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A storm has been brewing in the Texas Republican Party after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It fired a staffer who had posted a video of himself at the Capitol during the riot.

Matthew Dowd says that staffer was evidence of a larger problem in the party, not just in Texas but nationwide one it will have to continue to grapple with in this post-Trump era.

I think its enough to sort of cause the eyes of many people in our country, and many people in the world, to look at us and say, Whats going on in America?' Dowd told Texas Standard.

Dowd is a former ABC News chief political analyst, former adviser to former President George W. Bush and an author and co-founder of Country Over Party.

A moment for Republicans to look inward

This is the first time somebody has tried to nullify an election since 1860 in the run-up to the Civil War. So, yes, I think its a key moment in time for the Republicans to ask themselves a whole bunch of questions about where theyre headed, Dowd said.

Should the Texas GOP should be concerned about people leaving the Republican Party?

NPR has reported that thousands of people are leaving the GOP, but not all because of what happened on Jan. 6. Some are leaving because they feel the party has turned its back on former President Donald Trump. Either way, Dowd says Texas Republican leaders should take notice.

I think the Texas GOP should be real concerned. This is a symptom of a much deeper problem in the Republican Party and in the Texas GOP, Dowd said.

He says whether its Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, who could potentially lose her House committee positions because of spreading conspiracy theories and more, or Trump or the insurrection, Dowd says all of those things have led us here.

I think that we are at that sort of key place in time where the Republican Party of Texas should be very concerned, Dowd said.

What has Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said about his partys future?

Dowd says Abbott hasnt said much about the insurrection, even as it has led to further division in his party.

I think its incredibly unfortunate that more Republicans, leaders like Gov. Abbott, havent stood up for what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6 stood up to the sort of crazies and crackpots that have emerged in the course of this, Dowd said.

He says Republicans can look to history, to Sam Houston, who disagreed with secession efforts in 1859, and was ultimately kicked out of office because he took a principled stand.

And I think thats where I think Republican leaders have to land, he said. Are they going to take a principled stand against these things that are against our Constitution and risk losing office? Or are they just going to quietly go along and allow it to continue to destroy much of our political discourse?

The Tea Party didnt destroy the GOP. Why should Republicans be worried about the far-right wing of their party today?

Its much more of a threat, and its wholly different. I mean, you didnt have the Tea Party sort of raise arms and go to the Capitol to try to overthrow an election. So its a big difference in co-opting the Tea Party, and dealing with what we have to deal with today.

Excerpt from:
Texas GOP Is At A Crossroads After Capitol Insurrection. Which Way Will It Go? - Texas Standard

- The 'Tea Party' hosted by ex-president Jacob Zuma and attended by Julius Malema has been the talk of Mzansi in recent days

- Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni is adamant that Malema has the power to disrupt the power succession within the ANC

- While those who attended aren't spilling any tea, Mnguni is adamant something big is on the cards

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Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni says Malema is one person who has an ability to disrupt the intergenerational logic of power succession within the ANC.

Parties who attended the tea party have kept the discussions among themselves, leading to speculations and claims by hidden sources.

There is more going political to the "Tea Party" that was hosted by former President Jacob Zuma and attended by the EFF Commander in Chief, Julius Malema.

Mnguni weighs in on the 'Tea Party' hosted by ex-president Jacob Zuma for Julius Malema. Image: @mzwandileMasinaSource: Twitter

It has been widely reported that this "Tea Party" was not as a result of a spontaneous Twitter conversation as it first emerged but has been long in the making with few political players involved.

Early indications were that Malema is going to Nkandla to convince Zuma to reconsider his stance of refusing to appear before the Zondo Commission.

Arriving there in the company of Advocate Dali Mpofu who has represented a number of clients who appeared before the commission strengthened those speculations.

Whilst the presence of Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile in Nkandla was expected since on Twitter Malema had indicated that he will finalise the details of the visit through him, there was a surprise presence of Tony Yengeni, an ANC NEC member.

As the parties decided to keep the details of their discussions to themselves, it remained a matter of speculation and reported claims from hidden sources who claim to have been present.

What has made these two strange bedfellows to come together and have tea when the EFF went after Zuma, disrupted his Parliamentary appearances, took him to court and sponsored the motion of no-confidence that forced resignation of Zuma after realising that ANC will support the motion.

As the clich, "There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics," what has brought these former foes together?

Political analyst Lukhona Mnguni said politicians at times will always bargain with what strengthens their ambitions.

It is an open secret that Malema harbours ambitions of being elected to be the president of this country.

During his era as the ANC youth league leader, Malema was celebrated and often touted as the future leader of the party and the country.

The cracks in the ANC renews Malema's ambitions but it may not be possible to achieve it without winning some of the warring factions of the ruling party.

