In my last post, I argued that we could argue whether Lauren Boebert, she of the public display of pious religiosity in the Capitol rotunda, is sincere about her Christian convictions. There isn't too much doubt about the most famous Republican in the country, though:
Trump called in to ‘Pastor’s for Trump’ tonight for a National Prayer on the eve of his possible indictment. When the host asked him to name a specific prayer that he would like to request, he suddenly had technical difficulties with his phone. (Audio) pic.twitter.com/Nr7oGVjHuS
He could have gone with Psalm 23, "The Lord is My Shepherd" (very relatable) or The Lord's Prayer, referred to by some Catholics as the "Our Father." Alternatively, he might have said that his favorite depends upon how the Holy Spirit moves him at the moment or what he was praying for on that day. Something.
The congresswoman is a believer- or at least pretends to be- and if she isn't, at least appears to understand the fundamentals of Christian faith. When it comes to Boebert's sincerity, your mileage may vary. But Roger Stone couldn't be this naive, could he?
Roger Stone says Trump just called him and they prayed together over the phone: “He is a man completely without fear because he puts his faith in the Lord.” pic.twitter.com/u72i89GyVG
Donald Trump has rarely if ever even tried to hid he contempt for Christianity.
Nor his ignorance of it (and asking for forgiveness is not the purpose of communion).
Admittedly, Trump couldn't have gone down the "all of them" road. Sarah Palin went there when as a vice-presidential nominee in 2008 she was asked "what newspapers do you read?" "All of them..." It didn't go down well.
The ex-President probably should have replied "John 3:16" or said "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son." It's not the full verse but enough that everyone would have known what he was referring to because it's the most widely-known verse in the entire Bible. Of course, it may not matter because Roger Stone is not alone among the tens of millions of Trump admirers who would still support him if he said "child molestation is my favorite felony."
This actually reflects very coherent Christian theology, aside from one thing. The congresswoman states "there's nothing that you left out, Jesus." As this tweeter notes, prayers are to be made in Jesus' name, not to the Son but to the Father. John 16:23-24 (ESV) reads "in that day, you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
Nonetheless, there is a major problem in Boebert's prayer. It is not in her prayer but in the context of her delivery. Jesus Christ did not say "pray to your Father, who is in secret, unless you bring your cameraman along. Rather, as Jesus himself was reported by Matthew (6:5-6, NIV) to have advised
And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret .And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Public displays of feeling and emotion, genuine or otherwise, are as common these days as a blade of grass. Behavior at music concerts and the ubiquity of selfies are a trademark of this "hey, look at me" period in western culture. So we can't know for sure whether Lauren Boebert is insincere. That's God's decision.
The congresswoman would be wise to heed Paul. However, this being Boebert, she would benefit as much to heed James, step-brother of Jesus, who reputedly stated "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God...."
In a post on his social media account, Donald Trump on
Saturday morning tweeted
“THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE &
FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY
OF NEXT WEEK, “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina was not informed about the
possibility of Trump being arrested on Tuesday.
“No one tells us anything, which is very frustrating,”
Tacopina told CNBC. “President Trump is basing his response on press reports,
and the fact that this is a political prosecution and the DA leaks things to
the press instead of communicating to the lawyers as they should.”
The press report Tacopina is complaining about is the report by the press of what Donald
Trump is claiming. The ex-President claims for two reasons that the sky is falling. It's a fund-raising tool, but almost anything Trump says or does is
motivated by a lust for more money.
In this case, Trump also is trying to intimidate. The
conventional wisdom is that the 45th President wants to intimidate Alvin Bragg
into choosing not to prosecuting him.
But Bragg may already know whether he is going to charge Trump or is simply going through the motions. Although the ex-President would like to dissuade Bragg, Trump is
as interested in Attorney General Merrick Garland.
