Fourteen Days In January
That headline is meant to evoke an earlier phrase from American history which (even before a book and subsequent movie popularized the term) denoted one of the most existentially-dangerous times in not just our country's history, but in that of the entire world: the "thirteen days in October" of the Cuban Missile Crisis. President John F. Kennedy was informed that the Soviet Union had installed nuclear-tipped missiles a mere 80 miles from the United States, and he began a series of moves which could very well have ended up as the start of World War III. This is not an overstatement or exaggeration. If open hostilities had broken out during the height of the Cold War, it is almost certain (especially seeing what caused the crisis in the first place) that there would have been an exchange of nuclear weapons between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. For 13 days, from October 16 to 28, 1962, the world teetered on the edge of all-out nuclear war. Thankfully, sanity prevailed, and both sides agreed to face-saving measures which ended with the Soviets removing their missiles from Cuba. Kennedy gambled, he gambled big, and he won.
The year 2021 is still young -- only 13 days long, in fact. Yet we're only halfway through what historians might later call the "fourteen days in January." The period between January 6, 2021 and the inauguration of Joe Biden at noon on January 20 will forever be seared into the memory of every American now alive as witness to another existential crisis. This time, though, the enemy is not from without, but from within. It comes not in the form of a nuclear attack, but rather in the form of a direct attack on American democracy itself.
We all know what has happened. I leave it to Representative Liz Cheney to summarize it. Cheney is, of course, the daughter of Dick Cheney, who previously served as both vice president and House whip. And the Cheney family is not one that could ever be mistaken for a bunch of liberals or lefties or socialists -- far from it, in fact -- so her opinion about a member of her own Republican Party can in no way, shape, or form be chalked up to "partisanship" at all. Here's what Cheney fille had to say about President Donald Trump:
On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic.
Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.
I will vote to impeach the President.
She certainly does not mince her words -- like father, like daughter, in this regard. To date, it is the most succinct and strongest-worded denunciation of Trump's words and actions I have yet read. And she is entirely correct in all of it, because what she accuses Trump of is precisely what he did. She doesn't shy away from the magnitude of what just transpired, either.
Today -- one week after the Capitol Insurrection (we have yet to coalesce around one particular phrase for what happened, so that one will have to do for now), and only halfway through the final two weeks of Trump's term in office -- the United States House of Representatives voted for only the fourth time in American history to impeach a president. Two of those instances were to remove the same president, obviously. No matter what happens next, Trump now will not only go down in history next to Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson as the only impeached presidents, he will be in a class by himself as the only twice-impeached president, ever. And we all know how much he loves superlatives about himself, right?
This time, though, is different than the first. This time, not only Liz Cheney but a total of 10 House Republicans voted to impeach a president of their own party. The Democratic case was pretty simple, which is why there is only one article of impeachment. Their main argument was aired repeatedly in the House debate today: "If this isn't an impeachable offense, then nothing is." A sitting United States president simply cannot be allowed to get away with such an affront to our democracy without being held accountable, and this is the beginning of the process of doing so (but by no means the end).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been content to slow-walk the impeachment process by not calling the Senate into emergency session, which will guarantee that the impeachment trial won't even begin until after Joe Biden is sworn in as our next president. This might actually be to the Democrats' advantage, for three reasons. But before I get to those, though, this might also be to the entire country's advantage, because the delay might just be enough of a threat to Donald Trump that he doesn't do some of the no-doubt crazy (and/or illegal and unconstitutional) actions he's been contemplating doing before being forced out of the Oval Office. Much like Trump getting banned from Twitter, this might mean his power and influence dramatically shrinks during his final week in office -- which would (pretty obviously, at this point) be beneficial to the country as a whole.
Politically, the chances of convicting Trump might dramatically increase due to the delay. In the first place, by the time such a vote happens it will no longer involve the decision to remove him from office, because he'll already be gone. This might take a lot of the pressure off Senate Republicans, because it wouldn't be seen as quite so drastic. What they'll essentially be voting on will be two things: barring Trump from ever holding office again, and (possibly) denying him his salary-for-life and all the other perks of being an ex-president (such as a lifetime Secret Service security detail). Stripping an ex-president of his pension and perks and banning him from office for life is a lot less severe than forcing him out of office, obviously.
