The Futility of "Norms"

Today, perhaps more than any day of the Trump administration, revealed the absolute futility of institutional norms in opposing him. Robert Mueller made his statement, which basically amounted to "I am signaling that the president is a criminal, but I can't actually say that because of norms and process, only Congress can." While institutionalists like Mueller follow the rules to a T, Trump just goes on burning down the house. His daily violation of what were once hard and fast rules of political life has become so common that nobody talks about it. This week he not only attacked Joe Biden with schoolyard insults, he took the side of Kim Jong Un against him.

"Politics ends at the water's edge" used to be one of the few evergreen behavioral standards for presidents, and now that's shredded. (Of course, if a Democrat gets elected president expect Republicans to resurrect that rule, and all the other ones Trump broke.) Presidents are also supposed to divest from their financial holdings, to not put their children in high positions, and to not declare emergencies just to have their way. I don't think there's much of a point raising objections over these, because Trump has clearly shown that the unwritten laws and norms don't matter. When he said that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not get punished that was the truest thing he ever said.

That's why it's insanely frustrating to watch people root for Mueller on the sidelines instead of getting out there into the streets. Direct action gets the goods, as the IWW used to say. The airport protests pushed back against the Muslim ban. Massive protests last summer led to the end of the family separation policy. If the offices of every Democrat in Congress and every Republican of the Amash stripe (there are a few) were picketed by protestors I would bet you that Pelosi's impeachment reluctance would fade.

Anyone waiting for process, institutions, or democratic norms to sort out this mess on their own without mass action is not just naive, they are actively doing harm. Way too many middle class liberals believe way too much in the system's benevolence, and are far too meek to raise the hell necessary to fight this lawless regime. It's time for more direct action, and for those people lobotomized by watching The West Wing to pick a side.

Cranky Bear On Why The Mueller Fetish Needs To End

[Editor's Note: I am tired and in need of rest, so I decided to let my impolitic friend Cranky Bear take the reigns for a bit.]

Cranky Bear here, with a bug up my ass and a beer in my hand. I am going to keep this short and sweet so I can talk some sense into you thick skulled folks out there.

Today came the news that the Mueller probe will likely be wrapping up soon. I am hardly surprised, since with Barr in as Attorney General the writing was on the wall. The report will be released to the Justice Department, then it will be buried, since it does not have to be released publicly. Since Mueller is looking for indictments, rather than abuses of power, and since he has not had enough time to clear those high legal hurdles, the report will likely find that lots of people lied, but there will be no smoking gun. This will be used by the right wing to claim the whole this was a sham. In fact, the report will likely end up bolstering Trump's position because he and his flying monkeys on Fox News will just say "See, SEE! They found nothing!"

You better get prepared for this.

You need to be, because too much false hope has been dumped into this investigation. Why? Because even after all that has happened, even after the rigged elections, after conspiracy with the world's foremost exporter of fascism, after children were stolen from their parents, after trans people's rights were taken, after the president of the United States became a promoter of stochastic right wing terror, after all of this, the majority of people who oppose Trump are still too goddamned lazy to get off of their asses and actually DO SOMETHING!

They prefer to believe in a deus ex machina. A lot of them are so detached from reality and have watched so much West Wing that they think deep down that the system actually works. The brain worms from their civics lesson indoctrination back in school have finally eaten away at everything. Mueller allows them to sit on the couch, watch Maddow every night, and cheer along like they are watching their favorite baseball team.

This is bullshit and needs to stop. We all know that Trump has already committed crimes, he's been a criminal all of his damn life. We know he is corrupt, we know he is using his office to enrich himself, we know he is selling out the country to foreign powers. We fucking watched him do it on live television in Helsinki last summer! You don't need some Republican lawyer to tell you this, or to validate what you can see with your own two fucking eyes.

I just hope these people can stop hitting the crack pipe of American exceptionalism long enough to realize that unless we get out into the streets and onto the picket lines none of this is going to change. If you can't put your body on the life, be prepared to kiss your ass goodbye. Cranky out!