interests from gaining more control over “we the people.”

Thanks to a recording system set up by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940, Richard M. Nixon’s presidency is an open book – literally.  His good, bad and ugly were memorialized by 3,400 hours of audio tapes.  By his own words, Nixon showed precisely what a United States president must never do.  And his paranoid rantings and criminal demands are totally shocking.

Nixon surrounded himself with ruthless men who were eager to do his bidding.  Domestic policy advisor, John Ehrlichman, White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and Attorney General John Mitchell were the main perpetrators of Nixon’s crimes.  White House Counsel John Dean joined the terrible trio in July 1970.   Louis Patrick Gray III took over as acting director of the FBI when J. E. Hoover died in May 1972.  Of these, only Gray escaped jail time.

Much of the following was gleaned from the archives of presidential recordings maintained by the Miller Center.  These recordings and recording transcripts are of conversations in the Oval Office and elsewhere.  They are too detailed to quote word for word but the substance of just a few of them is quite telling.

In June 1971 Nixon believed the Brookings Institution had a secret file on President Lyndon Johnson’s plan to halt the bombing in North Vietnam.  He wanted to use it to discredit former Johnson administration officials.  He told Haldeman to implement “Huston’s plan,” which involved illegal break-ins, wiretaps and mail openings of domestic terrorists.  National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, who was present at the meeting, mildly pushed back.  Nixon continued “I want it implemented on a thievery basis. Goddamn it, get in and get those files. Blow the safe and get it.”

Attorney General John Mitchell, Nixon’s former campaign chairman, was up to his eyeballs in the Watergate break-in and the cover-up.  But he was also doing Nixon’s illegal bidding at various times during his tenure.  In October 1971, after the Los Angeles Times published an article “Illegal Aliens Seized in Plant of Woman Named US Treasurer,” Nixon ordered Mitchell to go after Times publisher Otis Chandler and his family (“every one of these SOBs”) using the IRS and immigration authorities.  Mitchell responded, “Yes sir.”

The tape that brought Nixon down was recorded on June 23, 1972, just six days after the break-in at the Watergate complex.  Haldeman tells Nixon the Democratic break-in is a problem because the FBI is “not under control.”  He suggests the way to handle this “is for us to have (deputy CIA director Vernon) Walters call (FBI Director) Pat Gray and just say, ‘Stay the hell out of this.’”  Nixon questioned why Gray didn’t want to do it.  Haldeman responds that he doesn’t know how — but if the CIA requests it, he will.  Then Nixon uttered the fatal words and obstructed justice “You call him (Walters). Good. Good deal. Play it tough.”

In the wake of Nixon’s resignation in 1974 and the Watergate debacle, President Gerald Ford’s attorney general, Edward Levi, and President Jimmy Carter’s attorney general Griffin Bell worked to create an independent Justice Department and the modern American concept of the rule of law.  They understood that Nixon viewed the Justice Department as an instrument of power — not justice.  Levi said “Our law is not an instrument of partisan purpose,” or “anyone’s weapon.”  Both stanchly supported the Justice Department as a “neutral zone in government,” independent of political influence.  Think of Lady Justice with a sword, a blindfold and a balance scale.  They believed the administration of justice must be fair, effective and totally nonpartisan.

Since then, presidents through Barack Obama have kept their fingers off the scales of justice.  But then came President Donald Trump.  He has repeatedly called for prosecution of Hillary Clinton and former FBI director James Comey.  He casually stated during an interview with the New York Times: “I have absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department.”  Like Nixon, he obviously believes the federal government is his to use as he pleases

Recent reports indicate that Trump met secretly with U. S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan several times and urged her to double the shipping rates for Amazon.com.  After his numerous tweets attacking Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos, it’s clear that his target is Bezos, the owner of another of his frequent targets, The Washington Post.  Through all of Trump’s abuses, Republicans in Congress have been pathetically silent or blatantly enabling him.

Yes, Trump mimics Nixon in many ways — but I believe he poses a much greater threat to this nation.  Trump refused to produce his tax returns and got away with it.  He didn’t divest his business interests when he took office – and he got away with it.  He has tested his limits with the GOP numerous times and finds there aren’t any.

Now Trump is pushing to control the Justice Department.  If he gets away with that too, what can stop him from becoming America’s version of Vladimir Putin?   In time Trump’s unethical operatives, like EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, will dominate the Supreme Court and the Justice Department and both will then do his bidding.  As in Putin’s Russia, the America’s rule of law will be stymied and the free press muffled.

If there’s ever been a more important midterm election than this one, I don’t remember it.

Republican campaign rhetoric always whips up the crowd with several polarizing issues, protecting Second Amendment rights, stopping abortions, bashing the liberal media and preventing immigration.  But can we talk about some other important issues that you might want to consider?

