Most Americans are horrified by images out of Afghanistan and the negligence shown in the withdrawal from that country. However, we recently discussed why President Joe Biden should not be subject to impeachment over his alleged poor decisions related to the debacle. Now Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland and Ralph Norman of South Carolina formally announced impeachment articles against Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken for his own alleged failures in the withdrawal. Once again, the use of impeachment to address such policy and programmatic “failures” would fundamentally change the purpose of impeachment in our constitutional system.
The articles of impeachment against Blinken allege in part:
[Article 1] Secretary Blinken has failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead presided over a reckless abandonment of our nation’s interests, security, and values in his role in the withdrawal of American forces and diplomatic assets from Afghanistan
…
Secretary Blinken’s actions, including ignoring critical intelligence received from the embassy in Kabul and United States intelligence agencies, have left American property, military equipment and weapons in the hands of enemies of the United States, left American citizens stranded in life threatening situations in dereliction of his duties as Secretary of State (22 U.S.C. 2715; 22 U.S.C. 4802). These actions have eroded American interests and security as well as our credibility and relationships amongst our closest allies. In failing to uphold his responsibilities of his office, Secretary Blinken has failed to ensure the protection of the United States Government to American citizens, property, and interests in foreign countries.
…[Article 2] In direct conflict with the intelligence and advice provided by his own diplomats and the intelligence community, Secretary Blinken failed to advise and counsel the President accordingly and did not inform the Congress nor American citizens at home and abroad of the dangers posed by the advancing Taliban of which he was explicitly aware.
Those allegations raise policy and performance criticisms that were never meant to be part of the impeachment process. During the Trump Administration, we regularly discussed Democratic members and writers calling for the impeachment of Trump for everything from criticizing NFL kneelers to obnoxious tweets. This is the same misuse of impeachment as a type of “no confidence vote.”
Parliamentary systems, like Great Britain’s, allow for “no confidence” motions to remove prime ministers. Parliament can pass a resolution stating “That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government.” But that’s not our system, and it’s doubtful that the members of Congress calling for Trump’s impeachment would relish a parliamentary approach: When such a vote succeeds, the prime minister isn’t necessarily the only politician to go. If the existing members of parliament can’t form a new government in 14 days, the entire legislative body is dissolved pending a general election.
The Framers were certainly familiar with votes of no confidence, but despite their general aim to limit the authority of the presidency, they opted for a different course. They saw a danger in presidents being impeached due to shifts in political support and insulated presidents from removal by limiting the basis for impeachment and demanding a high vote threshold for removal. There would be no impulse-buy removals under the Constitution. Instead, the House of Representatives would have to impeach and the Senate convict (by two-thirds vote) based on “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes or Misdemeanors.”
In these two articles, the members seek impeachment over failed policies which is the very essence of a “no confidence” vote. To embrace such a standard would be to invite chaos in future administrations as congressional majorities engage in impulse removals of cabinet members or even presidents.
Once again, I cannot imagine how the United States could mess up this withdrawal in such a spectacular and gut-wrenching manner. We had long ago announced our withdrawal and had many months to carry out an orderly withdrawal. While the Biden Administration insisted that no one foresaw the collapse of the government in such a short time, that is simply untrue. Even if it were not true, good policymakers do not rely on such assumptions when you are dealing with the lives of tens of thousands of citizens and allies.
Nevertheless, what I said in 2017 in the face of Democratic calls for impeachment is still true today:
“History has already answered this call for impulse-buy impeachments. The Framers saw the great abuses caused not only by tyranny of nobility, but tyranny of the majority. They sought to insulate our government from the transient impulses of politics. Otherwise, impeachment becomes little more than grabbing any opportunistic excuse for impeachment like so many “straws” in the political wind.”
Canebreak posted an article that is likely the basis for his earlier posting on the same subject. It didn’t add anything and didn’t answer the many comments that showed his arguments were wrong or weak and didn’t hold water. I will deal with a few.
Biden’s incompetent management owns the exit and the timing. He is making the chaos worse. Biden’s actions will eventually lead to increased instability globally, increased terrorism abroad and increased terrorism on our shores. Biden did not look out for American interests or the interests of our NATO allies. The world can no longer trust America due to poor leadership. We have lost tremendous amounts of soft power, and that loss destabilizes the world.
https://citizenfreepress.com/breaking/bidens-drone-strike-killed-an-entirely-innocent-family-of-9/
So to all you left nutter biden lovers here’s this out now. This means three things :
1) it’s fake
2) our clown show admin killed a family to distract from their utter failure in Kabul
3) our admin and military clown show relied on talleywhacker intel and got set up to kill a family…6 children therein.
So this may very well blow up in these clowns faces. It was odd afterall how they refused to name any details on the “intended target”…. and if this is true it shows the political desperation they suffered and just killed for distraction. Sad bunch of clowns we have at the top if this proves to be true.
