The Republican Task, Two Catherine Rampell Columns and Michael Wolff's Pedigree

It's up to the Republicans Now to Get Rid of Him

One doesn’t have to tell Democrats about the President’s incompetence, his lack of qualifications for the office, his ignorance of issues and inability to work with others here and abroad.  Democrats knew and didn’t vote for him in 2016.  Everything that has been revealed about him since then has just served to reinforce what Democrats knew all along.  (It really doesn’t matter that the stock market is booming.  It would be doing so regardless of who sits in the White House.)

 

The problem rests with Republicans.  Supposedly, the President is a Republican, and is responsible for getting some of that party elected because they shared his party label on Election Day.  All but the dumbest of Republicans (about the 30% of them who would support Trump regardless of what he does) 

are gradually acknowledging that the occupant of the White House is a dunce. But saying so can cost them support.  Well, here’s some news for them.  NOT saying so can cost them support too!

Many of them in the Senate still vote to confirm his unqualified nominees for important positions.  Many go along with the besmirching the reputation of those investigating possible Russian involvement in the 2016 election and go out of their way to shield the President from the investigations which have already snared one of his campaign managers and his National Security Adviser as well. They have to face up to facts and truth and stop buying into what they know are Trumpian lies.  Turning them into “Republican lies” will come back to haunt them and they are starting to realize it.

In every race from here on in, Republican candidates will be asked whether or not they support our unqualified and incompetent President and the dirty laundry he brings with him, or are willing to call him out for the self-centered fool he is.  This is a "lose-lose" situation for them because either way they go, they will risk losing the support of those who think “the other way.”  This is why many Democrats are somewhat optimistic about the 2018 elections and will not forget to remind Republicans of the President’s shortcomings, demanding that they state their position in regard to him.  I believe such a strategy will be of benefit to Democrats.  Others seem to prefer concentrating on "issues" rather than on Trump's shortcomings. 

  

The ball is in the Republicans’ court and it is up to them.  The nation is in great danger so long as the very unstable Donald Trump is President.   There must be a bi-partisan effort to get rid of him and then, with Trump gone, let the Democrats and those remaining honorable Republicans who “put country ahead of party” fight it out in Congress to see whose philosophy of government will prevail.

But this is now up to the Republicans.  As I have said, the ball is in their court.  Great issues, domestic and international, are on the table; issues that demand more abilities than the clown in the White House can provide.  Are enough of them smart enough to realize it?  Or was tax reduction for the wealthy all they were ever interested in and now that they have accomplished that, could it be that they don’t give a damn about the nation or anything else?  

Jack Lippman

Bear Market in Stanton Tee Shirts

Just bought a Miami Marlins tee shirt at Dick's Sporting Goods with Giancarlo Stanton's name and number on the back.  Trouble is that he has been traded to the Yankees.  Price tag read $30 ... marked down to $7.49.  

There are many factors, obviously, which can cause such price fluctuations.  So when the Dow's record breaking breaching of the 25,000 level results in elation on the part of many, bear in mind that there are many factors which can affect the value of equities, just as there are in regard to ballplayers' tee shirts.   

Where Michael Wolff Got the Stuff For his Book

Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury" says a lot of unbelievable things about President Trump which actually may be believable.  But who is this man who apparently was able to park himself in the White House, without a position there, and watch and listen to what was going on from his perch on a sofa in a hallway.  

How he was able to wangle a White House access pass levels higher than that given to other reporters is still a mystery to me. His background as a New York-based reporter covering the intersection of business, politics and entertainment over the years for several high quality publications (USA Today, New York Magazine ... unlike the "Enquirer" which carries baseless pro-Trump lies on a weekly basis) prepared him well to write this book. 

Professional reporters, to succeed, must be able to come up with the facts on which they base their stories, no matter how difficult this task might be.  Wolff apparently is very, very good at that.  Here is an interesting USA Today article on how he gathered the information for his book.  Check it out by CLICKING RIGHT HERE.  

JL

Read Two of Catherine Rampell's Incisive Columns

Catherine Rampell is one of the newer journalists in the Washington Post’s “stable” of writers.  Formerly with the New York Times, this Princeton Phi Beta Kappa hails from South Florida.  Her work often appears on the Post’s blog and she frequently writes columns for the paper.

Here are two of her recent columns.  One describes the Republican attitude toward higher education.  It has been often said that beside a free press, an educated electorate is one of the prerequisites of a democracy working effectively.  Could it be that the Republicans fear an educated electorate and hence, distrust higher education?  Read this column by CLICKING RIGHT HERE.

Next, Ms. Rampell considers China’s cultural revolution and the less violent manner in which the United States might be undergoing its own cultural revolution, paralleling that of China.  Read this column by CLICKING RIGHT HERE. 

JL

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Jack Lippman