A friend posted this Seth Meyers video and it's well worth the watch.
But it's actually what Meyers left out that scares me most: Trump's two biggest allies this year have been ... Vladimir Putin and rogue agents in the FBI. (!)
Perhaps I could even live with one who incites violence against minority groups and buddies up to white supremacists, one who doesn't understand the basic policy 101 details of his own proposals, and who says and does whatever he wants (including assault) without consequences.
But the Russia stuff... the FBI stuff... the refusing to abide by the outcome of an election unless he wins stuff. That scares the crap out of me. That is the foundation of our democracy and our rule of law.
At this point, it's cliché to talk about the weirdness of this election but when I go through the litany in my mind, it's just weird. It's just so freaking weird.
In this election, a Russian intelligence agency is actively trying to sway our election by leaking emails about one candidate and one party. At the same time, FBI agents are violating both the law and our democratic norms to leak cherry-picked details to the press to tarnish that same candidate and party days before an election.
FBI Director James Comey seems to have alerted Congress to the news that 'we have some emails that might be related to our earlier investigation of Clinton but we haven't even read them yet and we're not sure what, if anything, they'll eventually reveal' out of a fear that the story would be leaked by agents attempting to influence the election. Meanwhile, the FBI is officially tight-lipped about whether or not it's even investigating Trump's ties to Putin and didn't want to publicly reveal that Russia was seeking to influence the election on Trump's behalf.
We actually know shockingly little about Donald Trump. He's never released his taxes—the first nominee since Nixon—and we only know bits and pieces about his business dealings. We know only from his and his son's past public statements that he's deeply invested in Russia and has close personal and business ties to the Kremlin. And, of course, we know that he has proposed policies that echo Putin's own.
We know that he's going to court after the election for committing fraud via Trump University—and that he was able to skirt charges in Florida by making an illegal campaign contribution to the Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. And we know that his tax and charity schemes may have been illegal. And that's it. By being immune to the public shaming that leads normal politicians to transparency on their taxes and finances, and by having none of his own internal campaign communications revealed by a foreign government, Trump has managed to remain a black box, totally hidden from most scrutiny.
In contrast, we know more about Clinton than any candidate ever nominated before her, up to and including the risotto recipe of her campaign manager leaked by Wikileaks. And what have we learned? Some of Clinton's Catholic campaign staffers are frustrated with the Catholic Church; as Secretary of State, she met with a Nobel Prize winner; she told a bunch of Wall Street bankers that she supports open borders and ALSO that she told them they ought to support single-payer healthcare and pay more in taxes. I've read every 'scandal' unearthed by the Russians and I'm still waiting to find a there there.
And truthfully, I'm not looking forward to a Clinton presidency and the inevitable gridlock that will follow. Senate Republicans are promising to toss out the Constitution and block every judicial nominee that Clinton puts forward until they get a Republican president in the White House. (Gee, whatever happened to "the American people deserve a voice in the nomination of the next Supreme Court Justice"? They have no shame.) Meanwhile, House Republicans are promising to default on our national debt and ignite another recession.
So there's almost part of me that's dead tired and doesn't care. I'm white. I'm middle class. I can ride out a bad administration like I rode out the '80s and the '00s. Let Trump win.
But then I come back to the Russians. I come back to the FBI. I start thinking about what this madman will do with the power of the presidency at his disposal. And it scares me straight again.
But it's actually what Meyers left out that scares me most: Trump's two biggest allies this year have been ... Vladimir Putin and rogue agents in the FBI. (!)
Deep antipathy to Hillary Clinton exists within the FBI, multiple bureau sources have told the Guardian, spurring a rapid series of leaks damaging to her campaign just days before the election. ... “The FBI is Trumpland,” said one current agent.I commented on my friend's post: I could actually live with a president who brags about sexual assault, stiffs small business contractors and defrauds working class students trying to get college degrees, cheats on his income taxes, and illegally uses his charity as a front to enrich himself.
