TGIF 2/12/21

Jiminy Cricket, it's Friday already?

I don't know about you, but I laughed when former president Trump's new favorite lawyer blurted out the name of a decades-old Disney character this afternoon. 

And it wasn't the only time that I laughed during the 'defense' of 45, which was primarily arguing about old court cases, showing a slick video of Democrats speaking people who were not armed insurrectionists, saying the word 'fight' over and over and over and over. I'd keep saying 'and over' as many times as were in the video but that'd be more than 200, I heard (yes, someone counted them).

That the lawyers managed to complain about the fancy media company the House Managers used to create their slick video, and then turn around and do exactly the same thing, but even slicker and, if I heard it right, with music, and Madonna, and Johnny Depp, was indicative of how little defense they had, and how little defense they presented in their time today. 

Oh, there was lots of emphasis on Trump's one statement of asking for people to be peaceful, as if the continuum of his incitement began and ended on that phrase on January 6th. I thought Rudy Giuliani was a bad lawyer, but these guys are giving him a run for their money. 

That said, Trump has to LOVE how they did today, after being taken out behind the woodshed by Ted "your wife is ugly and your father killed JFK" Cruz and Lindsey "I'm Trump's Chump" Graham and Mike "Yeah, that was my phone, but I wasn't holding it and didn't listen" Lee and a couple others, too. The collusion between those who swore to do impartial justice and the lawyers who, I'm convinced, have never spoken to their client in person, is both comical and embarrassing. 

They were indignant and blustery, turning to Michael van der Veen, he of the Jiminy Cricket comment to kick things off. David Schoen spent his time accusing the House Managers of withholding evidence and selectively editing tweets and videos, and he did the same thing he accused them of doing. If that's not straight out of the Trump playbook, I don't know what is. 

The comment about withholding evidence appears to be false, according to multiple reports, but that didn't seem to matter to them. And Bruce Castor just sort of repeated everything the other two said, adding more showings of the fight club video, and dropped some of the Right's favorite catch phrases, talking about 'cancel culture' and 'law and order' and the Dems are afraid of Trump, and so on.

Question time was a mixed bag; other than Rep. Raskin, the House Managers talked too much and missed their opportunities to answer questions directly. It was unfortunate that they blew it on those. On the Trump side, there was more indignation and bluster and a couple of bonehead moves, including van der Veen talking about "his worst experience in Washington," a foolish statement which Raskin easily deflected, apologizing for the lawyer's bad day and suggesting that van der Veen should have been there on the 6th of January.

Soon, we'll know officially that the Republicans are still afraid of Trump, and what he can do to their careers, and there will be an acquittal. The only thing we don' t know is, how many Rs will vote to convict. I hope some of them find the courage to do so; maybe the ones who've already declared they're not running next time?

Good week? Bad week? You pick.

TGIF, everyone.

He Made Them Believe His Absurdities

All his absurdities, no matter how absurd, were believed by people who felt only he understood them, only he understood what was wrong, and only he could fix it. 

Those were among the first of the absurdities to surface, to be believed, and nowhere near the last, that had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

The violence, the hate, the racism, the sexism, the five-mile-wide mean streak. The attacks - the relentless attacks, years of attacks - had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him. 

He's like us, they said. He talks like we do. He's not politically correct, and he doesn't take any crap from anyone. He is just like us, the 'everyman' billionaire, and he had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

He hated losing, he refused to lose, it was not possible for him to lose. He promised winning, so much winning we'd be tired of it, and yet, they never tired, even when the winning was clearly losing, even when the winning was a lie. He had them hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

Look at me, he said, look at the crowds at my rallies, look at my social media accounts - everybody loves Trump, he said, and I love you, he told them. He basked in their love, they basked in his. Very good people, he called them, the people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him. 

The media is evil, they are enemies of the people, they are fake news, even when there was proof of him saying what he said, doing what he did, telling the lies, the tens of thousands of lies, saying the people who proved he lied were the liars, and he had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

He assailed people of faith, attacked peoples' families, mocked peoples' looks, sneered at their beliefs, made fun of their heritage. He made a mockery of every tradition, every practice, he didn't even bother going through the motions half the time. He said everything he ever did was perfect, everyone said so, it's all been looked at, he has no need to apologize, it was all perfect, so perfect, and he had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him. 

Nothing was too absurd to be believed. No one could ever get more votes than he got, it was not possible. He got more votes than any other president. He could not lose unless the election was rigged. And it will be rigged, he said, because he knew he would lose when Joe Biden became the nominee. Had it been anyone else, he would have won, but it was Joe Biden, and he knew he couldn't beat him. He needed a story, he made one up, and he told it, over and over and over. And he had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

The Big Lie - the election was rigged - was the absurdity to beat all absurdities. How is it possible that only his line on the ballot was rigged? How is it possible that all those Republican election officials rigged the election against the man they wanted to win? It is, truly, impossible to believe. And still, he had people hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

They were the patriots, they were the real Americans, they were the ones he was fighting for, he deserved to have them fighting for him. He deserved them and they deserved him. They were eager to fight for him, because he was fighting for them. He had them hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

All the absurdities, every single one of them, was believed. He was convincing in the telling, in the repetition, in the challenge, in the call to action. He is nothing if not relentless, nothing if not convincing, and they were ready and willing to be convinced, to be led, to obey the call. He had them hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

He made them believe the absurdities, and when he asked, the atrocities followed. To the end, they were hanging on his every word, hanging on to him.

Meanwhile Back in Albany (v41)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

We've finally come to the end of Andrew Cuomo's 2021 State of the State address, a four-day extravaganza (you can read Days One, Two and Three if you missed them). The last day focused on building a "new New York."  Here's the premise he put forth.

History teaches us that, when the private economy is lagging, the public sector can spur activity; when unemployment is high, the public sector can create jobs; and when interest rates are low, the public sector should invest; that only the public sector can build the common economic platform for growth, the foundation that all businesses rely on to prosper: our transportation system, our infrastructure, our broadband and our education.

It's a long-taught lesson, he said, but without focus on the "ancillary" benefits - a collective lifted spirit, a belief in the future, and how those inspire economic confidence and stimulus. FDR, Cuomo said, understood that, and the Sonofa Gov wants us to understand that, too. And, don't forget, FDR was a New Yorker, and New Yorkers understand big ideas, and build big things.

