Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped?

[y66]

From Bess Levin at Vanity Fair:

 

When Donald Trump was running for president several eons ago, he claimed in an interview following the departure of noted sleazebag Roger Stone that once elected, he would surround himself “only with the best and most serious people,” or “top-of-the-line professionals.” Since then, we’ve learned that the president’s definition of “top-of-the-line” roughly translates to individuals who think taxpayer money should be viewed as a slush fund for their own personal enrichment; people who don’t know the purpose of the agencies they’ve been appointed to run; slumlords; and alleged spousal abusers. And, in the case of his new acting attorney general, “top-of-the-line professionals” means people who were paid to promote fraud, and who intimidated victims with threats of prison time and bodily harm.

 

We speak, of course, of Matthew Whitaker, the interim attorney general appointed by Trump after he fired Jeff Sessions for not ending the Russia investigation. It turns out that in addition to his work as a United States attorney and private-practice lawyer, in 2014 Whitaker started serving on the advisory board of a company called World Patent Marketing, which bilked inventors out of millions they thought were going toward patents and licensing deals, and was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission last year. As well as serving in an advisory capacity, Whitaker appeared in promotional videos and photos in which he reviewed invention ideas with W.P.M. owner Scott Cooper, and a December 2014 press release quotes him as saying, “As a former U.S. attorney, I would only align myself with a first-class organization. World Patent Marketing goes beyond making statements about doing business ‘ethically’ and translates them into action.”

 

But Whitaker’s most crucial role was arguably in using his prior work as a federal prosecutor to intimidate people when they realized the company was a scam. According to e-mails filed by the F.T.C, in August 2015 Whitaker allegedly responded to a customer who had complained about World Patent Marketing to the Better Business Bureau by telling them, “I am assuming you understand that there could be serious civil and criminal consequences for you. Understand that we take threats like this quite seriously.” Another victim, who tried to get a refund, received an e-mail from a company lawyer who told her, “Since you used e-mail to make your threats, you would be subject to a federal extortion charge, which carries a term of imprisonment of up to two years and potential criminal fines. See 18 U.S.C. ii 875(d).” The pièce de résistance, though, would have to be the correspondence sent to unhappy customers suggesting they keep their grievances to themselves, lest an ex-member of the Israeli Special Ops show up on their doorstep:

 

The F.T.C. complaint adds that “Defendants also cultivate a threatening atmosphere” by sending its victims e-mails describing a company “security team” of “all ex-Israeli Special Ops and trained in Krav Maga, one of the most deadly of the martial arts.” The company e-mails reported, “The World Patent Marketing Security Team are the kind of guys who are trained to knockout first and ask questions later.”

As a reminder, all of these threats were sent by a company that, per the F.T.C., was supposed to be patenting and promoting customers’ products, but in reality “provided almost no service in return,” lost consumers about $26 million, and, in some cases, caused people to lose their life savings. (According to The Wall Street Journal, World Patent Marketing and Cooper settled earlier this year, agreed not to promote any other patent-marketing services, and turned over a Miami Beach waterfront property to the U.S. government.)

 

Meanwhile, Whitaker was reportedly paid $9,375 in advisory fees between 2014 and 2016, and was owed an additional $7,500 at the time the F.T.C. took action to seize the company.

Talk about failing upwards.

[andrei]

In my opinion, one of the big problems in the US is the phenomenon of “failing upwards.” Someone loses an election or does badly in a management position, and somehow the result is that they get promoted to a more powerful position. The “someone” in these situations is almost always a white male (and “charismatic” is a common adjective for such men).

 

I would’ve hoped the Democratic Party would be less susceptible to this but the hype around a presidential run for Beto makes me doubt it. Stacey Abrams also appears to have come up just short in a run for statewide office in a very red state, as does Andrew Gillum. In fact their races were even closer (still pending recounts)! I don’t hear anyone talking them up as White House contenders. Surely it’s just because Beto is more “charismatic” (which might or might not be a synonym for white male).

 

If we’re looking for a white male “savior” we might take a look at Sherrod Brown (who won in increasingly red Ohio, by a landslide). We also have a lot of exciting young politicians with a bit more diversity (like Kamala Harris for example). Sure winning in Texas is hard for a Democrat but I just don’t get the degree of hype.

 

Democrats don't need Beto.

