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Last week, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said a lot without speaking a word. At the close of President Trumps State of the Union address, she calmly, deliberately and now famously tore her copy in two and tossed it down with a shrug, declaring her disdain for its contents with aplomb.

This simple gesture sent a strong message. Most speakers are expressionless during State of the Union addresses or they come close; Speaker John Boehner couldnt quite mask his micro-expressions of frustration during President Barack Obamas address in 2015.

Speaker Pelosi offered a cri de coeur in comparison, as she intended. The speech was a manifesto of mistruths, she said during a news conference two days later. It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, This is not true. And she succeeded, perhaps beyond her expectations. Violating congressional traditions to make a point is itself a longstanding tradition for good reason.

Republicans heard that message loud and clear, denouncing her incivility, accusing her of shredding decades of tradition and demanding her resignation. It was the most classless act ever conducted in Congress, Ian Miles Cheong, the managing editor of the conservative website Human Events, charged.

But was it? Not by a long shot; when it comes to misconduct, Congress has a long history. Congressmen have pulled guns on each other. Theyve shoved and punched each other, and smacked at foes with fireplace tongs. Theyve engaged in mass brawls, toppling desks, tossing spittoons and, in one case, yanking off a toupee. The most famous violence in congressional history is the caning of the abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts by Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina on the Senate floor in 1856, but it was not an anomaly.

Nor is Ms. Pelosi alone in violating traditions for all to see; it was far from the first time that members of Congress met alleged lies with bold displays of open contempt. In 1790, Representative Aedanus Burke of South Carolina showed his feelings with a flourish after Alexander Hamilton, the Treasury secretary, slurred the Southern militia during an Independence Day speech. Hamilton had said that Southern troops were dispirited and in disarray before the arrival of Gen. Nathanael Greene. Burke outraged and hoping to impress folks back home used the theater of Congress to have his say. Turning toward the visitor gallery, he declared, In the face of this assembly and in the presence of this gallery I give the lie to Colonel Hamilton. Onlookers were stunned.

Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas did much the same when President Obama discussed his health care plan before the House in 2009, waving a handwritten sign that read, What Plan? The things he was saying were certainly not true of the only bill we had at the time, Mr. Gohmert later said. On that same night, Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted You lie! at the president for a similar reason.

By far, the most skilled practitioners of this showy statecraft were Southern slaveholders in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Threatened by even the hint of opposition to slavery, they used bold public threats during debate to frighten their foes into compliance or silence, tossing off insults or dangling duel challenges to set an example. Faced with the choice of a fistfight or a duel or the humiliation of avoiding one most men backed down or held back. For Southerners, transgressing rules was part of the point; it was a show of power.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky used the same form of showmanship when he exposed the alleged whistle-blowers name during impeachment proceedings last Tuesday. Days after Chief Justice John Roberts refused to read a question from Mr. Paul that revealed the name, Mr. Paul did the deed himself. During a period reserved for impeachment speeches, he read his question aloud while standing next to a large blue poster with the name in bold yellow, endangering the whistle-blower and violating the spirit of whistle-blower protection laws in the process; although those laws are meant to protect informants from retaliation, they dont explicitly stop members of Congress or the president from revealing names. Tradition and ethics alone keep them silent.

Although not strictly speaking illegal, Mr. Pauls actions were wrong, and some Republican colleagues said as much, privately admitting that they probably wouldnt have done it. But for Mr. Paul, violating norms was the point. By exposing the name and getting away with it he was warning off potential whistle-blowers-to-be.

Did he succeed? We dont yet know, though the bar of success is low; prevent one potential informant from stepping forward, or even give one pause, and Mr. Paul has scored a victory. President Trumps public name-calling and bullying have done much the same, frightening people into compliance for fear of vengeance in Washington or back home.