Whoa!  No need to bring up Obama and Clinton.  I won’t mention them.  Hold on, I won’t talk about anything I heard on CNN or MSNBC.  Hey, give me a break. I was born in Iowa; I’m a gun owner; I was a registered Republican for over 50 years.  Ok — are we good now?

Other than your loved ones, what would provide the most quality for your life?  If you didn’t say good health is number one or two, I’m wondering what you’re thinking.  Can we agree that your health is important for your wellbeing?  Ok.  Are you on Medicare or hope be on Medicare?  Today you simply apply when you’re eligible and receive a card that’s accepted by most health care providers.  You get lifetime coverage with no caps regardless of preexisting conditions.

Let me tell you what House Republicans proposed in their latest budget.  They want to convert Medicare to a “premium support system.”  Congress will appropriate a certain amount of funding each year for a voucher that you can use as “support” to buy health insurance from an insurance company.  Actually, their plan looks something like Obamacare with politicians controlling your subsidy.

At the same time, Republicans would cut almost $500 billion from Medicare funding over the next 10 years.  Are you comfortable with profit-minded insurance companies controlling your health care and Congress controlling the amount you get to buy coverage?   I’m not.

Perhaps you think Medicaid is a welfare program that benefits people who won’t work.  Well, just ask your local hospital administrator what would happen if Medicaid funding were severely cut.  See what she thinks about the Republican budget that would cut $1.5 trillion from Medicaid and other health care programs over the next 10 years.  These cuts would financially stress rural hospitals, forcing many to significantly raise rates or shut down their emergency room facilities or even close altogether.  You may think Medicaid funding cuts won’t affect you or increase your health insurance premiums — but most certainly they will.

Did the Republican tax reform give you a large increase in your take home pay?  Not much?  Do you own a bunch of Apple stock?  No?  Well, this stellar high-tech company just completed a $22.8 billion stock buyback that was aided by the GOP corporate tax cut.  Plus, Apple announced plans to purchase $100 billion more of its shares and approved a dividend increase of 16%.  Shareholders were thrilled.

But Apple isn’t unique.  The tax cut helped numerous companies buy back shares. According to an article by financial network CNBC, share buybacks in 2018 have averaged $4.8 billion per day, double the pace from the same period last year.  Share buybacks increase share prices and shareholder wealth but do nothing for worker’s wages or the economy.  Wage increases for working families continue to barely exceed inflation.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities separated U.S. taxpayers into five income levels. Think of them as stair steps to the top incomes.  Three steps up is the middleclass where the average tax cut benefit is estimated to be $910.  The next step up is the upper middleclass that will receive an average of $1,680.  The fabled top one percent will receive an average tax cut benefit of $61,090.

So, unless you’re really rich, your tax cut won’t come close to buying a riding lawnmower while the top one percent can buy a nice luxury automobile.  Even the average tax cut of $7,460 for those at the fifth step – the top 20 percent of incomes — won’t come close to paying the yearly premiums for comprehensive health care insurance.

Do you wonder what happened to Mr. Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan?  There’s probably no better use of taxpayer money.  These projects are guaranteed to create good paying jobs and improve the economies of many rural areas that need the boost.  Well, no matter what Mr. Trump says, it won’t be happening this year or perhaps for several years.  The Trump/GOP tax cut has pushed the budget deficits into dangerous territory, leaving scant funds for a significant infrastructure program – or anything else.

There’s no doubt many good paying jobs have left the U.S. but studies show that automation is the real culprit – and that trend will only accelerate.  Your children and grandchildren will need a better education to compete for the good jobs of the future.  But Republicans in Congress are proposing significant cuts to job training and education funding.  Republican-controlled states like Kansas and Oklahoma have cut education funding in order to give tax cuts to the wealthy.  That’s why teachers in five of these states have been striking.

Most American families can’t afford private schools.  So funding cuts will leave their kids or grandkids with aging schools, outdated books, old computers and crowded classrooms.  Few things are more important for your children’s future than a good education.

Your concerns about guns, abortion and immigrants are important to you and deserve consideration.  But you shouldn’t let ambitious politicians use them to deflect your attention from the health care and education issues that will truly improve life for you and your family.

These strong words of warning were defiantly spoken last Tuesday by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the Freedom Forum Institute.  Rosenstein is a Republican, appointed to his position by President Trump.  But his oath to uphold the rule of law is obviously preeminent.

Rosenstein was responding to questions about recent threats by U.S. House Republicans to impeach him if he doesn’t hand over classified documents they demanded.  These documents are key to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.  Justice Department policy requires that such documents remain confidential so as not to compromise the Department’s investigative process.

These policies are the bulwark of “the rule of law.” We hear this phrase frequently — but what does it really entail?  First and foremost, it means we are a nation of laws, starting with the Constitution.  All individuals and entities within the jurisdiction of the United States are subject to these laws, including all officials of the government, members of Congress and the president.