They need more Brenda Snipes (she's neither male nor white, which comes as a bonus)

[Winstonm]

This sounds like Dennison College: NYT

 

WASHINGTON — Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general, served on the advisory board of a Florida company that a federal judge shut down last year and fined nearly $26 million after the government accused it of scamming customers.

 

The company, World Patent Marketing, “bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars” by promising inventors lucrative patent agreements, according to a complaint filed in Florida by the Federal Trade Commission.

 

Court documents show that when frustrated consumers tried to get their money back, Scott J. Cooper, the company’s president and founder, used Mr. Whitaker to threaten them as a former federal prosecutor. Mr. Cooper’s company paid Mr. Whitaker nearly $10,000 before it closed.

 

If those who were bilked complained, threaten them with a lawsuit. Sound familiar?

[Winstonm]

Democrats don't need Beto.

They need more Brenda Snipes (she's neither male nor white, which comes as a bonus)

 

Maybe the Democrats need more Republican governors to make appointments:

 

Because of her extensive and successful leadership and administrative skills, Dr. Snipes was asked by Governor Jeb Bush to serve out the term of Supervisor of Elections in Broward County. She began this appointment on November 20, 2003

[hrothgar]

In my opinion, one of the big problems in the US is the phenomenon of “failing upwards.” Someone loses an election or does badly in a management position, and somehow the result is that they get promoted to a more powerful position. The “someone” in these situations is almost always a white male (and “charismatic” is a common adjective for such men).

 

I would’ve hoped the Democratic Party would be less susceptible to this but the hype around a presidential run for Beto makes me doubt it. Stacey Abrams also appears to have come up just short in a run for statewide office in a very red state, as does Andrew Gillum. In fact their races were even closer (still pending recounts)! I don’t hear anyone talking them up as White House contenders. Surely it’s just because Beto is more “charismatic” (which might or might not be a synonym for white male).

 

Hi Adam

 

Here's a different take on Beto and why he is getting so much attention post election night....

 

One thing that the Democrats seem to be learning is that winning elections requires sustained investments over long periods of time. You can't just show up three months before election day with a wheelbarrow full of money and expect to perform well. As a practical example, look at the special election that John Ossoff competed in back in 2017. Ossoff generated enormous enthusiasm and raised a shitload of money. However, at the end of the day, he ended up losing to Karen Handel. HOWEVER, the Democrats were able to sustain the organization that Ossoff put together and, a year and a half later, that org help but Lucy McGrath over the top in a traditionally Republican district.

 

Beto didn't win, however

 

1. He did much better that any Democrat has done in a State wide race in Texas in ages

2. Beto had really long coat tails and helped propel a number of Democrats to victory

 

I suspect that part of the reason that he is getting such attention is the desire to main his campaign org. Beto only lost by 3% points which suggests that Texas might be coming into play earlier than was expected...

[barmar]

LOL at this:

 

Ballot box found 2 days after elections in storage area at school

 

All schools in Broward County should be carefully checked, they will find more boxes.

Rick Scott is hiding votes.

Voting problems in Florida? Will wonders never cease?

[barmar]

In my opinion, one of the big problems in the US is the phenomenon of “failing upwards.”

While it would have been great if he'd won, he still did far better than expected given the political environment of Texas. That's a consideral achievement, not a total failure.

 

I know that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades", but there can be more to an election than just that one result. As pointed out, he carried many other races on his coattails. And he made a national name for himself, setting the stage for future runs.

 

This is not a case of failing upwards.

 

As an analogy, if there were a team that consistently came in 2nd in the Spingold, they would hardly be considered to be a failing team.

[y66]

From Erwin Chemerinsky, dean and professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, at LA Times:

 

Donald Trump did something that seems impossible: He made Jeff Sessions into a sympathetic figure.

 

The firing of Sessions as attorney general on the day after the election made me realize how much Sessions has been integral to upholding the rule of law in the first two years of the Trump presidency. The core of the rule of law is that no one, not even the president, is above the law, and it is Sessions who, despite all of Trump’s personal attacks and insults, insured that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III could continue his investigation.

 

I have found much of Sessions’ conduct as attorney general to be loathsome. He initiated and defended the illegal and morally bankrupt policy of separating children from their parents at the border. He has threatened cities with loss of federal funds if they don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities, a policy that several federal courts have declared unconstitutional. Sessions has mandated that those arrested for federal crimes, including drug offenses, be charged to the maximum. He made clear that the Justice Department would no longer bring actions against police departments for having a pattern and practice of violating civil rights.