The second reason why the chances for the Senate actually convicting Trump go up with the delay is that more facts might be revealed between now and when the trial begins. So far, the Trump administration has been very close-mouthed about what happened and what the law enforcement response has been, but in the single public press conference given on the subject (which shamefully didn't happen until six days after the attempted insurrection), we were told that some of the evidence that has not been leaked to the public is going to be "shocking." Even more shocking than what we've all already seen, in other words. If some of that starts to trickle out to the media, the public outrage might grow even more acute than it already is. And we've still got to get through the next week -- a week with at least two planned further possible seditious attacks (this coming Sunday, and Inauguration Day itself), which could further inflame public opinion against Trump and his wannabe brownshirts. All of this could certainly increase the pressure on Republican senators to hold Trump accountable. This pressure is already sky-high, but it could always go higher.
And the third reason the chances of conviction might be better on McConnell's delayed schedule is that Mitch McConnell will not be in charge any more. Chuck Schumer will assume the title of Senate majority leader right after Biden is sworn in, and will thus be in charge of setting the rules for how the impeachment trial will proceed. Also, Democrats will need only 17 defectors from the Republican ranks to achieve a two-thirds majority.
That's a lot of aisle-crossers, to be sure. In the more-populous House, only 10 Republicans voted for impeachment, after all. But while Liz Cheney is the third-highest-ranking Republican leader in the House, the impeachment effort might land an even bigger prize in the Senate, as McConnell has been very broadly hinting that he might just vote to convict Donald Trump. He hasn't yet come out and publicly said so, right now all he'll say is that he will consider the article of impeachment's language before making up his mind, but he's also reported to have said that Trump's actions "were an impeachable offense," so nobody's quite sure what Mitch will do in the end.
McConnell is not only the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, he is the de facto second-most-powerful Republican in Washington, right behind Trump (unless you count Mike Pence as second, which I do not). And if he does give the green light to his own members to vote to convict Trump and forever bar him from office, his substantial political heft within his own caucus might just mean he brings along 16 other Republicans with him. It is not out of the question at all, although it also is in no way guaranteed.
Trump is diminished now, obviously. His biggest weapon has been nullified. His broadsword, his Sherman tank, his nuclear sub, his stealth bomber -- whatever you want to compare it to -- has now been mothballed. Being banned from Twitter and all the other social media sites (but most especially Twitter) has left him without his favorite megaphone. No longer can he just sit there and tweet out whatever he feels like to almost 89 million followers. His tweets have been forever silenced.
Think about the ramifications of that, for a moment. In the first place, it probably was to his benefit to get so dramatically cut off, because who knows what he would have tweeted today, while watching the House move with lightning speed to impeach him for the second time? Who knows what he would have tweeted by now about the mob he created and incited to violence? His silence is probably helping his case, in other words.
But it's probably hurting his case even more, because as stated, Twitter was Trump's ultimate weapon to deploy against his fellow Republicans. Republican politicians have been living in terror for the past four years at getting singled out by Trump on Twitter, for any reason. A few nasty tweets from Trump, and your political career might just be over, plain and simple. But those days might now be forever gone. What, really, can Trump do to senators that vote to convict him? If there are enough of them, there will be a certain safety in numbers, because Trump is just too lazy to take on all of them full-force. But even if they do face the wrath of Trump, it's going to be an exponentially-smaller threat, from now on. Which lessens its impact, which should (hopefully) lessen the fear of such retribution from Republican senators before they cast their votes.
Trump gambled big on his fantasy of overturning a free and fair U.S. presidential election. He did so, characteristically, in a ham-handed and ineffective way. And it all blew up on him -- even though he didn't even realize it when it happened (he had to be repeatedly told how bad it was going to be for him).