The rule of law includes recognition of the separation of powers with a judicial branch independent from the executive and legislative branches and law enforcement by the Justice Department that is not influenced by the executive branch.  Rosenstein’s recent speeches indicate he fears that the Justice Department’s independence is being threatened.  After all, if the president can dictate which cases the Justice Department  pursues and who the FBI investigates the nation becomes more like a dictatorship.

Chief among the documents requested by House Republicans is an August 2017 memo defining the scope of Mueller’s authority to investigate collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.  Spearheading the efforts to get these documents is House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a close confidant of Trump.  Members of the FBI and the Justice Department have come to believe that Meadows intends to share these documents with Trump, a primary subject of the investigation.  This would result in an obstruction of justice and a violation of the separation of powers.

But let’s get back to the oath.  Not many employees have this requirement for their job — to swear to protect and defend the Constitution.  The president and members of Congress certainly take that oath, as do employees of the Justice Department.  I took a similar oath to be admitted to the practice of law.  Lawyers who violate that oath, or the ethical rules that state bar associations enforce, can lose their license to practice – and frequently do.  Politicians who violate their oath rarely suffer the consequences.

Certainly, Rosenstein has chosen to put defending the Constitution above his Republican Party affiliation.  Unfortunately, many other members of the GOP are more concerned about protecting Trump and their Party than violating their oath.

A prime example is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who appeared last Wednesday on Fox News with Sean Hannity.  As a former U.S. Attorney and friend of numerous FBI agents, he knows that the search warrants executed on Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen were authorized by a judge and carried out in an orderly manner.   Yet he described federal agents as “Stormtroopers” “breaking down” Cohen’s apartment and office like they were the Nazi Gestapo. It was a disgraceful display of putting partisanship over truth and integrity.

Like Giuliani, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is another one of many Republican oath-takers who are putting party above the Constitution.  He was responsible for conducting an investigation of Russian interference in the election.  Historically, his committee has been a bipartisan body focused on seeking the truth for the public.  Nunes, who worked on the Trump transition team, turned it into a partisan donnybrook bent on exculpating Trump and vilifying Mueller.  He subverted a basic tenet of the rule of law, separation of powers.

Worst of all, of course, is President Donald J. Trump.  He not only took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, he is charged with the responsibility of faithfully executing the laws of this country.  To a great extent, the rule of law is in his hands.  Yet he weakens it in numerous ways, like stating he will do what he wants with the Justice Department and suggesting the FBI should be investigating his political opponents.  Like former President Richard Nixon, Trump sees the law as an instrument of power, not justice.

Make no mistake, what makes America great, strong and prosperous is the rule of law.  That’s why the United States became a superpower and why it ascended to the leadership of the free world.  It’s why foreigners have confidence in U.S. Treasury bonds when the financial markets get rough and why immigrant entrepreneurs have flocked to our shores.

For defending the rule of law, Rod Rosenstein may lose his job.  At the same time, Trump and his Republican enablers are weakening it with attacks on the press, the judiciary and the Justice Department.  Trump and his family brazenly use his presidency to enrich themselves.  And his cabinet members treat the U.S. Treasury as their personal bank account.

If the precedents Trump and his administration are setting take root, this nation will have abandoned President Ronald Reagan’s vision of America as a “shinning city on a hill.”  In fact, under Trump, its shine is already beginning to dull and its place on the hill is slipping.

Democratic governments rarely collapse with a sudden explosion; they erode – sometimes imperceptibly — as the structure that supports them and the fabric that holds them together slowly weakens until they implode.

The decline in America’s democracy didn’t just start 10 years ago, of course; but it accelerated due to the right-wing reaction when Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president in 2008.  No doubt many white Republican men felt threatened by this milestone event; it was an affront to their political dominance.  And no doubt their irrational backlash was fueled by the conservative media, conspiracy theorists and Internet bloggers.

The Tea Party movement and the politicians they help elect in 2010 demanded dramatic reductions in government spending but I believe their visceral feelings were more about a black president than deficits.  The racial issue, even if subliminal, tainted the discourse on Obama’s policies, making everything he attempted unacceptable.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had his finger in the political wind and assembled his caucus in 2009 for a strategy meeting.  The decision was to carefully obstruct everything the popular new president attempted to do.  In 2010 McConnell even proclaimed that his sole objective was to make Obama a one-term president.  He totally obliterated any hope that the GOP minority would act as the “the loyal opposition” — a concept attributed to the great Republican senator from Illinois, Ev Dirksen.  McConnell’s position severely damaged the comity so important for an effective legislative body and stymied compromise with Democrats.

Republicans took control of numerous state governments after the 2010 census and elections.  They promptly engaged in a gerrymandering process that is still the subject of litigation.  Both parties have engaged in partisan redistricting over the years; but in 2011 Republicans carried it to the extreme.  Using racial demographics, they designed ridiculously shaped congressional districts to ensure the election of more Republicans.   It worked, but the result was an undemocratic skewing of the election results.

