I imagine that very few will agree Gary Abernathy’s column in the Washington Post:
First, it’s okay for Trump’s base to admit that he is too often tactless, and doesn’t set the example we would like to see in our president. He should lay off criticizing dead people. You can still support Trump for president and simultaneously acknowledge that sometimes he’s a jerk.
Second, it’s all right for Trump’s critics to admit that impeachment was a purely partisan scavenger hunt, and that what was described as a “clear and present danger†in need of immediate action was hardly that at all, proven now by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to let the articles of impeachment leave her grasp.
Third, it’s acceptable for Trump supporters to admit that, while impeachment was an overreach, Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not “perfect,†and he should have avoided even the appearance of holding up foreign aid for political purposes. It will be a legitimate campaign issue for the Democrats.
Fourth, it’s time for the mainstream media to admit that the left is sometimes wrong, and concede that not all “right-wing conspiracy theories” are unfounded, which we know from the debunked Russian collusion narrative and the mounting evidence that some in the FBI indeed, made mistakes as they conducted their investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016.
I only disagree with those four points to the extent that I think he is tactfully understating each. Trump is worse than “a jerk”. The “purely partisan scavenger hunt” has been going on since before Trump was elected president. I have written multiple times in the past that not only was the call not perfect, it was the wrong thing to do done in the wrong way. And those were not merely “mistakes” made by the FBI. The preponderance of the evidence suggests they were crimes.
“The preponderance of the evidence suggests they were crimes”
What evidence?
Change #2 to the following. While Trump clearly abused his power and tried to coerce a foreign govt to help with his election, there was no way to win an impeachment so the effort is a waste of time.
The #1- I think he is probably wrong here. There may be a tiny fraction of Trump supporters for whom this is true, but for the cult of personality to hold I think that they mostly need to defend everything. So when he physically mocks a disabled person, instead of calling that pathetic asinine behavior, they call him, a fighter. It is so brave to mock a disabled person that only true fighter would do that.
Steve
Have you read the FISA judge’s reaction to the Horowitz report? The various issues (post-dating, concealing evidence) are not merely errors.
Trump did mock a disabled columnist backtracking his article in the same fashion he mocked Ted Cruz and others. He didn’t mock his disability, in fact, he treated Serge Kovaleski as an equal combatant in the political realm and not defer to him as a helpless disabled lesser.
https://youtu.be/dfSfdF9pLR8
I think that’s pretty much correct, Dave. Understated indeed.
Pick your favorite description, but “jerk” is fine. However, most presidents, and politicians in general, are jerks. In fact, most who rise to powerful positions.
I think the notion that he abused his office to gain political advantage vis-Ã -vis Biden is truly silly. But no, the call wasn’t “perfect.” He should have been more self aware in knowing how his comments would be twisted by his enemies. But then, he’s a jerk.
The FBI’s actions were not just errors, they were criminal. And Brennan has troubles as well. Stay tuned.
“He didn’t mock his disability”
So I wasted 10 minutes I will never get back and looked at the Youtube. As I said Trump supporters will do anything to defend him. First, note that in your youtube he doesn’t actually show Trump mocking the guy. He doesn’t dare as it is really clear if you actually watch it. This follows a lot of other lies and misdirection in the piece. Trump claimed that there were thousands of Arabs in New Jersey cheering 911. He saw it on TV. Reporters have searched and no one found any such news report. (Neither has any Trump supporter or any right wing media. It doesn’t exist.) The police had no reports of any such activity. There were, which your guy cites as fact, a couple of unconfirmed reports.
Finally, beyond the lies about people cheering in New Jersey, the best case you can make is that when Trump sometimes made fun of people he did it by acting like someone who had a physical disability, ie he was making fun of disabled people in general.
“Have you read the FISA judge’s reaction to the Horowitz report? The various issues (post-dating, concealing evidence) are not merely errors.”
Yes. It read like an indictment of the FISA process, which a lot of us have complained about in the past. It was set up with essentially no checks and balances. Of course that was all OK when it was being applied to Muslims.
Steve
Trump is a Big City East Coast Alpha Male. He’s more than rough around the edges. He’s in your face. I grew up in Boston and met many guys like Trump. You Midwest, Milktoast Wimps need to sit down and take deep breathes. Us Big Boys will deal with The Donald.
Gary needs to go home to Mommy and stay there
The FISA process depends on a fair, honest, and unbiased FBI. Unfortunately, that is something that cannot merely be assumed.
That’s the problem with too much dependence on the good will of the civil bureaucracy. It’s made up of humans with human motivations, prejudices, and preferences. That’s why our system was initially designed with checks and balances.
We are a big, complicated country which necessarily means we will have a big, complicated government. Federal government activity needs to be limited to things that we absolutely, positively need.
“Trump is a Big City East Coast Alpha Male.”
Nope. I know a number of those too. They dont whine like Trump does. “Ooooo, so much unfairness. The press is so mean to me.” You would get laughed out of the club for whining as much as he does. They also dont succumb to flattery like Trump. No, Trump is the rich kid who always got his way. Daddy was always there to rescue him. Always craves publicity. And he attacks people on Twitter. Can you really imagine those Alpha guys hiding behind Twitter to fight with people? Not like any guy from Philly, but maybe Boston types are different.
Steve
Now, now my good fellows. As my dear grandmother used to say, “If you have nothing nice to say about someone, then come over here and sit next to me and tell me everything you know,……..and don’t leave out any details.”
Alice Roosevelt, Teddy’s daughter, had that embroidered on a cushion.