And we're only halfway through these fourteen days in January. Consider everything that has happened in the past week and what is being threatened for the next week to understand why this constitutional crisis is nowhere near over yet. Because, sad to say, it's only halftime, folks.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
OK, I like the observation that a delay in the Senate trial until after the inauguration may increase the odds of more GOP votes to convict, and possibly enough to actually convict.
I am a little confused by reading that something is both probably helping his case and probably hurting his case even more. I start trying to do the help/hurt math and lose touch with the argument. Well, was it a good thing, or not?
And finally, I had to chuckle when you said that "Fourteen Days in January" was obviously a reference to the Cuban Missle Crisis. Not to me. The minute you mentioned this upcoming piece's title the other day, I thought, ah so clever: a reference to a classic book and movie about an attempted coup d'etat in the USA: Seven Days in May.
it is the most succinct and strongest-worded denunciation of Trump's words and actions I have yet read.
It is astonishing that Cheney (the daughter of a blood-thirsty war criminal) stepped up while all those manly-man snowflakes in the House GOP caucus claim to be afraid that the death cult will kill them if they vote to impeach.
Meanwhile, the Dems seemed unwilling to allow the terrorists to cow them. It's enough to make you think that the Republicans want the terrorists to win.
nobody's quite sure what Mitch will do in the end
I'm not counting on him. That would be foolish. Fat Donny is a score-settler at any cost. Mitch is not. He's simply trying to decide what's best for Mitch.
Trump is just too lazy to take on all of them full-force.
. . . not to mention busy with bankruptcy and fighting extradition.
My son will turn 3 the day after bidens inauguration.
@jfc,
Extradition to where, Iraq?
I guess Liz Cheney likes looking at herself in the mirror and will do the minimum to be able to do that.
Or, did I miss the part where she said that the 2020 presidential election was the most secure and fair election ever and that president-elect Biden won the presidency fair and square and that there is no credible evidence of massive vote fraud and that Trump lost fair and square by more than six million votes and that anyone who says anything to the contrary including that the election was stolen is continuing to lie to the American people?
Rep. Cheney didn't say any of that in her statement, did she?
Liz Cheney left out of her summary the most important part.
In other words. Ahem.
[Liz Cheney] certainly does not mince her words -- like father, like daughter, in this regard. To date, it is the most succinct and strongest-worded denunciation of Trump's words and actions I have yet read.
I think Senator Romney's statement on the floor of the US senate beats Cheney's written statement. At least, Romney said that the best way to treat the American people with respect is to tell them the truth about how fair and secure the election was. Hell, even Senator Graham went further than Liz Cheney.
... the United States House of Representatives voted for only the fourth time in American history to impeach a president. Two of those instances were to remove the same president, obviously. No matter what happens next, Trump now will not only go down in history next to Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson as the only impeached presidents, he will be in a class by himself as the only twice-impeached president, ever. And we all know how much he loves superlatives about himself, right?
Then he'll just love it when he finds out that his impeachment was the most bipartisan impeachment in the history of the United States. Which means he's the impeached president who had the most members of his own party vote to impeach him. Heh.
CW: No matter what happens next, Trump now will not only go down in history next to Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson as the only impeached presidents, he will be in a class by himself as the only twice-impeached president, ever.
It seems appropriate that the most orange president in history is a double impeachee. :)
nypoet22
5
My son will turn 3 the day after bidens inauguration.
Happy Birthday, little JL. :)
nypoet22
6
Extradition to where, Iraq?
Heh. He's billions in debt and a counterintelligence risk.
New York will sever their contracts with the Trump Organization:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/business/trump-new-york-city-contracts/index.html
Multiple businesses are halting donations to GOP members of the "Coup Caucus":
3M
Amazon
American Airlines
American Express
Airbnb
AT&T
Best Buy
BlackRock
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Boston Scientific
BP
Charles Schwab
Citigroup
Cisco
Coca-Cola
ConocoPhillips
Comcast
Commerce Bank
Dell
Deloitte
Dow
Ernst & Young
Facebook
Ford
General Electric
Goldman Sachs
Google
Hilton
JPMorgan Chase
Kroger
Leidos
Marathon Petroleum
Marriot International
Mastercard
Microsoft
Morgan Stanley
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Smithfield Foods
Target
UPS
Verizon
Visa
Walmart
Compliments of The Lincoln Project. I am sure the list has grown larger still.