The Supreme Court decision in the 2010 Citizen’s United case stifled democracy like no other in decades.  The conservative majority ruled in essence that corporations and unions are people under the free speech clause of the First Amendment and that money is speech.  As a result, super PACs and “social welfare” nonprofits were allowed to spend unlimited amounts indirectly supporting candidates for office.  This gave wealthy special interests – some of them anonymous – coercive power over candidates for office.  Republicans rejoiced; democracy suffered.

McConnell failed with his one-term agenda for Obama but he was very successful in many other ways.  He weaponized the filibuster in the Senate to block Obama’s legislative agenda and appointments.  In the House, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) refused to bring legislation to the floor for a vote unless it was supported by a majority of his caucus.  What ensued was damaging congressional polarization and gridlock.  These types of hyper-partisan political maneuvers poison the democratic processes, inviting equally damaging reprisals from Democrats.

In 2012 the conservative majority on the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Nine — mostly southern — states would no longer be required to get advanced federal approval to change election laws.  Texas, North Carolina and other Republican-controlled states soon enacted strict voter ID laws that shortened early voting days and limited voter registration opportunities.  They made it harder for minorities, the elderly and college students to vote.  You know, likely Democrats.

These laws have also been the subject of much litigation but the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently dropped a key objection in its case against Texas’ voter ID laws and did a “180” when it switched to supporting Ohio in a case involving an allegedly illegal purging of inactive voters from the rolls.   If the DOJ won’t protect citizen’s rights to vote, will the Supreme Court?  Well, if Trump and McConnell have their way, the “court of last resort” will have more justices who think like Sessions.

The rapid decline in democracy since 2008 can be attributed in part to the erosion of political “norms.”  Harvard professor Steven Levitsky called norms the “soft guardrails for democracy.”  They are unwritten rules of conduct, civility and ethics that keep the democratic processes more grounded — on the straight and narrow so to speak.

Many Americans may not be cognizant of these important guidelines that have shaped U.S. democratic governance for decades.  Here are a few examples:

·       The Justice Department and FBI maintain political independence from the President;

·       Presidential candidates disclose their tax returns and are open about their finances;

·       The president and government officials relinquish control of their business interests         to avoid conflict of interest concerns;

·       Politicians don’t suggest that political opponents be jailed.

Historically norms have been effective because officials who violated them were punished by the voters and their peers.  Democracy stayed strong.  Now, when Trump and Republicans crash through the norm guardrails they are frequently applauded by supporters and ignored by the Republican leadership.  This acquiescence creates a pathway to a corrupt, undemocratic government.

Some want to stop the Republican assault on democracy by impeaching Trump.  Hopefully, he is forced to resign in disgrace, but I don’t believe impeaching him would be good for the country.  It would likely exacerbate the polarization and reprisal politics that can tear a democracy apart.

We need to vote the SOBs out of office.  That’s the democratic way.

Remember all that Republican hoopla last year about their tax reform?  It would pay for itself by spurring economic growth to three or four percent for years to come.  Manufacturing would come back to the United States, millions of good-paying jobs would be created and wages would increase significantly.  Well, the recent 10-year projection of federal budgets and the U.S. economy by the Congressional Budget Office just flushed all that manure down the toilet.

The nonpartisan CBO’s report made big headlines in the media last Monday.  It contains disturbing data that is sure to affect the finances of all Americans.  Unfortunately, the numerous articles about its dire predictions were quickly obscured by the FBI raid on the offices of President Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen.

This report sounds the alarm on the burgeoning federal debt that is projected to be more than $33 trillion in 2028 — a 57 percent increase from the current debt.  The GOP tax cut last December and the omnibus spending bill Congress passed in February accounted for most of the increase since the last ominous CBO projection in June 2017.

What does this mean for the average American?  CBO director Keith Hall said “Such high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences for the budget and the nation.”  He added, “In particular, the likelihood of a fiscal crisis in the United States would increase.”  Hall warned, “The longer you wait, the more draconian the measures have to be to fix the problem.”   Ouch!

According to the CBO, interest on the debt will exceed government spending on defense by 2023 and will approach $1 trillion a year by 2028 — more than triple the 2017 interest costs. Numerous economists believe the rising deficits will drive up interest rates, slow the economy and add even more red ink in federal budgets.  Needless to say, the stock markets will react quite negatively too.

The CBO report dashes the unrealistic hope that the tax reform would pay for itself by spurring economic growth.  Instead it will slash federal revenues over 10 years by almost $1.3 trillion and add almost $1.9 trillion to the national debt, including interest.  The report does project economic growth of 3.3 percent in this election year as Republicans hoped, but that growth will recede during the remainder of the decade and is anticipated to average 1.9 percent.

