Blog No. 195. At last, the Midterms

RINOcracy.com has been silent for the last several weeks, owing to a delightful trip to Portugal and a very un-delightful case of bronchitis. While the bronchitis lingers, its effects have been overcome by the urge to have a last word before Election Day. Developments in the past weeks, continuing to today, are as frightening and depressing as any in memory (and in my case that includes memories of serving in the White House Counsel’s Office during the Watergate investigations).

The most dramatically disturbing event was the horrendous shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, which itself came on the heels of a Trump supporter sending explosive devices to virtually every figure whom the President had singled out for his vitriolic brand of criticism. Trump does not bear direct responsibility for either outrage but they were both a part of the mosaic of political and ethnic divisiveness and hate to which he, and many of his supporters, have contributed so prominently. If Trump is not personally anti-Semitic, much of his rhetoric resonates with those who are. And just as climate change may not be responsible for any particular hurricane, the increase in the frequency and ferocity of hurricanes tells us something.

Trump’s response to Pittsburgh and the mail bomber was characteristic: blaming the toxic political climate on Democrats and the “Fake News Media” which he declared to be the “true Enemy of the People.” It was, of course, utter nonsense to associate anything in the mainstream media with either the mail bomber or the Pittsburgh massacre—except to the extent that the media has accurately reported Trump’s own fulminations. Beyond that, the term “enemy of the people” has a long and dishonorable history notably including well known usage by Nazi and Communist dictators. Trump is no history buff and it is possible that he was unaware of the unsavory antecedents of the term, but if he was aware of them, there is no reason to think that he would have cared.

Every president has experienced discomfort and disagreement with the media, but only Trump has made it a leitmotif of his administration. The answer to Trump’s complaints is twofold: first, he should distinguish between expressions of opinion and factual reporting. As to the former, he should simply accept them as part of the territory and stop whining. As to the latter, the White House should simply identify the stories it believes to be inaccurate, specify the particular statements it disputes, and document the basis for its claim.

The most glaring aspect of Trump’s current conduct is his obsession with immigration. To begin with, he has promised to “amend” the constitution by means of an executive order barring birthright citizenship. It has long been understood that birthright citizenship is provided by the 14^th Amendment, and there are few legal experts who believe that eliminating it could be done without a constitutional amendment; there are virtually none who believe it could be done by executive order. If such an order ever sees the light of day, it is likely to be short lived.

Equally alarming is the extraordinary demagoguery that Trump has lavished on the “caravan” of migrants from Central America that is slowly making its way through Mexico toward our southern border and is still several hundred miles away. Trump has 1) attempted to demonize the caravan by suggesting, without evidence, that it includes “tough people,” gang members, and persons from the “Middle East,” and 2) sent 5,200 troops to the border and indicated that he might increase that number to 15,000. The Pentagon had to instruct the President that under U.S. law the military could be used only in a support role and could not perform law enforcement functions, so what the 15,000 troops (more than we have in Afghanistan) would be doing is far from clear. Still less clear is evidence of any need that would justify disrupting the training and other duties of our soldiers, as well as taking them away from their families at the holiday season.

Trump also said that he would order that if members of the caravan threw rocks at U.S military, they should consider the rocks to be the equivalent of a rifle. He later “clarified” this statement to indicate that he did not mean that rock throwers would be shot at, but only arrested. Even that, however, would involve the military in the kind of law enforcement function from which it is barred. It is also puzzling as to how it would work in practice. If the rock throwers are on Mexican soil, is Trump proposing that we invade Mexican Territory to make the “arrest”? And if they have gained entry into the U.S., why would they be throwing rocks? In short, more nonsense, but nonsense that had an immediate and unfortunate impact overseas when the Nigerian Army cited Trump’s words in fatally shooting protesters.

Trump has also promised an executive order that would purport to limit the right of asylum in the United States. What exactly such an order might provide is yet to be seen, but it is unlikely that major changes can be made consistent with existing U.S. statutory law. (For a helpful explanation of existing law and procedures, see the Los Angeles Times November 2 article, “Can Trump stop asylum seekers?”) It has long been the habit of immigration hawks to trumpet “The Rule of Law” in urging that illegal immigration must be opposed by every possible means. In this case, the rule of law sets forth the requirements for receiving and considering claims of asylum in good faith. Trump, however, has repeatedly shown little respect for the rule of law and there is no reason to expect that to change any time soon. How helpful his approach may be to Republicans in the coming election will soon be seen.

Another disturbing aspect of the run-up to the midterms, is the fact that Trump and Republicans appeared to generate significant enthusiasm among their base from the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice. That enthusiasm seems unwarranted. The last blog, No. 194, was titled “Hurray For Senator Flake” and saluted Flake for insisting on an FBI investigation of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Judge Kavanaugh in his early years. The blog, however, cautioned that the investigation “must be given the time and scope required to be convincing of its adequacy.” As it turned out, the investigation was highly constricted and left the matter essentially unresolved in many minds. Justice Kavanaugh may go on to serve on the Supreme Court with distinction, but his confirmation, and the way it was accomplished, should not have been an occasion for celebration.

I have previously joined other (more notable) Republicans and conservatives in urging a vote for Democrats in the midterm election and I repeat that urging now. In an October 22, Wall Street Journal column, Gerald Seib wrote that “Regardless of the outcome of the midterm election, this much already has become clear: The battle for the soul of the Republican party is over, and President Trump has won.” Perhaps that is so, but there are those of us who are not ready to give up the battle just yet. We remember free trade. We remember cooperation with allies. We remember that Vladimir Putin is not our friend. We remember fiscal integrity. We remember concern for the environment. We remember that we are a nation of immigrants. We remember bi-partisan solutions and mutual respect across the aisle. We remember presidents, Republicans and Democrats, who had the moral authority to console and inspire the nation in times of crisis. We pray for a return of those days.

A victory by Democrats next week will not be the end of Trump by any means or even the beginning of the end, but it could be the end of the beginning. At the very least it may lessen the damage he can do to the country, if not the Republican Party.