Politics
The Dems Don’t Like Trump’s Cabinet Choices. Is Anyone Surprised?
The Dems pressured Matt Gaetz, Trump’s first A.G. choice, to withdraw, but all the others are still on-track.
Democrats are voicing outrage at President-Elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet Choices. But other than the Senate’s “Advice and Consent” function, the Dems really have no role, and the Republicans really don’t much care what the Democrats think.
When the Democrats were in power, the tables were turned. Shortly after his inauguration in 2009, President Obama was discussing his economic proposals with unhappy Republicans. Remember his comment to them? “Elections have consequences. It’s the political way for winners to tell losers: ‘Tough luck, you lost. Get over it.’” And a bit later Obama again told Republicans in Washington that “elections have consequences,” and, he added, in case there was any doubt, “I won.”
But in the game of musical chairs, the music stopped again and the Republicans grabbed most of the seats. Or, to be more succinct, the American people gave the Republicans the seats, leaving the Democrats looking in from the outside. It is to be presumed the Republicans were given those seats to do something, something other than what the Democrats would have done.
President-Elect Trump has a Senate that will be controlled by the Republicans. He can rely on them to confirm his choices, some of them may stray and join the Democrats in opposing Trump’s choices. There are several Republican Senators, like Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, for whom the Republican label is meaningless, as she very often votes with the Democrats.
Trump’s Cabinet choices are indeed controversial, but only for Democrats. They are widely praised by Republicans. But, of course, Trump will need to make it very clear to any left-leaning Republican Senators that getting his appointments through the Senate is vital to the overall success of his Administration, and all Senators should clearly understand that the only reason the Republicans hold the majority is because of Trump.
The Democrats clearly understand that Trump is going to do everything in his power to hold his Senators on the Reservation and not let them stray. The Democrats are calling this Trump’s effort to turn Congress into a “rubber stamp.” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, apparently believes that whenever he doesn’t get what he wants, that “democracy” is threatened. He has called the reality that Republican Senators might stick together and vote for a Republican President’s nominees, “a red alert moment for American democracy.”
The Dems are upset enough that Trump won, but for him to name nominees who reflect his goals is a bridge to far for them. So both Trump and the individual nominees are getting slimed by Democrat leaders.
UPDATE: ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, whose dislike for President Trump is palpable, continues to demonstrate his disdain for Trump’s cabinet nominees. We doubt, frankly, that Stephanopoulos would like anyone other than Clinton sycophants. But here he is with Senator Eric Schmitt, doing his best to get Schmitt to say anything negative about the nominees, but not finding success despite continued probing.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who is always quick with an insult, said Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Trump’s choice to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), is “likely a Russian asset.” Ms. Gabbard is a particularly attractive target to Democrats, as she was a Democrat herself until recently. She served as an elected Democrat (from Hawaii) in the House of Representatives, and was high up in the Democratic leadership (she was the DNC’s Vice Chair in 2016). And she is also a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserve. Calling her a Russian asset is about as low as you can go, especially since there is not any evidence whatsoever to back-up this invented smear. Speaking on MSNBC, Wasserman Schultz went on, “”She [Tulsi Gabbard] is considered to be essentially by most assessments, a Russian asset and would be the most dangerous.” Interrupted, she was asked, “Is that what you consider her?” Wasserman Schultz doubled down, saying, “Yes. There’s no question. I consider her someone who is likely a Russian asset who would be as the DNI, responsible for managing our entire intelligence community, hold all of our most significant intelligence information and secrets, and essentially would be a direct line to our enemies,” Wasserman Schultz said. This is truly slanderous, but is not unusual for Wasserman Schultz. On-line journalist Glenn Greenwald, whose program is broadcast exclusively on rumble.com, commented, “Imagine fighting for your country and then having pro-war cretins like this impugn your loyalties.” (You don’t really need to “imagine” this. Just ask any soldier who returned home from Vietnam.)
But not to be outdone, Representative James Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, says Trump is another Hitler. Making this absurd assertion on Neil Cavuto’s program on Fox News, Cavuto asked Clyburn, “Are you envisioning another Hitler?” “That’s exactly what I am saying” Clyburn confirmed. Still incredulous at the comment, Cavuto asked, “You don’t think that’s a little hyperbolic?” “No, you may think so,” Clyburn responded. “I’ll tell you what is hyperbolic is asking the Senate to approve all your nominees without any vetting.”
To view the quoted portion of this video, fast forward to 5:05.
And then there was the successful smearing campaign against Matt Gaetz, who was for just a few days Trump’s nominee to be the Attorney General. Gaetz withdrew from consideration after the Dems dredged up some old stories about him having sex with a 17-year old girl many years ago, and Gaetz withdrew from consideration. He vigorously denied the allegations but said that they were making the overall transition project more difficult.
Just hours after Gaetz withdrew from consideration, President-Elect Trump named Pam Bondi, the former Attorney General of Florida, to be his choice to be the next U.S. Attorney General. Bondi was well-known nationally during her term as Florida A.G. and is well-liked by conservatives.
Strangely, we just don’t recall Democrat Presidents, with Democrat-controlled Senates, being overly concerned about what Republicans thought of their cabinet choices. But then again, the latest effort by Democrats to rebrand their political opponents as Hitler or as a Putin puppet, just seems too absurd to achieve any credibility.