It is lonely and terrifying to be the spouse of someone in this fraternity. When we juxtapose the courage of these public servants with the salacious tales Sen Markwayne Mullen (previously a Representative) is now telling about Matt Gaetz it is beyond disheartening. The entire GOP caucus in the House knew about his horrible behavior--because he apparently told them--and they quietly accepted it but now they are upset. We can not afford to wait to do what is right hoping things will sort themselves out in the meantime. We ALL have to fight every day to educate those in our circles and beyond about what is happening in our nation.
In one of his outside the courtroom babbles, the indicted one complained about having to be there instead of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states campaigning. The fact is that he wasn’t required to be there, it was of his own choosing. Second, when he decided to leave, instead of going to one of those states to campaign, he went back home to Florida.
I also have hope. Republicans are useless to the majority of Americans. I still have hope the rule of law will prevail. It will take time to round up all the traitors in the Republican MAGA movement, but I do believe these people (Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Nancy Mace, and all the rest) should be looking over their shoulders. trump is a danger to everyone, even his loyal MAGA fools. He will turn on anyone if he finds them not sufficiently loyal to him. It's all so surreal, day after day after day.
If we think back, it has been public servants all along who held us back from going over the cliff. Buying time for the lawsuits and the latecomers. Colonel Vindman exposed the “perfect phone call” and the risks it held. He lost his military career but never stopped. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch who was removed for not caving to corruption. Security Chief, Chris Krebs, who said our 2020 election was the most secure ever. He was fired but continues the work. Our election workers who did their jobs too often at great personal cost. They continue despite the attacks. Our judges rejected the 60+ trumped up, baseless legal challenges to the election. Public servants, civil service & military officers who slowed, derailed or otherwise held fast against bad acts, refusing to be steamrolled.
It is because of those who stood in the breach and do so today the Heritage Foundation is leading a forceful effort to enable a Republican president to gut the civil service, replace the workers with “vetted” candidates; create a cocoon of enablers around the president and expand executive power.
It is up to us to do our part to foil their plans.
It's scary. Even the thought that Trump could be considered for dismissal from his court cases totally baffles, deflates, and frustrates me. He's playing another con game. I hope honesty and justice wins out in the end even though I'm not sure of anything anymore.
If this were to happen, and all of these cases just somehow were to be dismissed, I would have no choice but to leave America forever and become an Expat somewhere in Europe.
In these days of uncertainty about the future of the US remaining a democratic, we the people entity, with Biden and trump tied in the polls, with nearly half of our "citizens" like the woman who with tears running down her face, said she loved trump so much, and the man who said he would die for trump, how fortunate we are for five women who have, with confidence and gumption, stood up to him -Jean Carroll, Fani Willis, Letitia James, Tanya Chutkan & Cathy Huchinson. While GOP policy abandons women, we should remember many who have shown courage in the face of adversity: Dolley Madison saved the portrait of Washington and the Declaration of Independence from British arson; Joan d'Arc is a French heroine; Clara Barton , Civil War nurse and Red Cross founder; Susan B. Anthony, precursor of the 19th Amendment; Rosa Parks who was tired and just sat down, regardless; & our own Nancy Pelosi who stood behind trump and defiantly with attitude, tore up his speech for all to see. Femme forte !
So with lily-livered McCarthy now a back bencher, who will replace him? Sometimes, the one you know is better than the replacement. Jim Jordan -yikes !! A swaggering, big mouth, show off trump brown nose. He has never introduced one bill that became law. Worth $30 M, it is doubtful he has the best interests of the majority in mind. (Besides, as an Ohio U graduate, apprehension by a Nittany Lion is a sure bet ! )
And then, there is fascist Marge for fascist trump. And he says he would accept the position and will visit Capitol Hill next week. We are talking here about Rod Serling's dimension of the mind between light and shadow-the Twilight Zone. Imagine , if you will, trump in that position. He continues to degrade President Biden and VP Harris, arouses feelings of hate so great that some unbalanced, evil follower with an AR-15, steals into the White House. It is possible. A man bypassed the Secret Service during the Obama administration and did that, made it to the steps leading up to the living quarters.
Imagine that both are shot. Who becomes president ?? Such psychotic thinking a trump reality.
The GOP doesn’t seem to be making an effort to its best foot with the 2 “leading candidates” for speaker. One has a sex abuse scandal trailing him from his only private sector job. The other is quoted as describing himself as “David Duke without the baggage” and in 2002 spoke a white supremacist group founded by Duke.
