Flávio Bolsonaro Ordered to Hand Over Passport in Money Laundering Inquiry. In The New York Times about a week before Bolsonaro bolted for the safety of the USA.
I want to start with a couple of not-so-obvious points: polls aren’t as accurate in this changing world as they want to be. Media is constantly in our lives with algorithms that make sure we always get what we want, and that has resulted in a more polarized political world. More obviously, everybody – Everybody – is pissed (and scared).
I get my news primarily from The New York Times and The Economist, which is way more liberal than the Times on pretty much everything but economics, and I get my general feel for the country from YouTube and Spotify. The problem is that all those information sources have their own agendas. None of them report reality without their spin. Even AI spins my search results to show me what it “thinks” I want to see.
So, with all those caveats, I do think that this is a big-change election. While the big losers will be Republicans in both the House and the Senate. I also think the share of traditional “moderate” Democrats will also go down, especially in the House. 19 candidates with formal endorsements and/or backing from Democratic Socialists chapters are running for House or Senate seats.
I think it is highly likely that almost the first order of business will be to charge Trump with all kinds of High Crimes and Misdemeanors starting with Bribery (or, maybe, outright stealing, or accepting bribes, or, or, or). I read that Trump’s corruption is a major issue. That makes me think that a conviction is possible in the Senate.
If Trump starts to think that, he might just bolt for Russia and ask for protection from his buddy, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
What a lovely thought! For me, if things work out the way I want, I hope the new leadership focuses on our long term well-being. I was impressed by Rahm Emmanuel’s recommendation:
“What you should do immediately within the first three months is pass an ethics package, five quick things for all three branches of government, no stock trading, no prediction market participation, mandatory blind trust, mandatory retirement age or term limits, and what I call fifth and finally the Kushner rule, no foreign money while you’re in service or for two years afterwards.
And the Democrats, if you get that type of change done, you will deliver a victory to yourselves and to the American people. Pass a minimum wage. Hasn’t been passed since 2007, when we took control. Third, restrict the tariffs. Both of the last two deal with affordability. The first one deals with the ethics and corruption around this administration.’
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-down-payment-on-change-rahm-emanuel-on-what-democrats-should-do-after-midterms
I agree we need to investigate Trump but only as part of a package. And if the substance of the package is successful we’ll look back and see the impeachment as (admitting I’m picking and choosing here) as “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”