Our country has lost its ambition, he said. Other countries "developed around us," and built the cool stuff - the largest high-speed rail network (China), the longest tunnel (Europe) and even the Middle East is "turning barren desert into economic engines."

Once a world leader, this country lost the vision and political willpower to build boldly and bravely. We lost sight of the connection between today's construction and the prosperity of a thousand tomorrows. We chose to kick the can down the road - a road that was crumbling before our eyes. 

Here, though, we've got projects out the wazoo: terminals at airports, train station in Buffalo, bridges, a fully-connected east-west and north-south trail across the state, new waterfront development, cashless tolling on the Thruway, and more. In all, it's "the largest infrastructure program in the nation" and we're not done yet.

We're working on multiple projects in and around NYC: improving or building new terminals for buses and trains, and adding mass transit tracks; adding convention and exhibit capacity; freeing up building sites for commercial and residential development; expanding public spaces; and more, worth tens of billions in investment and 196,000 jobs.

And it not just in NYC; the vast area called 'upstate' is also getting a facelift. - Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, the Southern Tier, and Central New York will be getting (or losing) roads, bridges, parks, educational facilities, medical facilities, sports and recreational facilities, environmental projects, and transit projects.

Altogether, including the new airports and roads and bridges and parks and housing in every corner of the state, and the visionary new redevelopment of the West Side of Manhattan, we are expanding our infrastructure plan to invest $306 billion in the future of New York. That's not just the largest infrastructure plan in New York history. It's the largest, most ambitious plan of any state in the nation.

It's exhausting just thinking about it, I have to say - but it does give me a bunch of new places to visit around the state if everything gets completed.

In closing, Cuomo went back to FDR, quoting from a fireside chat.

There is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work.

And then, he talked about New Yorkers, and how we respond when times ae tough. In the telling of our resilience, he recited the first entry in a new Poetry theme, EmpireVerse, which I'll share later.     

The message in all four days? We're going to be fine. We're going to spend a ton of money, and get others to spend a ton of money, and we'll be a healthier, working, brighter and shinier New York when - not if - all of the plans come to fruition.      

Make it so, Number One.                   

Meanwhile Back in Albany (v40)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

How'd you do with Days One and Two of my Sonofa Gov's State of the State? And are you ready for more? 

Day Three focused on the greening of New York, what Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a "new economic engine that is future-oriented, that is essential to our survival, and that has the potential to benefit generations to come." But, he said,

As is true in so many major issues of our time, the challenge is to close the societal and governmental gap between aspirations and accomplishment, between rhetoric and reality, between saying and doing. Offering hope of a tomorrow that never comes is one of the main causes of our social unrest and distrust in government. We are just not making enough actual progress. Why? Because change is hard.

Have no fear, though: "As the world economy resets, and as change is a necessity, there is an opportunity to raise our efforts to the next level - and New York should seize this moment." And, we can seize the rhetorical moment, too: Cuomo noted that "candles cannot power the future." We're going to stick a fork in fossil fuels, or something, via a four-pronged approach: 

• identifying and building enough green projects to generate the clean energy needed to "reliably support" all our needs; 
• ending our reliance on other countries, by building our own green tech and equipment, and developing "a steady flow of projects to start up and sustain those new businesses;"  
• building up our transmission capacity to connect the dots between where energy is generated, and where it's consumed; and
• elevating our training and education programs, and building out our R&D capacity.

He announced a $26B public/private partnership to develop around 100 renewable projects across the state. 68 projects (52 solar, 13 on-shore wind, and three off-shore wind) are already underway, and he announced 24 more during his presentation. Cuomo expects 11,000 jobs in "upstate NY alone." (Upstate is defined here, in case you aren't sure exactly where to find it.) 

Among the new projects? Two new wind farms, invisible from the shore, off Long Island; turning a Capital-district brownfield into a state-of-the-art wind turbine tower facility, and adding a fifth offshore wind turbine hub to serve the entire east coast.

More big news? He announced a competitive bidding process for a new green transmission grid, starting with three projects all leading to NYC. Other projects across the state are designed to "break open congestion" and will start this year. And, we're going to have state-of-the-art battery storage capability, with construction already underway on a new facility in Franklin County

On the last tine of the fork, there's a new $20M Offshore Wind Training Institute, as well as training for heat pumps and geothermal heating technology, which will help us replace existing systems in some 130,000 buildings. All projects have must meet MWBE goals, and pay prevailing wage, so that workers and business owners of color are not left out.

He said the whole green program will create 12,400 megawatts of green power, enough for six million homes; directly create 50,000 jobs; and generate $29 billion in private investment. 

The message? "Go big, or go home," and he's got no intention of us sitting on the sidelines as others move forward. 

Poll Watch: Democracy, Extremism and More

And so, it begins (again). 

The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins today, with an almost certain outcome already known, as it was the first time he was impeached a year ago. 

The Senate will have a split vote on whether it's even constitutional to impeach him, with the Rs likely ignoring, for the second time in two weeks, that it was their own rules that made it impossible to impeach him before his term ended. 

We will go through the motions: the Rs will claim the impeachment is dividing the country, and Ds will say that Trump continues to pose a clear and present danger to everything that's good and wholesome, so he must be prevented from ever holding office again. Pundits will wear their best outfits, the networks will have their impeachment background music, and when it's over, everything is supposed to be OK. 

But will everything be OK? Here's some info from a recent Quinnipiac poll illustrating where we stand right now, on impeachment and some other measures of 'OK-ness.'

First, the small print: the survey was conducted by live interviewers calling both land lines and cell phones from 1/28 - 2/1/21. There were 1,057 participants, 35% of whom identified as independents, 31% Democrat and 23% Republican. The margin of error is +/- 3%.

Now, to the survey.

Only 22% of respondents believe that democracy is alive and well in the US, while 71% say it's under threat and 7% don't know.

• Republicans (85%) are more pessimistic than Dems (67%), Independents (70%), men (72%), women (71%), and people with (80%) and without (75%) four-year college degrees. 
• Younger adults - the 18-34 demographic - are the least pessimistic, with only 58% thinking democracy is under threat; the 65+ cohort is the most pessimistic (80%).

Fully 75% of respondents are concerned about continued violence in the US by extremist groups emboldened by the insurrection at the US Capitol, with 48% saying they are very concerned, and 27% somewhat concerned. Another 22% of respondents expressed less concern (9% not so concerned, 13% not concerned at all).