Donald Trump, Jr. is whining like a little itch about "cancel culture." Whatever. What does Traitor Tot have against capitalism? Speaking of "cancel culture," it seems to me that Junior and his daddy and their ilk were attempting to cancel an entire election.
What do these Traitor Trumps have against capitalism? :)
Marjorie Taylor Greene -- QAnon nutcase from Georgia -- is filing articles of impeachment on Joe Biden on January 21.
This is today's Republican Party. Hysterical. :)
Hysterical? Great.
It is almost to bad they didn't do this yesterday, we could have had Trumpo Tuesday, a day in which we celebrate the simple things with impeach margaritas, twitter tacos, and nacho presidents.
Now that we have had Impeach Wednesday, equally fitting since it is hump day and perhaps we have gotten over the hump finally.I hope the dems sharpen their power pencils and start putting the repubs on the spot by openly stating that " we really aren't trying to remove trump, we are trying to prevent trump from happening again, he has done X,Y, and Z ( the list is long, even for this one charge...)and should not be allowed to hold office, surley the repubs would agree just as if the shoe were on the other foot, and we were told to step up".
Missing from todays hearing was that kind of unified messaging, I really wish that they had some more of that ( a few did try it) same unified attack messaging that the repubs seem to have a knack for.
The real thing I am going to be interested in seeing is how long they can keep trump away from the likes of GAB or 4CHAN. Now that he has been impeached it is only a matter of time before he reaches for a microphone, any microphone, even if it is one only for the white right.
Hopefully he doesn't get his hands on the mic until after the 20th.
What does Traitor Tot have against capitalism?
He thinks he can only get Traitor Totchos in Portland.
Let's not give the impression of letting Trump have more superlatives than he's due.
Buchanan was a worse president. Jackson was a worse human being. Even in the race to the bottom, Trump is a stinky #2.
Elizabeth Miller
16
Hysterical? Great.
Hysterical in the psychological sense, EM. She has been in Congress all of three days, and she's a far-right conspiracy lunatic of QAnon followers who believe that Trump is the savior of the world and working with Bob Mueller secretly indicting world leaders who are demonic pedophiles who eat babies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XTZbYtwZJQ
Right-wingnut hysteria.
dsws [19]
I agree it's at least arguable whether Jackson and/or Buchanan were worse presidents than Trump, in personality or in performing the office.
But I would suggest the current president really is #1 as el-primo absolute wallowing-in-hell worst president in US history. We might say it's because he combines the worst of Jackson and Buchanan in one man.
Buchanan was ineffective, and torn between his political affection and dependence on the South and his instinctive patriotism to preserve the Union. Stuck, he was paralyzed and did nothing to forestall or intimidate the secessionists. But - he was not personally corrupt, he did the work his office demanded, and he was a very intelligent and God-fearing man who would have been horrified to be accused of lying.
Jackson, of course, has lost points in modern historians' eyes due to his self-aggrandizement, his self-centered view of the presidency as a seat of power, and his racist policies of white supremacy over Indians and African-Americans, both slave and free. But again, we find that Jackson did his homework, never lied, was anything but corrupt in selling his office for cash, and cracked the whip on secession in a way not seen afterwards until Lincoln activated the troops (as Buchanan had not dared to do).
In short, every American president before this one has focused on his office as a matter of public service, not private gain; has regarded his honor as a man of his word as a given for any gentleman of worth; and has tried to direct his considerable ego in the cause of improving the United States, knowing that the result will reflect on his historical record.
All presidents are flawed, and some even tolerated corruption while being themselves honest, and some even broke some legal or constitutional norms or barriers in the course of their duties to preserve the nation. But none were soulless grifters who never made the slightest effort to understand their job, or the American history that informed their job; none were congenital liars who saw truth as a cash transaction, only told when the benefit outweighs the loss; none regarded their office as an efficient way to increase their net worth.