“It’s okay that you’ve repressed it, Allan, “
I didn’t feel the need to respond to the first stupid email, but you must think that what you said was very important so I am going to reply. Think about how you could possibly know. Write less. Think more. You can reply as you wish because I don’t intend to answer a long run of your stupidity.
When the 11th travel case had been loaded into the van, Joe Biden lowered his hand from his heart, brought his hands together…and checked his watch.
I saw it myself. Just to be certain, I rewound the DVR and verified.
Moments later, he gave a thumbs up upon seeing someone on the tarmac.
Joe Biden has been a statesman for decades. We may not all agree on his policies or politics, but the man should know how to heel-toe it through receiving the bodies of our fallen warriors, under his watch.
Turley, the Fox News employee says: “While the Biden Administration insisted that no one foresaw the collapse of the government in such a short time, that is simply untrue. Even if it were not true, good policymakers do not rely on such assumptions when you are dealing with the lives of tens of thousands of citizens and allies.”
OK, Turley, where is your proof of the information and briefings Biden was provided? Are you privy to the information and recommendations Biden was given by the Joint Chiefs? Tell us, did the fat orange election cheater fail to foresee the collapse of the Afghan government; the sin you claim Biden committed, and if he had so much more insight, why did he draw down our troops from 14,000 to 2,500 and release 5,000 Taliban prisoners? Why did Trump do this, if it wasn’t reasonable to believe that the Afghans would hold off the Taliban until the US and its allies could withdraw?
Yes, the Republicans will milk Afghanistan for all the political points they can, and Turley will trade on his credentials to help them, but when it’s all said and done, Trump set the stage for the problems with withdrawal from Afghanistan, facts which neither Turley nor the Republicans can explain away, so they go on the attack and milk the problems for all they are worth.
Nastycha…..armchair quarterbacking yet again on matters outside your scope of comprehension. You simply can not accept Baizou biden & company are that seriously inept…and they are, sadly for America. A gummi puppet was installed …..a senile one at that. His cabinet is a load of feckless robots …. and to a single one of them can’t address reality without their brand of spin on the feces they have created.
The evidence has just come out. You are delusional.
It is if you knew the truth
Turley previously wrote: “Otherwise, impeachment becomes little more than grabbing any opportunistic excuse for impeachment like so many “straws” in the political wind.”
That may be true, but that advice was ignored during the last administration, and now that this is the precedent, it should be ignored during this administration.
Welcome to The New Rules.
Too good not to post:
https://twitter.com/iamrickydiaz/status/1431699507281006599
So much truth in that tweet. Thanks for posting!
You’re clearly a fan of fiction.
Congress takes its own safety much more seriously than it does anyone else’s.
Democrats turned down offers for the National Guard to provide security, at least for federal buildings. They dismissed the fears and concerns of citizens at risk by the riots and arson. But when they were scared, they were guarded by thousands of troops and razor wire. They were traumatized by what they think could have happened. By their close call.
Yet they kind of shrug their shoulders at terrorists providing airport checkpoints. State sent out a bulletin that you arrive at the airport at your own risk. The military won’t come and get you. (Thank God for the Pineapple Express.) They oppose the 2nd Amendment while they have armed guards. They promote defunding the police, while they enjoy police protection.
If it were AOC or Pelosi behind that line, they’d be demanding covering air strikes, and a Seal Team 6 retrieval. I don’t think they would have trusted their own safety to Taliban checkpoints.
It’s true that they have granted themselves a security that they deny others.
So, it’s the fault of the Democrats that Trump Disciples believed the Big Lie and that they could “Stop the Steal”, and that he would march with them and force Pence to “do the right thing”, which was to prevent Biden’s certified victory from being accepted by Congress? Is this what you’re really trying to say? Every member of Congress was fearful of the Trump Disciples and their invasion of the Capitol. Democrats never “dismissed fears” of anything.
By claiming that “State sent out a bulletin”, you are clearly quoting crap you heard on Fox–pretending to be a smarmy insider. Democrats oppose unrestricted access to guns, they don’t oppose the Second Amendment. There is a difference. Democrats do not “promote defunding the police”, either–they have suggested using things like social workers to address people emotionally out of control, high on drugs or alcohol who need help, instead of police because so many people who are under the influence or emotionally out of control would benefit more by assessment from a professional and be at less risk of getting shot. You, as usual, are repeating things you heard on Fox.
Democrats aren’t “shrugging their shoulders” at terrorists. In fact, when the 13 service members got killed, they were outside the airport, doing pat-downs. And, why in the world would you bring up AOC or Pelosi? You are just disclosing more of your blind, irrational hatred of Democrats.
The Tlaib standard, widely hailed by the leading Progressive legal experts only 2 short years ago, holds that impeachment is justified based on two elements: political power fueled by hatred for one’s political opponent:
‘We’re gonna go in there and we’re going to impeach the motherf****r.’
– Rep. Rashida Talib, Jan 4 2019
Today, those same legal expert ‘experts’ will correctly point out that the impeachment of Blinken is based on frivolous grounds like a principled assessment of the gross incompetence and reckless misconduct of Blinken and his fellow regime members.
