I produce and record, along with my co-host Bill Holmes a podcast called “Two Old Guys Drinking Beer”. The shameless plug for my podcast is not the point of the article, but I bring it up because in our last episode Bill and I were discussing the current events that have all occurred in this very brief time since January 1, 2020. I remarked that I was glad to see the back-side of 2019, as it was a doozy. But, 2020 stepped up and says: “Hold My Beer”.This past two weeks have been a let’s say “interesting few days”. I’m reminded of the old Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indeed. So, what’s happened? Since February 2nd, Super Bowl Sunday, we’ve seen people lose their minds over a half-time show where two Latina performers evidently scarred young children for life by wearing risqué costumes and dancing and singing in somewhat alluring fashion. The horror.
The following Monday, we had the first set of elections for the 2020 Presidential contest in November. The famed Iowa Caucuses. People were glued to their TV’s or Internet devices Monday evening to see would prevail amongst the myriad of Democratic candidates. They went to sleep Monday not knowing who won. They got up the next morning not knowing who won, this went on for days and days. What a mess.
Tuesday, February 4th, we had the State of the Union address from President Trump. A President, still going through a trial in the Senate to see if he would be removed from Office based on the articles of impeachment filed by the House of Representatives. The speech was typical of Trump, full of lies, grand-standing and, in keeping with the TV producer he is, moments grand effect. Perhaps the most egregious act of the speech was the “surprise” awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh. Yes, Rush Limbaugh. That paragon of good-will that invades the public airways daily was given the same medal that Rosa Parks was given. So much for the import of that award.
On the next Wednesday, after a rapid impeachment trial, where, for the first time in Presidential impeachment history, no witnesses were called, President Trump was acquitted on both articles filed against him. There was some drama in the proceedings that for me and most, a foregone conclusion. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Lamar Alexander, all Republican senators, castigated the President’s behavior, but then voted to acquit. How brave. One man, Mitt Romney, the junior senator from Utah, voted to find the president guilty on the first article of impeachment: Abuse of Power. One man from the 53 members of the Senate had the courage to find Trump guilty. It was an extraordinary act. And it was an act not without consequences.
On the following Friday, the purges began. Mr. Trump, now emboldened and staying true to his petty and vindictive self, perp-walked Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman, a 20 plus year veteran and Purple Heart recipient attached to the National Security Council out of the White House. Oh, and for good measure, his twin brother Yevgeny, was also escorted out. Why? Because Colonel Vindman had the temerity to comply with a subpoena during the House investigations and testify in a manner that wasn’t good for Mr. Trump.
That same Friday, Mr. Trump recalled Gordon Sondland, the Ambassador to the European Union for the same reason. Sondland testified in House hearings that Trump did indeed attempt to coerce the Ukranians to open an investigation on the former Vice President, Joe Biden and his son Hunter. This of course was not allowed to stand. Disloyalty to Mr. Trump is a cardinal sin, and one that must be immediately dealt with.
Things continued to get worse, as Mr. Trump suggested that retaliation against Colonel Vindman be taken as a form of disciplinary action. Of course, Trump fired up the twitter machine and spent must of the past two weeks going after any and all people that had made any attempt to hold him accountable for his actions. Trump went after Romney, he went after Pelosi, he went after Adam Schiff. He has spent so much time on Twitter in the past three years one wonders exactly when he gets to this “presidenting” stuff.
Not satisfied with just tweeting about the impeachment trial, this past week Mr. Trump weighed in on the Roger Stone case. Roger, as everyone knows is sweet and good as Apple Pie, and would never do anything wrong, was convicted on 7 counts including witness tampering, lying to Congress and the FBI, and obstructing investigations into the Russia affair. The federal prosecutors in charge of the case had recommended a sentencing range of between 7 and 9 years for the offenses. Mr. Trump was outraged. He tweeted out about what a “miscarriage of justice” this was. All of a sudden, the Department of Justice pulled back the sentencing recommendations and said they would be re-looking at this. Wow, what one tweet can do. Bill Barr, Trump’s “Roy Cohn”, and allegedly Attorney General of the United States, basically took control of the situation. So much so, that the four attorneys prosecuting the case submitted a formal withdrawal to the presiding judge, Amy Berman Jackson. One of the prosecutors left government service. Mr. Barr published guidelines to the DOJ that any investigation of the President must have the sign-off from him personally. So much for Justiciable independence.
This past Tuesday, the New Hampshire primary was held, and Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg came out on top. This wasn’t too surprising as the polling in the recent days showed them both near the top of the list. What was surprising was the poor performance of Vice President Biden and Elizabeth Warren. The meager vote tallies of the Vice President may be the sign that his “sell-by date” has expired and people are looking elsewhere. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar came in a strong third place and a buzz of excitement and evidently fund raising has occurred since the outcome was reported.
Another Democratic candidate, former 3-term Republican Mayor of New York City and bazillionaire Michael Bloomberg is making noise. He’s opened his change wallet, pulled out a few hundred million dollars and is running ads all over the internet and TV and really getting under Mr. Trump’s skin. Trump has now decided that Bloomberg’s nickname (he always gives his opponents these) is “Mini-Mike” due to Mr. Bloomberg’s diminutive physical stature. Bloomberg responded with a tweet that suggest he will not be cowed by Mr. Trump. The ads, the tweet storms, multiple endorsements from other mayors and congressional representatives and the failing Biden candidacy has pushed Mr. Bloomberg into double digits in the polls. The other Democrats in the race, in particular Bernie Sanders, are noticing. Deciding it’s terrible to have billionaires in the race vying for the Democratic nomination, Bernie is ramping up his attacks on the super-rich. I’m not sure he noticed, but there were two other very wealthy people on those debate stages with him, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang. But, I guess they were OK. Anyway, Bloomberg is having an impact, and come Super Tuesday (March 3rd), we’ll see exactly how much and what it does to the race.
So, we’re off to a busy start of the year. Will it get quieter? Hell no. The ride has just begun. Buckle up folks, it is a long time until November. DS
