What to look for in the Jan.6 public hearings

Jan. 6 hearings hit primetime TV this week : NPR 

The general public is about to get an ear and an eye full. Bits and pieces have dribbled out ever since the Jan 6 committee was constituted.  So far, what the public has heard is that there were many trying various ways to keep Trump in power, some of which may have been criminal and some just dirty tricks and some violated the  spirit and intent of the Constitution,  

1.  Was there an effort to intentionally overturn election results to keep Trump in the White House? 

  2.  If so,  what  were they and who led these efforts.

   3. What was wrong about the goal and efforts and what failed and what damage do they do?

 4;/. What role did Trump play? 

          Did he give orders, gave a wink and a nod, or did he not know what was done. or was about to be done?  The old Watergate drill is valid here:  What did he know, when did he know it..and how, and what did he do about it.  

Much has been made of Trump's style of operation which resembles a mafia boss.  If so, if he is a good mob boss, he will let his lieutenants take the fall for the idea, formulate the plan, and the execution of the plan. He has a record of acting like this.  Michael Cohen said he never gave a direct order, but instead gave an indication of what he would like done, but left it up to those loyal to him to figure it out and then do it.  Trump expected his minions to take the fall and stay loyal if they got caught, with hints of promises he would reward loyalists with pardons..  Ask Cohen how that worked when Cohen did not comply in the Stormy Daniels matter/  Ask ask Manfort who pleaded guilty, suffered a bit, and then was pardoned in the Russian campaign interference issue..  There are many more who fit the Manafort model than the Cohen ones.  Nixon was caught red-handed with the famous tapes, but will Trump, who did not use technology that would trip him up or come to haunt him?  There may not be the "smoking gun" but the stench of those around him testifying what they heard and saw may be enough to shape public opinion and destroy any of his future political ambitions...or not.

Stormy Daniels who's who: Cast of characters in Michael Cohen scandal (usatoday.com)

Trump Pardons Roger Stone, Paul Manafort And Charles Kushner : NPR

coh

         

          What did he know; when did he know it and what did he do about it?

Democrats' messaging still floundering. :.Why not just call the GOP mean and extreme?

Update 11/18/22 How Trump Taught Everybody to Be Obnoxious and Cruel - POLITICO 

Democrats' messaging is still floundering.  The last attempt from the White House was to brand the GOP as "ultra MAGA".  That lasted a day when the MAGAs embraced the' ultra' because they saw it as a badge of honor.   The Biden camp is still trying to find their message that attacks the GOP being taken over by the radical Trump wing  Why not just call the GOP mean and extreme? Not only are the MAGA positions extreme, but they also hurt people. The key to Democrats making a decent showing in November and in 2024 is turning out the middle, the suburban moms and others who voted for Obama and then Trump, and are wondering who really gives a fig for them and what bugs them. . The problem is finding an overarching theme that addresses their problems and puts the message in short, snappy words.  Until now, the Democratic message has been: here are the ways we help you. Then they list them until the listener zones out.  All well and good, but there needs to be an attack message that draws the contrast and shows the harm the MAGA policies do.  The issues and opportunities are emerging.  MAGAs support policies that the vast majority do not, such as ending Roe v Wade and opposing common sense gun policy.  They cry inflation and oppose any relief to the struggling middle class,.  They give safe haven to white nationalists who gin up hate and fear that fuels more violence and conflict.  They try to make it more inconvenient, difficult, and fearful to vote if you live in an area the GOP believes most of you will vote for Democrats.  These are extreme positions but they are also mean ones that hurt people.      

Attack ads could run like this: X candidate supporting ending Roe v Wade is mean and extreme, forcing women to lose control of their lives, to work, to afford to care for their family, and to have children who are the product of rape and incest or even could cause their own death.  X candidate is mean and extreme because he/she opposes common sense gun legislation and wants to keep easy access to guns of war. X  candidate is mean and extreme because he/she opposes any proposals that would help middle-class people cope with family finances  (i.e child tax credit, pre-school education, student debt, etc)).  

