Sessions Helps Republican States Destroy Obamacare

A group of 20 GOP-controlled states filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court that would invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as Obamacare.  They claim the entire Act became unconstitutional because the GOP’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the ACA’s penalty for failing to have health care insurance.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has put the weight of the Justice Department on the side of these states, arguing that the provision of the ACA that requires insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions without prejudice or increased premiums.is unconstitutional.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation: There are 52 million Americans with preexisting conditions — they would likely be uninsurable under medical underwriting practices that existed in most states before the ACA — and in 11 states, at least three in ten non-elderly adults would be denied coverage due to prior health problems.  All 11 are Republican-controlled and include Kentucky and West Virginia, two of the poorest states in the nation.

Kentucky accepted Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion when a Democrat was governor.  So now, deeply red Kentucky has joined 16 mostly Democratic-controlled states that are defending the ACA in the Texas litigation.  Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) gave the following explanation for his actions:

“Kentucky stands to lose a projected $49.7 billion in federal funding for our expanded Medicaid and subsidies for those on the individual market if this lawsuit moves forward.” “Hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians are at risk of losing their health care coverage, many of whom have coverage for the first time.”  Beshear is concerned about losing the ACA requirement that both private insurance plans and Medicaid cover drug treatment.  Opioid abuse in Kentucky caused 33.5 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2016.

The Medicaid expansion was also accepted in West Virginia where drug abuse resulted in 52 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2016, the highest in the nation.  Still, its attorney general joined the states fighting to overturn the ACA, which is a major factor in dealing with the drug crisis.  Clearly, he chose ideology over common sense.

This lawsuit will likely fail.  But if it succeeds, the people who will suffer are mostly President Trump’s supporters.

Despots Take Power with the Big Lie

A Massachusetts high school student submitted a quote to appear under his picture in the 2018 yearbook: “Make the lie big, keep it simple, keep saying it and eventually they will believe it.”  Supposedly, he didn’t realize who said it or what it meant and we don’t know why he chose it.  But the reactions to this quote were swift and strong.

No wonder, it was a statement by Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minister of propaganda.  He used the “big lie” to demonize Jews in the 1930s, referring to them as vermin.  Unfortunately, this vicious ploy is sometimes still used today.

Eric Edelman was President George W. Bush’s ambassador to Turkey during the early days when Turkey’s all-powerful President Erdoğan’s rose to power.  Referring to Trump’s use of the phrase “enemy of the people” he warned “I’ve seen this play out in Turkey, and that’s how this stuff gets normalized. And after a while, people say, OK, that’s the way it is.”

It’s doubtful that Trump even knows what Goebbels said.  He probably just adopted the decade-old propaganda blueprint of the right-wing media and many ultra-conservative Republicans.  They claimed President Barack Obama is a Muslim; they lied about “death panels” established by Obamacare; and they circulated wild conspiracy theories branding presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as a pedophile.  Trump is simply continuing with their strategy.

After Trump defeated his primary opponents in the 2016 presidential campaign with demeaning nicknames like “lying Ted,” he used this tactic to attack Clinton.  He referred to her as “Crooked Hillary” and incited his followers to chant “lock her up.”  His lie was big, it was simple and he kept saying it over and over until many came to believe it.

Fact-checkers have documented 3,251 of Trump’s often repeated false or misleading statements in just 497 days.  He constantly claims special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is a “witch hunt.”   He slams every negative story about him or his policies as “fake news.”  And he has equated illegal immigrants to vermin.  This is unhinged lying, bordering on psychopathic.  But sadly, it energizes his base.

In April Sessions announced Trump’s zero-tolerance policy to prosecute all illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. at the southern border.  Incarcerating immigrant adults requires separating them from their children.  When confronted with the backlash from this cruel policy, Trump casually lied: “I hate the children being taken away. The Democrats have to change their law. That’s their law.”

Seriously, what kind of sick mind authorizes an inhumane practice, claims he hates it and then blames it on his political opponents?  Well, I’ll tell you.  It’s a mind that thinks Americans should sit up at attention when he speaks –  like North Koreans do when Kim Jong-un speaks.  It’s a mind that thinks he is above the law and can pardon himself.  And absolutely, it’s the mind of a dictator.

There has been a Trump coup in process since early 2016, aided by Russians.  The GOP is now the party of Trump, under his control and doing his bidding.  The critical question now is — will the voters prevent Trump and his big lies from taking control of the entire nation?