The Trump administration hyped the tax reform as a job creator and wage booster.  In fact, they claimed it would add a minimum of $4,000 to the incomes of the average family.  The CBO report projects a marginal boost to jobs and wages over the next decade, with a per year average of 1.1 million extra jobs and 0.9 percent added increase for salaries and wages.

But here’s the thing.  Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress have filled the economic landscape with uncertainty.  Republicans claimed corporations would invest their huge tax cut in new plants and equipment.  But businesses are concerned that Trump’s tariffs will cause a trade war and they worry that Trump will upset or back out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.  Meanwhile, free trade-loving congressional Republicans simply shrug.

Will companies be eager to invest when the future is so cloudy?  I don’t think so.  In fact, I believe the uncertainty will significantly lower the 3.3 percent growth the CBO projects for 2018.

Critics of the GOP tax plan claimed it was sloppily written and full of errors, that it would do immense harm to the nation’s finances, that corporations would mainly use their windfall tax cut to buy back stock and that Republicans would use the huge deficits it creates to attack so-called entitlement programs.  All of these concerns are becoming realities.

The tax reform’s low corporate rates were supposed to provide incentive for companies keep their manufacturing facilities in the U.S. but the CBO found that certain provisions of the new tax code could encourage multinationals to move plants and machinery off shore.  It’s too early to know if this will happen but it’s another red flag.

Two things, however, are certain at this point.  The recent tax reform and current spending plans have greatly exacerbated the nation’s fiscal problems.  The GOP-led Congress has no realistic plan to correct the current trajectory of the deficits.  In fact, Trump and some congressional allies want to extend the individual income tax provisions that will expire in 2025.  That could add another $1 trillion or so to the deficits.

The GOP model of tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy have failed in Republican-led states all over the country, with Kansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana as prime examples.  Republican legislators in these states cut funding for education to help solve revenue shortfalls and meet balanced budget requirements.  This deprives their children of the skills necessary to compete in today’s economy.  Dumb!

At the federal level Republicans will attempt to turn Medicare into a premium support program that will put beneficiaries at the mercy of insurance companies, cut funding for Medicaid with block grants to the states and decrease Social Security benefits.  It’s part of their “give to those who don’t need it and take from those who do” philosophy.  Dumber!

So far, 46 Republicans have recently retired or decided not seek reelection to Congress, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).  Let’s try to make sure a lot more of them will be retired in November.

The Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index for 2017 shows people across the country are more depressed than they were during the Great Recession.  Despite low unemployment and rising wages, interviews with over 160,000 adults nationwide indicate that overall Americans don’t think their general well-being is improving.  Obviously, they are concerned about more than just the economy.

Twenty-one states had statistically significant declines in well-being last year, with emotional and psychological factors dominating.  Contentment with jobs and relationships has deteriorated in states from Washington to North Carolina and from Arizona to Maine – and no state experienced a statistically significant increase in well-being.  By contrast, the 2009 Index showed that 15 states had declines in well-being when money and financial worries were the major factors and unemployment reached 10 percent.

This report isn’t surprising to me and in some ways, it’s even heartening.  Apparently, voters are not comfortable with the chaos in the White House or the dysfunction in our government.  Commenting on the problem, Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, observed, “We don’t know what is going to happen next. There’s no clear path toward stabilizing either the country or the world.”

It’s obvious that this nation has no long-term foreign or domestic policies other than what Trump happens to feel in his gut on any given day.  He wants to dismantle significant deals and decisions made by his predecessors and his reasons for doing so are not clearly articulated nor are his plans to replace them.  DACA, NAFTA, the Iran nuclear agreement, the Paris climate agreement, you name it, he wants to modify it or kill it.  I think there is a growing fear that the author of “The Art of the Deal” doesn’t know how to negotiate a deal.  And with tariffs and tweets, Trump is screwing up the economy — the most positive aspect of his presidency.  His “ready, fire, aim” approach to governing is not only unsettling, it’s dangerous.

Along with the lack of planning, there seems to be a new scandal in the Trump administration almost every day.  EPA administrator Scott Pruitt lavishly wasted taxpayer dollars on expensive, luxury travel and a 30-man 24/7 personal security detail.  Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s family business got loans of over $500 million after he met with bank officials in the White House.  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin used military aircraft between the spring and fall of 2017 that cost taxpayers $1 million.  HUD secretary Ben Carson is catching flack for buying a $31,000 office dining table but this pales by comparison to the unethical and corrupt activities of his peers.

The nation’s economic policies are being influenced by right-wing/Libertarian Fox News pundits like Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs and Trump knee-jerk reacts to what he watches on Fox and Friends.  That’s one reason why competent people like economic advisor Gary Cohn don’t want to work in this White House.  It is becoming increasingly more obvious that we don’t have a leader; we have a serial tweeter who’s on the wrong course to MAGA.  I think that’s why many working people in America have an uneasy feeling that all this dysfunction will not end well and that they will suffer the consequences just like they did after eight disastrous years of President George W. Bush’s administration.

