Dear friends,
I dislike being an alarmist, but if there’s a civil war coming, we on the left need to get ourselves together. The wing-nuts have us beat on knot-tying (the nooses!), gun-toting, and bomb-making. The group in DC was not a disciplined, organized force, but as one friend remarked, “the next fascist to attempt this — Cruz? Hawley? — may be less inept.” On the plus side, the organizing talent on the left is formidable, and it’s not just Stacey Abrams. Maybe you have had some direct experience with bright young leaders in the BLM movement. Or perhaps you’ve been on a call with The Frontline. If so, you will be inspired and reassured by the leadership capacity on the left, and not just because the right is so sorely lacking. The best they’ve got is Mitt Romney.
But I am deeply averse to violence and warfare, and I would like to see lawmakers use the law of the land, flawed though it is, to address the current crisis decisively. On Wednesday, while gaping and doom-scrolling, I was also texting with some of you about how to get the president out of office once the immediate threat of insurrection was addressed. I speculated about whether the 25th Amendment was a better option than impeachment (for speed) and even wondered if it had been secretly deployed, since I did not for one moment believe that the president had called out the National Guard. I have spent some time in the last 36 hours trying to the understand the Amendment. Then I found a good article by a legal scholar named Joel K. Goldstein, which is lucky for you. According to one of the legislators who drafted the amendment, it can be used to transfer presidential powers from a leader “unable or unwilling to make a rational decision.” (By that standard, it would have been appropriate at any time during this presidency.) But the 25th Amendment does not remove a president from office; it is a temporary transfer of powers:
Even if two-thirds of each house sustain the vice president’s position that the president is unable to serve, the president isn’t removed from office and the divestment of her powers may not be permanent. The president may repeatedly assert fitness and allow the process to repeat itself, perhaps with a different resolution. But presidents are removed only if they’re impeached in the House and then convicted in the Senate.
Yesterday, another legal scholar noted that it is technically possible to invoke the 25th Amendment without alerting the public. He called it “wishful and conspiratorial thinking” to imagine that that was what occurred on Wednesday. Guilty as charged; I do not think it was a stretch to imagine a sycophant like Pence still trying to protect the president’s reputation during an insurrection that he incited. Still, Pence wouldn’t answer Pelosi and Schumer’s calls, so I continued to wonder. And then, late yesterday, fearing the consequences of his actions (possibly for the first time ever), the president tried lamely to ‘assert fitness’ by conceding defeat. Without a trace of irony,
he declared himself “outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem” and told those who broke the law that “you will pay.”
Pence was just avoiding Schulosi and again providing cover to this lawless president. Members of the cabinet, Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos, resigned in mock-indignation. What profiles in courage! They enable a dangerous fascist and then faced with the duty to call him to account, they bolt. Lindsey Graham, had the audacity to say yesterday, “I‘m telling you as a Republican, I don’t support an effort to invoke the 25th amendment. Now, if something else happens, all options would be on the table. But I hear from Schumer and Pelosi just political talk.” This remark echoes the stupidity of Susan Collins’s remark that the president learned something by being impeached. In fact, all he learned was that he would be excused, yet again, for behavior that is illegal and unacceptable.
Call Senator Gillibrand at (202) 224-4451 to urge her to being proceedings to expel the Republican Senators who voted to reject the electoral votes from Arizona: Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Tommy Tuberville, Roger Marshall, Kennedy, and Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Trump must go now. The Wall Street Journal has called on him to resign, which would spare us all some grief but will not happen. There are many compelling reasons to impeach Trump (again), which I feel no need to review. But I will add some lesser reasons: if removed from office, Trump would not receive a pension or Secret Service protection. On behalf of the many Americans who are suffering economically, I’d like to see us waste no more money (or time or national reputation) on this president.
Sign the NAACP’s call to impeach the President.
Please contact your Congressional Representative and ask them to support Congresswoman Bush’s resolution and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s articles of impeachment.
None of this will prevent uncivil conflict. The MAGA people remain impervious to facts and steeped in a strong brew of white supremacy and grievance. We have lots of work ahead, and it will involve walking the path of love in the face of hate and ignorance. Try to get some rest this weekend.
with love,
L