I Just Can't

I've had Trump up to the gills and beyond over the past two years, and this morning it's just worse. He's ignorant, he's a bully, he's toxically self-centered, and he's lacking any sort of common decency.

If you think I'm exaggerating, check out Digby's Hullabaloo this morning. Pick any post. It's all there -- Ukraine, closing the border, threats of civil war (and he's not talking figuratively), the whole sorry mess.

The weather's lousy, so I think I'll go visit one of the museums.

Add Pompeo to the list of villains:

Secretary Pompeo appears to be scheduled to have a very, very bad Wednesday, Earlier today he released a letter he sent to Congressman Engel, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he made it very clear that the State Department was not going to comply with his and Congressman Schiff’s requests for information regarding the mess that President, his senior staff and appointees, and his private attorneys have made around Ukraine and the mishandling of US government information by misclassification.

I’m concerned with aspects of the Committee’s request that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career FSOs.

Coming from one of Trump's minions, accusations of bullying are somewhat more than ironic.

But it seems that it's not going to go Pompeo's way:

Just as Pompeo warns Dems he won't comply with their requests, the quasi-independent State Department inspector general tells Capitol Hill he'd like to meet tomorrow to "provide staff with copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine."

I'm sure there's more melodrama to come.

Today's Must-Read: Rearguard Actions

It seems that the Republican-majority legislatures in some states are not happy with losing the governor's mansion and are taking steps to correct it. From Tom Sullivan at Hullabaloo:

However history judges President George H.W. Bush's career, the handwritten note wishing incoming Democrat Bill Clinton well showed a respect for the office and for the people's will markedly lacking among what passes for conservatives today. Left upon Bush's leaving the White House in defeat and widely read again at his recent death, the note may have tweaked a Republican conscience or two. “Your success now is our country’s success,” Bush wrote. “I am rooting hard for you.”

Charlie Sykes, the conservative commentator and erstwhile supporter of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, advises Walker in The Atlantic to consider how history will judge him. The Republican-dominated legislature in a lame-duck session last week passed a package of bills undercutting the powers of incoming Democrat Tony Evers who defeated Walker in November.

Besides attempting yet again to limit voting in Wisconsin, the legislation forces Evers to pursue the state's lawsuit against Obamacare, attacks preexisting conditions protections, and codifies Walker's work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The legislation is "petty, vindictive, and self-destructive," Sykes writes, and "worse than a crime. It was a blunder." Signing it, Sykes advises, would be "a huge mistake."

My guess is Walker will sign it: he's that petty and vindictive, just like his party.

It all circles back to what I've been saying about the Republicans for a while: they are not interested in governing; they want to rule -- basically, they despise the American system of government.* And to do that they have to maintain their power, by whatever means necessary.

Read it.

* I've noted this before about conservative "Christians," whose whole belief system is the antithesis of America's foundational principles: they are authoritarian, racist, oligarch-friendly, and hypocritical in a major way. Their motivations are the same as those of the party at large -- in fact, they've become those of the party at large: gaining and maintaining power.

And Keep Cheating

A follow-up to this post from yesterday. The thing to remember about Republicans is, they don't give up:

The North Carolina GOP right now is trying to force a bill through the state legislature that would require all county election boards to be chaired only by Republicans during election years.

While the text of the bill cannot specifically state "all county election boards must be chaired only by Republicans during election years," they've done the next best thing.

""In the even-numbered year, the chair shall be a member of the political party with the second highest number of registered affiliates," the bill states.

Statewide elections are only held in even-numbered years. North Carolina actually has 2.7 million registered Democrats, and 2.1 million registered Republicans.

I have a new slogan for the GOP:

"Vote Republican -- Kiss America Good-Bye."