Polls indicate that a majority of Americans favor stricter gun controls, a robust government response to climate change, comprehensive immigration legislation, effective environmental regulations and even higher taxes on the wealthy.  I believe these polls accurately reflect the preferences of the entire population.  Yet this president and the Republican-controlled Congress are dead-set on passing laws to please their donors and their minority base.  No wonder most people are unhappy.

Just take the Republican “head in the sand” position on climate change.  According to a recent study by the World Bank, rising seas and agricultural disruptions could create 143 million climate migrants.  That would make the exodus from Syria over the past several years look like a small-town Easter parade.  Yet Trump and EPA’s Pruitt eagerly eliminate regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and remove studies on climate change from government websites.

After a contentious election the winner has a duty to heal the wounds and unite the nation.  Instead, Trump has divided this nation like at no other time in my memory.  Friends and even family members are being torn apart by Trump’s divisive rhetoric and agenda.  This polarization is being fueled by unabashed Trump supporters like the opinion anchors on Fox News and conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh.  These pundits have a “no compromise” philosophy that started during President Obama’s tenure.  At its core is a belief that conservatives can only win if liberals lose.

I strongly believe that GOP obstruction of Obama caused voter angst in 2016.  They didn’t know which party to blame so they turned to outsider Trump.   Well, now they should know the root cause of their anxiety.  It’s like President Harry Truman once said, “How many times do you have to get hit over the head until you figure out who’s hitting you?”.  Of course, he was referring to Republicans.

So yes, I’m encouraged if voters feel their well-being is being threatened.  It’s probably the only way some of them will get off their duffs and do something about it in November.

Defense lawyer John Dowd resigned from President Trump’s Russia investigation legal team last week. His departure leaves the president without competent legal representation.  It would appear that Trump intends to defend himself in the media instead of a court room.  With the help of Fox News and other right-wing commentators, he is mounting a furious attack on special counsel Robert Mueller. This blitz will focus on alleged Mueller bias and misconduct by the FBI and the Justice Department.  Trump wants to keep his supporters fired up and congressional Republicans in line.  I believe this strategy is a prelude to firing Mueller.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) basically admitted that Republicans haven’t advanced legislation to protect Mueller because they fear a midterm election backlash from Trump’s base.  Corker confirmed that the president’s numbers among his base are very strong and that their support is “tribal in nature.”  He added, “People who tell me, who are out on [the campaign] trail, say, look, people don’t ask about issues anymore. They don’t care about issues. They want to know if you’re with Trump or not.”

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has expressed somewhat tepid support for Mueller, hoping to prevent Trump from firing him before the midterms.  That would present his Republican caucus with a no-win decision, either they back Trump or infuriate his base.  The midterm elections are driving all decision making in Washington.  It’s a sad commentary on the men and women who have taken a solemn oath to protect and defend the Constitution.  It seems that duty is secondary to getting reelected.

**********

U.S. infrastructure is in serious need of upgrades.  Highways, bridges, airports and the like have gone too long without attention, taking a backseat to a failed effort to replace Obamacare and a tax cut for corporations and the wealthy.  Candidate Donald Trump promised to invest $1 trillion in rebuilding America during the presidential campaign.  But now it appears America will have to wait again.

Recently Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senate Majority Whip, said Congress may not have time to pass Trump’s infrastructure plan this year.  This sent me searching for the legislative calendar for 2018.  The Senate is scheduled to be in session for 174 days — around two-thirds of what most people work.  The House will be in session for 120 days — just 46 percent of what’s required for a full-time job.  That means most of their time will be spent back in their districts raising money and campaigning.  With mounting budget deficits, I doubt if infrastructure legislation will even get passed in 2019.

**********

The Congressional Budget Office won’t be updating its 10-year projection of federal revenues, outlays and deficits until April.  But last June it projected that federal budget deficits would add another $10 trillion to the national debt by 2027, putting it north of $30 trillion.  But wait, deficits are about to get much worse.

The bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recently estimated that current tax and spending legislation will increase those CBO deficit estimates by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.  And if Congress makes the temporary provisions of the 2017 tax reform permanent — as Republicans are now advocating — deficits would increase by $3.6 trillion. With interest rates on the rise and deficits already alarmingly high, causing the nation to take on trillions more in debt with tax cuts is unconscionable.

Now it appears CNBC economist Larry Kudlow will become Trump’s chief economic advisor.  Kudlow said Trump’s tax reform “is going to pay for itself” and predicted an economic growth rate of “3 to 4 percent.”  Few economists agree with him and Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation estimated this legislation would add $1.07 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.  With Trump and Kudlow managing economic policy, what could go wrong?

