I wanted to talk about something else; the health crisis is so serious and depressing. But it’s so serious because Trump has been unwilling to be part of the solution. He tries to double down, deny the science, ignore the tragedy and let everyone who’s not a Trump supporter sink into bankruptcy or perish, while Trump and his buddies play golf, and the people he put in charge of federal agencies use the pandemic as a smokescreen behind which to destroy all the agencies and the states and the services they provide – from schools to fire, police, safety regulation and health services.
What kind of people we are is reflected in how we handle a crisis. Do we let those most in need perish while funneling everything to those least in need? Or do we protect those who need it most?
Do we protect public schools for everyone or do we make them a pay-as-you-go enterprise that only the wealthy can afford?
I’m sick of watching the Trump Administration use this crisis to double down on paying the rich and starving the public, supporting private schools and starving public ones, paying large corporations and starving mom and pop businesses.
This has been the Republican playbook – first empty public coffers with tax breaks for their friends so it looks like the federal government has to starve all the programs that serve the people – from Social Security to public health and public education.
The Trump Administration was asleep at the wheel and let the virus explode until they could claim the only way to save American workers from economic disaster is by opening up, further fanning the virus and watching workers die from the epidemic, without Trump’s loudly proclaimed but non-existent health care.
Every Senator who voted to acquit the Thief-in-Chief should be thrown out of office as traitors to America. And yes, the House should do it again, tie up this corrupt Administration on charges of:
- Lying to the American people about the seriousness of the virus
- Incompetence in stopping the pandemic while it was still manageable
- Incompetence in leaving the states to deal with it while parading around like Vladimir Putin showing off his golf game even as people died on ventilators
- Stealing from the people and letting schools, states and cities go bankrupt while profiting his rich friends
Yes, lying, stealing and incompetence are impeachable offenses, were intended to be impeachable offenses and Trump is clearly guilty.
It’s time to expose Trump and his buddies as crooks stealing the people’s money for themselves and their friends.
It’s time for Democrats to play the Tea Party’s game – no holds barred refusal to compromise until this guy is outta there. Two can play the Tea Party game and we need to do it for the people.
Steve Gottlieb’s latest book is Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and The Breakdown of American Politics. He is the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Albany Law School, served on the New York Civil Liberties Union board, on the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran.
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