"I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."
This final sentence in Trump's letter to Comey is not to him. It's to us. The House will do nothing. The Senate will squawk some, the same few Republican dissidents like McCain and the same few cowards like Collins, Burr, et.al. will appear to soothe with moderating complicities. Trump will appoint a loyal, friendly replacement as FBI Director, and his Senate will confirm him. So who exactly is going to do anything that gets to the _investigation_? Who will _do the work_? Will our protests matter? They govern without us. They don't _need_ to care what we think or say. Don’t kid yourself about that.
Our hope lies with the free press. Last night as the Comey Catastrophe unfolded I watched Fox. As much as I admired Jeffery Toobin’s lucid and relentless criticism on CNN, we have to remember that Fox is all that matters to Republicans. And Fox did its job. It made sure there was nothing to see here. In one 20 minute stretch the word “Russia” or “Russians” was never uttered. The propaganda arm of the Right owns the hearts and minds of their dupes, make no mistake. But it is up to the free press, some dogged sets of characters, women and men from the NYT, WaPo, Mother Jones, people doing their job with dedication that can break this story. Say “Bernstein and Woodward” like it’s 1974 and hope there is someone who knows someone called Deep Throat.
Let us hope that the _next_ Trump move is not to silence the press, because THIS is why the Republicans talk about "leaks" when they should be talking about collusion, conspiracy, and treason. The Republicans will follow their Fox, we can expect nothing from them like decency or integrity. This is the _only_ country they care about, or need to care about. Listen carefully. Stay tuned. Buy a newspaper. Support the 1st Amendment.
This final sentence in Trump's letter to Comey is not to him. It's to us. The House will do nothing. The Senate will squawk some, the same few Republican dissidents like McCain and the same few cowards like Collins, Burr, et.al. will appear to soothe with moderating complicities. Trump will appoint a loyal, friendly replacement as FBI Director, and his Senate will confirm him. So who exactly is going to do anything that gets to the _investigation_? Who will _do the work_? Will our protests matter? They govern without us. They don't _need_ to care what we think or say. Don’t kid yourself about that.
Our hope lies with the free press. Last night as the Comey Catastrophe unfolded I watched Fox. As much as I admired Jeffery Toobin’s lucid and relentless criticism on CNN, we have to remember that Fox is all that matters to Republicans. And Fox did its job. It made sure there was nothing to see here. In one 20 minute stretch the word “Russia” or “Russians” was never uttered. The propaganda arm of the Right owns the hearts and minds of their dupes, make no mistake. But it is up to the free press, some dogged sets of characters, women and men from the NYT, WaPo, Mother Jones, people doing their job with dedication that can break this story. Say “Bernstein and Woodward” like it’s 1974 and hope there is someone who knows someone called Deep Throat.
Let us hope that the _next_ Trump move is not to silence the press, because THIS is why the Republicans talk about "leaks" when they should be talking about collusion, conspiracy, and treason. The Republicans will follow their Fox, we can expect nothing from them like decency or integrity. This is the _only_ country they care about, or need to care about. Listen carefully. Stay tuned. Buy a newspaper. Support the 1st Amendment.
No comments:
Post a Comment