It is becoming increasingly clear that Trump had no issues with Flynn’s communications with the Russians, and few with his behavior towards the Vice President. No, what got Flynn fired was the negative publicity that followed.
If that doesn’t tell you something about Trump’s personality and priorities, I don’t know what does.
While their circumstances are obviously different, Israel and South Africa have much in common: both were states created by settlers who succeeded in dominating the much larger indigenous population. Israel (with some remorse) engaged in some ethnic cleansing after 1948, but the Arabs who remained were given political rights and have thrived economically. In South Africa, on the other hand, the government initially dealt with the threat presented by the indigenous population by creating the apartheid system.
My, how times have changed! South Africa, whatever its current flaws, succeeded in eliminating the apartheid system with a minimal level of violence. Israel, on the other hand, appears to be on the path of creating South Africa-style homelands for Palestinians; the only question at this point is whether it will be done by legal means, through annexation, or simply by creating facts on the ground (Netanyahu’s clear preference).
Given the analogy, the question for today is whether it is conceivable that a South African solution can be found for the Palestinians. I doubt it, for two reasons: first, I don’t see a Palestinian Nelson Mandela; and second, the experience of the Holocaust is going to make the Israelis very, very cautious about running risks.
The ex-NSC man Mike Flynn.
His lies to Mike Pence were a sin.
I could go on and on.
I’m just glad that he’s gone.
For the country, his leaving’s a win.
Imagine how American history would have been different if Bill Clinton had actually been removed from office in 1998 or 1999. Al Gore would have gone into the 2000 election as the incumbent, riding a wave of good will, with the country prosperous and at peace. The Clinton legacy would have been far less of a problem for him. He probably would have won easily.
And that points out the difficulty with impeachment under normal circumstances: why would you, as the opposition party, want to replace the incumbent with someone of similar ideology, and less baggage?
These are not normal circumstances. Trump presents a danger to the country; Mike Pence is a generic conservative Republican. Both the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress would undoubtedly prefer Pence to Trump. It is not absurd, then, to think that the GOP might suddenly decide to be shocked by Trump’s shenanigans a few years into his term if his poll numbers look bad, and take action on it.
That, presumably, is the reason that bookies in the UK are giving more or less even odds on Trump leaving office before his term expires.
I wasn’t planning to post this today, but I have to use it before its expiration date.
Flynn the Maniac
Everybody’s building
An empire in the House.
Some think that he’s the answer.
Some think that he’s a louse.
Everybody’s in despair.
No one knows what to do.
But when Flynn the Maniac gets here
Gonna turn into a real zoo.
Come all without, come all within.
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Flynn.
He’s friends with Putin, like the rest
He thinks that Russia’s sweet.
And when it comes to terrorists
He thinks they must be beat.
Everybody’s just standing ’round the Don
Hoping for a tweet.
But when Flynn the Maniac gets here
Then they’ll be on the street.
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Flynn.
Parody of “Quinn the Eskimo” by Bob Dylan.
The message here, I guess, is that it’s OK to repeatedly lie to the American people, but never to Trump.
Red America has had a monopoly on overt displays of patriotism since Nixon and the Vietnam War. Trump and the rest of the world are finding out that blue America loves its cosmopolitan, inclusive, dynamic image of the country just as much as red America loves its static, religious, blood and soil version.
Because we’re all fighting the power now, aren’t we?
Resist
Resist
Insist
On standing up for your rights.
His battle was won
But the war has just begun
No time to give up the fight.
Resist
Desist
He’ll be telling you to shut up.
They’ve been shouting at us for eight long years.
Now it’s our turn to interrupt.
Resist
His list.
Put yourself on it if you dare.
Just know if you do
They’ll be coming after you.
His people are everywhere.
Resist
It’s bliss
It’s a rush to struggle with the power.
At the end of the day
You will hear the people say
This could be their finest hour.
A little melodramatic, yes, but so is much of hip-hop.