Both voted not to certify the election. Jordan was in meetings at the WH leading up the January 6th; was speaking to DJT. Naturally he didn’t respond to a January 6 committee subpoena. He appears to have the insurrectionist in chief’s backing for speaker.
You ain't seen nothing yet! As this most important of all elections in my 74 years fast approaches the MAGA-taliban will continue their antics before a diminishing crowd that ultimately slinks back into the dark corners of victimhood. Too much worry about the former's powers is akin to too much worry about inflation--it just stokes the problem. Trump is a thing of a failed past. The future will surprise, as citizens are tested regarding the country they actually want to live in!
What was most baffling to me about the ouster of McCarthy was that he and other Republicans expected the Democrats to save him. Why? McCarthy had sold his soul to the MAGA Republicans in order to get the job. And he’d spent nine months attacking, lying to, and insulting the Democrats.
Of all the idiocy McCarthy displayed in his short lived speakership, expecting Dems to come to his aid was the most idiotic thing of all.
“Chaos may rule the Republican-led House, ad nauseum. The criminal defendant may continue to believe that the law does not apply to him, that he’s free to attack prosecutors and judges, and violence and intimidation are his path to victory and immunity. But there are signs that decency, courage, the expression of truth and the slow moving wheels of justice will finally win out. I don’t know about you, but that gives me hope.”
I always hear poetry in your words, Mr. Beschloss.
Terrifying but I agree with Graff. Everything is at risk. Many of us realized it in 2016 but far too many others did not. And it seems as though the GOP has decided, as a party, that remaining in power is more important than America remaining a democracy.
Well I’m not ready to say I feel a little bit better since they said nothing when they could have really made a difference. Barr, Kelly, Meadows all knew what they were serving and only after they stopped working for him, had the courage to do so. Maybe moderate republicans will pay attention but certainly MAGA world will not
Thanks very much, Steven, for this outstanding and encouraging post. I believe that the key is to somehow get the comments from John Kelly and General Millea and many others into the MAGA/Fox News world. Maybe it would change some minds. I cannot imagine how any military veteran could even think of supporting him. (Not to mention women, minorities, true Christians or any moral/ethical person). But it seems as those there are parallel and alternative echo chambers and we must find a way to break down the walls that separate these silos. Thanks, Steven, for all that you do to help save our country
Engoron, James, Willis, Chutgan, Smith(Jack)… names (there are many more) I’ve not known prior to all of this. Persons who have been mindful of their duties and responsibilities as public servants. I couldn’t be more proud of these individuals, and the many who help in their causes, for their courage and relentless pursuit of Justice and Truth. I’ve been hopeful for some time now that I could begin to be proud of this country and all the Good I KNOW is there, somewhere, just waiting to be expressed. Is this the beginning to what’s in store for us? Coming to our senses, all benefiting through cooperation? I certainly am encouraged by the examples of these persons.
It is lonely and terrifying to be the spouse of someone in this fraternity. When we juxtapose the courage of these public servants with the salacious tales Sen Markwayne Mullen (previously a Representative) is now telling about Matt Gaetz it is beyond disheartening. The entire GOP caucus in the House knew about his horrible behavior--because he apparently told them--and they quietly accepted it but now they are upset. We can not afford to wait to do what is right hoping things will sort themselves out in the meantime. We ALL have to fight every day to educate those in our circles and beyond about what is happening in our nation.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Rachel, and for speaking out. It does take all of us.
Words fall short when trying to convey the immense respect and admiration I hold for you and your family.
And live with the kind of integrity you and your husband embody. Great respect.
In one of his outside the courtroom babbles, the indicted one complained about having to be there instead of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states campaigning. The fact is that he wasn’t required to be there, it was of his own choosing. Second, when he decided to leave, instead of going to one of those states to campaign, he went back home to Florida.
He was there so he would have an excuse to be not be present at a deposition.
The hypocrisy of his never ends.
He also was avoiding a deposition for a case he brought against Michael Cohen
I also have hope. Republicans are useless to the majority of Americans. I still have hope the rule of law will prevail. It will take time to round up all the traitors in the Republican MAGA movement, but I do believe these people (Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Nancy Mace, and all the rest) should be looking over their shoulders. trump is a danger to everyone, even his loyal MAGA fools. He will turn on anyone if he finds them not sufficiently loyal to him. It's all so surreal, day after day after day.