Way to go guys, you’re golden. Congratulations on your upcoming book deals.
Impeachable…..no. Friing offense….hell yes!
Appalling– Biden appears to fall asleep in meeting with Israeli PM.
My god, what must the rest of the world think of us?
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2021/08/28/joe-biden-appears-to-fall-asleep-while-meeting-with-israeli-pm-n434335
It’s like a movie….While you were sleeping, the Muslim Brotherhood and other bad actors infiltrated the Biden administration and are intentionally sabotaging the U.S. as Biden naps and eats ice cream. “Not a joke,” as Biden likes to say.
There is no way THIS much reckless disregard for our troops, etc, could be solely due to incompetence. This is intentional.
Destroying the credibility of the U.S. Military in this Afghanistan debacle benefits who? China. And all our enemies.
BDS is even more toxic than TDS!
Jeff:
BDS = Boycott, Divest, Sell, the anti-semitic movement to destroy Israel financially, and make her more susceptible to finishing the Jewish Holocaust.
But I doubt that was what you meant.
The main question is are these criticisms true? Are they warranted? Is it fair? Can they be truthfully answered?
It is perfectly legitimate to inquire as to Biden’s mental health, because of his bizarre public behavior. (The leg hair in the pool thing with kids, whispering, saying he’s “not allowed” to call on certain reporters or answer certain questions, etc.) The way Trump handled importunate questions on his mental fitness was for his doctor to administer a cognitive function test, and release it to the public. Biden refuses to do the same. Since he won’t, we are all continuing to wonder about his mental capacity.
It is perfectly legitimate to criticize the botched withdrawal of Afghanistan, and to hold those in charge of it responsible.
In short, it is perfectly in order to criticize a sitting president, as long as those criticisms are accurate and fair.
Biden’s incompetency is sending global shockwaves. This will affect alliances, and the decisions terrorists and hostile foreign leaders make.
I remember when they said Trump was an incompetent ninny. We got 4 years without a war, 3 Middle East peace deals, he induced Saudi Arabia to allow Jews to set foot in their country, his relatives, when it had been illegal for Jews to enter the country for a great many years, the lowest black, Asian, and Hispanic unemployment ever recorded, lowest black poverty, gave a tax break to 9/10 workers, and a booming economy. It took a pandemic to knock that economy, and yet it was already rapidly recovering by the time he left office.
Now we are getting to see what real incompetence looks like. And so is the rest of the world.
Karen,
You know that was NOT what I meant! BDS is “Biden Derangement Syndrome.” Of course, I don’t believe there is such an affliction, but I just could not resist mocking those Trumpists who accuse those of us as suffering from TDS for calling out Trump’s deplorable character.
When will it dawn on you that your accusing those of us who despise Trump’s lies as being Trump “haters” is NO DIFFERENT than Leftists calling Conservatives “racists” for wanting to cut back on Mexican immigration?
I reject accusing people of bad faith as a means to dismiss the legitimacy of their arguments be it calling Liberals “anti-semites” for supporting the cause of the Palestinians or calling Conservatives “white supremacists” for critiquing CRT.
Stop with the TDS already. It’s juvenile.
Agreed?
Karen says: “The way Trump handled importunate questions on his mental fitness was for his doctor to administer a cognitive function test.”
I, for one, never questioned his cognitive fitness. (I would welcome Biden to take one as well). I am not surprised Trump passed such a minimal test.
Now, let’s see if he can pass the test of a lie detector?
Ho, ho, ho!
And here’s your hero in action:
Former President Donald Trump’s rambling interview with Hugh Hewitt where he talked about the leader of the Taliban baffled CNN analyst Chris Cillizza.
Chris Cillizza wrote a detailed and baffled analysis of Trump’s lengthy answer to Hewitt’s question
TRUMP: “I spoke to, and sort of the known head, but nobody was sure, but now I’m sure, and I was sure then when I was speaking to him. And I knew as soon as I spoke to him. And even the introduction, I say hello, and he screamed something very tough.”
Chris Cillizza: ” If I am reading this right, Trump wasn’t sure that Baradar was the head of the Taliban when the conversation first started but he figured it out once Baradar “screamed something very tough.”
TRUMP: “If you do anything bad to the United States of America, if you do anything bad to any of our civilians, to any American citizen, or if you do anything out of the normal, you know, they’ve been fighting for a 1,000 years, but out of the normal, because you’ve had your wars, and if you do anything out of the normal, but anything bad to America or any American citizens, I will hit you harder than anybody has ever been hit in world history.”
Chris Cillizza: “This sentence is 85 words long. And it ends with Trump recounting that he told Baradar that if the Taliban hurt any Americans that Trump would “hit you harder than anybody has ever been hit in world history.” Which, well, would be pretty hard. Also, Trump’s description of Afghanistan’s history — “you’ve had your wars” — is truly remarkable.”
