Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
GOP Has No Defense for President -- The first day of the televised impeachment hearings showed that the Republican Party has lost the case on the facts, they have lost on process and they have lost on justice. So, their strategy yesterday was to muddy the waters as best they could. The effort was partially successful, but over the long haul it is difficult to see how this works for them. What will save the Trump presidency (and this journal believes he will be acquitted on a party-line vote in the Senate) is the tribal nature of American politics in the year 2019. [14 November]
Televised Impeachment Hearings Begin -- It has been almost inevitable that Donald J. Trump would face impeachment at the hands of a Democratic House of Representative. The man has no sense of political norms and relishes ignoring them. He has played fast and loose with the law throughout his adult life, violating both civil and criminal statues (unindicted co-conspirator in the Michael Cohen case at least). So long as the GOP cowers at the thought of his Twitter account and so long as it controlled both houses of Congress, the president could act with impunity. He did so for the first two years of his term and developed habits that could only attract talk of impeachment. Today, the process goes on the airwaves. [13 November]
Socialists, Podemos Agree to Spanish Coalition -- The fourth election in Spain in as many years delivered a hung Cortes, and it initially appeared to be as indecisive as the last one. This time around, the Socialists and the anti-austerity Podemos party found enough common ground to make a coalition deal. That puts them within striking distance of a majority. With some help from smaller parties, the Catalan nationalists and/or abstentions on the right, the partners may be able to begin governing. [12 November]
Brexit Party Won't Fight Tory Held Seats -- The Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has just announced that his crew won't stand against incumbent Conservative MPs and will focus its energies on winning Labour-held seats. This is a wise political move for the Brexit Party in particular and the Leave camp in general. With a hung parliament a probable outcome otherwise, this move will almost ensure a Leave majority in the House of Commons. Whether the Tories have a majority is another matter, but it is secondary to the Brexit question. The value of the move is increased by the inability of Labour to come to grips with the idea that this election is all about Brexit regardless of their wishes or of what the voters on the doorstep are saying. [11 November]
Billionaire Bloomberg Weights White House Bid -- Three-term Mayor of New York City, founder of Bloomberg LP, Michael Bloomberg has decided to keep his options open on running for the White House. His supporters are gathering signatures in the State of Alabama to put his name on the ballot for the Democratic primary there. The filing deadline is tomorrow. This is not a sign that his hat is in the ring, but it means he reserves the right to toss it there. In the opinion of this journal, he should keep his hat on and find a better way to serve the country. [8 November]
© Copyright 2019 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
Volume XVII, Number 170
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