 

Despite all of this, Sessions has been crucial in protecting the special counsel’s work. Although Trump repeatedly has called it a “witch hunt” and a “hoax,” it is an essential investigation into crimes that go to the very heart of the integrity of our election system.

 

Any assertion that the investigation is a witch hunt is belied by its success. So far, it has resulted in 32 indictments or guilty pleas, including guilty pleas from former top-level Trump advisors such as Michael Flynn, Rick Gates and Michael Cohen. Paul Manafort, who managed the president’s 2016 campaign, was convicted by a jury of charges that could keep him in prison for decades.

 

Mueller’s team, quite appropriately, has not revealed what it has learned or exactly what the lines of the investigation are. But there remains the possibility that it may lead to evidence against Trump’s family or the president himself. It is essential that Mueller not be impeded.

 

Despite withering attacks by Trump, Sessions never caved to the pressure. Trump repeatedly referred to Sessions as “missing in action” and called him “Mr. Magoo,” referring to a bumbling cartoon character from decades ago. I can think of virtually no instance where a president so viciously criticized a member of his Cabinet.

 

Trump was most outraged at Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing Mueller’s investigation. But Sessions did exactly the right thing in removing himself.

 

Mueller’s brief includes looking at whether federal laws were broken in connection with Russia’s involvement in the 2016 campaign. During Sessions’ Senate confirmation process, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, asked the attorney general designate in a questionnaire if he had “been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day.” Sessions’ answer was “no.” During the hearings, Sen. Al Franken asked Sessions what he would do if he learned of evidence that someone affiliated with the Trump campaign had communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign. Sessions replied, “I’m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

 

It was later revealed that Sessions had at least two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States in July and September 2016. Sessions knew he was a potential target for the investigation, and therefore he was required by ethics rules to recuse himself.

 

Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein replaced Sessions as the official to whom Mueller reported. Trump attacked Rosenstein for not limiting the investigation. He attacked Sessions for not controlling Rosenstein and Mueller. But Sessions never flinched, and he never backed down from his recusal. He deserves our admiration for standing up for the rule of law.

 

With Sessions gone, Mueller’s future is uncertain. The newly appointed Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker has been hostile to the investigation and critical of Mueller. When Democrats take control the House of Representatives in January, they are sure to launch oversight hearings related to the musical chairs at Justice, Russian collusion and more. But members of Congress cannot bring criminal indictments, and it is easier for a president to refuse to cooperate with Congress than to resist court orders.

 

I never imagined I would say this, but we might come to find we miss Jeff Sessions as attorney general.

Even in the swamp, loathsomeness is relative.

[Winstonm]

Prosecutor: Do you know Matt Whitaker?

 

“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. “Matt Whitaker is a very highly respected man.”

 

Your honor, I submit the following as evidence:

 

Mr. Whitaker, who now oversees the investigation, has visited the Oval Office several times and is said to have an easy chemistry with the president, according to people familiar with the relationship. [The WH visitors log confirms the visits.]

[johnu]

In my opinion, one of the big problems in the US is the phenomenon of “failing upwards.” Someone loses an election or does badly in a management position, and somehow the result is that they get promoted to a more powerful position. The “someone” in these situations is almost always a white male (and “charismatic” is a common adjective for such men).

 

I would’ve hoped the Democratic Party would be less susceptible to this but the hype around a presidential run for Beto makes me doubt it. Stacey Abrams also appears to have come up just short in a run for statewide office in a very red state, as does Andrew Gillum. In fact their races were even closer (still pending recounts)! I don’t hear anyone talking them up as White House contenders. Surely it’s just because Beto is more “charismatic” (which might or might not be a synonym for white male).

 

If we’re looking for a white male “savior” we might take a look at Sherrod Brown (who won in increasingly red Ohio, by a landslide). We also have a lot of exciting young politicians with a bit more diversity (like Kamala Harris for example). Sure winning in Texas is hard for a Democrat but I just don’t get the degree of hype.

 

Some more statistics.

 

In 2008, in a Democratic wave, Obama lost in Texas by 12%. In 2012, Obama lost by 16%, in 2016, Clinton lost by 9% to an unpopular Dennison. This may not be horseshoes where being close counts, but Beto clearly outperformed expectations when initially he was give no chance to win before he caught fire.

