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There has to be some line beyond which the GOP will not go in their blind obedience to the President.

| 12:21 PM

History has taught us that there is more than one way to kill a few million people. Deliberate famine worked pretty well for Joe Stalin, for example. Theres even a term for this (Holodomor) which is a compound of the Ukrainian words holod hunger and mor plague.

Apparently, historians still debate whether Stalins Great Famine of 1932 and 1933 meets the technical definition of genocide. I guess its hard to parse between benign and malicious neglect. When does maladministration cross over into a maniacal desire to eradicate a whole people? Who is qualified to say?

Were at risk now of suffering a Trumpomor. This is almost solely because the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate neglected to remove President Trump when they were given good cause. Since he is still in power, hes in a position to cause a million or more excess deaths in this country and more than that on a global scale. He might do it for no better reason than so he can have people visit his resorts and golf courses before his whole real estate empire goes broke.

He might be less inclined to do this if the Republicans in Congress had forced him to divest from his business interests rather than tripping over each other to patronize them. So, as you can see, Im building a decent case that congressional Republicans are giving us a Holodomor.

I wonder, however, if Trump is acting in such a reckless manner that the Republicans may be forced to remove him after all.

President Donald Trump has never been known for his patience or long attention span.

Now, as the coronavirus crisis threatens his presidency, and upends his campaign for reelection, Trump is rapidly losing patience with the medical professionals who have made the case day after day that the only way to prevent a catastrophic loss of life is to essentially shut down the country to minimize transmission and flatten the curve so hospitals arent overwhelmed with critical patients.

The president also has been furious that his efforts to halt the harrowing drop in the stock market have so far proven ineffective. He has been calling friends and economists at all hours and berated aides and reporters who try to persuade him to recognize the severity of the outbreak.

The man is berating people who try to persuade him to recognize the severity of the coronavirus outbreak. He is inclined to do whatever he can to get people back to work, back on the subways, back on airplanes, back in our public parks, and (above all) back in his hotels. This has the potential to cause two million excess American deaths. When people tell him this, he yells at and insults them.

Congress doesnt have the luxury of ignoring this. There are members of Congress who are severely ill with COVID-19, and many others who are currently self-quarantining and unable to vote. Theyre also responsible for their constituents health, and most of them are not outright insane. They know that the best policy is to follow expert scientific advice, and the best politics is to let others take responsibility for any negative economic consequences that result. Taking actions that will lead to a couple of million excess deaths isnt going to be good for them on any level, especially because it wont improve the economy.

There may come a point soon when Trump openly defies his health advisors and causes many of them to resign. That will be the point when members of Trumps cabinet will have to decide whether or not to invoke the 25th Amendment. The prospect of having a couple million deaths on your conscience can change peoples ordinary calculation of what it means for a president to be unfit for office.

If the 25th Amendment everis invoked, this is how it will look:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Mike Pence would become president, at least temporarily, and considering that hes listening to health experts every day, that would be a good thing. But it would be up to Congress to decide if Pence remained in charge.

Thereafter, when the President [Trump] transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

A lot of people have been fantasizing about this result for a few years now, but were in a different world now.

The president has snapped at aides delivering news that contradicts his relentless belief the crisis will be resolved soon.

Upon his return from a trip to India last month, Trump lit into aides about Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who had provided a dire warning about the virus potential impact. He chided Vice President Mike Pence in a West Wing meeting for defending Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a one-time Democratic presidential contender, for his handling of the crisis. And he angrily upbraided medical providers who called on his administration to do more, saying they should be upset instead with their local leadership.

If Trump tries to end the containment policy, he will face resistance.

There is dissent within the Republican Party, however, including from some close allies of the president.It would be a major mistake to suggest any change of course when it comes to containment, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said in an interview. I just spoke with Dr. [Anthony] Fauci he believes that, if anything, we should be more aggressive and do more. ... You cant have a functioning economy if you have hospitals overflowing.

There has to be some line beyond which the Republicans will not go in their blind obedience to Trump. This crisis seems perfectly designed to discover exactly where that line is.

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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How Far Will the Republicans Go Before They Defy Trump? - Washington Monthly

Republicans are moving quickly on Rep. John RatcliffeJohn Lee RatcliffeGOP presses for swift Ratcliffe confirmation to intel post Acting director of National Counterterrorism Center fired: report Acting director of national intelligence begins hiring freeze: reports MOREs (R-Texas) nomination to be director of national intelligence after a bungled rollout last year ended with Ratcliffe withdrawing from consideration.