• Democrats (70%), women (54%), and four-year college grads (51%) lead the very concerned bucket; Republicans (21%), men (18%) and Independents and non-degree holders (16% each) lead the 'not concerned at all' groups. 
• Women are more concerned than men. 82% of white women are concerned, with 55% very concerned; 80% of non-white women are concerned, with 52% saying they're very concerned. The least concerned? White men, at 34% (21% not at all concerned).
• Just 50% of the 18-34 expressed any concern, while 84% of seniors did.

We're not optimistic on the partisan divide, either. 72% of respondents expect partisan divisions in the country to stay the same (33%) or get worse (39%), with only 20% thinking the divisions are going to decrease. Democrats are the most optimistic; nearly three quarters think it will stay the same (40%) or get better (34%). Not surprisingly, the least optimistic are the Rs; nearly 2/3 (63%) think it's going to get worse. 

• Women are twice as optimistic as men in thinking it'll get better (26% to 13%) and white women are more than twice as optimistic as white men (28% to 12%).
• Meanwhile, 50% of white men think it's going to get worse; they're the only demographic, other than Republicans, that reaches that mark.

And, finally, on the day's hot topic? Half of all respondents believe the Senate should convict former president Trump, while 45% disagree. Not surprisingly, there's a wide swath of disagreement between Ds and Rs - 86% of the latter say no, and 86% of the former say yes.

• At least half of each age bucket say yes: the 35-49 and 50-64 are right at 50%, with the 18-34 gang 1% higher and the 65+ cohort 2% higher. 
• The most conflicted groups? Independents (49% say convict, 45% say no, and 6% don't know or didn't answer) and the 50-64 age bucket (50%, 47%, and 3%).
• Trump's steadfast supporters - men, whites, and non-college educated folks - are supporting him on this. 53% of all men, 64% of white men, 53% of non-white men, and 60% of those without four-year degrees say he should not be convicted.

My overarching take on this? It seems the people who are most involved in the current spate of extremism, and in fomenting the divide, are the ones who are the least optimistic that things are going to get better. They're the same people - Republicans and white men in particular - who could start acting differently, and help push the needle in a positive direction.

Does that excuse the Dems? Good lord, no - of course not! I would never let them off the hook, believe me. But they are not the party of the cannibalistic deep state pedophiles. They are not the conspiracy theorists. They are not the group that sought to 'liberate' Michigan and other states. They are not the people who tried to cajole election officials to "find 11,780 votes" so that their candidate could win. They are not the people of the fearless leader who abandoned his most loyal supporter, leaving him to an unruly mob looking to hang him. 

The Dems have their own problems, and they are many. But the Rs have a bigly ownership stake in the state of things in the country right now, and to date most of them don't seem to understand that, or care enough to do anything about it. Oh sure, the few who have thrown in the towel and announced they're not running for office again are taking a stand, of sorts. But the rest of them are too busy censuring each other, trying to force each other to resign, and threatening to primary anyone who doesn't still and always support Donald Trump. 

We deserve better from all of them, for sure, but we mostly deserve much better from the Rs right now, and I'm not optimistic they're going to rise to the occasion. 

I'd be thrilled if they proved me wrong.  

Meanwhile Back in Albany (v39)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

For the second day of his State of the State roadshow, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo opened with a quote from James Baldwin: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." From there, he went to General Ulysses S. Grant, and to the GI Bill and the Marshall Plan. And it's that kind of effort we need, he said.

Now it's time to start looking ahead with the same toughness, the same smarts, the same unity, the same discipline, and the same love that brought us through last year. 2021 will be a year of continued challenges, transformation, and change. We will need to adjust to the new social and economic realities of the post-COVID world.

Expanding on his Day 1 message, he spoke of having to reopening New York "smartly and safely." It's not an either/or thing, it's a "a new model of balance" using science and technology to do things intelligently. Here are the key initiatives he mentioned.

• Testing is a big part of that, whether it's at large scale events, in commercial office/retail properties, or at individual businesses like restaurants.
• The New York Arts Revival, a public/private partnership that'll mount pop-up events across the state, outdoors mostly, with pilots for indoor performances to see what can be done safely. There's also a new Creative Rebuild Initiative to put artists back to work and support community arts organizations. 
• Tapping into the empty hotel and office space in the state, in ways that "benefit the community and make them commercially viable." Affordable housing, supportive housing, that kind of thing, can benefit communities and the state's going to offer flexibility to property owners for that type of re-use. 
• A Commission on the Future of the New York Economy, to draw up a roadmap for getting New Yorkers back to work in good paying jobs in long-lasting industries, and to examine what he called "the low tide American issues" - inequalities and structural racism - exposed by the pandemic. 
• A "jobs-of-the-future" program to include a Pathways Pledge from our largest employers to develop training and education programs for low-income workers. There's also an expansion of SUNY's online training programs to offer free training for high demand jobs.

In closing, Cuomo reached for his father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, and offered some hope for the future. Speaking of the light that shone through the darkness of 2020, he said

And this light illuminates a new path of possibility for our state. A path that says yes, we can care about each other, and we can help each other, and we can recognize our interconnection and relationship - that we are one community and one family. That our differences are second to our commonality. That we are strong, and we are competent, and we are capable. That we can build, we can achieve, we can take on great challenges and we can triumph. That we believe in ourselves and we believe in each other and we believe in this place called New York. This place of possibility, this place of welcome, this place of mutuality, this place of aspiration, this place of acceptance, and this place of cooperation. 

Are we that place, do you think?

Sunday School 2/7/21: Extra Credit

As I promised in my Sunday School post, I've got Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for you today, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Trump), but well start with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). 

Cheney talked with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, and said she's not resigning, as her state party requested when they censured her for "betraying the trust of Wyoming voters." 

The censure language indicated people still believe that BLM and Antifa were behind the Capitol insurrection. She said they've got a lot of work to do, and she blamed Trump and his lies for that.

We need to make sure that we as Republicans are the party of truth, that we are being honest about what really did happen in 2020 so we actually have a chance to win in 2022 and win the White House back in 2024.

She also said the Dems had no business getting involved in which Rs sit on committees; the Rs should have dealt with that.

Wallace asked if she'd vote to convict Trump in the impeachment. She said she'd listen to the evidence, but added there's a "massive criminal investigation underway. There will be a massive criminal investigation of everything that happened on January 6th and in the days before."

People will want to know exactly what the president was doing. They want to know, for example, whether the tweet he sent out calling Vice President Pence a coward while the attack was underway, whether that tweet, for example, was a premeditated effort to provoke violence... there will be many, many criminal investigations looking at every aspect of this and everyone who was involved, as there should be.

She said "I obviously believe... that what we already know is enough" to impeach him, and that there's no looking past what happened, no pretending that it didn't happen, no trying to move on. "We've got to make sure this never happens again."  

So far, she's not a fan of the new administration. She described the first few days as being "heartbreaking in many ways," and called the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline "heartless." The Rs must "stand up and fight back against the kind of far-left governing" they've seen so far, she said.

Let's go down the hall to the This Week classroom for George Stephanopoulos' chat with Mr. Secretary, aka Mayor Pete. The conversation started with the COVID relief plan, which Buttigieg said was both important and something that Americans - including Republicans - strongly support. He downplayed the comments on the recovery plan made by Larry Summer, noting that other economists feel the plan is what we need to grow jobs. And, he wants to avoid what happened after the Great Recession.

And part of what was a real struggle the last time we faced a major economic challenge in 2009, was a sense that there needed to -- if there had been more political will in Washington to do more, the economy might have recovered more quickly. 

Paying for his infrastructure agenda could run into partisan arguments, but he said these investments can pay for themselves, with enormous payback for the American people. He said it's clear people are impatient with "the idea of 'infrastructure week' turning into a punch line" and that lots of ideas on how to pay for the programs surfaced during his confirmation hearings. Not only that, but

...we also have a historic moment on our hands where we’ve realized just how critical these needs are. We can't keep kicking the can down the road and while it's not going to be easy to come to terms on exactly how to sustainably fund it, we know once again, with the economic urgency, the interest rate environment and the gathering political will that we can actually make this happen. And I think it's a great example of bipartisan priority. And if we get it right, it might pull other things along too.

Let's close with Margaret Brennan and Graham on Face the Nation. Their conversation started with foreign policy, and Graham said he'd caution President Biden not to get rid of stuff just because it's a Trump policy. They need to review things to determine if they're working, and if yes, leave them alone.

He hasn't spoken with Biden, but he has spoken to Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and is happy with the approach on Afghanistan, including leaving troops there beyond Trump's May deadline. Graham says he hopes that the administration will look at a bill he and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have proposed that will the Iranians as much nuclear power as they want, but they wouldn't be allowed to enrich it. 

On the hottest of hot topics, Graham said that what Trump did around the insurrection "is not a crime," and further, that "many people had already planned the - to attack the Capitol" before Trump ever spoke back in January, so impeaching him for incitement is wrong.

He said if people think Trump committed a crime, "he can be prosecuted like any other citizen." Impeachment is a political process, and "we've never impeached a president once they're out of office."

I think this is a very bad idea... It's not a question of how the trial ends. It's a question of when it ends... And the only question is... how long does the trial take? But the outcome is really not in doubt. That doesn't mean what happened on January the 6th was okay. It means his impeachment, in the eyes of most Republicans, is an unconstitutional exercise.

He seemed to suggest that Trump was impeached for the wrong thing. Brennan reminded Graham that he said that "the things (Mike Pence) was asked to do in the name of loyalty were over the top, unconstitutional, illegal, and would have been wrong for the country," which sounded like high crimes and misdemeanors to her. Graham's response?

Yeah, well, he wasn't charged with that.

Ultimately, he thinks history will be the judge, and he's in obvious disagreement with Rep. Cheney on the 'moving on' thing.

I'm ready to get on with trying to solve the nation's problems. And as to Donald Trump, he is the most popular figure in the Republican Party. He had a consequential presidency. January the 6th was a very bad day for America, and he'll get his share of blame in history. But I do believe that in 2022, the Republican Party is going to come roaring back...

He thinks Trump's policies have served the country well, and that he "has to rehabilitate himself as a politician." No word on whether he sees himself in need of rehabilitation, after spending the last four years doing the bidding of a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot." 

See you around campus - bonus points for anyone wearing a Super Bowl Champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers mask. 

Sunday School 2/7/21

Are you ready for some football? Political football, I mean, of course. Let's dive in to the classrooms, shall we?

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who led the team of House managers on Trump's first impeachment chatted with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. Schiff said that the managers for Trump II need to present all the facts, and not presume that everyone - including all senators - are familiar with the full breadth of what the former president did over the course of many months leading up to January 6th. He's confident they'll be able to tell the story.

Schiff also said that he thinks some senators would complain about the process no matter how slowly the House moved, but he said there was "a real sense of urgency" this time, given what happened. 

And we felt in the House, as well as ten of the Republicans, that every day he remained in office he was a danger to the country and we simply couldn’t -- you know, we couldn't, you know, sit still, and wait for weeks or months while this man posed a danger to the country. So, we did act with alacrity.

The president will have "every opportunity" to defend himself, even though he's already rejected testifying, and Schiff is encouraged by some senators who have said they're keeping an open mind. And yes, when he led the managers, they did believe that they had a chance - "it was very uphill" - and that, had they been allowed witnesses, they might have been able to change people's minds.

He said everyone needs to let the managers put on their case; he said lead manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is "an extraordinarily capable, brilliant Constitutional scholar " and will be among the folks making the call on whether or not to ask for witnesses.

But in a very real way, Chuck, we have the unusual circumstance where, on the very first day of the trial, when those managers walk on the floor of the Senate, there will already be over 100 witnesses present. And those will be the House and Senate members.

Finally, Chuck shared this comment from GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, directed at Democrats after the vote to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her assignments.

If people are held to what they have said prior to even being in this House, if majority party gets to decide who sits on what other committees, I hope you keep that standard because we have a long list you can work within your own.

He asked if Schiff if he was worried about the precedent. Schiff said

Kevin McCarthy stands for nothing except the perpetuation of his own position. He has no values. And in my view, cares about little except for hoping to be speaker one day, God forbid.

He said that members - of either party - who threaten violence against other members, who cast doubt on 9/11 and school shootings, who heckle shooting victims, who suggest that a religious group is shooting laser beams to start forest fires, 

they should be expelled from their committees, whatever party they are in. They shouldn't, frankly, even be in the Congress.

The bottom line for Schiff? If everyone is held to the same standard, there's nothing to worry about.

And, speaking of worrying about things, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined Jake Tapper in the State of the Union classroom. She was asked to respond to comments from Larry Summers, a former Treasury Secretary himself, who said that "the proposed Biden stimulus is three times as large as the projected shortfall" and that it could lead to rising inflation. Yellen said that,

as Treasury secretary, I have to worry about all of the risks to the economy. And the most important risk is that we leave workers and communities scarred by the pandemic and the economic toll that it -- that it's taken, that we don't do enough to address the pandemic and the public health issues, that we don't get our kids back to school.

She listed other impacts, including millions out of work and out of the work force, children falling behind because schools aren't open, too many small businesses closing, police and firemen losing their jobs, and more. She said "we need a package that's big enough to address this full range of needs. And I believe that the American Rescue Plan is up to the job."

Regarding the risk of inflation, which she has "spent many years studying,, she said there are tools to deal with that if needed. And, she said, if we do nothing, "we would have a long, slow recovery" like we did after the Great Recession, according to the CBO. But, according to folks at Moody's and the Brookings Institution, this plan will put people back to work much sooner. Not only that, but she said if the package is passed, she expects that "we would get back to full employment next year."

Yellen said Biden is willing to work with folks in Congress to "define what's fair" and that he wouldn't want to see families making over $300K getting a stimulus payment, but that middle class families do need to get support. She didn't get any more specific than that, other than to reiterate that going big is important.

She said the SEC is working on a report giving all the facts of what went on with the GameStop trading and after that, folks can decide if new regs are needed. They'll review to "make sure the markets function efficiently, that investors are protected, and also that they understand the risks that they face when they engage in trading."

Regarding her own financial history with Wall Street types, including one of the hedge funds that was short-selling GameStop, she pointed to her ethics agreement and said she'd "religiously adhere to" that, and "will certainly abide by my ethics obligations."

Tapper dug up some old tape of Yellen saying, back in '98, "On average, women now earn about 75 percent of what men earn." And now, with women earning 81% of what men do, Tapper wondered what she wanted it to look like when her tenure as Treasury Secretary is over. 

Well, I would like there to be equal pay for equal work. And I would like to see the barriers that remain that impede the progress of women in the labor force addressed. Once upon a time, labor force participation of women in the United States exceeded that of most European countries.

The opposite is true now of Europe and other developed countries. And big differences are the availability of child care and paid family and medical leave. And these are things I think we need to work on in order to make it easier for women to work and to combine work with family life.

That would be fun, right?

I'll have Mayor Pete, er, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in your Extra Credit. 

See you around campus - masks on, of course. And Go, Bucs in the Super Bowl!

In Case You Missed It (v72)

It's recap time! Grab your cuppa and enjoy this look at last week's posts.

The Sunday School classrooms included Dana Bash's conversation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Among the topics they covered was the shenanigans on Wall Street, the whole Reddit vs. hedge funds battle, with GameStop in the middle of it all.

Bash asked what she meant by saying it was time for regulators to "wake up and do their jobs."  Among the concerns is that "we actually don't know who all the players are in this." And, she hit on her favorite theme - the rigged system, where the stock market is more like a casino now. 

They have been doing all kinds of market manipulation, pump and dump, companies that buy back shares of their own stock, so that they can inflate stock prices. We need a market that is transparent, that's level, and that is open to individual investors. It is time for the SEC to get off their duffs and do their jobs.

Also making appearances? Sen. Rob Portman and That Guy from Vermont.

For Extra Credit, I listed in to Chuck Todd's conversation with Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, the most vocal anti-Trump Republican in the House. He's started a new PAC, and is all about the Rs getting back to their roots and out of the clutches of Trump. He's likely to be censured by his state party, and there aren't a lot of folks standing next to him in front of the cameras, but that's OK. 

Even given that, he said it's invigorating to stand up for what he believes in. And, the question of whether the GOP can survive without Trump is the right question to ask. He thinks the focus on getting reelected is the wrong approach, and that there's a leadership problem in the party. That includes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy trotting off to Mar-a-Lago, further tying Trump and the party together, and feeding his desperation to stay relevant. They "they shouldn't be a Trump-first party, they should be a country-first party." 

And we need to quit being the party that even one iota defends an insurrection, a dead police officer and other dead Americans on the Capitol. There is no equivalency to that. And we have to run from that as fast as we can.

Like Kinzinger, I look forward to the day when he's not standing alone at the mic. I also had highlights of the Fox News Sunday interview with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. He's one of the 10 senators who offered up a counter-proposal to the Biden COVID aid package.

I turned to my home state with a Meanwhile Back in Albany post about my Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his State of the State for 2021. 

I ignored him the rest of last year, as he spent a lot of time looking like he was   preparing to run for president in 2024 via his daily televised - and, eventually, daily nationally televised COVID-19 briefings, wrote a book about leadership in the time of COVID, and made some fun guest appearances on his brother's CNN show. And, of course, I was a little distracted with the 45th president - no shock there for regular readers.

It's time to turn my attention to the Sonofa Gov and his plans for our future. Cuomo, recognizing that "these are no ordinary times, and our plan is more complex and detailed," took four days to get the SOTS all rolled out.

Four days? That's a lot of Cuomo, but I'm going to give it a shot. 

In my Wondering on Wednesday entry, I combined a little bit of reality and a lot of fiction  into a sad tale of what happens in DC when one party takes offense at offenses taken by the other party, and how something that should be really quite simple - taking action against the indefensible actions by a House member - becomes a tragi-comedy, a ridiculous game of tit-for-tat and puffery and bluster and petty bickering and they are SO embarrassing. 

I wonder, this Wednesday, since some of what's documented above is true, what the other members of the House - those not in leadership positions, those not participating in all this backdoor intrigue, and those who don't qualify as extremists - think of all of this? 

Are they standing at their doors or windows screaming along with the rest of us? Are they hanging their heads in abject embarrassment somewhere? 

Or are they gleefully sitting around, popcorn at hand, watching all of this transpire and hoping to land in a better spot when the dust settles?

We deserve better, and we need to start demanding it.

In the interest of unity and bipartisanship, I did a Quick Take on what happens when people at least try to negotiate with the other guys. I'm not here to dissect the motives of the Rs, but to commend them for at least trying, and to commend President Biden for giving a little on his original COVID plan.

What's going on here? The president meeting, in person, with people from the other party? And adjusting his proposal to try and come up with something that might be amenable to folks on both sides of the aisle? That's heresy! 

That's not how this is supposed to work, right? Aren't they supposed to just be shouting at each other, calling each other names, and refusing to even meet with people from the other side? That's what we're used to, and frankly that's what some folks seem to be selling.

Maybe we should be paying more attention to the people doing the work, and giving lots less time to the people babbling in front of the microphones.

Finally, in a look at good week/bad stuff in my TGIF entry, I had to share a link to video of a white man coming face to face with privilege. It wasn't in a way that you might expect, but when the lightbulb came on, it was a moment, for sure.

Let's see, what else... Oh, this was eye-opening, and worth giving some attention. Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips took to the floor of the House to apologize to people of color - his colleagues, and everyone else - for never really having understood white privilege until the attack on the Capitol last month. I know, that sounds kind of odd, but I encourage you to spend fewer than two minutes listening to what he said, and as much time as needed to contemplate what he said, and to check your own understanding of white privilege.

That's all that made it into publication. Coming up this week? If I can get my drafts edited, I'll have the rest of the Cuomo SOTS, look at ranked choice legislating, update you on some recent polling, and offer the usual features as well - all the while trying to pay attention to the impeachment trial.

See you later for Sunday School.

TGIF 2/5/21

What's on tap in today's good week - bad week recap? It's kind of a mixed bag, I'd say. 

Last night, or maybe it was early this morning, the plan to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 that had been included in the Biden administration COVID relief plan was scrapped by the Senate. It happened via voice vote after Iowa's Sen. Joni Ernst (of the 'make them squeal' campaign commercial) put forward a proposal to hold off any increases during the pandemic. That Guy from Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders, was OK with the vote, saying he had never sought to raise it during the pandemic anyway. This will undoubtedly make progressives unhappy, which is a hit for the Biden team, but to me it makes sense. 

We got some jobs numbers this week. First, we learned that there were 779,000 new unemployment claims  filed  last week, below projections and more than 30K fewer than the week before, and the lowest week since November. There are now 17.8M people collecting benefits. We also learned that the economy added 49,000 jobs in January, and that the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, a four-tenths-of-a-percent decrease. These numbers are always tough, and a decoder ring is often necessary to figure out whether it's good news or bad news. I'm choosing to think it's better than bad, and better than December, but less than stellar. 

In the 'who's suing who?' category this week, we've got voting machine technology company Smartmatic dropping a $2.7B lawsuit on Fox News, squawkers Lou Dobbs, Maria "I used to be a respected reporter" Bartiromo, and Judge Jeanine Pirro, as well as Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Like the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit (but twice as big), it's all about defamation and lies and unbridled support and promotion of twice impeached former president Donald Trump's claims about the 'stolen' 2020 election. Good week for Smartmatic, maybe, but surely not for the rest of them.

Let's see, what else... Oh, this was eye-opening, and worth giving some attention. Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips took to the floor of the House to apologize to people of color - his colleagues, and everyone else - for never really having understood white privilege until the attack on the Capitol last month. I know, that sounds kind of odd, but I encourage you to spend fewer than two minutes listening to what he said, and as much time as needed to contemplate what he said, and to check your own understanding of white privilege.

Moving on to some indisputably good news, how about the ten-year-old Rhode Island boy who, with help from a friend, cleared snow off some 70 cars in the parking lot of the local hospital - because the folks who work there are helping people, so why not help them? Why not, indeed?

Or, how about the 92-year-old Vassar alum who has written her first novella? Sue (Fruchtbaum) Buyer entered college during the polio epidemic, spent her first year in quarantine, and later, after attending journalism school, spent 25 years at the Buffalo News. She started writing after giving up skiing - at age 85!

And, since it's Super Bowl Weekend, I want to leave you with a funny commercial, courtesy of T-Mobile and former-now-current teammates Rob Gronkowski and the GOAT, Tom Brady, 'explaining' how Brady (and Gronk) came to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now, before you get all snarky with me, I'm a Joe Montana fan from way, way back and the Niners are still 'my' team. Last year, they lost to that Mahomes kid and the KC Chiefs, after being outscored 21-0 in the 4th quarter. There's no way I'm going to root for them, no matter who they were playing! 

I d0 have a soft spot for Brady - long story - and I've got to say, I'm incredibly impressed that he's going to be playing in his 10th Super Bowl, and with a whole new team. Sunday, we've got two great quarterbacks, one old enough to be the other one's dad. I'm rooting for the old guy, I am - and for a game as good as this one looks like it could be. We can talk on Monday and see if I'm smiling or not.

TGIF, everyone - hope your week was a good one!

Quick Takes (v57): What Just Happened Here?

In a world where everyone has their own definition of 'unity' and 'bipartisan' and 'what government should do' and 'who elected officials should listen to,' something interesting just happened.

On January 21st, President Biden released what he calls the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9T COVID package. The major provisions? $160B for vaccines, testing and the like; $170B for getting schools reopened; extended unemployment benefits through September; and stepped increases in the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. There would also be direct stimulus payments of $1400 to Americans earning up to $75K.

Ten days later, group of GOP Senators introduced a $600B counter-proposal. It keeps intact the vaccine money, but slashed money for schools, decreased the time and amount of extended unemployment, and dropped the minimum wage increase. It also recommends a smaller direct payment, and recommends giving it to a smaller group of people, excluding individuals earning over $50K a year.

The very next day, the senators met with Biden, VP Kamala Harris, and other members of the administration. They talked for a couple of hours, and ended with Biden reiterating the need to 'meet the moment', but that he was amenable to his folks getting together with the GOP team to talk things over.

Three days later, on February 4th, guess what? The White House has released an updated proposal which keeps the direct stimulus at $1400, but drops the income level down to $50K a year. In terms of overall impact, Biden dropped from about 85% of Americans getting full payments down to just over 71% getting full payment and another 17% getting partial payments.

Biden and the Dems also wanted to see payments of $3600 for kids under age six, and $3000 for kids six to 17. Senator Mitt Romney is working on a proposal that would provide $3000 for all kids, in another effort to garner bipartisan support.

What's going on here? The president meeting, in person, with people from the other party? And adjusting his proposal to try and come up with something that might be amenable to folks on both sides of the aisle? That's heresy! 