Mnguni believes that there is a strongly hidden realignment of political forces within ANC whose aim is to disrupt the presidency of Ramaphosa to destabilise his efforts to reform the state after certain institutions began pursuing particular individuals or their misdeeds.

He said Malema is one person who has an ability to disrupt the intergenerational logic of power succession within the ANC.

While most of what is happening at this stage remains a speculation one thing that is clear is that Malema is an ambitious politician whose political rhetoric resonates with some in the ANC.

Could it be that the ANC faction which has been backing Zuma is preparing to work with Malema and forge a new path?

Zuma has been frustrated by his ongoing corruption case and various judgments that have ordered him to pay legal costs of other litigants.

Malema on the other hand is not off-the-hook yet from charges of corruption that were provisionally withdrawn after he approached the court to seek trial separation from his co-accused.

But he had previously shared a view that Zuma is too old to go to jail. Could it be that Zuma is seeking new friends that can help him to stay out of jail since the current ANC leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa has allowed the law to take its course without giving any hint of coming to his aid?

Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that former president Jacob Zuma reportedly told EFF leader Julius Malema that he would only appear at the State Capture Commission if Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recused himself.

Zuma believes that Zondo is conflicted. According to the pics posted on social media by the EFF, Zuma, Malema, EFF's advocate Dali Mpofu, ANC's Mzwandile Masina and Tony Yengeni held a meeting over tea at Zuma's Nkandla homestead on Friday, 5 February. Malema had hit Zuma up on Twitter and requested the meeting after he publicly refused to appear at the Zondo Commission.

In a statement, Zuma defied a Constitutional Court order compelling him to appear before the commission.

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Analysis: The Nkandla Tea Party and Malema's Presidential Ambitions - Briefly

The gathering of the unlikely forces at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday wasnt just about strategising against President Cyril Ramaphosa and frustrating the Zondo commission, but also forming a new left centre alliance of the wounded, say analysts. The analysts said the talk of a tea meeting between Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and former president Jacob Zuma was also a publicity stunt. The real issue was to explore possible future cooperation between the Red Berets and the Zuma faction of the ANC. According to political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage, from North-West University, it was a long-planned gathering...

The gathering of the unlikely forces at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday wasnt just about strategising againstPresident Cyril Ramaphosa and frustrating the Zondo commission, but also forming a new left centre alliance of the wounded, say analysts.

The analysts said the talk of a tea meeting between Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and former president Jacob Zuma was also a publicity stunt. The real issue was to explore possible future cooperation between the Red Berets and the Zuma faction of the ANC.

According to political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage, from North-West University, it was a long-planned gathering borne out by bruising political losses incurred by both sides. This was echoed by other analysts, Professor Susan Booysen, research director at Mapungubwe Institute for Reflection, and Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast, from Stellenbosch University, who concurred that the two leaders shared common enemies Ramaphosa and the Zondo commission.

Also Read:Opportunists at one table? Put a kettle on for Nkandlas tea party

Booysen said Malema, realising his party failed to make headway in the recent by-elections, had to find other ways for EFF to survive.

Zuma, on the other hand, could lose in the judicial process and his allies like ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule were weakened by corruption allegations.

Booysen said Malema and Zuma felt it was best was to mend fences and forge some political cooperation into future.

There is little doubt Ramaphosa was discussed in Nkandla. They are united in pain against the president Booysen said.

In their fightback, the two leaders may exploit Ramaphosa shenanigans including allegations made by former Eskom chief executive officer Brian Molefe that he was involved in state capture, the CR-17 campaign funding sagaand his alleged attempt to avoid his integrity scrutiny.

Also Read:Voetsek Malema tells DA after their questions about his Zuma tea party

Duvenhage said the tea party could be part of mobilising for the upcoming corruption trials of Magashule, Zuma and possible graft charges against some EFF members emanating from the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.

The Zuma camp were also devising a counter-attack should the Ramaphosa faction execute its plan to cut off oxygen of Magashule at the national executive committee meeting set for 13 to 14 February. Magashule might beforced to step aside.

The time for political realignment is coming soon and all the groupings are mobilising. A coalition to the left of the centre is looming. The tea party has this power play that is under way, Duvenhage said.

ericn@citizen.co.za

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Continued here:
Innnocent tea party or new alliance of the wounded? - The Citizen

There have been four presidential-impeachment processes since 1787. None has resulted in removal, but all four had seismic political consequences.

Andrew Johnson was not removed in 1868, but he was not renominated, either, and failed to gain the second term he so wanted.

Richard Nixon was not removed in 1974; he resigned amid an immense scandal.