 

Georgia is a red state, but it's trending bluer with the dynamic growth of the Atlanta region. In 2016, Clinton lost in Georgia by 5%. In 2012, Obama lost by 8%, and in 2008 Blue wave election, Obama lost by 5%. Clearly there are degrees of red, and Georgia isn't close to being as red as Texas. Clearly voter suppression by Republican Kemp affected election results but the overall number of votes is unknown.

 

As far as Florida goes, Florida is barely red. Dennison won Florida in 2016 by just over 1%, Obama won Florida in 2012 by less than 1%, and in the 2008 Blue wave election, Obama won by 3%. I won't go into details about the closeness of the the 2000 election. Democrat Bill Nelson has been a US Senator since 2000. Gillum was favored to win by most polls going into the election, and I read an article saying that Bill Nelson was getting pulled ahead by the popularity of Gillum. Obviously the polls were wrong.

 

I really like Kamala Harris, but she was elected in California which is one of the bluest states in the US. How will she do in the swing states (or mildly red) which decide presidential elections? That's a big unknown. Beto now has a track record of being able to draw votes even in a deep red state, plus a lot of name recognition due to running in the 2nd most populous state in a very high profile race.

 

I also really like Sherrod Brown. But he's been in politics forever and is 66 years old without a big national following. Maybe he could do a Bernie Sanders and come out of nowhere to be competitive in the next primary battle but he has said he isn't interested in running so there's that.

[johnu]

Prosecutor: Do you know Matt Whitaker?

“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. “Matt Whitaker is a very highly respected man.”

 

Your honor, I submit the following as evidence:

 

Mr. Whitaker, who now oversees the investigation, has visited the Oval Office several times and is said to have an easy chemistry with the president, according to people familiar with the relationship. [The WH visitors log confirms the visits.]

 

Prosecutor: Do you know Don Jr?

“I don’t really know Don Jr,” Dennison replied. “I think he may be a distant relative, or so I've been told.”

[cherdano]

Don't get too excited about Beto. Yes, he made it close in Texas, but he also ran against a famous serial killer whose father conspired to murder JFK.

[Winstonm]

Lawrence Tribe tonight echoed the sentiment that Whitaker appointment is unconstitutional - not even close - and that Mueller could challenge in court on that basis any directive or decision Whitaker made.

[Winstonm]

A little recap of today's action.

 

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there is evidence that shows Trump was actively and deeply involved and in fact directed the payoffs in the same crime to which his fixer Michael Cohen pled guilty. As a person is not allowed to plead guilty to a non-crime, this means that Trump, if he were not president, would be indicted and charged with the same crime.

 

As soon as he is out of office, he can be charged. This makes the 2020 election even more critical.

 

Second, Trump's choice for acting goomba, Whitaker, was a participant with a company that is actively being investigated for fraud by the FBI. Reporting states he was responsible for a threatening letter sent to victims who complained or threatened action against the company.

In emails uncovered by the FTC investigation, Whitaker personally threatened a customer who complained, according to a story in the Miami New Times that was picked up by other news outlets.

 

The emails the FTC obtained, in fact, suggests Whitaker used his background as a U.S. attorney to try to silence customers who claimed they were defrauded by the company and sought to take their complaints public.

 

In this case, Whitaker sent an intimidating email to a customer on August 25, 2015, who had contacted World Patent Marketing with his grievances and and filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

 

It could be that in the near future both the acting AG and the president are both indicted.

[Winstonm]

I just figured out Florida. Putin has shipped Hillary's deleted e-mails to the DNC lawyers so they can pass them on to the election board in Florida in order to make new ballots out of them, after which they will use fake Benghazi addresses and "foreign-sounding" names to create enough absentee voters to win the senate seat and governor's race. Wicked! :o

[jjbrr]

adam "why are sec teams ranked so high" meyerson sharing opinions about why a guy who lost an impossible race is worse than a bunch of people who won stacked races. it's completely predictable how this is going to play out.

[andrei]

I just figured out Florida. Putin has shipped Hillary's deleted e-mails to the DNC lawyers so they can pass them on to the election board in Florida in order to make new ballots out of them, after which they will use fake Benghazi addresses and "foreign-sounding" names to create enough absentee voters to win the senate seat and governor's race. Wicked! :o

 

It is very easy to figure it out.