On August 8, 2022 the Federal Bureau of Investigation
conducted a search of the Trump compound at Mar-a-Lago, seven months since we read
Property receipts from the search indicate that at least
some of the information confiscated was classified at the highest levels,
including top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI), intelligence
that could reveal how and from whom the United States acquires information from
other countries. Media reports also indicate that former President Trump’s
lawyers inaccurately told the FBI in June that they had returned all requested
classified documents to the government. The property receipts show that the
lawyers’ reported declaration was false and that former President Trump put
America’s national security at serious risk.
Merrick Garland- at least as of now- has not charged Donald
Trump for violations far more serious than that alleged in the Stormy Daniels matter. Once the search in Florida took place, an indictment generally was thought to be around the corner. Now, the Manhattan District
Attorney appears on the verge of announcing an indictment of Trump in a case
which is both more difficult to prosecute and which a conviction would carry
less prison time than would the classified documents case.
It's past time to observe that the Attorney General is intimidated
by the idea of obtaining an indictment against the ex-President. If his fear of pressing charges results in no prosecution, Merrick Garland will go down in history as not only a
very bad Attorney General but also a cowardly.
I CAN define it. And I’ve defined it repeatedly. The definition of woke: Woke is waking up to, becoming aware of, and gaining empathy for real & systemic racism & injustices. There. Have a nice day. https://t.co/TAfFUPOuTz
The genesis and evolution of the term "woke," if one is to read Wikipedia carefully, is complex and confusing. Thus, it can mean a variety of things, one of which is:
Nope, that’s not it because M&Ms regardless of color have nothing to do with oppression; nor does kale salad; or goat milk lattes; or Silicon Valley Bank; or a bunch of other random stuff that MAGA Republicans routinely bring up.
As the Democratic congressman understands, Republicans have abused the term, weaponizing it for strategic advantage. Yet, Joe Biden, though possibly the best president since mid-last century, has made it easy. Joe Biden promised a black woman as his first Supreme Court nominee, and the highly impressive Ketanji Brown Jackson was a very good selection.
Nonetheless, Pete Buttigieg, who was probably nominated so there would be an openly gay individual in the Cabinet, has been a bad Transportation Secretary, at least until recently. Karine Jean-Pierre, black and gay, is out of her element as Press Secretary, the job clearly being too big for her.
Kamala Harris was a staunch advocate of mass incarceration as California Attorney General and- in the midst of a nationwide wave of demonstrations against (in part) mass incarceration- was deemed the perfect individual for the Democratic Party to place a heartbeat from the presidency. (Can you say "privilege"?) At times seemingly unsure of herself, Harris is strikingly unpopular, yet as V.P. the leading candidate to succeed Biden someday as the presidential nominee of her party.
Republicans don't criticize President Biden or his party because of the immutable characteristics (race, gender, sexual preference) of his appointees or nominees. That would expose them to )largely unjustified) condemnation as racist, sexist, or "homophobic" by the mainstream media for questioning the safe and easy narrative.
A portion of the mainstream media which would excoriate Republicans for suggesting that highly important federal government positions should not be made because of race, gender, or sexual preference is paradoxically loathe to challenge Republicans directly when they attribute border policies, immigration policies, or financial action (by government or corporations) to "woke politics" or "woke."
Republican politicians, strategists, and pundits may not understand "woke" in the same way that "Dr. Science, Esq." does. They may not be able to define it. But they believe that every time a Democrat pats himself or herself on the back for a selection based on inherited characteristics, it is in lieu of merit. They don't like it and they vote.
Graham: Do you believe for one minute that Russia would’ve done this on Trump’s watch? Hannity: I think they had a healthy realistic fear of Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/4yOwmD4y86
A politics professor and Eurasian scholar, Jessica Pisano, wrote a piece for Politico Magazine shortly after the
invasion by Russia of Ukraine. Perhaps
anticipating nonsense such as Hannity and Graham are spewing now, she asked readers
to
Consider where Trump and Biden stand on three key issue
areas the Kremlin cares deeply about: NATO, political leadership in Ukraine and
undermining democracy. Under Trump, there was little daylight between Russia
and the United States on these issues.