If we think back, it has been public servants all along who held us back from going over the cliff. Buying time for the lawsuits and the latecomers. Colonel Vindman exposed the “perfect phone call” and the risks it held. He lost his military career but never stopped. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch who was removed for not caving to corruption. Security Chief, Chris Krebs, who said our 2020 election was the most secure ever. He was fired but continues the work. Our election workers who did their jobs too often at great personal cost. They continue despite the attacks. Our judges rejected the 60+ trumped up, baseless legal challenges to the election. Public servants, civil service & military officers who slowed, derailed or otherwise held fast against bad acts, refusing to be steamrolled.
It is because of those who stood in the breach and do so today the Heritage Foundation is leading a forceful effort to enable a Republican president to gut the civil service, replace the workers with “vetted” candidates; create a cocoon of enablers around the president and expand executive power.
It is up to us to do our part to foil their plans.
It's scary. Even the thought that Trump could be considered for dismissal from his court cases totally baffles, deflates, and frustrates me. He's playing another con game. I hope honesty and justice wins out in the end even though I'm not sure of anything anymore.
If this were to happen, and all of these cases just somehow were to be dismissed, I would have no choice but to leave America forever and become an Expat somewhere in Europe.
In these days of uncertainty about the future of the US remaining a democratic, we the people entity, with Biden and trump tied in the polls, with nearly half of our "citizens" like the woman who with tears running down her face, said she loved trump so much, and the man who said he would die for trump, how fortunate we are for five women who have, with confidence and gumption, stood up to him -Jean Carroll, Fani Willis, Letitia James, Tanya Chutkan & Cathy Huchinson. While GOP policy abandons women, we should remember many who have shown courage in the face of adversity: Dolley Madison saved the portrait of Washington and the Declaration of Independence from British arson; Joan d'Arc is a French heroine; Clara Barton , Civil War nurse and Red Cross founder; Susan B. Anthony, precursor of the 19th Amendment; Rosa Parks who was tired and just sat down, regardless; & our own Nancy Pelosi who stood behind trump and defiantly with attitude, tore up his speech for all to see. Femme forte !
So with lily-livered McCarthy now a back bencher, who will replace him? Sometimes, the one you know is better than the replacement. Jim Jordan -yikes !! A swaggering, big mouth, show off trump brown nose. He has never introduced one bill that became law. Worth $30 M, it is doubtful he has the best interests of the majority in mind. (Besides, as an Ohio U graduate, apprehension by a Nittany Lion is a sure bet ! )
And then, there is fascist Marge for fascist trump. And he says he would accept the position and will visit Capitol Hill next week. We are talking here about Rod Serling's dimension of the mind between light and shadow-the Twilight Zone. Imagine , if you will, trump in that position. He continues to degrade President Biden and VP Harris, arouses feelings of hate so great that some unbalanced, evil follower with an AR-15, steals into the White House. It is possible. A man bypassed the Secret Service during the Obama administration and did that, made it to the steps leading up to the living quarters.
Imagine that both are shot. Who becomes president ?? Such psychotic thinking a trump reality.
Perhaps a scenario for a Stephen King novel.
The GOP doesn’t seem to be making an effort to its best foot with the 2 “leading candidates” for speaker. One has a sex abuse scandal trailing him from his only private sector job. The other is quoted as describing himself as “David Duke without the baggage” and in 2002 spoke a white supremacist group founded by Duke.
Both voted not to certify the election. Jordan was in meetings at the WH leading up the January 6th; was speaking to DJT. Naturally he didn’t respond to a January 6 committee subpoena. He appears to have the insurrectionist in chief’s backing for speaker.
If trump thinks it would be to his advantage to be speaker himself, Jordan would be under the bus.
You ain't seen nothing yet! As this most important of all elections in my 74 years fast approaches the MAGA-taliban will continue their antics before a diminishing crowd that ultimately slinks back into the dark corners of victimhood. Too much worry about the former's powers is akin to too much worry about inflation--it just stokes the problem. Trump is a thing of a failed past. The future will surprise, as citizens are tested regarding the country they actually want to live in!
What was most baffling to me about the ouster of McCarthy was that he and other Republicans expected the Democrats to save him. Why? McCarthy had sold his soul to the MAGA Republicans in order to get the job. And he’d spent nine months attacking, lying to, and insulting the Democrats.