TRUMP: “I wanted to be out by May 1. I had spoken to him quite a bit before May 1, but we had a condition of May 1. But they missed conditions, and so therefore, I bombed and we hit them very hard.”
Chris Cillizza “Trump using the word ‘I’ to describe a bombing campaign is not surprising, given what we know about him. But it is still a little surreal.”
TRUMP: I never realized, and of course I realized the importance and power of the presidency, but I never realized how important the office of the president is until this happened, because when I watched what happened over the last week and a half with some horrible, stupid decisions that were made, number one being allowing our military to leave before the civilians and before we get all of our equipment back, $83 billion dollars.”
Chris Cillizza: “So, Trump never realized the power of the presidency until after he had left office and was watching the Afghanistan situation from afar? Really? Of course, he also contradicts himself in the same answer when he says “of course I realized the importance and power of the presidency” right before he says “I never realized how important the office of the president is.” So….The back-and-forth is, well, something else.”
Trump couldn’t even say the name of the person he spoke to, and wasn’t sure if he was the Taliban leader, but you accuse Biden of senility and incompetence? And, as usual, it’s all about HIM, HIM, HIM.
Young – they think Joe Biden has lost his intellect due to some medical issue, and that the US has lost all its power.
Who is “they”? More of the drivel Fox keeps harping on that you believe. Cite an interview with the “they” you are referring to. Why can’t you respond to Trump’s interview with Hewitt? Notice that he only appears on pro-Trump alt-right media where no one calls him to task for the stupid things he says or why he just won’t shut up and go away and thus respect the will of the American people.
Karen claims that the world thinks the US has lost all its power on account of Biden.
Care to back-up your preposterous exaggeration by identifying all the countries whose leaders have said so publicly?
Well?
I didn’t think so….
Read it and weep, Trumpists! Read it and weep. And you thought he [Turley] was on your side. — jeffsilberman
Turley’s analysis DOES suit me. My complaint is his HYPOCRISY. If only he would criticize his employer Fox, I would have little problem with his jurisprudence and viewpoints. — jeffsilberman
The only hypocrisy is yours…
“[I]f I encountered people conveying a message I thought was so dangerous that I could not risk giving it a fair hearing, I would be at least strongly tempted to misrepresent it, to caricature it for the public good. I’d want to make up some good epithets, such as genetic determinist or reductionist or Darwinian Fundamentalist, and then flail those straw men as hard as I could. As the saying goes, it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it.” — Daniel Dennet
Spanky,
Nice quote. Explains the Big Lie perfectly. Thanks, dude.
Stop flogging Turley with Fox… we get your point. Move on.
Stratified — siloed — TV news viewership is the norm. Divide and conquer is programmed in. Turn the TV off.
If you want to flog the news media… how about their penchant for hiring former military and intelligence as analysts and pundits.
Spanky says:
“Stratified — siloed — TV news viewership is the norm. Divide and conquer is programmed in. Turn the TV off.”
Agreed.
“If you want to flog the news media… how about their penchant for hiring former military and intelligence as analysts and pundits.”
Agreed.
“Stop flogging Turley with Fox… we get your point. Move on.”
Not Agreed.
2 out 3 is not bad Spanky. You are getting better!
Here’s a brief timeline of events: The Biden Administration rushed the exit from Afghanistan, leaving the entire country to fall to the Taliban in a mere 11 days. The Taliban said they would allow until the 31st to evacuate our people and Afghan loyalists, and Biden agreed to their terms and made no attempt to retake any airports. The Taliban released thousands of ISIS and Daesh Islamist Terrorists from two major prisons. Biden gave out a list of names of Americans and Afghan allies to the Taliban hoping the terrorist group we’ve been at war with for 20 years would let these people make their way to the airport and escape peacefully. What followed was so predictable, so ludicrously obvious, that now even the lamestream media can’t make any excuses for Sleepy Joe (now Bloody Biden) and his catastrophic failure. Now JS and JT, explain to me how giving names of Americans plus our allies by a sitting President to be killed is NOT TREASON!!!
Hjf,
You are barking up the the wrong tree. Your comments have nothing to do with my response to Spanky.
“Mother of fallen U.S. Marine Rylee McCollum to Biden Voters: “My son is gone, and I just want all you Democrats who cheated in the election or who voted for him legitimately, you just killed me son with a dementia ridden piece of crap who doesn’t even know he’s in the WH.”
Yes.
The 2022 Elections must be a bloodbath for Democrats to send a decisive message to Biden.
Kick them all out! We begin by ousting Gov. Gavin Newsom in California recall. Vote, vote, vote YES to recall Newsom.
Watch this video and decide with your own eyes if Biden is taking a snooze while meeting in Oval with the Israel PM:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2021/08/28/joe-biden-appears-to-fall-asleep-while-meeting-with-israeli-pm-n434335
THIS right here is the Biden presidency in a nutshell. HE is asleep at the helm while nefarious actors are infiltrating his administration and intentionally causing the fall of the American empire right before our eyes. The resulting demoratlization is part of the plan.
The fall of the American Empire is happening on demented Joe Biden’s watch. Intentionally. The results of infiltration by nefarious actors within the Biden administration is now in plain view of the world.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress must stop being so weak and feckless. STAND UP, get LOUD, and DO something NOW.
This is one of the worst abuses of the political process I’ve ever seen. It’s unthinkably horrible when someone loses a young adult child, regardless of how it happens, but this woman has been misled into believing not just the Big Lie, but that it’s Biden’s fault that ISIS-S sent a suicide bomber, that Democrats “cheated in the election” and that Biden has dementia. As if all of this weren’t enough, Republicans are using the pain over the loss of her son for propaganda and fundraising. This is the product of Fox and other alt-right media, as well as Republicans who won’t call out the Big Lie. It’s way beyond sad and disgusting–it’s immoral. Now, this “anonymous” is calling for a “bloodbath” to “send a decisive message to Biden”. What message? That there are gullibles out there who rely on Fox and other alt-right media and who don’t know that it was Trump who drew down our forces from 14,000 to 2,500 BEFORE getting anyone out, much less everyone out, or that Trump’s own Attorney General and head of cybersecurity both said there was no election fraud, and that the 2020 election was the most-secure in US history? There is literally no limit to what Republicans would do to try to hang onto power.
And, what does Gavin Newsom have to do with this, anyway? More blind, irrational hatred of Democrats fomented by Fox and other alt-right news.
Turley will never live down working and contributing to Fox, the source of much of the rage in our age that Turley claims he abhors. His outright hypocrisy will warrant all the scorn and ridicule of his colleagues. He has made his bed; now he must turn in it. Even when he departs Fox, his past association will never be erased; it will follow him like a shadow.
Jeff Silberman
Why do you keep repeating yourself?
For the benefit of contributors to this list who may have recently joined.
I stand by my prediction. Turley no longer has the universally respected legal reputation he once enjoyed. And it is telling that he WON’T appear on mainstream media programs or submit to their interviews to defend the rage and hate fueled by his Fox colleagues.
Because he CAN’T.
Jeff Silberman
“For the benefit of contributors to this list who may have recently joined.”
Really. Is that why when you get on the blog, most of the comments say the same thing in a small space of time? You sound pathetic. More so for your excuses than your repetition. But you are entertaining in the way you flail around.
If you don’t like the manner in which I exercise my freedom of speech which Turley enthusiastically encourages on this blog, I suggest you ignore my contributions. There are a number of contributors whom I ignore because no one has a right to have their comments read.
Now, isn’t that simple enough!
This is an attempt not to answer a series of questions. You can repeat your diatribe against Turley as much as you want. I don’t want to stop you from doing so whether you do so minutes apart or a bit longer which doesn’t make much sense. It would be better to satisfy your aim if you spread the nasty comments out a bit more, but it is unrealistic anyway.
The repetitive nature tells us there is more to this constant repetition than your response suggests. It most definitely demonstrates some type of pathology, but that is your problem. That you can’t respond to questions raised by your comments is another problem.
You can repeat that comment 5 times in one of your sessions or 500 times. I don’t care. I can continue to question why.
Yes, Turley of right. To follow the leadership of the Democrat Party and impeach because the Democrats could whip half the House+1 degrades the meaning and intent of impeachment. But Pelosi and Schumer had no intention of removing the President. Their only intention was to drive President Trumps poll numbers into the 30’s so Congressional Republican leadership would go the the President and tell him he must resign “for the good of the______(insert appropriate emotional trigger here) It was always a political stunt. Not serving their constituents in any way. All raw power flexing.
Dems never learn. They eliminated the cloture vote for Judges and reaped President Trumps choices.
They are setting out to make the same mistake again, by carving out election law bills to carry by a simple majority. What dems never understand, if a simple majority creates a law, a simple majority can eliminate the same law.
“What dems never understand, if a simple majority creates a law, a simple majority can eliminate the same law.”
I’m a Dem, and I understand this, and what’s more: I approve of it. This is how laws passed when the country was founded. Fine by me to try things out and then if they’re not working, rescind it and try something else. As long as the members of Congress are fairly elected, not through gerrymandered districts, not by trying to discourage legal voters from voting, … There was no filibuster when the country was founded, and even after it came into existence, for most of the country’s existence, the filibuster was a speaking filibuster that counted Senators who were present, not Senators who were elected. Even going back to that would be an improvement.
Speaking of a guy who should be impeached, the Governor of California Gavin Newson said in 2020 that there will be no new fracking in California. Now when the state is suffering an energy shortage because of the inadequacy of green energy sources the Governor is calling for five new Natural Gas plants to be built. https://gizmodo.com/california-just-approved-5-temporary-gas-plants-as-drou-1847538224. Newsom did the politically correct thing in 2020 that did not take reality into account. Now the people of California have the opportunity through the Newsom recall to impeach and remove from office a man whose only reality is found in the correctly political. We can only hope that his let the people be damned approach to governance will soon come to an end.
McCain opposes the nomination of the eminently unqualified (now proven) Anthony Blinken:
One thing I can’t understand is why the Administration insists on staying the course. Why they seem incapable of any course corrections based on the evolving situation on the ground.
Why do we grovel to appease the Taliban terrorists? They broke the peace agreement, sensing weakness. Apparently, they were right. While we did a drone strike, we’re still allowing terrorists to sweep the country.
I have family and friends who serve. Every military family I know is really upset. They were deployed before, missed births, birthdays, family time, risked their lives, for what? For nothing? And now we’re watching the Taliban sweep over Afghanistan. They will get strong. There will be more terrorist attacks on the US. One day, we’re going to send our military back there, but it will be when the Taliban is strong, at highest risk to our men and women who serve. The Taliban will use our infrastructure. They’ll have our weapons which they took from the Afghan army. It will be 1,000 times worse than when we trained the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets, only to face that same training and weapons later.
Karen,
You said that you were not a legal scholar, and asked to be corrected if you were mistaken. I respect your humility. I have never read another Trumpist acknowledging their vulnerability about making comments outside their area of expertise.
I too confess that I am not an expert- even in the law though I was a lawyer. I could become one if I had the enough time to spend in a law library. In law school, they don’t demand that you memorize all the laws; they teach how to find it among the millions of cases of common law.
Because I am no military or foreign policy expert, I have no opinion about foreign matters. Nor am I- or any of us- privy to all the foreign intelligence and secret negotiations that inform a President’s foreign policy decisions. I never criticized Trump on his foreign policy until it became apparent as in the case of Ukraine that he was attempting to strong arm the President of Ukraine for his own personal political benefit.
So, you Trumpists will be pleased to know that I have nothing to share on Afghanistan though I will admit that on the face of it, it does seem to have been badly handled, but there is blame to go around.
Jeff, it’s getting so I would question if someone hacked your avatar if you wrote anything without “Trumpists” or “you Trumpists” in it.
Glad we agree that Afghanistan was badly handled. There is a lot of blame to go around, as it’s not just the President mismanaging this.
Karen,
I am not the least bit offended to be called a “Leftist” or an atheist.
On the other hand, if I am accused of being an “American Marxist,” I will will retaliate by calling my accuser an “American Nazi.”
Are you offended that I call you a Trumpist?
Why?
Jeff:
Perhaps you didn’t read my earlier posts where I explained that Trumpist is the antonym of Libtard. Both are pejoratives.
Leftist or atheist is not the equivalent descriptor for the opposite of Trumpets. Libtard or Dumbocrat or any of the other insulting words, which I despise, are.
I’ve never addressed you in such a manner and would appreciate the same courtesy.
The only Nazis in America are the Democrats and the institutions that line up with them everytime.
Everything within the state, nothing against the state, nothing outside the state. — Benito Mussolini
The GOP may have its human faults, but the actual characteristics of Nazis are in full bloom on the Left.
Fareast,
I’ll make a note if it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!
Fareast, Jeff doesn’t know what a Nazi is. Jeff and the left support big government, large corporations either owned or working with government, loss of freedom of speech and the right to own guns. I won’t go into the racism of the left and its ultimate stupidity of putting their politics ahead of the safety and well-being of American citizens. I could add more, but that roughly describes Nazism, Stalinism, Maoism, and many similar isms.
I can’t tell if Jeff is closer to a Nazi or a Stalinist because his political knowledge is limited his expression of the details is inadequate.
“I too confess that I am not an expert…”
It’s nice to hear you are not an expert on anything despite your babbling about everything.
Karen: there’s a of things you don’t understand, which you prove every time you post things. You say the US “grovels to appease” Taliban terrorists. What would you have us do–we invaded Afghanistan, and Trump agreed to release 5,000 of them, and to draw down our troops from 14,000 to 5,000 BEFORE we got out. Why did he do this? After trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives lost, no progress was made. Even your fat hero supported leaving Afghanistan. Everything in this post is some garbage you are repeating from some alt-right news source.
I’m no legal scholar, so correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s my understanding that incompetence or negligence does not meet the standard of impeachment. To impeach a president requires high crimes and misdemeanors.
Does the same standard apply to other government offices, including SOS?
Of course we can imagine a botched withdrawal. Joe Biden has gotten every single foreign policy matter wrong in his 40 years of service. If he surrounds himself with those who agree with that line of thinking, then all the decision makes would be selected for their ability to make bad decisions. He’s on camera doddering, whispering, forgetting names, places, and where he is. He says he is not allowed to answer certain questions, or he’ll get in trouble. He’s given a list of reporters he’s allowed to call on, and sometimes has written answers. He has angrily refused to take the same cognitive test Trump did, let alone release it. With the information at hand, a great many people are concerned about his capacity.
Our military produces cartoon recruiting videos where a girl enthuses about joining the marines because she has 2 Moms, went to lots of protests, and thought joining the military was a great way to bring social justice and change to the world. Any military is designed to kill a maximum number of enemies, and wreck maximum damage on targets. It’s not about where any individual soldier, Marine, or sailor marched, or who their parents were. They are cogs in a war machine, and our enemies are strong. They don’t respect weakness.
Karen says:
“Joe Biden has gotten every single foreign policy matter wrong in his 40 years of service.”
Why do you make such patently ludicrous remarks? Unlike most Trumpists, you know how to correctly spell, employ correct grammar and how to use punctuation marks. Why must you vitiate your arguments with such blanket statements?
Karen, you are one of the few Trumpists I will take my time to read your comments, but when I hit one of these preposterous claims, I stop taking you seriously.
Obama’s defense secretary Gates said that about Biden. Everyone in Washington DC knows it, too. Biden is a corrupt dum dum whose entire family has been bought off by the Chinese Communist Party.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/05/13/gates_stands_by_statement_that_biden_has_been_wrong_on_nearly_every_major_foreign_policy_question.html
Jeff:
About a year or so ago, I reviewed a list of Biden’s remarks, votes, and decisions regarding foreign policy over the entirety of his career. I’m afraid I didn’t bookmark it, but will try to locate one of the articles that I read.
It was disturbing to learn, for example, that Joe Biden urged President Obama not to go in after Bin Ladin. I heard him say this out of his own mouth. That move was one of the few of which I was very proud of Obama. Considering I disagreed on most of his policies, such moments were rare and therefor valuable. Yet there was Biden, getting it wrong…again.
It was an extensive list, covering all those years, and it was rather shockingly tilted towards bad decisions.
Now, some of those decisions, you might disagree with me over, as I base my opinion on how those turned out, rather than on intentions. But regardless, I think you might be concerned on his history.
Also, when you say “you are one of the few Trumpists”, it is similar to someone else saying, “you are one of the few Libtards…” So please stop addressing me with contempt. It doesn’t strike a good tone.
I acknowledge that my own politics evolved and hardened over the years. I truly believe the Left is abusive of human rights, and that the outcome of Leftist policies will be disastrous. As the Democrat party moved far away from moderation towards more extreme Lefism, it’s like we don’t speak the same language anymore. I used to vote either way, although more right than left. If it was supposed to help the poor, or the environment, or save the whales, I voted for it, although for candidates I usually went Republicans. It wasn’t until I researched the outcome of the policies I voted for that I changed my voting behavior.
Since I believe the Left is abusive and totalitarian, and I think you believe Republicans are, then perhaps we both are in our trenches at opposite poles, hunkered down. While I feel dismay at the polarization of politics, and my own hardening, there doesn’t seem to be a clear solution. Clearly, the far Left is unwilling to stop impoverishing those who disagree with them, whether it’s about using the biological definition of the sexes, revising policy results on poverty, high taxes, or the very role of government. The Democrat Party seems to have moved away from the common ground we once shared, to the far Left. If they would just agree with all my positions, we’d get on famously, I swear. Democrats feel the same about Republicans.
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” and being judged based on the content of your character rather than the color of your skin seems to have no place in the Democrat Party today. It’s sad.
Karen says:
“Trumpists”, it is similar to someone else saying, “you are one of the few Libtards…”
As I have indicated before, I use the the word “Trumpist” as a mere shorthand for a “supporter or follower of Trump or his MAGA movement.” Unlike “Libtard” which is a conjunction of “Liberal” and “retard,” I use “Trumpist” much like an acronym; it is NOT intrinsically pejorative.
If you are offended by being identified as a Trumpist, then you apparently have some misgivings by being associated with the Trumpist mindset. I don’t blame you.
Tell me why you object to being called a Trumpist, and I’ll cease doing it.
Fair enough?
More than fair, Jeff. Thank you.
If someone dislikes being called Dumbocrat or Libtard, it’s not because they are associated with the Democrat or Liberal politics.
Karen,
“Libtard” is a smear on Liberalism since it is, as I have said, a conjunction of “liberal” and “retard.” The same with “Dumbocrat.”
“Trumpist” is not explicitly associated with being retarded or dumb! It simply refers to Trump, and nothing more. The word, “Trumpturd,” would be a pejorative.
If you take offense at being referred to as a Trump follower, then you must be put off by something Trump does or says.
Your grievances about Democrats and your cynicism of government sound reflective of every other Trumpist on this blog though I am grateful that you are far more erudite.
Maybe I have misjudged you. I’ll ask ask you again: why do you wish not to be confused with a follower of Trump?
“why do you wish not to be confused with a follower of Trump?”
That is not what Karen is saying, Jeff. Calling someone a Trumpist is very different from saying someone is a ‘Trump supporter’. It is too all-encompassing; it leaves no room for a nuanced discussion. It’s about as problematic as saying ‘categories’ of people all believe the same thing. A supporter may agree with 51% or more of what Trump has said or done, but why pigeon-hole the person as though they agree with everything Trump has said or done? They very likely do not. And, their reasons for supporting him (to whatever degree that might be) may not look anything like the reasons you think they have.