Even as Trump’s vocal
criticisms may have inadvertently strengthened the alliance, Trump worked to
diminish the influence of NATO, reportedly planning to withdraw from it in his
second term. As a candidate, Trump had even remarked that, “Maybe NATO will dissolve,
and that’s OK, that’s not the worst thing in the world"...
When Zelenskyy beat an incumbent president in a landslide,
Trump actually withheld military aid to Ukraine, sending personal emissaries to
Kyiv to try to pressure and undermine Zelenskyy in the eyes of Ukrainians by
asking him to “do us a favor, though"...
And Biden has worked to protect democracy. Unlike Trump,
rather than questioning the integrity of contests his party lost, Biden has
spoken forcefully about the close legal scrutiny and fairness of all the 2020
elections. And he has supported congressional efforts to protect the franchise
in the United States.
In Trump, Putin had a fellow-traveler. Far from ensuring
world peace, the Trump years instead offered Putin a useful pause he utilized
to further military readiness and prime the Russian population for a hot war.
She concluded
Far from deterring Putin, Trump did the opposite. Thanks to
Trump, Putin was able to take advantage of a period of apparent detente during
which Trump actually pursued Putin’s own policies of weakening NATO and
democracy and destabilizing the West — leaving Putin free to prepare his war
against the free people of Ukraine and their democratically elected government.
The argument that Russia had "a realistic fear" of
the ex-President bears a resemblance to two widely held views persisting from
the Ronald Reagan era. One is that the Soviet Union folded only because of the fear of
President Reagan or of the military buildup (i.e., Pentagon empowerment) he
engineered, rather than the commitment of Mikhail Gorbachev to restructure of
the Soviet system because it was hopeless.
Contrary to myth, Reagan was not the only American president who helped bring
down the Iron Curtain but played a role similar to that of the presidents (Truman,
Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Carter,) who preceded him and also implemented a policy of
containment.
Nor was President Reagan responsible for the release of the
last 52 of the 66 Americans taken hostage by the Shiite government in Iran, evidently
as punishment of President Jimmy Carter for having the temerity to allow the
deposed Shah of Iran to receive medical treatment in the USA. After being held for 444 days, those hostages were freed moments after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President.
However, in 2016, the Annenberg Public Policy Center in its fact check noted
"experts we interviewed, including those who have spoken directly to the
hostage-takers, say the motivation for releasing the hostages then was a hatred
of Carter."
Vladimir Putin did not invade Ukraine on President Trump's watch
because they were getting what they wanted from Trump, whom
they helped elect in 2016 and hoped to see re-elected in 2020. Yet once again,
Republicans try to create an alternate reality, a portrait of an ex-President
as the tough guy contrasted to a wimpish Democratic president. A powerful and false message, it never should
go unanswered by Democrats.
As Business Insider notes (and is discussed in the video
from CNN below)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called Vice President Kamala
Harris twice to apologize for an offhand remark about the upcoming 2024
election, but reportedly Harris hasn't called Warren back.
The perceived vice presidential snub came after Warren gave
a radio interview in January in which she was dodgy about endorsing Harris as
the VP candidate as President Joe Biden signaled his intent to seek reelection,
CNN reported.
"I really want to defer to what makes Biden comfortable
on his team," Warren told Boston Public Radio when asked about Harris,
shortly after enthusiastically endorsing Biden.
She added: "I've known Kamala for a long time. I like
Kamala. I knew her back when she was an attorney general, and I was still
teaching and we worked on the housing crisis together, so we go way back. But
they need — they have to be a team, and my sense is they are — I don't mean
that by suggesting I think there are any problems. I think they are."
