Tuesday, March 21, 2023

What Is It About GOP POTUSes?

Yeah, about that. It wasn't unique; it was establishing a pattern:

Haldeman, 42, was Nixon’s campaign chief of staff, a devoted political adjutant since the 1950s. In late October 1968, the two men connected on what came to be known as “the Chennault Affair.” Nixon gave Haldeman his orders: Find ways to sabotage Johnson’s plans to stage productive peace talks, so that a frustrated American electorate would turn to the Republicans as their only hope to end the war.

The gambit worked, and the Chennault Affair, named for Anna Chennault, the Republican doyenne and fundraiser who became Nixon’s back channel to the South Vietnamese government, lingered as a diplomatic and political whodunit for decades afterward.

Now, the funny thing is, that Politico story is from 2017.  And nobody six years later seems to be drawing any connection between Republican Presidential candidate Richard ("The Dick") Nixon and Republican Presidential candidate Ronald ("The Saint") Reagan.  Why is that?

This is where I'm going to tell you to go read Will Bunch.  Rather than long quote his catalog of Presidential malfeasance (Nixon, Reagan, Shrub (I'd include HW pardoning everyone on his way out the door, to save his own hide),  right to Trump, it's a GOP through-line), I'll send you there.  I will, however, quote this, which is a fine dose of common sense on another topic:

Trump’s online protest plea caused many of his critics to say he was trying to foment another Jan. 6. He probably was. It probably won’t happen, and here’s why. First and foremost, people forget that the actual Jan. 6 required a lot of planning. Folks with followings — like future statewide candidates Doug Mastriano and Kathy Barnette here in Pennsylvania — spent several weeks renting buses and urging supporters to come to Washington. No one is doing that for lower Manhattan (a congested and expensive place to travel to, under any circumstance). Also, many of the people most committed to radical action on Trump’s behalf — leaders of the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers, for example — are behind bars or awaiting trial for the last “protest” egged on by Trump. The threat of political violence from the extremist right — from angry “lone wolves,” or at some future date — is real. But don’t bet on the American Experiment ending this week — and not over an ex-president’s payoff to a porn star.

What I would add is that we just finished the J6 hearings, and there's a complete report available for your bookshelf, which details how much planning and coordination and how many people were involved in that "incident" (and the second major seditious conspiracy trial is still underway), yet everyone acts like that happened because Trump issued a single tweet.

"These things that pass for knowledge I don't understand."

By the way:

Across the street from the anti-Trump rally, five supporters of the former president walked around holding signs including one that highlighted liberal billionaire George Soros support for Bragg, a common right-wing talking point. Trump has used a $500,000 donation from a political action committee funded by Soros that was part of a nationwide effort to help elect progressive district attorneys.

“I wish more people had shown up,” said Trump supporter Philippe Lejeune. The 38-year-old New Jersey resident said he had expected more people to show up after Trump’s post on the social media platform Truth Social over the weekend.

By the afternoon, a few more pro-Trump protesters arrived outside the courthouse including one man dressed like the ‘QAnon Shaman’ who was riding a bicycle. The newcomers engaged in shouting matches with pro-indictment demonstrators, but the tension quickly died down. It was not clear if the pro-Trump supporters were sincere or performance artists.

“I am not worried about Trump supporters engaging in any violent activities. I am completely against violence. I am worried about ANTIFA showing up or anyone in masks and you aren’t sure who they work for,” Lejeune said.

An anti-Trump protester said she expected the two sides to remain peaceful.

“I’m not nervous, we’ve been protesting Trump since 2015. We’ve dealt with many of the Trump protesters. We disagree with them but our group is non-violent. We don’t escalate, we deescalate,” said Jamie Bauer, 64, who lives in Manhattan’s West Village. Bauer, a retiree, said she wasn’t part of a formal group but joined other politically-active people to rally for an indictment.

Tuesday morning, a non-credible bomb threat was made to nearby courthouses, including one where a hearing was underway in New York Attorney General Tish James’ $250 million lawsuit accusing Trump and his real estate firm of financial fraud.

“An anonymous individual emailed they would bomb different locations. but the threats were deemed illegitimate at the moment. Investigation is ongoing,” a law enforcement official said. The individual was granted anonymity to discuss a pending investigation.

The NYPD released a statement shortly after the email was received.

“While you will see an increased uniformed presence throughout the five boroughs, there are currently no credible threats to New York City. The department remains ready and available to respond to protest and counter protests and will ensure everyone is able to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights,” the statement read.

At least two more related events were scheduled for Tuesday — a march of MAGA supporters from Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan to the downtown courthouse and a separate small caravan of pro-Trump cars was expected to drive from Long Island to Lower Manhattan.

Police didn’t expect either event to raise security concerns.

The highlighted bit almost raises the event to performance art.

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