RNC leaks show their 2022 and 2024 strategy is a threat to fair elections

Leaked RNC recordings show their 2022 and 2024 strategy is a threat to fair elections. Let us be clear about this: the goal is not about election integrity. It is election manipulation, setting up employees of the local election authorities to harass and frighten away only those voters in swing districts who would vote for the Democratic party. This is not supporting voting integrity...because if so, these targeted precincts would be equally distributed to GOP leaning districts, which is where the cheaters have been found in 2020. After nearly two years, those prosecuted for voting dead bodies and other violations have been white Republicans, not Democrats or African Americans. . It is against the law to harass voters no matter if it is to be done by poll watchers (volunteer observers) and poll workers, employees of the county or state election official. . It is important to hold local election supervisors, county clerks' feet to the fire to play their election duties straight and to make sure their employees are pledged to support the rules and the laws that ensure that supervision is equally applied and that the staff is also bi-partisan. The greatest threat this RNC approach is to get only election officials who are loyal to one candidate or their party, and not to the fair election process.

Exposing this strategy in advance of the actual elections gives Democrats a chance to develop a counter strategy and it also provides a platform for the public to vote for elections officials who are pledged to follow the rules and play it straight., with staffing elections with neutral or bi-partisan employees.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/01/gop-contest-elections-tapes-

(Felicia Muftic is a former Denver county clerk and president of the city and county election commission.)

Colorado's Jena Griswold appoints election supervisor in Pueblo County, alleging 'errors, mistakes' | 2022 Election | coloradopolitics.com

 Update: Facebook posting June 15, 2022

This is the first step in the primary in Colorado this year. The next steps I will follow closely. My paper ballot was dropped in a drop box, and I got confirmation by email it was received to be counted as it hopefully should be. There is a plan afoot to subvert the county and tabulation process at county levels. https://www.politico.com/.../gop-contest-elections-tapes... As the home state of the poster child of a Trump loyal county clerk, Tina Peters, now under indictment and forbidden to manage elections in another county, I will be focusing my beady eyes on the counting and certification. Her defense is partially funded my pillow guy. For those who yawn their way through county clerk elections, awake and ask county clerk candidates if they believe "stop the steal" and election integrity. That is where the sand will be thrown to wreck the gears of democracy. Peters is now running for Secretary of State for Colorado, in charge of state elections process, and received the end of support of Colorado Republican Party delegates at the May convention. She has a primary opponent. Tina Peters goes to Mar-a-Lago, home to Trump’s endorsements (coloradosun.com)

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he gave $800K to Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters' defense fund, a violation of Colorado law (nbcnews.com)

Pam Anderson qualifies for GOP primary against Tina Peters for Colorado secretary of state | 2022 Election | coloradopolitics.com

A major attempt by Trumpster county commissioners to refuse to certify an election has just ended up in the New Mexico Supreme Court which ordered them to certify by Friday, June 17.. One commissioner laughed it off. Another commissioner was at the January 6 riot. It will be interesting to see if they defy the order and the result. N.M. Supreme Court intervenes after GOP commission refuses to certify primary results (nbcnews.com)

The weirdness of these two county election officials, Otero in NM and Mesa in Colorado, is that both counties voted heavily for Trump in 2020.

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Smart guy, that Zelensky. He did not fall into a Trumpist trap

 Zelensky is wise and nimble, way beyond his years. https://www.businessinsider.com/zelenskyy-shut-down... Given the sour taste in his mouth when Trump used supplying Javelins as leverage to force Zelensky to find dirt on Hunter Biden, he showed the ability to be a diplomat while delivering bad news. He also avoided creating an incident or falling into a right-wing trap of some fantasy that if Trump had been president, there would have been no war or military resistance. . I wonder if in the back of his mind, Zelensky was thinking, that if Trump were president, sure there would have been no war because he would have let Russia waltz right in all the way to Kyiv given Trump's bromance with Putin. and Ukraine would have been run by Putin's quisling restoring its Soviet-style satellite status and handing over the part to their own country to be annexed to Russia..

BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

Zelenskyy shuts down Newsmax interviewer who tried to get him to say there would be no war if Trump were president

Right-wing outlet Newsmax interviewed Zelenskyy, saying many Americans think Trump as president would mean "this invasion would not have happened."