Note:  As with most satire, the following is fiction.  But it may provide a welcome break from G-7 chaos and White House dysfunction.

Transcripts of a secret meeting organized by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have recently surfaced that outline a shocking GOP plan to take total control of the government.  The purpose of the meeting was to establish an agenda for 2019 and beyond.  A reporter acquired the document from one of McConnell’s legislative assistants after a night of heavy drinking at a D.C. bar.  Posing as a Russian agent, the fearless journalist promised the staffer that Russian cyber experts would use social media to sell the plan to the American public and hack voting systems throughout the U.S. to ensure huge Republican victories.

When asked for comments, McConnell called the story just another outrageous example of fabricated fake news.  Attempts to contact the staffer fizzled and a rumor that he had been assigned to a remote EPA outpost near the Arctic Circle could not be confirmed.  Fortunately, a friendly leaker — who observed the group from a hidden location behind the podium – provided some audio/visual “color” to the written dialogue.

McConnell started the meeting with a promise.  He would immediately move to change the Senate rules to eliminate filibusters in 2019.  This would enable Republicans to pass all legislation with a simple majority vote.  Prospective Speaker of the House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) rose to offer support from his side of the Capitol.  With an excited tone, he agreed to push through bills to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 1965 Medicare amendments to the Social Security Act.  Approving nods and smiles were seen throughout the room.

McConnell continued that his top priority was to replace at least two current justices on the Supreme Court with “cooperative” conservatives.  He was sure Justice Anthony Kennedy could be encouraged to resign if we “sweeten his retirement” and that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wouldn’t hang on much longer at her advanced age.  Then with a voice rising to a crescendo and totally out of character for the typically stone-faced Leader, McConnell almost shouted, “With the Supreme Court secured, THERE’S NO STOPPING US!”  This plan was greeted with resounding cheers and a standing ovation by everyone in the room.  Several became so emotional they passed out.

Discussion turned to a perennial enemy – the mainstream media.  Various speakers agreed that years of GOP bashing and President Trump’s constant denigration had prepared the public to turn against the major publications and networks.  Fox News’ Sean Hannity spoke up, suggesting a new Department of Public Information that he would be pleased to head.  With the passage of laws giving this agency broad authority he pledged to approve regulations that would make sure all the news was “appropriately conservative”.  He agreed to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to see how the media is controlled by the Kremlin.  A loud “Hear, hear!” signaled unanimous approval.

The group then focused on a major security threat — guns.  McCarthy worried that the number of guns in private hands might present a problem as the government transitioned from a democracy to an oligarchy.  He warned that military styled assault rifles could be used to mount a popular insurgency.  Authorities needed to know who had them and where they were.  One attendee observed that due to National Rifle Association lobbying and GOP support, there were no government records to go by.  Then one staffer provided a simple solution: “We already have the NRA membership list, don’t we?  If we target this group we can confiscate 75 percent of all guns in the U.S., maybe more, and certainly most of the assault weapons.”  This idea was enthusiastically supported by all attendees.

Concern was expressed about controlling powerful corporations, particularly those in Silicon Valley.  This task was delegated to Rudy Giuliani — who was expected to replace Jeff Sessions as Attorney General — and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) slated to be appointed director of the FBI.  Nunes just smiled and assured the group that there would be no problems after several CEOs are targeted with investigations.  A billionaire corporate donor quickly jumped to his feet.  “You mean progressive CEOs, don’t you?”   Upon being assured of that, he sat down and continued writing checks to support the agenda.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who was the only female present, announced that her staff had been working on programs to replace the pubic education system with private charter schools where conservative ideology could be taught more effectively.  She added that a committee was studying various brainwashing techniques to “re-educate” students.  Attendees looked surprised that DeVos had actually come up with a good idea and applauded politely.

Lastly came a discussion of Trump’s title when the Constitution is amended.  This was his major concern about going forward.  Trump preferred Supreme Leader, Dear Leader or Brilliant Leader but the North Koreans had already used those.  McConnell thought Trump would be satisfied with Exalted and Beloved Leader with a subtitle of Renowned Deal Maker.   Further discussion of how to replace him with someone who could actually lead was tabled.  It was decided to address this issue after the results of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation were released.

The reporter who broke this story couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the transcripts or the comments by the leaker but observed: “It sure as hell sounds plausible to me.”

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.

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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.

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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?

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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.