One party tries to cheat. Guess who that is?

 

Oh, I know, GOP is trying to suppres votes here, LOL.

[Winstonm]

The GOP cheat? No, they only want to stop counting votes and call it over the instant any of their candidates take the lead. <_<

[ggwhiz]

They keep talking about historical records like voter turnout in the mid-terms etc.

 

What's the over/under for indictment of administration officials so far? (Whitaker may join them soon enough) They must be getting close.

[johnu]

‘Real low energy’: Critics pile on after Dennison cancels visit to U.S. military cemetery outside Paris

 

I have to defend Dennison on this one. The Fox Propaganda Channel was going to have some shows where Dennison was going to be mentioned a lot of times and flunkies were going to kiss his boots on air. It's crazy to ask Dennison to miss those shows. You have to have your priorities straight and that cemetery is going to be there next year.

[cherdano]

Is this the Trumpiest Trump week yet? Let's recap:

- A middling election result - overall weak, but some good results in key states

- Replacing his most effective member of cabinet with a more loyal, unqualified, and horribly corrupt appointee (and the appointment was probably illegal)

- Picking fights with three black (check) female (check) journalists (check)

- Throwing doubt on potential election results

- Refusing to stand in the rain in order to honour fallen soldiers

All this in half a week...

 

If this was a play, you'd think this was the rather overwritten hectic final act, and you'd be waiting for the curtain to drop any second...

[hrothgar]

 

All this in half a week...

 

 

Don't forget the following: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DrojOVIWsAIAkp3.jpg

 

(Trump attacked the leaders of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia for starting a civil war in Yugoslavia)

[Winstonm]

Trump cancels WW1 memorial at U.S. cemetery in France due to rain

 

The Wicked Snowflake of the West was afraid he'd melt?

[johnu]

It is very easy to figure it out.

One party tries to cheat. Guess who that is?

 

Well, let's review. Throwing voters off the voter rolls so they can't vote, requiring additional and difficult to obtain ID for long time US citizens who have been voting for years, arbitrarily tossing out vote by mail and absentee ballots by untrained and unqualified election personnel because they think signatures don't match without notifying the voters, closing polling locations and/or removing voting machines in highly populated urban areas so that the wait to vote can be half a day or longer, sending out fake election information giving wrong precinct information and dates and times. I'm sure there are many more fraudulent and perhaps criminal activities I haven't included.

 

Which party might that be? Look in the mirror and put a red checkmark by the Republican party.

 

P.S. You don't seem to have any understanding about how long it takes to manually count a million mail in and provisional ballots. Washington, California, and Arizona (among many states) have truckloads of ballots that still need to be counted and there is no real controversy. The only controversy is that Republicans don't want all the votes counted in those races that they have the lead. Unsurprisingly, they want all the votes counted in races that they are losing.

 

P.S. 2 And that's just election day vote stealing. I suggest you google the unprecedented gerrymandering that the Republicans have perpetrated on Congressional house districts and state districts.

 

P.S.3 Example of voter suppression:

 

In Georgia, black voters see echoes of voter suppression

 

I live in a very blue state with vote by mail, so I don't have to do anything to vote except study the voter pamphlet, fill out my ballot while sitting comfortably at home, and then stop at a mail box and mail by ballot sometime in the couple of weeks before the election. I'm not sure I would vote if I had to wait in line for hours.

[Winstonm]

I'm sure Dennison is proclaiming this more "fake news" as Yahoo reports:

“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism,” Macron said. “In saying ‘Our interests first, whatever happens to the others,’ you erase the most precious thing a nation can have, that which makes it live, that which causes it to be great and that which is most important: Its moral values.”

 

From the movie Bridge of Spies:

 

James Donovan: My name's Donovan. Irish, both sides. Mother and father. I'm Irish and you're German. But what makes us both Americans? Just one thing. One. Only one. The rule book. We call it the Constitution, and we agree to the rules, and that's what makes us Americans. That's all that makes us Americans. So don't tell me there's no rule book, and don't nod at me like that you son of a bitch.

 

And don't call news organizations "the enemy of the people" or try to circumvent the constitutional requirement for advice and consent of the Senate for an AG. Unless, of course, you don't really care about being American, which is my guess.