JXIndivisible

Dear Group,

Steve Schmidt, the guy in the video above is the best spoken, clearest thinking defector from the Republican Party whom I have heard. He clearly expresses every fear I have of this President and the Republican Party that is in his thrall. Mr. Schmidt has a lot of good company in other Republican intellectuals including George Will and Max Boot. Mr. Schmidt clearly calls out the threat the Trump presidency represents. You can read a brief biography of Mr. Schmidt here. 

In the opening of the interview Mr. Schmidt says “Trump is stoking a cold civil war in this country, and it has turned hot on the periphery,” speaking of the synagogue massacre and the Trump devotee who sent bombs to a long list of Trump’s avowed enemies. I am in full agreement with Mr. Schmidt.

He cites (as I have) William F. Buckley, Jr.as the Republican intellectual who kept “the crazies out of the conservative movement.” 

“This whole caravan in the last week of the election is a giant lie. This is Trump’s Reichstag fire.”

Does McMorris Rodgers’ education even include William F. Buckley, Jr. and the Reichstag fire? How many modern day Republicans know any of this history or these people? Do any of them pay attention to the 

Lest you wonder if any of this has any local relevance, remember Matt Shea stoking “holy war;” he, Heather Scott over in north Idaho, and others pushing for a 51st State, a state with an ascendant white Christian majority. Consider the local assault weapons auctions at Spokane and Stevens County Republican gatherings this last year, and the cadre of crazies sharing movies and extremist propaganda with Northwest Grassroots in Greenbluff, hosted by the then chairwoman of the local Republican Party, Cecily Wright, and attended by Republican frequent fliers, including but not limited to,  Rod Higgins (City of Spokane Valley), Rob Chase (former Spokane County Treasurer), Matt Shea and McCaslin Jr. (of LD4).

Watch the video. Then roll up your sleeves. There is much work to do.

You might start by attending the League of Women Voter’s forum advertised above.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Dear Group,

Today some have the day off for Veterans Day, a U.S. holiday properly celebrated on November 11th, yesterday, a holiday meant to honor military veterans. November 11 this year is particularly notable as it marks the centennial of the end of the war the original Veterans Day was meant to commemorate.

Why November 11th? A bit of history many overlook: Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day. To my parents and their families who actually fought in or lived through World War I the name never changed. It remained Armistice Day in recognition of an event still vivid in personal memory. The Armistice that ended World War I was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. What U.S. school student today even knows what forces led to the senseless carnage of gruesome trench warfare, the first broad use of machine guns and poison gas, and the loss of an estimated sixteen million lives, in short, a horrific war?  World War I was hailed at the time by President Wilson as “the war to end all wars.” What irony it was then, when in 1954 President Eisenhower renamed the day “Veterans Day” so as to subsume in that day the honoring of the veterans of two more hideous conflicts that had since occurred, World War II and the Korean conflict. 

Harken now to the aspirations of our blowhard-in-chief, the man who proposed with great fanfare a military parade in Washington, D.C., on Veterans Day this year, a parade to rival the Bastille Day parade he had seen in France. This aspiration from a man who ducked military service on account of bone spurs, a man who has never known anything remotely reminiscent of the privations of war… Lest you have forgotten Trump’s proposed parade, visit Newsweek from March 10, 2018. Cooler heads evidently prevailed over our narcissistic boy president envisioning metal-treaded tanks grinding up the streets of Washington, D.C. in an appeal to his sense of power. The plans have been greatly scaled back. You can read about them here.

Meanwhile, Trump uses the military and our tax dollars as part of his propaganda offensive against immigrants…and against the possibility that brown people might one day become citizens and vote in numbers that would challenge the Republican minority currently supporting him. He sends active duty military to the Mexican border to reinforce and interdict the dwindling and demonized “immigrant caravan” still weeks away. He sends active duty military in numbers double the highest estimates of caravan. HIs message: “Be afraid, be very afraid. Those evil brown people are coming for your wives and children!”

With his grandstanding, Trump uses taxpayer dollars to serve his propaganda goal…and makes a mockery out of the military for which he poses as having reverence. This weekend I honored my forefathers who served in the wars in which the United States took part…and I grew ill contemplating that their efforts have somehow led to a president the like of which we see now.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Dear Group,

Join the rally this noon Today, Friday, November 9 at the

Tom Foley Federal Building

920 W Riverside Ave

Spokane, WA 99201

Here’s the link to the event:  https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/

Enter 99203 on the zip code line.

I’m not writing today. I offer below a copy of an analysis by Judd Legum. Please read it and then give McMorris Rodgers’ office a call. It is time for her to stand up for democracy and to put action to her own words, “We need to let Mueller do his job.” Here are the numbers:

Spokane Office       (509) 353-2374

Colville Office         (509) 684-3481

Walla Walla Office  (509) 529-9358

D.C. Office              (202) 225-2006

The Wednesday afternoon massacre

Just hours after the polls closed, President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump has had it in for Sessions ever since March 2017, when Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. That decision, in turn, led to the appointment of Robert Mueller. 

