What are you thinking, Chuck?
I know we’re all upset by the Muslim ban, as we should be, and stories about it are dominating the rec list, but I believe it is a classic mis-direction. As an executive order and not legislation, it does not carry the weight of actual legislation and is already being challenged in the courts. So while I support the protests against it, most of our side’s protests and action items have been about these executive orders, as opposed to actual items that we can do something about.
We can STOP Trump’s cabinet from taking office, but to do so requires sustained, loud action.
While Senator Dianne Feinstein succeeded in delaying a vote on sending up racist homophobe Jeff Sessions’ nomination to the full Senate, it is far short of what is needed.
Tillerson’s nomination was voted out of committee along partisan lines, and looks like he will be confirmed by the full senate. This in spite of the fact that his former company has a $500 billion dollar deal with Russia that is merely awaiting the lifting of sanctions. Now news comes out that infamous former advisor to Trump on foreign policy, Carter Page, was promised a 19% stake in Russian oil and gas exploration.
And these nominations are just the most egregious in a cabinet of, well, deplorables.
So while our Democratic Senators make noise about some of these nominations, and even vote against them, they are not doing the most actionable item they can, something absolutely guaranteed to stop these nominations in their tracks. It is the only check and balance still available to them in their minority position. PLACING HOLDS… preferably on all of the nominations, and preferably, unanimously.
The base wants resistance. These senators are capable of stopping the Rump Regime from taking power. And yet they go on about their business as if everything is normal. As if we can “work with” Trump on areas of agreement. The biggest mistake both parties are making about Trump is that both sides seem to think he is manipulatable. That he can be our “useful idiot” when he is not their useful idiot. This is a severe miscalculation, one that blindly ignores the dictatorial power grab currently happening on our watch. Even Elizabeth Warren is afraid of opposing a Trump nomination. What is happening here?
One year ago, Bernie Sanders was quite happy to place a hold on Obama’s FDA nominee. That hold was backed up by another Dem a few days later. “Maverick” John McCain, he who got over his objections to Tillerson, once felt compelled to place a hold on Obama’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence.
So why no holds now? What is the reason behind this collective ignorance? Are our Democratic Senators hoping to “work with” and “get along with” these egregious non-experts now poised to control the levers of executive power? Or are they working *with* silent Republican opposition to Trump, hoping they can get these people in before the entire Congress turns on Resident Rump and trots out articles of impeachment, or Pence activates Amendment 25, section 4? So we can “work with” what’s left?
Our Senators need to hear from us that we want nothing to do with the Trump/Pence government, in *any* form. We are past cooperating. We are past putting a smiley face on the first 100 days. It’s been one week. Read the news.
Trump and his cronies must be stopped.
Call, write, email every Democratic Senator and tell them you want total opposition. Tell them to place HOLDS on all Trump nominees. Tell them to support each other’s holds.
It is doable. Hold their feet to the fire. Demand holds. And spread the word.