Trump is, technically speaking now, about 100 to 1000 times worse than any of the other presidents.
goode trickle
17
It is almost to bad they didn't do this yesterday, we could have had Trumpo Tuesday, a day in which we celebrate the simple things with impeach margaritas, twitter tacos, and nacho presidents.
Heh. I like this theme, GT.
https://aseasyasapplepie.com/frozen-mango-margarita/
How about mango margaritas next week for the Bye Don Inauguration after the orange man goes? ;)
goode trickle
18
He thinks he can only get Traitor Totchos in Portland.
Heh. :)
@kick,
thank you much. and for the record it's little HM. most jews name after dead relatives.
@dan,
not even a mention of andy johnson? he was a worse human being AND a worse president than donald could ever hope to be, as well as being one vote from conviction in the senate. andy ushered in nearly a hundred years of jim crow. what has donald accomplished that covid-19 hasn't done for him?
JL
LizM [7]
As much as I hate to defend Cheney, she did call for the orange one to put up or shut up back in November.
America is governed by the rule of law. The President and his lawyers have made claims of criminality and widespread fraud, which they allege could impact election results. If they have genuine evidence of this, they are obligated to present it immediately in court and to the American people.
If the President cannot prove these claims or demonstrate that they would change the election result, he should fulfill his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States by respecting the sanctity of our electoral process.
In another unsurprising move, Fat Donny is apparently refusing to pay Giuliani. Rudy had better hope he still gets his pardon.
Short Fingers reportedly considered resigning, but decided against it because he didn't trust Pence to pardon him. Probably a good decision. That scheme has been widely discussed, but I've never understood what Pence's incentive to do that would be.
JL [6]
I meant that he'll be fighting extradition back here from wherever he flees to.
One of the Republicans who voted to impeach is newly elected Rep Peter Meijer. His father is the wealthiest man in Michigan and they own the Meijer big box store chain that competes with Wal*Mart and Kroger. I already preferred Meijer and I don't regret buying my orange juice there.
JFC,
Well, I think Republicans like Liz Cheney must be very clear about the fact that Trump and many of their colleagues in Congress have been lying about election fraud. She and others need to keep repeating, day after day after day that the election was not stolen from Trump and his supporters and that Biden is the legitimately elected POTUS.
I think this is the only way to counter the Big Lie.
And, if the Big Lie is not countered, then I fear your country will not move forward - on anything, let alone shutting the coronavirus down - and too many of your fellow citizens will be rightly worried about being killed by others of your fellow citizens ...
The only thing Biden and his administration can do about all of this is work everyday to make life better for all of you and go about doing that with respect for everyone.
John From Censornati
26
In another unsurprising move, Fat Donny is apparently refusing to pay Giuliani.
I'm going to guess that's because he's desperately trying to separate himself from Rudy's actions on January 6 wherein there is irrefutable proof of a conspiracy of insurrection because Rudy left a message on Senator Mike Lee's phone (believing it to be the phone of newly sworn in Senator Tommy Tuberville):
Trying to separate himself from the conspiracy won't work, though, because Trump himself had called Mike Lee's phone, under the assumption he was phoning Tommy Tuberville.
Sending a mob who understood beforehand that they were there to "storm the capitol" to "stop the steal" in a conspiracy to delay the work of Congress to perform their jobs as mandated by law. Illegal in multiple ways.
Rudy had better hope he still gets his pardon.
I don't think it'll be worth the paper it's written on. Is a POTUS allowed to participate in a conspiracy and then just pardon away his co-conspirators? I don't think that's a concept that's "going to fly" in American jurisprudence. I guess we'll see. I would wager without hesitation that it'll be challenged in court... about time, too. :)
Elizabeth Miller
31
You're right about the "Big Lie," of course, EM. Another problem we have is that we're dealing with multiple "Big Lies" flying freely out of the mouth of the Orange Blowhole. The "Big Lie" about the election follows on the heels of the "Big Lie" about SARS-CoV-2 being a hoax.
