With the nation starving for leadership to stop murderous police violence against African-Americans, leadership to save our lives from COVID-19 and the deprivations it is causing, and leadership to champion democracy and justice in general, what are the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives and the top Democrat in the Senate calling for?
They’re calling for a fascist president, the night he openly attempts to establish martial law, to… suddenly reverse course. To become good. To “be best,” or something.
Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement On Trump Press Conference & Photo-Op, June 1, 2020
Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued this statement after President Trump tear-gassed peaceful protestors following a press conference in which he ordered troops to “dominate the streets”:
“Across our country, Americans are protesting for an end to the pattern of racial injustice and brutality we saw most recently in the murder of George Floyd.
“Yet, at a time when our country cries out for unification, this President is ripping it apart. Tear-gassing peaceful protestors without provocation just so that the President could pose for photos outside a church dishonors every value that faith teaches us.
“We call upon the President, law enforcement and all entrusted with responsibility to respect the dignity and rights of all Americans. Together, we must insist on the truth that America must do much more to live up to its promise: the promise of liberty and justice for all, which so many have sacrificed for—from Dr. King to John Lewis to peaceful protestors on the streets today.
“At this challenging time, our nation needs real leadership. The President’s continued fanning of the flames of discord, bigotry and violence is cowardly, weak and dangerous.”
They’re asking for someone else to save the country. Not themselves. Not the leading elected officials of the opposition party. Not the head of the representative body of government closest to the people, which commands powers of the purse, of investigation, of impeachment, of public persuasion.
Opposition party leadership worthy of the name would step into the vacuum and wield all legitimate authority available to them to its fullest extent, would openly confront, would fight. Would stop helping run the country under fascist rule and start trying to save it.
It cannot wait for inauguration day in January 2021, it cannot even wait for election day in November. The window is closing—it may be too late already—and we need the House of Representatives to act now.
Impeach again, on the armed oppression of the public, on the president’s open encouragement of white supremacist violence, on his incitement of violence toward political opponents and the press, on negligence and corruption that is causing pandemic sickness and death far beyond what would’ve happened under a responsible administration, on the attorney general’s corruption of the Department of Justice, on the secretary of state’s corruption, on the ouster of inspectors general, on all of it. Officially declare this administration’s illegitimacy and danger to the republic, and then rally the public to apply maximum political pressure on the Senate for conviction, or at least make Republican senators pay a severe political price for their betrayal of the American people. Use the ultimate resort of the Constitution to save the country.
Everyone please call upon your representative to impeach. When the House convenes, any one of them can bring privileged resolutions of articles of impeachment. There is no time to waste.
Impeach again, House Dems. Lead the country, don't leave us to fascism. By Simplify, June 1, 2020
Remove Trump Now, by Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate, June 2, 2020
How did we get here? Let’s review, from late March:
As a mass-casualty pandemic began to spread throughout the country…
As the white male “Christian” supremacist administration continued to consolidate power…
After a Republican-majority Senate, having thrown in with the president’s fascism, falsely acquitted him of even absurdly stunted impeachment charges (compared to the scores of high crimes and misdemeanors committed by dozens of officials) that the House had brought…
What did the Democratic-majority House of Representatives do? The one stronghold of the opposition party in the federal government, hard-won in November 2018 amidst a historic outcry of opposition to the president and with a massive campaigning effort?
They went on recess.
They packed up and went home.
They abdicated.
Indefinite recess: Hoyer says virus may dictate House return date
Members scrambled Friday to be on hand to pass $2.3 trillion stimulus
By Katherine Tully-McManus and Lindsey McPherson, Roll Call, March 27, 2020
There was no indication Friday of when the House would next convene for legislative business.
They passed what would be the first of four must-pass pandemic relief bills with provisions for businesses (to which Federal Reserve also supplied largesse) and with a one-time pittance of a check and some unemployment funds for the public but without vital provisions like a monthly income or health care.
They threw away their leverage, knowingly.
They established no procedure to legislate or conduct hearings, other than letting the Speaker draft language for them to let through by unanimous consent. Americans did not have representation in the House. There was no check on the executive branch.
Meanwhile hundreds of thousands fell ill, and tens of thousands of people died.
After much resistance from the Speaker, in mid-May the House finally convened and passed rules for remote committee hearings and not full remote legislating but a proxy voting process. Amid difficult health logistics and unmasked bandit Republicans, did they go on a tear and start investigating the administration for its murderous negligence and corruption in its handling of the pandemic? Did they get to the bottom of the president’s son-in-law’s deadly shakedown racket for essential personal protection equipment?
No, they passed a pandemic relief bill that, facing Republican Senatorial stonewalling, they admitted was mostly a “messaging bill.” Yet, given the exclusion of provisions like Rep. Jayapal’s $2000 per month per person payments, the message they sent was that they’d protect neoliberal corporatism at all costs. They even tried to pass warrantless federal spying powers for your Internet usage.
And then: they abdicated again.
Jeffrey Stein, @JStein_WaPo, May 31, 2020
Reached out to half-dozen Hill aides —
Tl;dr: Nobody thinks Congress will move anything at all in response to mass protests across major cities
House is out in June. Senate may confirm more judges. “No chance,” one says of a legislative response
One Hill aide points out Congress responded to 1968 upheaval by passing the Fair Housing Act w/ bipartisan support. “Obviously not gonna happen now”
Me: Is there anything at all you think Congress will consider in response to these widespread protests?
Senate aide: “😂”
In Rep. Schiff’s words (emphasis added), regarding the two articles of impeachment on the Ukraine scandal:
We stand here today because the President’s continuing abuse of his power has left us no choice. To do nothing would make ourselves complicit in the President’s abuse of his high office, the public trust, and our national security.
Thing is, that complicity applies to everything else as well.
Impeach now. On all of it.
What more can you do? This three-year-old video holds up well: