There was a recent article in Politico (Jan 15, 2020) about the pros and cons, and to what degree, of restricting access of the press to the Senate impeachment trial of President D Trump. The Republican head of Senate (actively pro-Trump), Senator Mitch McConnell, favors strict access restriction while the Democrat Senators and House ''plaintiffs' favor open, transparent hearings with more witness allowances and more press access. All of this seems to resemble the beginning of a Constitutional conflict much resembling, to Pericles21, the pro-States Rights (and defense of slavery) arguments from John C Calhoun in the early (1820s) days of the American republic.
Pericles21 sees a commonality with both the current Senate arguments for strict constitutionality protection of audience limits on the impeachment press attendance and the 1830s States Rights debates led by John C. Calhoun (South Carolina).
The commonality is both the 1800s Calhoun-led debate over States' Rights (a century ago!) and the current 2020, McConnell-led debate over limiting the presence of the press in the Senate impeachment trial involve hidden agendas.
(And what's with South Carolina which seems to so reliably and regularly spawn wreckers of public calm and potentially the nation itself?)
In the case of States Rights, the debate was superficially about the rights of American States; the real debate was about slavery - whether to continue and protect slavery or move towards emancipation.
The hidden agenda in the current debate over limiting the press attendance in the Senate trial of President Trump, and influencing nearly all post-2016 election Republican Party behavior, is 'Kompromat' (blackmail in American 'lingo') - whether Trump is guilty of treasonous acts and policy resulting from Russian 'Kompromat'.
Underneath it all, the article adds to a picture of how the Republican party's general political philosophy, intentions, and actions since the 2016 election especially have been antithetical to the Constitution's goals that stress open government operating in the public interest and guided by a healthy free press. In this respect, the question from the Senate Republicans was whether the presence of the press would disrupt the trial. The Democrat perspective hs been the press would help keep the Senate to an open (read 'transparent' and honest) track in the trial of Donald Trump.
As background to establish the aims of the Republicans in the impeachment trial, the Senate Republicans, under the 'leadership' of Mitch McConnell, publicly vowed to effect a predetermined outcome which is to throw out the House impeachment and exonerate of Trump. To achieve this result, the Senate made moves to prevent the House Democrats, whose body had voted to impeach Trump, from fully presenting their case for convicting Trump by heavily 'editing' what witnesses, and how many, the Dems could bring forth to testify against Trump. These Republican moves and similar obstructions starting soon after Trump's inauguration contributed to the primary impeachment points the House successfully brought against Trump.
The visible Senate Republican animosity towards the American press, and by default against transparency in government, has been palpable throughout the Trump campaign and the 3 years so far into the first term. This is the Trumpists' banner so perfectly summarized in the invention of 'fake news' and 'alternative facts' so quickly played against any critical questioning of the Trump presidency.
Pericles21 interprets the Republican use of 'fake news' and 'alternative facts' as 'blocking' devices (sophomore debate tricks) thrown out with deliberate cynicism to obfuscate, divert and kill any and all investigations into Trump, his campaign and conduct in office.
Pericles21 further believes the Republicans' use of these and other obfuscation tricks cover up a dark picture of Russian influence, through Russian Kompromat, over the 2016 presidential election and continuing to influence the actions and policies of Trump himself, with the overt assistance of the Republican Senate and from the House (at least until the reversing 2018 Congressional elections made Democrats the controlling party in the House).
Russia's Kompromat influence over Trump (notably, but not exclusively, the Steele Dossier) is 'blackmail material' which was brought out before the 2016 election but has been left out of the impeachment picture. although directly 'thrown' up by Speaker Pelosi's statement that with Trump, "all roads lead to Putin" {Vladimir Putin, Russia's leader].
Trump's 'transgressions' during his compromised campaign and in his term in office so far present an unbroken trail of treason or near-treason, but certainly impeachable conduct.
Some day, Trump and Russian Kompromat will have to be uncovered. One hopes that American governance (bi-partisan) will learn from the lesson with the Trump debacle.
Pericles21 sees a commonality with both the current Senate arguments for strict constitutionality protection of audience limits on the impeachment press attendance and the 1830s States Rights debates led by John C. Calhoun (South Carolina).
The commonality is both the 1800s Calhoun-led debate over States' Rights (a century ago!) and the current 2020, McConnell-led debate over limiting the presence of the press in the Senate impeachment trial involve hidden agendas.
(And what's with South Carolina which seems to so reliably and regularly spawn wreckers of public calm and potentially the nation itself?)
In the case of States Rights, the debate was superficially about the rights of American States; the real debate was about slavery - whether to continue and protect slavery or move towards emancipation.
The hidden agenda in the current debate over limiting the press attendance in the Senate trial of President Trump, and influencing nearly all post-2016 election Republican Party behavior, is 'Kompromat' (blackmail in American 'lingo') - whether Trump is guilty of treasonous acts and policy resulting from Russian 'Kompromat'.
Underneath it all, the article adds to a picture of how the Republican party's general political philosophy, intentions, and actions since the 2016 election especially have been antithetical to the Constitution's goals that stress open government operating in the public interest and guided by a healthy free press. In this respect, the question from the Senate Republicans was whether the presence of the press would disrupt the trial. The Democrat perspective hs been the press would help keep the Senate to an open (read 'transparent' and honest) track in the trial of Donald Trump.
As background to establish the aims of the Republicans in the impeachment trial, the Senate Republicans, under the 'leadership' of Mitch McConnell, publicly vowed to effect a predetermined outcome which is to throw out the House impeachment and exonerate of Trump. To achieve this result, the Senate made moves to prevent the House Democrats, whose body had voted to impeach Trump, from fully presenting their case for convicting Trump by heavily 'editing' what witnesses, and how many, the Dems could bring forth to testify against Trump. These Republican moves and similar obstructions starting soon after Trump's inauguration contributed to the primary impeachment points the House successfully brought against Trump.
The visible Senate Republican animosity towards the American press, and by default against transparency in government, has been palpable throughout the Trump campaign and the 3 years so far into the first term. This is the Trumpists' banner so perfectly summarized in the invention of 'fake news' and 'alternative facts' so quickly played against any critical questioning of the Trump presidency.
Pericles21 interprets the Republican use of 'fake news' and 'alternative facts' as 'blocking' devices (sophomore debate tricks) thrown out with deliberate cynicism to obfuscate, divert and kill any and all investigations into Trump, his campaign and conduct in office.
Pericles21 further believes the Republicans' use of these and other obfuscation tricks cover up a dark picture of Russian influence, through Russian Kompromat, over the 2016 presidential election and continuing to influence the actions and policies of Trump himself, with the overt assistance of the Republican Senate and from the House (at least until the reversing 2018 Congressional elections made Democrats the controlling party in the House).
Russia's Kompromat influence over Trump (notably, but not exclusively, the Steele Dossier) is 'blackmail material' which was brought out before the 2016 election but has been left out of the impeachment picture. although directly 'thrown' up by Speaker Pelosi's statement that with Trump, "all roads lead to Putin" {Vladimir Putin, Russia's leader].
Trump's 'transgressions' during his compromised campaign and in his term in office so far present an unbroken trail of treason or near-treason, but certainly impeachable conduct.
Some day, Trump and Russian Kompromat will have to be uncovered. One hopes that American governance (bi-partisan) will learn from the lesson with the Trump debacle.
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