Mr. Pauls stunt shows us the real power of such transgressions. Incivility is one thing; bullying people into silence is quite another. The former scores points. The latter potentially warps the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch, and smothers the protections that make government go. These are the sins that should merit our outrage, get us out campaigning and march us to polling places. The defense of our system of government demands no less.

The rest is here:
Whos Really Shredding Standards on Capitol Hill? - The New York Times

Its hard not to get discouraged. Our government is so broken and the left is so behind the eight ball that it seems like any progress at all is permanently out of reach. Even the rare glimmer of hope mainly serves to reinforce this sense of powerlessness.

For example, Congress came together last year to use the War Powers Act for the first time since it was enacted in 1973. The goal was to prevent the president from continuing to support Saudi Arabia in the civil war in Yemen. While the resolution passed with bipartisan support, Trump simply vetoed the bill.

This week, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia will bring a privileged resolution to the floor of the Senate. The goal is to limit President Donald Trumps authority to launch military operations against Iran by requiring the president to cease all hostilities targeting Iran within 30 days unless explicitly approved by Congress. The resolution appears to have the support of all 47 members of the Democratic caucus plus Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jerry Moran of Kansas. Thats more than enough to pass the resolution but far short of the two-thirds majority needed to override Trumps inevitable veto.

Its a rare example of congressional Republicans dealing Trump a defeat, as well as a rare instance of Congress trying to exert its powers against the Executive Branch. But its not going to have any legal effect.

That doesnt mean the effort is pointless, of course, but its hard to find it as a source of hope.

Its not surprising that good legislation doesnt become law in the Trump administration, but not much would be different with a Democratic president. If a bill could actually overcome a Republican filibuster, it would probably not be all that worthwhile. If the bill somehow circumvented the filibuster and it was in any way transformative, its likely that the conservative courts would rule it unconstitutional. This problem is so obvious that progressives are already demanding that the next Democratic president increase the size of the Supreme Court and demand that the Senate do away with the legislative filibuster. If either of those things are not done, then theres little chance that a President Sanders or a President Klobuchar or any Democratic president will be able to fulfill a single major campaign promise.

But its hard to see the Democratic Party as unified enough to accomplish this. At least initially, there will be no majority in the Senate for gutting the filibuster, and everyone remembers how badly FDR was hurt when he tried to stack the court. Maybe if the congressional Democrats see enough of their work product help up and stymied, they will come around. But, by that time, the critical first year of a new presidents term will have passed and everyone will be worried about the midterms.

And, note that I am here assuming that the Democrats will win the presidency in 2020 and take full control of Congress. If they dont accomplish both of those things, then no legislative progress is even conceivable at all.

Theres really nothing to do but keep fighting, but its sometimes hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel.

If you enjoyed this article, consider making a donation to help us produce more like it. The Washington Monthly was founded in 1969 to tell the stories of how government really worksand how to make it work better. Fifty years later, the need for incisive analysis and new, progressive policy ideas is clearer than ever. As a nonprofit, we rely on support from readers like you.

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Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel? - Washington Monthly

One New Hampshire result is not in doubt: Donald Trump will win the Republican primary. His closest contender, Bill Weld, is polling in the single digits, even though he was once the governor of New Hampshires neighbor, Massachusetts. So it wasnt as much to campaign as to gloat that Trump held a rally in Manchester on Monday night, before about twelve thousand people. The arena was full; Trump congratulated his supporters in the front rows for waiting four days outside in the rain and snow to get in, and, while that was overstating it, the line had begun to form early Sunday morning and the weather was not good. (The Union Leader noted that some of the first arrivals were people from out of state, who follow Trump from rally to rally.) Trump is so sure of victory that, from the stage, he speculated about his supporters moseying over to the Democratic primary and engaging in a little bit of strategic votingjust to cause trouble.

You have crossovers in primaries, dont you? Trump said, referring to the option that allows voters in New Hampshire who are not registered as Democrats or Republicans to vote in either partys contest. So I hear a lot of Republicans tomorrow will vote for the weakest candidate possible of the Democrats. Does that make sense? You people wouldnt do that! He spread out his arms with a lopsided smile, like a salesman telling customers that people as discerning as they are dont need to hear about a special discount on the premium gold golf-vacation package, but hell mention it anyway. But there was a catch, Trump continued. My only problem is Im trying to figure who is their weakest candidateI think theyre all weak!

Strategic voting is always difficult to measure; the main point for Trump seemed to be the theatre of it all. Still, for another politician, it might have been an area to stay away from, given that Trump was just impeached and tried for actions in Ukraine that were aimed at undermining the campaign of Joe Biden, who, at the time, was the Democratic front-runner. But, then, earlier in the rally, Trump had denounced what he called the outrageous partisan impeachment hoax, and trumpeted his full, complete, and absolute total acquittal. (When he mentioned Mitt Romney, who voted in the Senate trial to convict him on one of the two articles of impeachment, the crowd jeered.) And, with regard to Biden, the math has changed, with his drop in the polls and his poor finish in Iowa. A recanvass has been requested in that state, where the results were delayed and now show a narrow lead for Pete Buttigieg in the delegate countthe traditional measure of an Iowa victorythough more people seem to have aligned with Bernie Sanders in the caucuses. But the mess couldnt conceal the fact that Biden appeared to have finished a distant fourth.

Trump rejoiced in that caucus chaos; he used the rally in Manchester to repeat what is becoming a standard Republican attack: The Democrat Party wants to run your health care, but they cant even run a caucus in Iowa! The caucuses became a punch line for Trump and an instrument for his interaction with the crowd, which is one of the elements of his rallies that draws people to them. Its now a week. Does anybody know who won Iowa? I dont knowhe scanned the audience, as if looking for a courier from Des Moinesbut maybe Rand or Lindsey knew. Senators Rand Paul, of Kentucky, and Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, were both present and visible, and presumably standing by for Iowa-punditry duty, or any other task that Trump set before them. Rand! Does anybody know who won? Lindsey! Youre a total pro. Nobody knows! He said nobody. Flip a coin! Flip a coin!

The cameras caught a row of Republican elected officials standing, nodding, and laughing appreciatively. They included the House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, and the congressmen Matt Gaetz, of Florida, and Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, who, as members of the House Judiciary Committee, had vehemently defended Trump in the impeachment hearings. (Last week, Trump, in his post-acquittal remarks, said that Gaetz had a great gene.) Graham and Paul, who were also prominent impeachment defenders, were Great guyswarriors! Theyre warriors! (Paul spent a lot of time trying to get the name of a person widely believed to be the Ukraine whistle-blower in front of the public, including by way of a poster that he set up on the Senate floor during his speech at the close of the trial.) And they and their Republican colleagues were my congressmen and senators. Another regular function of the rallies is to dole out favors and flattery and to establish Trumps dominance over the G.O.P.

But the President cannot resist trying to divide the Democrats and to sow uncertainty about the integrity of the elections more generally. And Iowa gave him an opening. Actually, I think theyre trying to take it away from Bernie again, Trump said, referring to lingering complaints among Sanders supporters about how delegates were apportioned in his narrow loss to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Iowa caucuses, and to their continuing resentment about what they view as the Democratic Partys institutional resistance to him. Theyre doing it to you again, Bernie! Theyre doing it to you again!

The speech also included a dose of Trumpian digressions, including one about the coronavirus: Rough stuff, I tell you. Rough, rough stuff. But I think its going to work out good! He also reprised a signature of his 2016 rallies, by reciting the poem The Snake, meant as a parable of the insidious destruction wrought by migrantsa reminder that, with regard to immigration, in particular, this relection campaign will only get uglier. And there was praise for the border wall, which Trump framed in oddly Luddite terms: With all the modern technology, all of the new computers, the new genius, the new everything, cyber this, cyber that, two things never change, right? A wheel, and a wall. And, he added, its a high wall.