Within days, Warren issued a statement saying that she
"fully" supports a Biden-Harris 2024 ticket "and never intended
to imply otherwise," Boston Public Radio reported.
A source close to Harris told CNN that the incident was
"pretty insulting."
Insulting? Now it's "pretty insulting" when a
Senator states "my sense is they are" a "team." Now it's
"pretty insulting" when a Senator who has praised the President,
acknowledges what everyone knows- that the choice of a running mate is the
prerogative of that President.
But as every pol in the Democratic Party realizes- which evidently no one will admit- there is something "pretty insulting" in
this saga. The report continues
Warren, however, has
not been able to speak with the vice president since, the outlet reported.
Instead, Warren has only communicated with Harris' chief of staff, Lorraine
Voles, who returned Warren's call in lieu of the vice president, CNN reported.
Warren is a United States senator, an essential part of a bare
majority in the upper chamber of members of the party of the President and of
the Vice President. Yet Harris wouldn't call her, leaving the task to her chief
of staff, as if to say "I'm too important to listen to her."
If Warren has lost confidence in Harris, she is not alone because
The feud joins a list of other infractions made by those
within the Democratic party who have, in the eyes of Harris' staff, snubbed her
performance and abilities.
In February, several Democrats from the White House and
congress told The New York Times they had lost hope in Harris, who they felt
failed to rise to the occasion of her office.
I don't know what the occasion is of the vice presidency,
given that the only constitutionally specified duty of the office is to cast
the deciding vote when there is a tie in the Senate, which Harris has done very
well. However
Months before (February), Biden himself hinted at tensions
when he was quoted as telling a close friend that Harris was a "work in
progress" in Chris Whipple's book "Fight of his Life," Business
Insider previously reported. At the time, according to Whipple, Biden was
annoyed that First Gentleman Doug Emhoff had complained about Harris' policy
assignments.
Credit Joe Biden for at least recognizing the obvious. Less credit should be given the vice
president, who now won't call a prominent United States senator to complain
about a perceived slight and apparently left it to her husband to complain
about policy assignments.
Nevertheless, one can credit Kamala Harris with this: she has
attitude, only not in a good way. In July, 2020 the American Prospect explained
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), a leading candidate to be Joe
Biden’s running mate, repeatedly and openly defied U.S. Supreme Court orders to
reduce overcrowding in California prisons while serving as the state’s attorney
general, according to legal documents reviewed by the Prospect. Working in
tandem with Gov. Jerry Brown, Harris and her legal team filed motions that were
condemned by judges and legal experts as obstructionist, bad-faith, and
nonsensical, at one point even suggesting that the Supreme Court lacked the
jurisdiction to order a reduction in California’s prison population.
The intransigence of this legal work resulted in the
presiding judges in the case giving serious consideration to holding the state
in contempt of court. Observers worried that the behavior of Harris’s office
had undermined the very ability of federal judges to enforce their legal orders
at the state level, pushing the federal court system to the brink of a
constitutional crisis. This extreme resistance to a Supreme Court ruling was
done to prevent the release of fewer than 5,000 nonviolent offenders, whom
multiple courts had cleared as presenting next to no risk of recidivism or
threat to public safety.
Why bother showing any respect for the court-- or for
Elizabeth Warren or even Joe Biden, other than to come out periodically and strategically declare her undying admiration for him. Yet Kamala Harris, selected to be the
Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee because she was born female and
black, feels snubbed or, in the last decade's lexicon, disrespected.
During the period of black lives matter and of the George Floyd protests, Kamala Harris, a powerful, de facto advocate for mass incarceration, was placed on the presidential ticket by the nation's more liberal party. Elizabeth Warren hurt her feelings and won't return her call. Harris is a problem, though one of his own creation, for Joe Biden. In some way at some point, consequences for the Democratic Party and the nation itself may follow.