Trump’s move, which has been telegraphed for months, is an apparent effort to curtail Mueller’s investigation just as it reaches a critical stage. Mueller is expected to either issue additional indictments or produce a report, which the Justice Department will have to decide whether or not to make public. 

Trump announced that Sessions would be replaced, on a temporary basis, by Matthew G. Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff. 

According to Bloomberg, Trump has removed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein from his role overseeing Mueller’s investigation. Whitaker is now in charge. If that report is accurate, Whitaker will be able to block Mueller from issuing any indictments Whitaker believes are outside Mueller’s purview. 

The move is reminiscent of the Saturday Night Massacre, when President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliott Richardson to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. Then Nixon issued the same directive to Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, who also refused and resigned. In the end, Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox.

John Dean, Nixon’s former White House Counsel, said Wednesday’s events were worse. 

“Unlike the Saturday Night Massacre…that was sort of a culmination of disregard for the president’s direction not to go after his tapes. Here, this seems to be planned like a murder,” Dean said on CNN.

Meet the new boss

Whitaker’s appointment is notable because he has been an outspoken critic of Mueller. 

Shortly before joining the Justice Department, Whitaker wrote a column in August 2017 entitled, “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too far.” 

In the piece, Whitaker argued that “investigating Donald Trump’s finances or his family’s finances falls completely outside of the realm of his 2016 campaign and allegations that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government or anyone else. That goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel.”

Mueller is “only authorized to investigate matters that involved any potential links to and coordination between two entities — the Trump campaign and the Russian government,” Whitaker writes. This cramped definition of Mueller’s authority has been rejected by the courts. Paul Manafort unsuccessfullymade the same argument in an attempt to get the charges against him dismissed. 

On Twitter, Whitaker favorably cited a piece describing Mueller’s investigators as a “lynch mob.”

Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸@MattWhitaker46Worth a read. “Note to Trump’s lawyer: Do not cooperate with Mueller lynch mob” https://t.co/a1YY9H94Ma via @phillydotcom

August 7 2017

765 Retweets613 Likes

He also shared an article exploring how Trump could fire Mueller, including through the appointment of an acting Attorney General. 

Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸@MattWhitaker46Worth a read–“Could Trump Fire Mueller? It’s Complicated”. https://t.co/sG2igd5qkJ via @politicomag

August 4 2017

68 Retweets57 Likes

Whitaker defended Trump’s role in dictating a false statement about his son’s meeting in Trump Tower with Russian operatives.

Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸@MattWhitaker46Buried lead? “Although misleading the public or the news media is not a crime….” https://t.co/Y2cedHDIE3

August 1 2017

4 Retweets4 Likes

In July 2017, Whitaker suggested that an acting Attorney General could reduce Muller’s “budget to so low that his investigations grind to almost a halt.”

Whitaker also chaired Sam Clovis’ campaign for Iowa State Treasurer. Clovis is a witness in the Mueller investigation

Ken Dilanian@KenDilanianNBCWhaddaya know: Mark Whitaker, now in charge of the Mueller investigation, chaired the 2014 campaign of Sam Clovis, a grand jury witness in that investigation. https://t.co/NzUkgjwOp1

November 7 2018

8057 Retweets9500 Likes

What Whitaker can do with Mueller

Whitaker could attempt to fire Mueller for cause, but he also has a lot of options to kneecap the investigation without resorting to such a drastic measure. The tools at Whitaker’s disposal were detailed in a September article by Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes:

The biggest and most frequent opportunity to obstruct the investigation comes in the broader consultation requirement. Throughout the investigation, the regulation requires that the special counsel “shall consult with appropriate offices within the Department for guidance with respect to established practices, policies and procedures of the Department, including ethics and security regulations and procedures.” The special counsel is also required to notify the acting attorney general “of events in the course of the investigation in conformity with the Departmental Guidelines with respect to Urgent reports.” In practice, that means Mueller has to tell the acting attorney general about any “major developments,” like filing criminal charges, in advance.

Such information-sharing alone could be a problem if sensitive law enforcement information improperly made its way to the White House—much less to subjects of the investigation. Beyond such obviously improper conduct, however, an acting attorney general could determine under the rules that a proposed action should not be pursued at all.

Indicting Hillary

In 2016, Whitaker wrote an op-ed saying that he would indict Hillary Clinton, something Trump has called for repeatedly. Previously, Whitaker headed up the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, an organization that spent much of its time investigating Clinton.

Schumer calls for Whitaker’s recusal

In short order, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for Whitaker to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. 

“Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general,” Schumer said.

Republicans are “concerned”

We have been told for nearly two years that if Trump moved to undermine the Mueller investigation, as he did on Wednesday, Republicans would spring into action and protect Mueller’s independence. 

Instead, a couple of Republican Senators issued milquetoast tweets expressing “concern.”