**********

In addition to tax cuts, Trump took office promising a huge buildup in defense and a strong position against Iran and North Korea.  Does that sound familiar?  Ronald Reagan immediately cut taxes after he was inaugurated, pumped billions into defense and increased the national debt by 187 percent.  President Bill Clinton handed incoming President George W. Bush a balanced budget.  Bush immediately cut taxes, started two wars, almost doubled the national debt and left President Barack Obama with the Great Recession that further exacerbated the red ink.

Well, Trump got his tax cut last December and a massive increase in military spending in February.  Hawkish CIA director Mike Pompeo will soon be Secretary of State.  The former U.N. ambassador — and super-hawk — John Bolton will become Trump’s National Security Advisor.  A war with either Iran or North Korea is unthinkable but Bolton has proposed attacks on both.  If Secretary of Defense James Mattis is pushed out and replaced by a Dick Cheney-like hardliner, it will be déjà vu 2003 when Bush invaded Iraq.

Only Congress has the power to declare war.  But with the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force, Congress gave the president broad powers to conduct a war on terror and to invade Iraq.  If these resolutions are not modified or repealed, Trump and Bolton could use them as authority to attack Iran.  That would be a catastrophic blunder.

Republicans in Congress won’t restrain Trump — but the voters can.  I believe the upcoming midterm elections are the most important in U.S. history.

Numerous U.S. intelligence officials testified before the Senate’s Intelligence and Armed Services Committees during the past month.  They all agreed that Russians interfered in the 2016 election and are set to do it again this year and in 2020.  They also conceded that President Trump had not given them authority or capability to counter these cyberattacks.

Outgoing chief of U.S. Cyber Command, Admiral Mike Rogers, voiced concern because our adversaries haven’t — in his words — “paid a price that’s sufficient to get them to change their behavior.”  His successor, Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, testified during his Senate confirmation hearings along the same lines.  General Nakasone gave his opinion on why our adversaries aren’t reluctant to cyberattack the United States: “I would say right now they do not think much will happen to them.”  Later he added, “They don’t fear us.”

It is clear from this testimony that sanctions aren’t an adequate deterrent.  The U.S. needs a robust offensive cyber deterrence to convince Russians, Iranians, Chinese and North Koreans that punishment for their warlike activities over the Internet will be swift and harsh.  Trump is more interested in building an expensive, useless wall on our southern border.

But the foreign threats go way beyond our elections.  Last Thursday Homeland Security and the FBI announced that Russians have their fingers on the switches of U.S. power plants, some nuclear.  Our intelligence agencies have known about these intrusions for many months but it’s not clear the government has taken any steps to eliminate the threat.  I have to wonder, could foreign hackers disable U.S. nuclear submarines and carriers?  What about our missile sites and command centers?

Congress did pass a bipartisan law imposing strong sanctions on Russia last July, but Trump refused to impose them.  Finally, he was forced to do something last week after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians and the power plant hacking was disclosed.  But these sanctions basically followed Mueller’s indictment; they didn’t take the broader course against Russians that Congress envisioned.

Russian President Vladimir Putin piously denies culpability for election meddling but he does it with a smile.  No doubt he’s thrilled that his government was able to affect the U.S. election and that he is given credit for this coup.  It makes him look very strong while America looks helpless and weak.  This U.S. vulnerability will not go unnoticed around the world, either by our friends or our adversaries.

On Friday retired four-star Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey tweeted: “Reluctantly I have concluded that President Trump is a serious threat to US national security. He is refusing to protect vital US interests from active Russian attacks. It is apparent that he is for some unknown reason under the sway of Mr. Putin.”  I totally agree.

So, what are Republicans in Congress doing while Putin gloats over the mess he created?  Well, let’s see.  They are trying to discredit Mueller and the Russia investigation by calling for a second special counsel to investigate the FBI.  The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee terminated its investigation prematurely and declared there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.  Check out this article by Fox News political analyst Juan Williams entitled, “GOP has sold its soul on Russia.”

The Senate Intelligence Committee investigation continues but that too will likely be concluded without fully getting to the bottom of how Russia influenced the 2016 election and how the Trump campaign might have colluded with them.  That leaves Mueller’s investigation as the only hope the American people have of getting to the truth.

On Friday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions terminated former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, just two days before he could retire with full benefits and a well-earned pension.  Trump was quite pleased.  He tweeted: “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hardworking men and women of the FBI – A great day for Democracy.”.

In response to Trump, former CIA Director John Brennan tweeted what many of us would like to say to the president: “When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America …. America will triumph over you.”

By firing McCabe, Sessions may have held off his termination for a few more months, which is probably good. Trump was emboldened by his firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and he is eager to fire Sessions, who is recused from affecting Mueller’s Russia investigation.  If Trump can oust Sessions he will appoint a replacement who can fire Mueller or deflect the investigation away from Trump and his family.  That would be a disaster for America.