Bill Clinton was not removed in 1998. Instead, Clintons became the first administration since Reconstruction to gain congressional seats in the sixth year of its term. His chief opponent, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, resigned instead, as did Gingrichs presumptive successor, Bob Livingston, who confessed to an extramarital affair of his own.*

Donald Trump was not removed in 2020, but he lost the presidency, and his party lost control of the Senate.

Impeachments were designed as ways to remove corrupt federal officials. That function has mostly gone dormant, replaced by the operations of federal public-integrity law, enforced by the Department of Justice. Each month, DOJ announces actions in some two dozen cases. Recent announcements include the conviction of a former mayor in the federal territory of Guam on extortion changes and a former border officer on bribery charges.

But what impeachment can do in the modern era is send a powerful signal to the public about the gravity of certain cases. When the House impeaches, it declares: We believe we have exited normal politics; we believe we are dealing with a true emergency.

It elevates the presidents alleged abuse over all other congressional business. Impeachment empowers the House to force an issue onto the agenda of the slower-moving Senate. Impeachment changes the calendar of politics. Impeachment concentrates and clarifies issues. Impeachment compels senators to take a public stand one way or the other: convict or acquit.

Because impeachment is such an extraordinary act, it is also profoundly risky to its proponents. If done wrong, it will redound upon the impeachers, as Clintons impeachment redounded upon Gingrich and the House Republicans.

In 1998, a substantial majority of the American people rejected the Republican impeachment case against Clinton. After the House approved articles of impeachment, Clintons approval jumped to a new high of 73 percent in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, and approval of Republicans tumbled to 31 percent.

Even the fiercest partisans sense those risks. Thats why impeachment does not happen promiscuously. Ronald Reagan was not impeached for Iran-Contra. George W. Bush was not impeached after Democrats won the House and Senate in 2006. Barack Obama was not impeached despite the fervor of the Tea Party Republicans who took the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014.

The Trump impeachment, by contrast, was supported by a consistent if narrow majority. Seventy percent of Americans condemned Trumps attempted extortion of Ukraines government to aid his reelection. Trump and his supporters hoped and trusted that impeachment would backfire in 2020 as it had in 1998. Pro-Trump pundits confidently predicted that it would backfire. Those pro-Trump hopes were disappointed. The process began and ended with most Americans accepting that Trump had committed impeachable offenses and that he deserved to be removed from office for those offenses.

The rest is here:
Impeachment Is WorkingJust Not as the Framers Expected - The Atlantic

By Sifiso Mahlangu Feb 8, 2021

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Johannesburg - The tea party between former president Jacob Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema gripped the nations attention on Friday with politicians and the media in the dark over what the tea meeting was about.

At about 12.30pm on Friday, a helicopter belonging to a company known only as V&R Holdings descended on Zumas homestead in Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal.

Malema was accompanied by former EFF chairperson and legal heavyweight Dali Mpofu and spokesperson Vuyani Pambo.

From Zumas side there was Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina, ANC NEC member Tony Yengeni and, joining the tea later, Zumas daughter Duduzile.

Independent Media has learnt that ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile met Zuma in June last year for discussions on Zumas court cases, with the ANC promising to assist Zuma with the fees involved in his legal cases.

Masina and Yengeni have engaged Zuma and Malema on a possible reconciliation. Malema, who was instrumental in Zumas rise to power in 2007, had a fallout with Zuma when the ANC expelled him in 2012.

Independent Media is reliably informed that Masina began to negotiate a truce between Zuma and Malema in 2019. The truce party is now called the Black Team in Zumas younger batch of NEC supporters.

One of the Black Teams first roles would be to mobilise for the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution.

The Black Team, which occasionally meets at the home of NEC member Mduduzi Manana, has also resolved to deliver a youthful presidency in 2024.

The youthful presidency seems to define the forming of a new alliance with Malema as president, Floyd Shivambu as deputy president and some ANC leaders in the top leadership structure.

In another startling discovery, the new alliance would be relooking at President Cyril Ramaphosas role in the Marikana massacre of 2012.

Stirring a storm in a teacup, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says it wants to meet with Zuma this week to understand the basis of having a tea meeting with Malema in the current environment.

It would be premature for us to have an informed view of the matter without understanding the basis of having that tea meeting in the current environment.

Well be seeing him (Zuma) between now and the end of this coming week, and surely we will get to understand the context of the tea meeting and the purpose for which it was arranged, ANC KZN provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli said.

The EFF, still coy about the minutes of the tea party, have since not answered any questions.

Zuma has confirmed to Independent Media that he will not grace the Zondo Commission with his presence.

Asked about the new alliance, Zuma responded: I am happy with the tea meeting. It was what our democracy needed.

It is reported that Zuma and Malema resolved to meet in Joburg again in about a weeks time.

The Star

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ANC in KZN wants to meet with Zuma to understand why he had tea meeting with Malema - Independent Online