Mike Pence has been talking to his old friend from Indiana
again. In an excerpt, reported by MSNBC, from their book "Peril"
(Robert) Costa and (Costa) Woodward report that Pence rang
up Quayle in late December to ask if there was any way he could give Trump want
he wanted, according to the Washington Post:
Quayle was adamant, according to the authors. “Mike, you
have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away,” he said.
But Pence pressed him, the authors write, asking if there
were any grounds to pause the certification because of ongoing legal
challenges. Quayle was unmoved, and Pence ultimately agreed, according to the
book.
CNN’s version added some additional detail to Pence’s
entreaty:
"You don't know the position I'm in," he said,
according to the authors.
"I do know the position you're in," Quayle
responded. "I also know what the law is. You listen to the
parliamentarian. That's all you do. You have no power."
And Pence did just that: He listened to the Senate
parliamentarian. Together, as Politico's Kyle Cheney showed on Twitter, they
crafted language that made clear that there would be no chance for alternate
electoral slates from states such as Georgia to vote for Trump. And in doing
so, Biden’s win was — once the Capitol was cleared of insurrectionists —
certified as it had been every other presidential election beforehand.
Pence is fighting a subpoena issued for him to testify
before a grand jury about the 1/6/01 insurrection. Nonetheless, on March 10 at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC, after the obligatory jokes the former vice-president
took a serious tone, noting the attack on the Capitol was
“one thing I haven’t joked about” and calling January 6 “a tragic day.”
Pence rebuked Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021
attack, saying he was “wrong” for claiming Pence had the authority to overturn
the results of the 2020 election in his role presiding over Congress that day,
saying “history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
“President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the
election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the
Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,”
Pence said.
Pence repeatedly praised the media’s coverage of the January
6 attack at the dinner, which traditionally includes members of the Washington
press corps among its attendees, and said he was able to carry out his role in
certifying the election “in part” because of the media’s real-time coverage of
the insurrection.
“We were able to stay at our post, in part, because you
stayed at your post. The American people know what happened that day because
you never stopped reporting,” Pence said.
“For what you do to preserve and strengthen this great
democracy, you have my heartfelt thanks and I know the thanks of a grateful
nation. Thanks for what you do to preserve freedom,” Pence continued.
After criticizing the insurrectionists and Republicans who
have defended them, Pence
repeatedly praised the media’s coverage of the January 6
attack at the dinner, which traditionally includes members of the Washington
press corps among its attendees, and said he was able to carry out his role in
certifying the election “in part” because of the media’s real-time coverage of
the insurrection.
“We were able to stay at our post, in part, because you
stayed at your post. The American people know what happened that day because
you never stopped reporting,” Pence said.
“For what you do to preserve and strengthen this great
democracy, you have my heartfelt thanks and I know the thanks of a grateful
nation. Thanks for what you do to preserve freedom,” Pence continued.
Pence attacked both the individuals who would overturn democracy- and
the most popular figure among GOP primary voters- and expressed appreciation for the media. Those are safe remarks to make to the likes of the Gridiron Club but
suicidal for someone presumably planning to seek the GOP presidential nomination. If it
wasn't stunning to hear him call out Donald Trump by name- something Joe Biden
has been reluctant, and Barack Obama loathe, to do- the former V.P actually
commended the press, which Republicans hate to hear.
Actions speak louder than words and thus Mike Pence,
if he meant what he said, must drop his motion "asking a judge to block a
federal grand jury subpoena for his testimony related to January 6."
However, his words still were bolder than those of almost any GOP politician
which, admittedly, is analogous to referring to someone as the "most
honest or demure Trump." When a moment of silence to honor law enforcement officials
was held at the Capitol on January 6, 2023, only two Republicans (Liz Cheney
and Mitch McConnell) were present in the House chamber, and the latter
denounced Democrats for what he claimed is politicization of the attack.
So, let's give the devil his due and credit Mike Pence for
some fine words one evening. And let's do it quickly- he may retract his
sentiments before the next business day is out.