It is clear to me that many Republicans in Congress believe that Trump is guilty of impeachable offenses.  Why else would they take such extreme measures to protect him?  And why would the GOP — the party that has always been a strong supporter of law enforcement — aggressively attack the FBI?   Has Russian money coopted the Republican National Committee or some high-ranking GOP Congressmen?

The time is approaching when Republicans will have to make a choice.  Will they back Trump or will they uphold their duty to this nation and the Constitution?  I am not confident they will make the right decision.

A recent New York Times article reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to rule indefinitely after a change in the Chinese constitution eliminated presidential term limits.  It went on to state that China is bracing for a new cold war with the U.S., due in part to President Trump’s plans to upgrade American nuclear forces.  A Chinese official was quoted as saying, “In the Asia-Pacific, the dominant role of the United States in a political and military sense will have to be readjusted.”   The Chinese believe America is a superpower in decline.

Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to agree with his Chinese friends.  This week he announced the development of two new Russian nuclear weapons that he says can penetrate U.S. missile defenses.  His presentation included an animation showing multiple warheads descending on Florida.  It was like a presentation by North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.  Putin had the audacity to show nuclear warheads descending on our country and Trump’s favorite vacation spot.  Trump had no comment in response.

Several articles have suggested that Russia transferred some of its Soviet-era technology to North Korea, jump starting this rouge nation’s missile and nuclear program.  In time I think we will learn that Putin did exactly that.  Any situation he can orchestrate to harass and challenge the U.S. as a global power furthers his agenda and he will eagerly do it.

Unfortunately, I can understand why the Chinese believe the U.S. is in decline and it didn’t just start with Trump.  President George W. Bush pushed through large tax cuts, bumbled into two horribly wasteful wars and left office in the face of a vicious recession that his incompetent administration helped cause.

President Barack Obama entered office saddled with the Bush legacy.  It was a time for bipartisan action to solve the problems, something Congress had typically done.  But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP caucus wanted none of that.  They obstructed every effort Obama made to turn the economy around and get people back to work.  The Republican Tea Party wave in the 2010 election further exacerbated the congressional dysfunction and partisan divides that are weakening our country.

Then after eight years under Obama’s leadership with the economy on the mend, unemployment low and deficits more manageable, Donald J. Trump was elected president.

No doubt the Chinese watched with keen interest as Putin’s henchmen blatantly attacked the U.S. democratic election process in 2016 and noted that there was no retaliatory response from either Trump or Republicans in Congress.  They must have felt emboldened when America elected a man who is so obviously unfit to be president and Republicans in Congress fell in line to support him.

Against the wishes of his base, Obama negotiated the Trans Pacific Partnership to counter China’s ambitions in the Pacific Rim.  The Chinese no doubt cheered when Trump rejected the TPP on his first day in office.  They were eager to accept an invitation to assume leadership in this huge, strategically important region.  Free trade Republicans were silent.

Trump quickly built on the polarization and dysfunction he inherited from a GOP-led Congress.  Thanks to him, white nationalists were suddenly gaining a voice in U.S. politics.  Immigrants, who have been the strength of American culture, were viewed as threats instead of assets.  And everything Obama accomplished was targeted for elimination, no matter how beneficial it was.

Congress made one effort to punish Russia for election hacking by enacting more sanctions.  Trump simply ignored them.  He preferred to attack the Justice Department, the FBI and America’s judicial system.  Sadly, Republicans like House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) joined in the effort to discredit these important institutions of democracy.

Putin and Xi Jinping are savvy, ruthless politicians with decades of experience.  They know how to get what they want.  Trump would rather play golf than strategize and tweet about petty issues rather than set sound policies for America’s role in the global economy and power structure.  He runs the government like a reality TV show without a script.

There are countless examples of Trump’s leadership failures, but consider his abrupt announcement on Thursday that the U.S. would impose steep tariffs on steel and aluminum next week.  It was irrational, unplanned and poorly executed.  Some believe it was an angry reaction to the chaos that has engulfed his White House.

The tariffs edict will primarily damage our allies and our friendly neighbor, Canada. Perhaps after he finishes playing golf this weekend, someone will have the courage to tell Trump what a bad idea trade wars are.  And if he flippantly decides to change his mind next week, what does that say about America’s leadership in the future?  Is it any wonder the Chinese believe the U.S. is in decline?

Removing Republicans from control of Congress in the midterm elections would be a good first step in telling the world that the Trump/Republican agenda does not have popular support. It would be a rejection of tax cuts for the wealthy, distain for the environment and worship of the gun.

But beyond that, how does this democratic republic — with its system of government that has long been a shining example for the world — deal with the unethical, unstable and inept man who sits in the Oval Office?

I believe the answer to that question will determine whether the Chinese are right or wrong.