But, throughout, he kept returning to the Democrats. As we keep on winning, Washington Democrats keep on losing their minds. Theyre crazy! Trump said. He had opened the rally with an attack on Nancy Pelosi, who, as Speaker of the House, sat behind him during last weeks State of the Union address, and tore up her copy of the speech when it had ended. Had the crowd watched the State of the Union, he asked? I had somebody behind me who was mumbling terribly. Mumbling. Mumbling! Hoowah, hoowah, ho hah! Some people in the crowd began chanting Lock her up! Lock her up! Trump, appearing to hear them, gave a thumbs-up, and more voices joined in. The chant has become an all-purpose response to women whom Trump doesnt like. As it died down, he added, Im speaking, and a woman is mumbling terribly behind me. Angry. There was a little anger back there. Were the ones who should be angry!

As the speech went on, he reminded his supporters of what should make them angry: immigrants, impeachment, socialism, and Washington. That swamp is a dirty swamp! Trump said, adding, You have some really evil, dirty, horrible people. In contrast, We will defend privacy, free speech, religious liberty, and the right to-o-o... he stretched the word out, prompting the crowd.

Bear arms! they answered.

Trump confirmed that this was the reply he was looking for, and warned the crowd, Theyre going to take away everything. Theyre going to take away your wealth. Theyre going to take away your guns. Theyre going to take away everything. His supporters booed loudly. It seemed that they didnt want the Democrats to take away this moment, or their President.

See the election results from the New Hampshire primary.

The New Hampshire results signal a long nationwide Democratic battle. The Partys candidates will almost certainly have to grind it out until early June, when the final primaries will take place.

This victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump! Bernie Sanders said, at a primary-night party in New Hampshire.

Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary, but his performance was not as impressive as it was in 2016.

In New Hampshire, Sanders and Warren promise bold, fundamental change. But they struggle to conjure a vision of America that aggressively counters Trumps.

After a disappointing fourth-place finish in Iowa, Joe Biden is struggling in New Hampshire.

Read the rest here:
Ahead of the New Hampshire Primary, Trump Tries to Make Trouble for the Democrats - The New Yorker

Glenn Jacobs has played everything from a demented dentist to the devils favorite demon. In 2018, the WWE superstar known to fans as Kane went from navigating the shark-infested waters of pro wrestling to the political ring, becoming mayor of Knox County, Tenn. The unexpected career turn is part of a memorable journey for the 52-year-old told in his new book Mayor Kane: My Life in Wrestling and Politics, which is available starting Tuesday, Nov. 26.

It came full circle, Jacobs said of going from wrestler to elected official. If you told me in 1995 that Id be in an office overlooking the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Id look at you like you were nuts...I hope the book is an entertaining read for people because you have the crossover between my wrestling career and the political stuff. I was around and very much part of the Attitude Era, so a lot of what people talk about I saw up close and part of it. That part is a great story I can tell.

The author admits to not being nostalgic or sentimental. Jacobs doesnt take many photos or keep a diary from his 30 years of travels around the world. Thankfully, he does have a good memory.

Part of my process was going, I think this will be a good story. Also, I remember telling someone a story, and I dont think its a really big deal. Then they think its really entertaining. So its about putting all that stuff together, Jacobs said. Id call people and basically go, Hey, who was here? Where were we exactly? I can remember the big picture stuff, but I sometimes didnt know the details. Then there are certain things that stick out in your mind that you know everything about it. When people mention an event, I can say that was such and such show at such and such arena. I did have to go through what I wanted to say.

In some cases Id have to go back and talk to some people who were there to jog my memory. Then there was the case I was talking to a friend of mind asking why I didnt put a certain thing in the book. I said, Well if I did,it would be a thousand pages. It was about what goes with the flow of the story of what is really important and doing it in a way that is entertaining and concise as possible. There is a lot of stuff I didnt put in it that I wish I could. Maybe that will be used for another time.