It's just one "Big Lie" after another here in America and ignorant and/or gullible people lined up around every block in America ready to spread the lies because it validates their political worldview. #Sad
And, if the Big Lie is not countered, then I fear your country will not move forward - on anything, let alone shutting the coronavirus down - and too many of your fellow citizens will be rightly worried about being killed by others of your fellow citizens ...
Donald Trump cons the gullible masses who spew back his lies on cue and insist against all evidence to the contrary that it's not serious. Happened right here on this very forum. You can't fix terminal stupid, EM; it won't listen to anything that doesn't fit it's effed up political worldview.
When Fox News a.k.a. "Earth 2" gets the memo from the higher ups and actually begins disseminating facts to their gullible viewers, the sheeple become outraged and move to OANN where they can live happily on "Earth 3"... the bubble inside the bubble... where ignorance is bliss.
The only thing Biden and his administration can do about" all of this is work everyday to make life better for all of you and go about doing that with respect for everyone.
Within one week the right-wing propaganda echo chamber will be whining about Biden's inability to clean up the lingering stench from Aisle Trump, and they'll be back in business demonizing the "other" and inventing new propaganda bullshit. It's hysterical... in the psychological sense.
Trump and four years have exposed the underbelly of America. And, not for the first time has this been accomplished by similar and familiar forces. It's more extensive and pervasive than many here may wish to admit.
The "right-wing propaganda echo chamber" that is often spoken of here is merely the tip of an iceberg which has been ever growing, below the surface since America's beginnings.
We call it and lump it all into Trumpism, today. The scariest part of it, for me, is how insidiously the tentacles of what we refer to as Trumpism reach into all aspects of American society, including through the ranks and leadership arms of law enforcement and the military.
Hopefully, there is a way to claw it all back.
If a president Biden and the exceptional team he is building can't begin to do that, then I believe there really is no hope for America or for its promise.
Don Harris
28
There is an old joke about a person that comes across another person using a stick to try to fish a jacket out of a cesspool.
Have you heard the one about the moron trying to use another guy's stick to try to fish his own cesspool out of his backside?
It does seem a bit ridiculous for those swimming in the cesspool to get righteous because someone else in the cesspool splashed them with sewage.
It seems infinitely more ridiculous that an admittedly uneducated and unqualified rube would go anywhere near the cesspool. You, Don Harris, are the definition and living epitome of that guy. I have the evidence too... because I've read your bio.
Fishing the jacket out of the cesspool is not going to save our lunch.
We here in Weigantia understand completely that you're living in shit and longing for a way out... but with all due respect, politics just ain't in your wheelhouse.
If you really cared about our country and political process you would take on the cause of the current feces flinging instead of pretending that fishing the jacket out of the cesspool will save our lunch.
I'd tell you to shove your cause up yours, but it's quite obviously been wedged up in there for years. I cannot fathom why you'd keep whining to use another man's stick to locate it. Why don't you use your own teeth? :)
Elizabeth Miller
34
You're right, EM.
It's more extensive and pervasive than many here may wish to admit.
Except you and me, of course, EM. ;)
But seriously, EM, we have discussed this a time or two previously:
*
And here we are now.
The "right-wing propaganda echo chamber" that is often spoken of here is merely the tip of an iceberg which has been ever growing, below the surface since America's beginnings.
I could not agree with you and me more.
Hopefully, there is a way to claw it all back.
Education... no BS... no malarkey. Heh.
If a president Biden and the exceptional team he is building can't begin to do that, then I believe there really is no hope for America or for its promise.
I'm not a sentimental type guy, but I agree that Biden is the right man for this moment. He cares about his country and people and is a straight shooter, but still just a human like all of us. He also has the experience and knowledge and "street smarts" to how to bang some heads together in DC to bring about what needs accomplishing. :)
I'm not a sentimental type guy ...
Yeah, I always kinda knew that. :)
Don Harris
36
But we have to start now to replace all the Trumps, McConnells, Bidens, K.Harris', Pelosis and Schumders with decent legislators that are not corrupted by big money in 2022 and 2024.
"We"? *laughs*
You really should get your own stick, use your own teeth, and stop grifting here for a free lunch. :)