A Generation of Tit-for-Tat Politics – “The Sunday Political Brunch” - August 6, 2023

Sunday, August 06, 2023

Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™

 

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PHOTOS: GoLocal and the White House

The Democrats target Trump with more indictments, while the Republicans threaten Biden with impeachment hearings. And all this while both sides are gearing up for campaign 2024, not just for the White House, but for control of both chambers of Congress. It is developing into a perfect storm that will keep me employed through 2024 and beyond! Let’s “brunch” on that this week.

 

“More Trump Indictments” – For the third time this year, former President Donald Trump appeared in court to face criminal charges. This time, stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, as well as the Capitol riots that ensued on January 6. 2021. This was no surprise. Two weeks ago, Trump indicated he received a “target letter” from the U.S. Justice Department which usually signals you’re about to be indicted. “I hear that deranged Jack Smith (the special prosecutor), in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President," Trump wrote on his social media site.

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“Why These are Different” – Of the three sets of indictments, the latest round is perhaps the most damning. The first charges dealt with Trump’s expenditures to try to silence an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. The second indictment dealt with the alleged mishandling of classified documents. Both are important but are visually poorer stories that don’t have much impact. But the video of the Capitol being raided, vandalized, and pillaged on the day the 2020 election was being certified, was shocking and abhorrent to most Americans (and indeed, the free world). You can’t “unsee” that.

 

“Hunter Hearings” – Presidential son Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer testified before a closed Congressional hearing. The significance of what he said fell along party lines. “Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his son’s business dealings and was not involved. Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family,” said Rep. James Comer (R) Kentucky. Chairman Comer says Hunter put Archer on speakerphone with his famous dad on numerous occasions.

 

“Democrats React” – Rep. Dan Goldman (D) New York was also in the hearings and described the speaker phone conversations with Joe Biden as fairly innocuous. “As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, what’s going on. There wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had,” Goldman added.

 

“Republicans React” – Last week Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R) California hinted there could be an impeachment inquiry of President Biden, based on whether he was involved in his son’s business dealings. McCarthy’s not alone. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Florida said, “And the inquiry into Biden, I think that they should pursue that.” Presidential candidate DeSantis added, “The corruption is just incredible with what’s happened there.”

 

“The ‘Change of Venue’ Debate” – The third indictment of Donald Trump was issued in Washington, DC, a district that has a 77 percent majority of registered Democrats, to just 5 percent Republican. On CBS News Wednesday morning the host asked Trump lawyer John Lauro, “Would you seek a venue change?” “Absolutely,” Lauro said. “There are other options. West Virginia is close by. That’s like the political opposite of Washington, D.C.” Lauro added.  “You think you could get a fair trial there?” the host asked. “It’s more diverse than Washington, D.C., which I think is 95% for Mr. Biden,” Lauro responded. “The bottom line is the President, like everyone sitting in this room, is entitled to a fair trial and we’re going to get that.”

 

“The Defense May Have a Point” – In the United States, one is offered trial, “by a jury of your peers.” In Trump’s case, that is hardly DC. On the other hand, in both 2016 and 2020, Trump carried West Virginia with 69 percent of the popular vote. The only other state to outpace that was the fellow coal-producing state of Wyoming. Trump could easily be convicted in Washington, DC, or could easily be acquitted in West Virginia. The “jury of your peers” only applies to the defense, not the prosecution. This is a fascinating option. I can see where a judge might be inclined to move the trial. On the other hand, the Sixth Amendment clearly specifies a  “public trial by an impartial jury consisting of jurors from the state and district in which the crime was alleged to have been committed.” By that standard, it would be held in DC. I predict a court fight over the location.

 

“Polls Defy Gravity” – After the first two rounds of indictments, Trump simply surged and spiked in Republican presidential preference polls. We’ll see in the next few weeks whether he continues to do so in round three of charges. But the latest Real Clear Politics composite poll of all recent polling has Trump with a commanding lead at 54 percent. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Florida is next at just 18 percent, with all other candidates in the weeds. I spoke with Rep. Alex Mooney (R) West Virginia this week and he said, “Frankly, the more they attack him, the more popular he gets among Republican primary voters. He’s soared in the polls right now. So, it’s not working. It’s not going to work. I just fear for our country, that our country appears to be getting weaponized like this.”   

 

“The History of Impeachment” – The pattern we’ve developed as a nation in the past generation, suggests we may be heading down a bad road. President Andrew Johnson was impeached but acquitted back in 1868. It would be just over one hundred years before the next impeachment inquiry involving President Richard Nixon, who resigned before he could be expelled. But now, in the past 26 years, we’ve seen President Bill Clinton, impeached and acquitted once and President Donald Trump, impeached and acquitted twice. And we stand on the verge of an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. Really, four times in 26 years? No wonder we’re having trouble attracting quality candidates in both parties to put their names on the ballot. This is not sustainable.

Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the seven Nexstar Media TV stations serving West Virginia, its five neighboring states and the entire Washington, DC media market. He is also a MINDSETTER™ contributing political writer and analyst for www.GoLocalProv.com and its affiliates.


 

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