Representing the political and WWE worlds, Jacobs enlisted The Undertaker and Senator Rand Paul to write forwards to the book. He was honored to have them accept, especially his onscreen brother who he shares so much history with.

I can pretty much guarantee that this will be the only time in history The Undertaker and Rand Paul write a forward for the same book, Jacobs said. I asked Mark [Calaway] (Undertaker) to do it, and he said he would be honored as well. It blew my mind. Of course, asking Senator Paul was much of the same. Mark has meant so much to my career and to me personally. That was not even a question that I would ask him to do it.

Ultimately, its the final couple of chapters Jacobs hopes resonate. Ones that can spark thoughts, conversation and some inspiration.

Its not designed to be a motivational book, but Ive been incredibly fortunate and blessed. Im not especially unique. I might have a different skill set than most folks do. The fact that someone like me can have the opportunities Ive had in my life. If I can do it, anyone can do it, Jacobs said.

To me, the American Dream is creating the life that you want to live. Thats what Im most proud of. I want someone who reads it to see applicability in their own life and in their own way know they achieve what they want to achieve.

A part of the book sure to get chatter focuses on President Donald Trump. Jacobs felt it was necessary to include the polarizing and often controversial figure for a number of reasons. And not necessarily for the WWE Hall of Famer himself.

Unfortunately, politics are so divisive and polarized in our country. Nevertheless that is the field Im in and have to offer an opinion on that, he said. The most important thing to me about Trump is the fact that he was not an establishment person. I think whether you love Trump or hate Trump, we need a lot more people who are not politicians in politics.

I hope that is the thing people take from that chapter is the fact career politicians are ruining America and have ruined America. We need a lot more people that dont come from that background. That dont want to get in office and stay in office their whole life. They want to get in, do a good job and go home. I do realize with the divisiveness that we see now, some people are going to read that chapter and say, I disagree. Thats the risk you take.

Jacobs stresses not discounting local politics. Whether republican, democrat or independent, he believes all need to collaborate on solutions because people are expecting results.

We see the folks on TV, and Im just like everyone else. Im tired and disillusioned at the dysfunction of Washington D.C. And its not one faction or party that has caused that. We can do a lot of things at a local level, Jacobs said.

Thats the beauty of state and local politics is that kind of political component, even though it is politics, that blatant divisiveness because of the political component is not nearly as overwhelming as national politics.

Jacobs follows in a line of pro wrestlers who have gone into public office. Names like Jesse Ventura, B. Brian Blair and Matt Morgan. When it comes to who the mayor thinks would do well next in politics, he doesnt want to venture a guess. Though for Jacobs there are a lot of smart folks in the locker room who, Jacobs feels has good characteristics for it.

They do great things for the community, he said. Titus ONeil in Tampa is doing wonderful things. Mark Henry does a lot of good stuff. John Cena, we know the work he has done with Make-A-Wish and other things. He can do whatever he wants because he is so talented and a good guy. I think there are a lot of people in the locker room that if they decided this was what they wanted to do, theyd be successful at it.

Jacobs may not be on Raw or SmackDown each week, he hasnt ruled out Big Red Machine appearances from time to time. However, if the former WWE world champion decided to walk out for a match one final time, he wouldnt want to do it alone.

Even though Undertaker and I had a match with DX that has never happened before, it would be great to reunite the Brothers of Destruction, he said. That is always so special. That would be for me the ultimate thing.

Jacobs documents the evolution of Kane in the book. A character which made him a top performer in WWE and evolved in many ways since his debut in 1997. Since then, these types of personas have become few and far between. Though Jacobs considers himself a fan just like he when he was searching to realize his own dream.

It has become harder because there is so much more content and exposure demanded. We look at the internet and social media and all the different platforms we are competing against. One of the things that frustrated me is that we move so quickly sometimes it felt like you werent getting the depth of the storyline because you just had to put stuff out and things would get lost. Thats the nature of the business, Jacobs said.

