Martin Longman is the web editor of the Washington Monthly.
He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. Before joining the Monthly, Martin was a county coordinator for ACORN/Project Vote and a political consultant. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
I agree with everything you wrote. But it didn’t begin with Trump. The rot goes way back. Even beyond Nixon. And not just within one party though the Republicans have turned corruption into an artform. Tom Delay was prosecuted but ultimately never held fully accountable. And Bush and Cheney. And on and on.
In earlier times, these men would have been ashamed to raise their heads in public. These days it seems anything goes. We need a deeper social cleansing. One in which a person’s word and reputation mean something.
It is not enough – there are 100s of really morally corrupt enablers of Trumpification of reality all across the 6 years. Should Sean Spicer go scot free? Huckabee-Sanders, Grisham, McEnany? They should all be prosecuted for their Baghdad Bob acts! Bill Barr should rot in jail for the rest of his miserable life. Make Whittaker, and Sessions accountable. Sessions should never see the light of a political day ever again! Ryan Zinke. Scott Pruitt. Andrew Wheeler. Mark Meadows. Muck Mulvaney. Gina Haspel. Pompeo (both for CIA and SoS) And the rats in the White House and Trump’s campaigns, IF… Read more »
There must be a thorough-going investigation of all corners of the executive branch for the past 4 years, simply because the chief executive of TrumpAmerica, Inc. was both a lifelong conman and serial lawbreaker. He openly said the president could do whatever he wanted, the law be damned. He ran a government of toadies, not law. So the only way to survive in the Trumpite regime was to be a willing and inventive lawbreaker as well. “Working towards the Fuhrer” was the concept in the Nazi state. You anticipated what the Fuhrer wanted. This gave a certain plausible deniability to… Read more »
Much as I would like to see this all unfold as you presented it, it will not happen unless citizens hold their representatives feet to the fire. Without that the general approach in Washington will be that it’s all a distraction from governing, that the people are tired of fighting and just want something done to make their lives better. Trump may end up in jail eventually on tax evasion or something similar, but the true damage he did to the country will, like with W. and his war crimes, never be prosecuted UNLESS people rise up and make it… Read more »
I agree with everything you wrote. But it didn’t begin with Trump. The rot goes way back. Even beyond Nixon. And not just within one party though the Republicans have turned corruption into an artform. Tom Delay was prosecuted but ultimately never held fully accountable. And Bush and Cheney. And on and on.
In earlier times, these men would have been ashamed to raise their heads in public. These days it seems anything goes. We need a deeper social cleansing. One in which a person’s word and reputation mean something.
Amen, brother.
It is not enough – there are 100s of really morally corrupt enablers of Trumpification of reality all across the 6 years. Should Sean Spicer go scot free? Huckabee-Sanders, Grisham, McEnany? They should all be prosecuted for their Baghdad Bob acts! Bill Barr should rot in jail for the rest of his miserable life. Make Whittaker, and Sessions accountable. Sessions should never see the light of a political day ever again! Ryan Zinke. Scott Pruitt. Andrew Wheeler. Mark Meadows. Muck Mulvaney. Gina Haspel. Pompeo (both for CIA and SoS) And the rats in the White House and Trump’s campaigns, IF… Read more »
There must be a thorough-going investigation of all corners of the executive branch for the past 4 years, simply because the chief executive of TrumpAmerica, Inc. was both a lifelong conman and serial lawbreaker. He openly said the president could do whatever he wanted, the law be damned. He ran a government of toadies, not law. So the only way to survive in the Trumpite regime was to be a willing and inventive lawbreaker as well. “Working towards the Fuhrer” was the concept in the Nazi state. You anticipated what the Fuhrer wanted. This gave a certain plausible deniability to… Read more »
Much as I would like to see this all unfold as you presented it, it will not happen unless citizens hold their representatives feet to the fire. Without that the general approach in Washington will be that it’s all a distraction from governing, that the people are tired of fighting and just want something done to make their lives better. Trump may end up in jail eventually on tax evasion or something similar, but the true damage he did to the country will, like with W. and his war crimes, never be prosecuted UNLESS people rise up and make it… Read more »