Of all the idiocy McCarthy displayed in his short lived speakership, expecting Dems to come to his aid was the most idiotic thing of all.
You wrote:
“Chaos may rule the Republican-led House, ad nauseum. The criminal defendant may continue to believe that the law does not apply to him, that he’s free to attack prosecutors and judges, and violence and intimidation are his path to victory and immunity. But there are signs that decency, courage, the expression of truth and the slow moving wheels of justice will finally win out. I don’t know about you, but that gives me hope.”
I always hear poetry in your words, Mr. Beschloss.
hope
chaotic cradle, elephants pirouette
(house of cards, a king, silhouette)
he, the outlaw, shadow’s playmate
law— his scorned, spurned, love-hate
believe him free, unshackled, unstrung
his power-walk, through violence flung
yet in his disarrayed dominion
courage whispers, a rebellion's opinion
truth, a seedling, sun-hungry, sun-thirst
justice, languid but not the worst
their silent nocturne rings, sings
hope, a symphony, on gossamer wings
violence, his vocabulary, intimidation, his rhyme
yet decency, courage, converse in time
against the storm’s teeth, the tide’s climb
in law’s fortress, they bide time
justice's wheels, languid, discern
grind the truth, let untruths burn
though the night is deep, sleep, steep
hope, my dear, is a vigil we keep
chaos may reign, darkness may breed
but dawn breaks, hope isn't a reed
truth, a torch; justice, its light
in their glow, we find our fight, right.
Steven, I listen to a 3min podcast from Margret Sullivan with Garrett Garff, and hostorina like yourself. I have posted here for all to listen it is chilling, and frightening. I am asking if you also believe that our Democracy is already lost and it may take 12 years to recover.https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.substack.com%2Fpub%2Fmargaretsullivan%2Fp%2Fbonus-episode-a-really-existential%3Fr%3Dip09q%26utm_campaign%3Dpost%26utm_medium%3Dweb%26fbclid%3DIwAR3IqkQ885CD249mTVTXkhRC5n3CumN5mgi8MdCFfBHwAzwcIiNRIRVotD4&h=AT3ggAr3iLhSjbrIqqIsN_UED749IjZt9MyiLlXm4y2MsTMMmxK4pIG4wn7NVWUxGENWPxuV2OBx-ExNaJJ5Tg9LlIteUP6J4-tZTWawp_-Ao9os973VqhWqHThMhEj7EYLjyWs&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c[0]=AT3Wohk-vDu66WpfIMakCubJeP-q0E4U6JishkJTCkt7YKe-blpZ955rTs1X7UShW3VAJrSPAP3M59A4AIKcht0uPccb6IlqXfm7dV2UkkxcLOnmQfGpqz1sM9lqTYTnajkCuehHMXrvD8N0o_W_Y4le_hr8nthABYmrtboXFxSREDMywIVuxg
Terrifying but I agree with Graff. Everything is at risk. Many of us realized it in 2016 but far too many others did not. And it seems as though the GOP has decided, as a party, that remaining in power is more important than America remaining a democracy.
It's like we have already lost and have to rebuild all over again.
Well I’m not ready to say I feel a little bit better since they said nothing when they could have really made a difference. Barr, Kelly, Meadows all knew what they were serving and only after they stopped working for him, had the courage to do so. Maybe moderate republicans will pay attention but certainly MAGA world will not
Thanks very much, Steven, for this outstanding and encouraging post. I believe that the key is to somehow get the comments from John Kelly and General Millea and many others into the MAGA/Fox News world. Maybe it would change some minds. I cannot imagine how any military veteran could even think of supporting him. (Not to mention women, minorities, true Christians or any moral/ethical person). But it seems as those there are parallel and alternative echo chambers and we must find a way to break down the walls that separate these silos. Thanks, Steven, for all that you do to help save our country
He’s the ugliest weasel of the bunch isn’t he
Engoron, James, Willis, Chutgan, Smith(Jack)… names (there are many more) I’ve not known prior to all of this. Persons who have been mindful of their duties and responsibilities as public servants. I couldn’t be more proud of these individuals, and the many who help in their causes, for their courage and relentless pursuit of Justice and Truth. I’ve been hopeful for some time now that I could begin to be proud of this country and all the Good I KNOW is there, somewhere, just waiting to be expressed. Is this the beginning to what’s in store for us? Coming to our senses, all benefiting through cooperation? I certainly am encouraged by the examples of these persons.