...You look at a guy like Bray Wyatt who has done a phenomenal job. That character has really taken off. Its difficult. I think its harder than ever to get into that kind of patient story-telling. Its unfortunate evolution of the business. But I think what Bray Wyatt shows is that we have a performer who can do it and given the opportunity, its still something that strikes a cord with people.

"To me, thats one of the best parts of the wrestling business is the stories. Sometimes they get sacrificed a little bit to keep the machine going. So its nice to see a guy like Bray have that opportunity to really get over as a character in a unique storyline.

Mayor Kane: My Life in Wrestling and Politics is available Tuesday, November 26

See the rest here:
Glenn Jacobs on Writing 'Mayor Kane' and Transitioning From WWE to Politics - TVInsider

In early October, President Donald Trump made the decision to remove troops from the Syrian and Turkish border, leaving behind our allies, the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, or Y.P.G., in the process.

For those of you who do not know, according to USA Today, the Kurdish people are the largest ethnic minority (25-40 million people) who do not have their own autonomous state. Instead, they straddle a territory that sits in Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. According to The Kurdish Project and the GQ, the Kurdish people became the U.S. allies during the war in Iraq and have been our allies since then. Turkey, on the other hand, has been an ally to the U.S. since the beginning of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, otherwise known as NATO.

Turkey and their president Tayyip Erdogan see the Y.P.G.as a terrorist group, and balancing being allies with Turkey through NATO and being allies with the Y.P.G has been difficult. Now people are questioning if Turkey is still a U.S. ally because according to The New York Times article and a video by CNN, Turkey attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish forces, and our allies.

Turkey and the Kurdish people have a tumultuous relationship. To simplify it, the Kurdish Workers Party, also known as the P.K.K. launched a violent separatist movement in Turkey during the early 1980s. According to The New York Times, the P.K.K. is considered a terrorist group by both Turkey and the United States. Across the Syrian border is the militia known as the Y.P.G; they are also fighting to form an autonomous state for the Kurds, but the Y.P.G. are U.S. allies. However, being allies with the Y.P.G. is very complicated as they have deep ties with the P.K.K.

Now, why did President Trump decide to pull troops from the Syrian and Turkish border? According to the GQ, last December President Trump claimed that the U.S. had accomplished its goal of defeating ISIL (also known as ISIS) in Syria and that was the only reason we are there. And since then the Turkish President Erdogan has been lobbying the Trump administration to remove soldiers from the border so that he could push Turkish forces further into Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) territory. President Trump has tweeted that we have not abandoned the Kurds while we are removing our troops from Syria and that Turkey understands that while we may not be there, any unforced or unnecessary fighting by Turkey will be devastating to their economy and their very fragile currency.

Consequences of removing troops from the Turkish/Syrian border are already being felt. As stated before, according to The New York Times article and a CNN video, Turkey has already attacked a U.S. ally in Syria. Turkey has set out to clear out a Kurdish-led militia, the SDF, that controls about a third of the country. And The New York Times is saying that it looks like President Trump doesnt seem to care. It would be a direct contrast to the statement from earlier that President Trump put on his twitter. There was also the huge amount of backlash faced, not just from democrats but from republicans as well.

According to Politico, a political opinion-based company, republicans ripped into President Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham told Vice President Pence that he was personally offended to read the decision in the news instead of hearing from the President or his aids. Also, that were going to hold this administration accountable for this decision; if Obama had done this, all of us would be going nuts, its such a bad idea. The job of Congress is to hold the Executive branch accountable. Florida Senator Marco Rubio can also be quoted disagreeing, saying that it is such a bad idea. However, Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky has spoken out in support of President Trump and his decision to remove troops from the border.

Read more:
Removing U.S. Troops from the Syrian and Turkish Border - The Cactus