The coronavirus pandemic, however, has already slowed the confirmation process somewhat.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard BurrRichard Mauze BurrGOP presses for swift Ratcliffe confirmation to intel post Stimulus bill to prohibit Trump family, lawmakers from benefiting from loan programs Gaetz accuses Burr of 'screwing all Americans' with stock sale MORE (R-N.C.) had initially hoped for a confirmation hearing in the first two weeks of April and a final committee vote in early May. The Senate is out until April 20, so hearings and votes will have to wait until the end of next month at the earliest.

Behind the scenes, legislative affairs officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have been scheduling calls between Ratcliffe, who is at home in Texas, and Senate Intelligence Committee members.

At the urging of Burr, Ratcliffe submitted his FBI background check, financial disclosures and Senate questionnaire ahead of deadline, sources familiar tell The Hill.

There is an urgency in the Senate to fill the Cabinet-level position that has been open since Dan CoatsDaniel (Dan) Ray CoatsGOP presses for swift Ratcliffe confirmation to intel post Experts report recent increase in Chinese group's cyberattacks Acting director of national intelligence begins hiring freeze: reports MORE stepped down in August. Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell is not a popular figure in the Senate, and hes made plain to allies that he does not want to be in the role for an extended period of time.

Ratcliffes nomination is a priority for President TrumpDonald John TrumpWith VP pick, Biden can't play small ball in a long ball world Coronavirus hits defense contractor jobs Wake up America, your country doesn't value your life MORE and national security adviser Robert OBrien -- both signed off on re-nominating Ratcliffe under the impression that he would be confirmed quickly. Burr assured the White House that Ratcliffe would get the Senate support he needed before Trump re-nominated him, according to a senior intelligence official.

Sen. Burr has been supportive and helpful throughout and theres been an urgency with respect to moving this forward, said one Capitol Hill source involved in the confirmation process. Its a priority for the president and the comments weve been getting indicate that everyone feels like having a permanent DNI confirmed by the Senate should be a high priority.

Burr is a key figure in the confirmation process and hes facing pressure from conservatives to push Ratcliffe through quickly.

The North Carolina Republican infuriated many on the right for issuing a subpoena to Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., compelling him to testify about the Russia investigation after a tense, months-long standoff last year.

Thats led to lingering bad blood between Burr and top Trump allies. Many on the right are watching closely to see how Burr handles the Ratcliffe nomination.

For now, though, theyre holding their fire.

Congressman Ratcliffe will make a terrific Director of National Intelligence and should be swiftly confirmed by the Senate, he told The Hill in a statement.

Adding to the pressure on Burr is the controversy surrounding him over allegations he sold off his stock portfolio before the recent market crash based on information gleaned from confidential briefings on the coronavirus.

Burr denies that he traded on insider information, saying that he follows the markets closely and identified the coronavirus as a potentially economy-wrecking threat from public reports.

There have been calls for Burr to resign, with some pointing to daily briefings he received on the pandemic. But many of his critics on the right have been conspicuously quiet as Ratcliffes nomination proceeds.

The only reason he hasnt been thrown to the wolves is because we need him to get Ratcliffe through, said one Republican with close ties to the White House.

Sen. Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsGOP presses for swift Ratcliffe confirmation to intel post Campaigns pivot toward health awareness as races sidelined by coronavirus Senate eyes quick exit after vote on coronavirus stimulus package MORE (R-Maine) will be a member to watch in the Intelligence Committee hearings, as her crucial swing vote could determine whether Ratcliffe is sent to the Senate for confirmation with a favorable or unfavorable recommendation.

Collins faces a tough reelection fight in 2020 and every vote she takes will be scrutinized or used as political ammunition by her opponents.

Collinss office did not respond to a request for comment.

Ratcliffe, meanwhile, is hunkered down preparing his defense. He has his work cut out for him.

Democrats have cast him as too political and too inexperienced, while questioning past claims about his involvement in prosecuting terrorists as part of the Justice Department.

Ratcliffes initial run for the job last year was an unmitigated disaster.

The reception from GOP senators was chilly, as some had hoped Trump would nominate Sue Gordon, the principal deputy director of national intelligence at ODNI.

Ratcliffe knew the White House was considering him for the role, but he and his staff were caught off guard when Trump unexpectedly tweeted his intention to nominate him.

That announcement set off a string of attacks from Democrats and a flood of negative news stories that Ratcliffe and his office were unprepared to deal with at the time.

They believe theyre ready now.

One argument they intend to dispel is that Ratcliffe is a Trump loyalist.

Trump first nominated Ratcliffe in 2019 only days after the Texas Republican went viral on the right for his aggressive questioning of Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE, leading to a flood of stories about Ratcliffe being a Trump loyalist.