That's not how this is supposed to work, right? Aren't they supposed to just be shouting at each other, calling each other names, and refusing to even meet with people from the other side? That's what we're used to, and frankly that's what some folks seem to be selling.

Maybe we should be paying more attention to the people doing the work, and giving lots less time to the people babbling in front of the microphones.

Wondering on Wednesday 2/3/21

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

You know, I've often wondered what goes through the minds of our elected representatives as they sit in Washington, trying to the people's work, and watching the machinations of the party leaders. 

For example, say there's a big-time conspiracy theorist, a true believer in the cannibalistic pedophiles in the deep state Democratic party from which only Donald John Trump can save us, and in Jewish space lasers, and in the killing of Democratic leaders, and in the insurrection at the Capitol, and that school shootings are false flags, and that the government or the cabal or the laser-wielders set up the Las Vegas concert shooting to scare people into accepting gun reforms, and a whole host of other stuff about which I've only read, and in which I personally have zero belief. 

And say that she gets elected and ends up in the House of Representatives, and she refuses to act in a manner in keeping with what most civilized people consider to be adult behavior worthy of someone holding federal office. And say that she's chummy with the former president, and they, you know, talk and stuff, and she has his full and total endorsement and support. 

And say that the members of the other party are unhappy with her statements, and want her to be stripped of committee assignments, which is how the House traditionally has disciplined people who are really offensive or behave offensively. And say her party leaders get together and try to figure out what the hell to do with her, knowing that she has the full and total support of the former president, but they can't figure out what to do without facing the Florida man's wrath. And they cave, and decide to do nothing. 

And, say the members of the other party say, "Listen, party of the loved-by-the-former-president conspiracy theorist, if you don't take care of this, we will - we'll strip her of her assignments."

And then the conspiracy theorist-protecting party says, "Fine - if you strip our extremist of her committees, we're going after one of your extremists, the one from Minnesota, and we're going to move to strip her of her assignments." 

And then the majority party says, "Fine, if you go after ours because we went after yours, we're going to do a strong show of support for your third-ranking leader. At least she's smart enough to understand that you can't let the president foment insurrection and cheer when it happens, even as his most loyal servant is being hunted by the insurrectionists who think that hanging him is an appropriate punishment for following the Constitution." 

And the party devoid of leadership other than their #3 decides, "Fine - you want to throw your support behind one of ours? We're going to throw our support behind one of yours - another extremist, the loudmouth from Queens, and move to have her inserted into a leadership role currently held by one of your octogenarians. "

And the octogenarian leaders get together and announce, "Well, if that's what you want, fine - but then we'll move to shrink all of the committees and subcommittees - so you'll have lots of members without assignments!"

And the party of the gerrymandering chickens decides "Fine! If you do that, we'll refuse to attend any meetings, and you'll never have a quorum and won't be to get anything done!" 

And the petty majority party says, "Fine, if that's what you want - we won't even set a calendar and we won't even meet, so you won't be able to prevent us from having a quorum.  And then the president will do everything by executive order, just like the former president did, because Mitch McConnell held the legislation we passed hostage! And see how you like us now!"

And the party of the we're-more-pissed-off-than-you-are says "Fine. We'll get the nut-bag off the committees, but only because she's going to keep us from obstructing the majority, and that's our goal, to obstruct you and win back our majorities in the midterms next year." 

And the party of two impeachment a term graciously says "That's what we wanted anyway, thank you very much and have a nice day."

And the party of the nut-bag says, "But first, before we strip her of committees, we're going to try and force you to act on her plan to impeach President Biden for things he said he did when he was vice president. So how do you like us now?"

And the party of the oh-crap-forgot-about-that-little-issue says, "Well, since you're in the minority, good luck with that. You can't make us do anything we don't want to!"

And the party of the only slightly more obnoxious lunatics (depending on what day it is) says, "Ha! We'll all go on Fox and OAN and Newsmax and Breitbart and whatever social media will have us, and spill the beans and make everyone think it's going to happen, and that's just as good as it actually happening -- look how well we did with all the election fraud stuff!"

And the leader of the only slightly less obnoxious lunatics (depending on what day it is) says, "Well, why don't we talk together about committee assignments, before we do anything rash?" 

And ALL the voters stand up, go to their doors or windows and scream, in unison,

WE'RE MAD AS HELL AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE! IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FOCUS ON US, PACK YOUR BAGS AND GO HOME!

I wonder, this Wednesday, since some of what's documented above is true, what the other members of the House - those not in leadership positions, those not participating in all of this backdoor intrigue, and those who don't qualify as extremists - think of all of this? 

Are they standing at their doors or windows screaming along with the rest of us? Are they hanging their heads in abject embarrassment somewhere? 

Or are they gleefully sitting around, popcorn at hand, watching all of this transpire and hoping to land in a better spot when the dust settles? 

I surely hope they're in the 'screaming along with the rest of us' bucket, or at the very least in the 'hanging their heads in abject embarrassment' bucket. 

If they're eating popcorn, they can pack their bags as far as I'm concerned.

What's on your mind tonight?

Meanwhile, Back in Albany (v38)

Nathanial Brooks/NY Times

 It's hard to believe that I haven't done an   'official' Albany-centric post in over a year,   but it's true. The last one was in January     2020, centered on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's   State of the State (SOTS). 

 I ignored him the rest of last year, as he   spent a lot of time looking like he was   preparing to run for president in 2024 via his daily televised   - and, eventually, daily nationally televised COVID-19 briefings, wrote a book about leadership in the time of COVID, and made some fun guest appearances on his brother's CNN show. And, of course, I was a little distracted with the 45th president - no shock there for regular readers.

It's time to turn my attention to the Sonofa Gov and his plans for our future. Cuomo, recognizing that "these are no ordinary times, and our plan is more complex and detailed," took four days to get the SOTS all rolled out.

Here's a recap of his Day One overview, which introduced this year's theme: Reimagine. Rebuild. Renew. And it introduced his seven-point plan.