ANOTHER BAD SNL EPISODE! BALDWIN ISN’T FUNNY! I SHOULD TALK TO PUTIN ABOUT TRADING HIM FOR SNOWDEN.
Unless you’re Adele or Beyonce, you don’t have Meryl Streep’s stature and credibility, so please don’t annoy us with political speeches. They will only make us turn off the TV.
It’s too early to move the embassy to Jerusalem. New settlements are an obstacle to peace. Sanctions for Crimea won’t be lifted anytime soon. We adhere to the One China policy. Playing golf with Abe.
If you take all of this seriously, Trump has moved away from his unconventional ideas on foreign policy and towards a more normal, albeit inept and blustery, approach. But should you assume that it means anything?
No. Remember, Trump lies constantly in order to create confusion and preserve his freedom of action. In addition, there were good tactical reasons to take the actions listed above. He’s helping his buddy Bibi with the Israeli right by taking a harder line on the embassy and settlements; he creates leverage with Putin by maintaining the status quo for now; and he has too much on his plate to confront the Chinese just yet.
His ideas on mercantilism and terrorism are at the heart of his political identity. If you think they’re going away anytime soon, you’re making a big mistake.
The general known as “Mad Dog.”
His boss operates in a fog.
He’s promised our friends
It’s not really the end.
The task is a difficult slog.
I grew up during the 1970’s, and part of me will always live there. While I would argue that some aspects of the culture then were better than they are now, for the country in general, it was hardly a golden age: Vietnam; Watergate; inflation; “national malaise;” Iran; etc. America seemed to be in an irreversible decline. Even the cars, clothes, and houses were ugly. It is no wonder we were looking for something completely different in 1980.
My wife and I watched the CNN series called “The Seventies” a few weeks ago, and even though we both lived through the times and internalized them, we were startled by some of the images–particularly the film of New York looking like a war zone. She observed, and was correct, that Trump’s dystopian rhetoric about crime, decline, and the inner cities appeared to be grounded in those images, which in no way reflect current conditions; after all, the debate that rages in New York City today is about gentrification, not decay. And so, the question for today is whether Trump actually believes the doom and gloom that he offers up by the tablespoon because it is a big part of his early experience.
I don’t think so. Trump was a big player in the Gatsby 80’s, as well. Furthermore, he didn’t really start talking about crime and urban decay until late in his campaign. I think it is just another instance of him finding and reviving a theme that played well with his constituents and milking it for political gain.
The Trump travel ban has gone down.
His tweets make him look like a clown.
It’s really good news
‘Cause the Don hates to lose.
Don’t mess with a man in a gown.
Having broadcast his intention to confront the Chinese over the trade deficit and the South China Sea, Trump has apparently changed his tune. Now, he’s talking to Xi in a more traditional and diplomatic way. Is this a genuine change of course?
It is a mistake to attach much importance to anything that Trump says at any given time, as he tells lies in order to remain unpredictable. On the other hand, if he has said something consistently throughout his life, you can probably rely on it. There is no doubt that he actually believes the neo-mercantilist garbage that he has been spouting for the last thirty years, so a confrontation with China is inevitable, regardless of what he is saying today.
There is a much-discussed article in this month’s Atlantic in which David Frum describes a rotting constitutional structure during Trump’s first term. Corruption becomes the norm; administration critics are silenced by pro-Trump internet trolls; businessmen suck up to the President in order to curry favor and stave off misuses of regulatory authority; and the GOP majority in Congress does nothing to stop any of this, as it is too invested in Trump’s success. It is an appalling picture.
Except, of course, that it is way too optimistic. Frum’s nightmare is actually a better case than my best case scenario.
The article assumes the economy is booming as a result of the “Funhouse Reagan” tax cuts. It assumes that there will be no trade wars and no immigration crackdowns. Most importantly, it assumes that there will be no diplomatic revolutions, no large scale domestic terrorist attacks, and no foreign wars. All of this, in my view, is unrealistic.
Trump loves popularity and hates criticism. He is going to try to wrap himself in the flag in order to silence his opponents when the next big crisis rolls around. It is just a matter of time.