Ratcliffe is supportive of Trump and his agenda and believes both Mueller and the Intelligence Community overstepped at various points in the Russia saga.

However, Ratcliffes allies plan to make the case that its unfair to characterize him as a sycophant, noting he did not have much of a relationship with Trump before his nomination and never had a one-on-one conversation with the president until summer 2019.

Ratcliffes allies plan to make the case that its unfair to characterize him that way, noting that he did not have much of a relationship with Trump before his nomination and never had a one-on-one conversation with the president until summer 2019.

Ratcliffe represents a northeast Texas district that is one of the most conservative in the country, yet his allies note that he does not have a reputation as a conservative bomb-thrower and never joined the right-wing Freedom Caucus.

On the question of experience, Ratcliffe will talk about how he was appointed by former President George W. Bush to serve as chief of anti-terrorism and national security for the Eastern District of Texas. He later became the U.S. attorney for the district, and Ratcliffe will have former colleagues speak to how he performed his duties in an apolitical manner.

The Texas Republican has been involved with legislation for national security, cyber and intelligence issues on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and hes expected to point to bills he spearheaded during both the Trump and Obama administrations that were signed into law.

Ratcliffe has also been accused of overstating his involvement in prosecuting one terror case, which led to several other accusations that he had pumped up his resume.

In that case, Ratcliffe has acknowledged that he did not put terrorists in prison, as his campaign website once claimed, but rather he was appointed on the backend to research how the case resulted in a mistrial.

Ratcliffes team has spent the past few weeks pulling together Department of Justice (DOJ) records and old media reports they say will prove his involvement in other high-level terrorism cases that have been called into question.

Theyre telling lawmakers that most of what they might have heard about his lack of experience or about how hes overstated his involvement in terror cases is untrue.

Republicans control 53 seats in the Senate and Ratcliffe needs at least 50 votes to be confirmed. Administration officials are confident hes on the right path.

The idea that youre not supposed to have a loyalist in your own Cabinet is ridiculous, said the senior intelligence official. And its simply disingenuous to say Ratcliffe, who has been dealing with these issues at DOJ and on the House Intelligence committee, doesnt have enough experience.

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GOP presses for swift Ratcliffe confirmation to intel post | TheHill - The Hill

Like so many of Donald Trump's bad ideas, the first sign of trouble came in a tweet. Shortly before midnight (ET) on Sunday, the president published an all-caps missive that read, "We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. At the end of the 15 day period, we will make a decision as to which way we want to go!"

It was the first public sign that the Republican was prepared to retreat from the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. As of Monday, Trump apparently eyed March 31 as the day in which the federal response would change direction. A day later, he pointed to Easter, which this year falls on April 12.

Yesterday, the president sent a letter to governors, and while it didn't give a detailed timeline, the document said he intends to label different parts of the country as high risk, medium risk, or low risk. The idea, evidently, would be to use the labels as a guide: low-risk areas would ease their social-distancing measures and related efforts, while high-risk areas would not.

It's a deeply flawed plan, drafted for dubious reasons: Trump believes retreat will give the economy a boost, and the public-health consequences are a price he's prepared to pay.

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That's hopelessly misguided, and as Slate noted yesterday, even some in the president's party have been willing to say so.

The Donald TrumpFox News feedback loop has been on a terrifying kick this week about how you can't make the "cure" for the coronavirus pandemic (staying home so you don't get infected/infect others with a deadly respiratory virus) worse than the disease itself, because having too many people at home harms "the economy," and so everyone needs to "get back to work" at the end of a 15-day social distancing period, which Trump claims began last week. This is such a shortsighted reading of what's good for "the economy" that even hard-line Republicans are disagreeing with it.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), for example, explained, "There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what's necessary to stop the virus."

She didn't specifically reference the president, but given the context, she didn't have to.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) struck a similar note, arguing, "Try running an economy with major hospitals overflowing, doctors and nurses forced to stop treating some because they can't help all, and every moment of gut-wrenching medical chaos being played out in our living rooms, on TV, on social media, and shown all around the world. There is no functioning economy unless we control the virus."

But I was especially struck by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's (R) line:

"I've been asked if I had a reaction to the president's statements yesterday. I think we are aligned. We want to get this over with ASAP. We want people back at work. The frustration he has, I share it. Each day we can't move forward is frustrating. We're all in this together. The truth is that protecting people and protecting the economy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, one depends on the other. We save our economy by first saving lives. And we have to do it in that order."

It's not easy for a governor to adopt the opposite of Trump's line, while simultaneously saying he's "aligned" with Trump, but DeWine is no doubt aware of the president's capacity for criticism, and so it led him to adopt this carefully worded line.