Perhaps I could even live with one who incites violence against minority groups and buddies up to white supremacists, one who doesn't understand the basic policy 101 details of his own proposals, and who says and does whatever he wants (including assault) without consequences.
But the Russia stuff... the FBI stuff... the refusing to abide by the outcome of an election unless he wins stuff. That scares the crap out of me. That is the foundation of our democracy and our rule of law.
At this point, it's cliché to talk about the weirdness of this election but when I go through the litany in my mind, it's just weird. It's just so freaking weird.
In this election, a Russian intelligence agency is actively trying to sway our election by leaking emails about one candidate and one party. At the same time, FBI agents are violating both the law and our democratic norms to leak cherry-picked details to the press to tarnish that same candidate and party days before an election.
FBI Director James Comey seems to have alerted Congress to the news that 'we have some emails that might be related to our earlier investigation of Clinton but we haven't even read them yet and we're not sure what, if anything, they'll eventually reveal' out of a fear that the story would be leaked by agents attempting to influence the election. Meanwhile, the FBI is officially tight-lipped about whether or not it's even investigating Trump's ties to Putin and didn't want to publicly reveal that Russia was seeking to influence the election on Trump's behalf.
A former bureau official told CNBC this week that Comey did not want the FBI to be involved in accusing Russia of interfering in the vote so close to Election Day, despite the bureau's role in the investigation. ... Comey agreed that a foreign power was trying to affect the presidential vote. "He believed it to be true, but was against putting it out before the election," the ex-official told CNBC.That's so damn weird.
Comey’s concern over announcing the Russian hacking revelations so near to the November 8 vote has left many confused in light of his decision to notify Congress last week that the FBI was planning to review newly discovered emails on a laptop seized from the home of Huma Abedin, a top Clinton aide. Many have questioned his decision to break with longstanding Justice Department and FBI policy in commenting on an ongoing inquiry so close to an election. Some have even called it a possible violation of the Hatch Act, which requires most federal employees to refrain from actively participating in political campaigns.
We actually know shockingly little about Donald Trump. He's never released his taxes—the first nominee since Nixon—and we only know bits and pieces about his business dealings. We know only from his and his son's past public statements that he's deeply invested in Russia and has close personal and business ties to the Kremlin. And, of course, we know that he has proposed policies that echo Putin's own.
We know that he's going to court after the election for committing fraud via Trump University—and that he was able to skirt charges in Florida by making an illegal campaign contribution to the Florida attorney general Pam Bondi. And we know that his tax and charity schemes may have been illegal. And that's it. By being immune to the public shaming that leads normal politicians to transparency on their taxes and finances, and by having none of his own internal campaign communications revealed by a foreign government, Trump has managed to remain a black box, totally hidden from most scrutiny.
In contrast, we know more about Clinton than any candidate ever nominated before her, up to and including the risotto recipe of her campaign manager leaked by Wikileaks. And what have we learned? Some of Clinton's Catholic campaign staffers are frustrated with the Catholic Church; as Secretary of State, she met with a Nobel Prize winner; she told a bunch of Wall Street bankers that she supports open borders and ALSO that she told them they ought to support single-payer healthcare and pay more in taxes. I've read every 'scandal' unearthed by the Russians and I'm still waiting to find a there there.
And truthfully, I'm not looking forward to a Clinton presidency and the inevitable gridlock that will follow. Senate Republicans are promising to toss out the Constitution and block every judicial nominee that Clinton puts forward until they get a Republican president in the White House. (Gee, whatever happened to "the American people deserve a voice in the nomination of the next Supreme Court Justice"? They have no shame.) Meanwhile, House Republicans are promising to default on our national debt and ignite another recession.
So there's almost part of me that's dead tired and doesn't care. I'm white. I'm middle class. I can ride out a bad administration like I rode out the '80s and the '00s. Let Trump win.
But then I come back to the Russians. I come back to the FBI. I start thinking about what this madman will do with the power of the presidency at his disposal. And it scares me straight again.
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