Jake Johnson at Common Dreams writes—As Right-Wingers Push Trump to Fire Rosenstein, Here's What to Do If He Does:
As prominent right-wing provocateurs immediately took to social media on Friday to call on President Donald Trump to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "today" after the New York Times reported that he suggested cabinet officials should invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, progressive advocacy groups detailed rapid response plans to ensure Americans are organized and prepared to take to the streets if the president acts on these demands.
"The Rod Rosenstein Rapid Response Plan: If actions are triggered BEFORE 2 p.m. local time —> events will begin at 5 p.m. local time. If actions are triggered AFTER 2 p.m. local time —> events will begin at noon local time the following day," announced Jordan Uhl, a campaigner with MoveOn.org.
Uhl also directed concerned U.S. residents to the TrumpIsNotAboveTheLaw.org website to find local demonstrations.
While the Rosenstein story by the Times sent shockwaves on Friday afternoon, independent journalist Marcy Wheeler worried that reporting now "gives Trump his excuse to fire" the Deputy Attorney General.
Chances are that if Trump does fire Rosenstein, it will be after the midterm elections, when Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions III may also get shoved out. That’s because canning Rosenstein at this stage would likely spur even more Democrats to turn out for what many experienced analysts are viewing as having potential for overturning the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and possibly doing so in a big way.
But it’s still more than six weeks until the election. And with everything that’s coming to light and likely to do so soon— given that Trump’s former consigliere Michael Cohen has spent hours talking to Robert Mueller’s investigative team—the pressure to try to turn off the investigation is surely greater than it’s ever been. So who knows what the squatter in the White House will do? It must be hard for the so-called “adults in the room” to have as much influence at tamping down his worst impulses after the Anonymous op-ed spilled the beans.
On the other hand, perhaps we’ll see another interestingly timed story or two from The New York Times giving additional impetus to Trump’s obvious desire to send Rosenstein packing.
Will he do it or not?
Just in case, if and when the firing takes place you can go here to find whatever protest action is slated for your locale.
TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES
QUOTATION
“For women in America who come forward with stories of harassment, abuse, and sexual assault, there are not two sides to every story, however noble to principle might seem. Women do not get to have a side. They get to have an interrogation. Too often, they are questioned mercilessly about whether their side is legitimate. Especially if that side happens to accuse a man of stature, then that woman has to consider the scrutiny and repercussions she’ll be subjected to by sharing her side … I have been afraid of speaking out or asking things of men in positions of power for years. What I have experienced as an actress working in a business whose business is to objectify women is frightening. It is the deep end of a pool where I cannot swim. It is a famous man telling you that you are a liar for what you have remembered. For what you must have misremembered, unless you have proof. The women I know, myself included, are done, though, playing the credentials game.”
~~Amber Tamblyn, The New York Times (September 2017)
TWEET OF THE DAY
BLAST FROM THE PAST
On this date at Daily Kos in 2008—Three Times Is Enemy Action:
James Bond's wealthy nemesis may have had an obsession with gold, but he judged, quite correctly, that if people keep putting your plans awry, that was likely their intent.
In 1982, the same year John McCain entered the Senate, a bill was put forward that would substantially deregulate the Savings and Loan industry. The Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act was an initiative of the Reagan administration, and was largely authored by lobbyists for the S&L industry—including John McCain's warm-up speaker at the convention, Fred Thompson. The official description of the bill was "An act to revitalize the housing industry by strengthening the financial stability of home mortgage lending institutions and ensuring the availability of home mortgage loans." Considering where things stand in 2008, that may sound dubious. It should.
Seven years later, the S&L industry was collapsing. What was the cause? Garn-St. Germain handed the S&Ls a greatly expanded range of capabilities, allowing them to go head to head with full service banks, but it didn't give them the bank's regulations. Left to operate in an anarchistic gray area, S&Ls chased profits, indulged in amazing extravagances, and cranked out enough cheap mortgages to fuel a real estate boom. They also experimented with lots of complex, creative -- and risky -- investments, even though they didn't have the economic models to really determine the worth of the things they were buying. The result was a mountain of bad debts and worthless "assets." Does any of that sound eerily (or nauseatingly) familiar?
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: More Kavanaugh crazy. A wacky "mistaken identity" theory is injected into the bloodstream, then deleted. The "elite" law student pipeline. (And maybe something else… weirder.) Trump says something else dumb. And Armando comments on it all.
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