Sen. Susan Collins@SenatorCollinsIt is imperative that the Administration not impede the Mueller investigation. I’m concerned Rod Rosenstein will no longer be overseeing the probe. Special Counsel Mueller must be allowed to complete his work without interference—regardless of who is AG.

November 7 2018

1939 Retweets6820 Likes

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Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Dear Group,

It is Election Day morning. Most Election Day mornings in the past I had long since dropped my ballot in the Dropbox. For me the results were “in the hands of the voters.” I naively imagined everyone had done their homework already. I was wrong. Again.

Knocking on doors over the past week I’ve encountered tens of registered voters disgusted with Trump, disgusted with what’s going on in government, even disgusted with McMorris Rodgers (among those who have ever heard of her)…registered voters who threw out their ballot with the junk mail days ago. 

I sympathize with their disgust (I feel it, too) and then explain why I, an unlikely canvasser, feel driven to knock on their door. (My short presentation involves pre-existing conditions, my experience trying to get McMorris Rodgers to listen, and my personal confidence in Lisa Brown.) 

One young man who had long since thrown out his ballot said, “If I had a ballot right here, I think I would mark it for Lisa Brown just to humor you.” 

I said, “I’ll make you a deal. If you give me your birthdate and you promise you’ll vote I’ll bring you a replacement ballot later today.” 

He entrusted me with his birthdate. When I was next near a computer I used his name and birthdate on MyVote.wa.gov, clicked on MyBallot (actually his ballot in this case), printed his ballot. and brought it (all eleven pages of it) to him later that day. He was happy to talk through the various races as he filled out his ballot. His completed ballot went to a Dropbox.

Will this act make a difference? Yes. It is one more vote in an election in which every vote is counted and every ballot not cast is a voice wasted, a civic duty ignored. More than that, I was rewarded with a glimpse into the life of a young family living a little on the margin. I fancy this young man will remember the encounter with this gray haired old man. Perhaps he’ll be more willing to save his ballot and fill it out in the next election.

Everything below is a repeat of yesterday and concerns the details of the Spokane County Voter Service Centers–places you can, at the last minute, still cast a ballot that could make a difference.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Election Day Buzz Lives on–If you help

In Spokane County there are six “Voter Service Center” locations that are open on Election Day, today, Tuesday, November 6, between 7AM and 8PM.   I’ve reproduced the locations again below. (Copied from: here.) If you are knocking on doors or calling friends on Election Day and you find someone who thinks they are a registered voter but have lost or never received their ballot (but can be convinced to vote) it’s still not too late. You could offer to give them a ride to a Voter Service Center–just like the old days! 

At these Voter Service Centers you can: 

• Drop Off Your Ballot
• Get Replacement Envelopes
• Vote a Provisional Ballot
• Use an Accessible Voting Unit
• Get Answers to Voting Questions

Let’s clarify some of that. I called the Elections Office with some questions and a very nice elections worker filled me in. 

A “Provisional” Ballot has everything on it that anyone anywhere in Spokane County has an option to vote on. The Elections Office takes these ballots over the next several days and cross-checks to make sure they are cast by a registered voter. Based on the voter’s address the “Provisional” Ballot is extracted so only votes cast in that address’s overlapping voting districts are actually counted. (e.g. my address is in LD3, the provisional ballot includes candidates in LD6 that I might mark, but in the extraction process, the LD6 votes I may have marked are discarded.) If that sounds like a nuisance for the Elections staff, it probably is, but they strive to get it exactly right.

To use an “Accessible Voting Unit” a voter with a disability brings their official ballot, puts it in the device and the device, in private, reads and displays the contents of the ballot to the voter and offers an easier way of marking the ballot than using of a black pen to fill in a tiny oval. Neat!

A registered voter who lost or cannot find or never received their ballot can also go to MyVote.wa.gov and, using their name and birthdate, can print out a replacement. (There’s nothing illegal about printing such a ballot out for someone who asks you to do so, but you will need their first and last names [as they were registered] and their date of birth. Of course, the voter him or herself needs to fill out and sign the ballot. Signatures are checked!) These ballots can be mailed in a regular envelope (I think these DO require postage, unlike the official envelopes) or they can be dropped at the ballot drop box locations (usually libraries). 

Put the “optional” daytime phone number on your outer ballot envelope. They really do check the signature against the signature on record. When there is a question they use the phone number to contact you.

It is the voter’s responsibility to be sure, if they are using the mail, that the last pickup from that mailbox is after the time they drop the ballot in the box. I was assured that the mail service is very meticulous about those times and about getting all the mail properly post-marked that gets picked up at the deadline for that mailbox . Election Day can still buzz! It is not over until it is over. Don’t slack off!

Bottom line: The Spokane County Elections Office (and, I’m sure other County Elections Offices in Washington State with which I am less familiar) do everything they can to make it easy to vote right up to the deadline. Take advantage of their diligence. It is our civic duty. The ballot casting process isn’t over until Tuesday evening, November 6, at 8PM. The final tally won’t be “certified” and official until November 27, three weeks later. It could come down to that.

Voter Service Center Locations–Spokane County