See more here:
Even some Republicans aren't on board with Trump's retreat plan - MSNBC

Until they can shed the blinders that keep them chained to failed policies, they are a party doomed to repeat their mistakes.

As Congress nears completion on a $2.2 trillion stimulus plan to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus, Im tempted to suggest that were all socialists now. In the midst of an extreme crisis, weve all turned to the federal government as the one entity that is able to mitigate the damage.

Of course, admitting to all of that would be anathema to Republicans. But one of the marks of a healthy individual or organization is the ability to learn from mistakes. So it is at a moment like this that a healthy response from those on the right would be to re-examine the foundational principles that have crippled their ability to deal with the kind of crisis we face today.

It is becoming clear that that is not going to happen. Writing for The Federalist, Ben Weingarten lists the 5 paradigm shifts the Wuhan virus has revealed that Americans need (and yes, he gives himself away with the reference to the Wuhan virus).

1. Communist China is a global menace blah, blah, blah, blame China. Weve beenhearinga lot about that one.

2. Coronavirus Starkly Illustrates Globalisms Downsides pretending that walls and borders can stop a virus, Weingarten writes:

This series of events perfectly illustrates the downsides to the globalist agenda of open borders, global political institutions, and global economic integration at all costs. It perfectly illustrates the merits of an America First, nationalist agenda, including a focus on border control, national sovereignty, and eschewing of global institutions, as well as an economic independence combined with truly free, fair, and reciprocal trade.

3. We Must Establish Principles for Dealing with Crises this relates to the current conversation on the right about doing a cost-benefit analysis on lives lost vs. damage to the economy. Weingarten is merely saying that we should cost out how many lives were willing to put at risk in a crisis ahead of time.

4. The GOP Needs a Real Response for Democrats Games this one is basically an attempt to paint Republicans as victims who are being oppressed by those nasty Democrats.

Democrats will shamelessly use crises to cram their policies down our throats. Do Republicans have any answer to this?Have Republicans formulated a counter-response not only for that possibility, but for their own policies that cut in the opposite direction? Where is the GOP counter-agenda?

Weingarten actually has a point. For years now Ive been saying that, other than xenophobia and tax cuts for the wealthy, the entire Republican agenda has been to simply obstruct what Democrats propose. But notice that there is no attempt to suggest pragmatic options that might actually work. Everything is simply viewed through the lens of partisanship as a counter-agenda.

5. We Need to Get Our Fiscal House in Order the idea here is that, having just allocated trillions of dollars to deal with a pandemic, we need to do a better job of cutting federal spending. For Republicans, getting our fiscal house in order never has anything to do with the revenue side of the equation. So Weingarten didnt bother to mention the tax cut giveaway that already had the federal government bleeding red ink.

This is what passes for an analysis of our situation from conservatives. It is an attempt to take the failed policies of the past and simply dig deeper into the hole they created. That is discouraging, to say the least.

Until the Republican Party can shed the blinders that keep them chained to these failed policies, they are a party doomed to repeat their mistakes and then lie in order to avoid being held accountable.

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.

Yes, Ill make a donation

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Republicans Are Learning All the Wrong Lessons From the Coronavirus Crisis - Washington Monthly

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Senators have come to an agreement on the stimulus package to aid the American economy and people. But some lawmakers believe this shouldve been finished last weekend.

Senate Democrat and Republican leaders say they now agree on a $2 trillion emergency stimulus package.

Now, what we need to make sure is that the dollars that are appropriated and authorized actually get out to the communities in need as quickly as possible, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said.

Warner and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin say the bill will help keep Americans afloat due to the coronavirus.

It was hard getting there and sometimes the partisanship would fight for whatever they believed in, but what it ended up is we have a good bill right now, Manchin said.

The stimulus package provides direct payments to many Americans and emergency loans to small businesses and companies. But Senate Republicans believe this shouldve been passed days ago.

Theres really not vast differences here. The tweaking that was done I think was a political exercise, unfortunately, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said.

Capito and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey are frustrated by the process.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Are there things in there I dont like? Absolutely. I wouldve done this differently, Toomey said.

But Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine says the changes Democrats made to the bill are important.

The Senate bill that was on the table Sunday, would not have protected the lowest-income workers, would not have had the expansion for unemployment insurance to pick up everybody, Kaine said.

Once this is done, Senator Kaine says lawmakers may begin work on a fourth relief bill, if needed.

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Republicans and Democrats agree on $2 trillion stimulus plan, but some think it shouldve happened earlier - WAVY.com