• First, we must defeat COVID and beat back the assault as the virus rages in these next few months. It will not be easy.  A high-performing hospital system as well as the diligence of New Yorkers are the keys to stop the spread.
• Second, the vaccine will end the COVID crisis. We must vaccinate 70 to 90 percent of our 20 million New Yorkers and we must do it quickly, safely and fairly. We must also learn the glaring and costly lessons of America's failed public health system so we are better prepared for the next time, and as we all now should realize — there will be a next time. 
• Third, we must deal with the short-term economic crisis: a record $15 billion state deficit that must be addressed in the next several weeks. 
• Fourth, we must plan our economic resurgence. We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open. We must reopen the economy, but we must do it smartly and safely.  Also, we must energize our lagging private-sector and rebuild our economic platform, our transportation system, our infrastructure system for the next generation of growth.
• Fifth, we must seize the opportunity to make New York the global leader in the long overdue, economic shift to green energy. That is the smart thing to do. That is the right thing to do and it will create thousands of good, secure jobs. 
• Sixth, we must be the first to anticipate how COVID will transform our society and economy and we must capitalize on those coming changes. 
• Seventh, we must address the systemic injustices exposed during this year's low-tide in America: the inequity, the racism and the social abuse. And my friends, if that wasn't ambitious enough, all of these plans must move forward simultaneously. It will be hard. It will be the greatest test for government since we mobilized to fight World War II. It will be the greatest opportunity for advancement since post-World World II. 

What does all of that mean? Saying "If we tire before the enemy tires, we lose the war," Cuomo says we must remain engaged in the fight against the pandemic, and we have to act fast on vaccines. And, we have to get them into our "predominantly Black, Latino, Asian, and poor communities," to bring "social and racial justice" to the vaccination process.

There'll be a Medical Supplies Act, to incentivize NY companies to produce PPE and whatnot, and NY will shop within the state first. Hopefully this will reduce out reliance foreign purchases.

He's going to expand telehealth to ensure accessibility for all, and create a new NYS Public Health Corps, which'll train folks to help their fellow New Yorkers with the vaccination effort, and lead to the establishment of a "best-in-the-nation emergency response capacity" for the future. The training program, which will be free, hopefully will certify 100,000 volunteers. 

Now, the hard part. NY has a $15B deficit, which the Sonofa Gov blames on the feds. The election of Joe Biden,, and the House and Senate majorities, should help.

...today is a new day in America after a long dark night and the new federal government has no credible argument against the fact that New York's damage from COVID is clearly, legally and ethically Washington's liability.

The feds allowed "COVID to ambush New York last spring," by focusing on China and ignoring the threat from 3,000,000 European travelers coming here, virus in tow, and by failing to test European travelers, which 120 other countries were doing. Bottom line?  "New Yorkers cannot now be asked to pay the financial bill for federal incompetence. New Yorkers already paid too high a cost." 

This is a national challenge. It is a war and like every war before, it must be financed by Washington. If the federal government needs revenue, it should raise income taxes on the wealthy to finance the state's resurgence from this national devastation. That is basic economic justice and economic prudence. Look what has happened in America, the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer and the middle class has gotten smaller. Washington should not force any state to bear the cost alone - especially New York State.

He also complained (again) about the SALT limitation in the Trump tax plan, saying he expects to get "the SALT out of our wound," noted that NY subsidizes 42 other states, that we pay much more than we get back, and  he's had enough.

For out part, we're going legalize  and tax the living daylights out of) adult-use recreational pot, and allow mobile sports betting. Not sure there are any other revenue opportunities in the 'sin' field. Prostitution, perhaps?

Infrastructure (air, road and rail); affordable housing, and "more economic development to create jobs, jobs and more jobs" are also in the plans. Also, full broadband access (we're at 98% coverage now), with low monthly cost to low-income families. We're going big in renewables (becoming the "green energy capital of the world"), with efforts on construction, manufacturing, R & D, and worker training.

What else? Public safety, housing, rent and mortgage relief and more, including ensuring "all immigrants are protected and have legal counsel" - including undocumented immigrants. And election reform, or at least mandates that we do elections better. And we'll do better with the growing homeless situation. And and and and...

I'll have info from the other three days coming up.

Sunday School 1/31/21: Extra Credit

 For your Extra Credit this week, I dropped in on two Republicans. In the Meet the Press classroom, Chuck Todd talked with Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and in the Fox News Sunday classroom, Chris Wallace talked with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. I'll take them in that order.

Chuck said a couple of other House 'yes' votes on impeaching Trump backed out of the interview. Kinzinger's poison, it seems, especially now that he's launched Country1st.com, a PAC calling itself "a home for principled Americans who are tired of the poisonous extremism that has overtaking our beloved nation's politics." 

He said "it's really difficult" being the face of the anti-Trump GOP; lots of people, including family members, have turned on him. And even though he's been accused - twice - of being possessed by the devil, he's undeterred. 

...let's take a look at the last four years, how far we have come in a bad way. How backwards looking we are, how much we peddle darkness and division. And that's not the party I ever signed up for. And I think most Republicans didn't sign up for that. 

Even given that, he said it's invigorating to stand up for what he believes in. And, the question of whether the GOP can survive without Trump is the right question to ask. He thinks the focus on getting reelected is the wrong approach, and that there's a leadership problem in the party. That includes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy trotting off to Mar-a-Lago, further tying Trump and the party together, and feeding his desperation to stay relevant. They "they shouldn't be a Trump-first party, they should be a country-first party." 

And we need to quit being the party that even one iota defends an insurrection, a dead police officer and other dead Americans on the Capitol. There is no equivalency to that. And we have to run from that as fast as we can.

Chuck talked about Dems having a hard time engaging with the Rs; he quoted Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, who said 

I have a hard time interacting with those members right now. Especially with those I had a closer relationship with. I'm not going to deny the reality that I look at them differently now. They're smaller people to me now.

And, he asked, how can the Rs - "the party that's defending the Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world" - "lecture" the Dems on bipartisanship? Kinzinger agreed, saying the GOP "has lost its moral authority..." They can fight back, defend their principles, of course, but

when I ask people now what is a conservative principle, how many people think that conservative principles are things like just build the wall and, you know, charge the Capitol and have an insurrection?  

Kinzinger said he'd "certainly vote her off committee" but he's unsure about kicking Marjorie Taylor Greene out of the House; voters have a right to choose who they want to represent them, he said.

On impeachment, he gets that some Senators are looking for an easy way out by using a process argument, that you can't impeach someone who's out of office, but it's not the time for that.

...this is a red line in American history.... ten of us in the House took the tough vote... What we can't say, Chuck, is in the last two months of a president, you can do whatever you want, including incite a mob to insurrection, because it's just too late in the process to convict you.

They need to send a message, "that people like Donald Trump can never hold that office again."