Hi Prairie Rose,
When people call me a “Leftist,” do you suppose that I believe everything Leftists do? Certainly not! As I have recounted, I was in favor of Clinton’s impeachment when 95% of Liberals/Democrats were not. Indeed, I share most of the same criticisms that Turley does about Democrats. Still, it does not offend me to be described as a Liberal because I am surely not a Republican or a Trumpist!
I have a hunch that Karen would object to being called a “Trump follower!” What about you? Are you a follower of Trump?
Karen, here’s one little factoid you and your ilk don’t know, understand or care about: the offense taken by developmentally-disabled people over the use of the word “retarded”, a favorite epithet of Anne Coulter. It is an insult to people who have developmental disabilities that are not their own fault, especially when used to attack someone with whom you disagree.
Sure. Absolutely.
Do whatever you like, Commie. That’s my shorthand for Leftists (all of them). I never for a moment intended to cause any offense.
My aim is to accurately describe what I see before me.
And my aim is true.
I got it: Leftists are all Commies. I think I can remember that. Anything else you would like to add?
Karen says:
“The Democrat Party seems to have moved away from the common ground we once shared, to the far Left.”
And the Republican Party has degenerated into Trumpism- abject lying. In days of old, politicians lied with plausible deniability. Trump makes lies out of whole cloth. This is why his lawyers are facing disbarment for alleging those lies under oath in a court of law! Do you hear Turley defending Trump’s lawyers’ bad faith pleadings?
I am not an overtly political individual. I am rather jaundiced on both political parties. But Trump’s incessant lying got my dander up.
You say that you have studied Biden’s history of making ill-advised foreign policy decisions; have you ever bothered to take notice of Trump’s long record of lying?
Biden is a frail man probably suffering from early onset dementia; and Trump is a chronic liar. If we could agree on that at least, we could build on that, but there has to be some modicum of intellectual honesty for us to begin our reconciliation. Are you with me?
As with virtually everything you blather on and on about ad nauseam, everything you state here is something you got from alt-right media, which, as part of its indoctrination process, convinces you that you are bright and well-informed and that those who disagree with you are “libtards” (see my post about the offense developmentally-disabled people take over the use of this word). You want to talk about abuse and totalitarianism? What could be more totalitarian than cheating to gain the US presidency with the help of a hostile foreign power, trying to defeat your opponent by withholding aid appropriated by Congress to get a foreign leader to gin up false evidence against your opponent, fomenting an insurrection to try to force Congress to award an election after you lost, and then pursuing a Big Lie–that your opponent cheated, despite all proof to the contrary? What US President has refused to go quietly away and allow the choice of the majority of Americans lead, but instead encourages followrs to refuse to wear masks and get vaccinated in the face of a growing pandemic, and to politicize the deaths of 13 brave American military? You defend this creature, which can only be explained by discipleship, not logic, reason, intelligence or education. You claim you do “research”, but what you really do is look for pieces that confirm your own biases. You even push the Hydroxychloroquine hoax, and try to claim that natural immunity is better than acquired immunity. You constantly try to pretend to be more-knowledgeable than physicians, public health officials, and even Angela Merkle, who is a nuclear physicist. You are a typical Trumpster-Republican, and that IS sad.
Robert Gates said that. If you watched anything besides Left Wing Propaganda, you would have known that.
Yeah, I saw it. It’s one man’s opinion.
You attack with, “Why do you make such patently ludicrous remarks?”
Rather than counter the statement, you attacked the citizen making the remark.
When you learn that the statement was an actual quote from someone with decades of relevant experience in the area of foreign policy, you shrug and say it’s “one man’s opinion.”
Enjoy your time in the corner you’ve painted yourself into.
Will do! Thanks for your good wishes, buddy!
So says the weasel to good folk.
Obama said pretty much the same thing.
You are the second alt-right news disciple who has claimed that Biden has gotten foreign policy matters wrong for 40 years, so I KNOW this came from one of the alt-right media you faithfully follow and regurgitate. Which one was it, Karen, please identify your source. Oh, and now you claim that Biden is “doddering, whispering, forgetting names, place, and where he is? WHEN and WHERE did these things happen?
Here’s your hero in action:
Former President Donald Trump’s rambling interview with Hugh Hewitt where he talked about the leader of the Taliban baffled CNN analyst Chris Cillizza.
Chris Cillizza wrote a detailed and baffled analysis of Trump’s lengthy answer to Hewitt’s question
TRUMP: “I spoke to, and sort of the known head, but nobody was sure, but now I’m sure, and I was sure then when I was speaking to him. And I knew as soon as I spoke to him. And even the introduction, I say hello, and he screamed something very tough.”
Chris Cillizza: ” If I am reading this right, Trump wasn’t sure that Baradar was the head of the Taliban when the conversation first started but he figured it out once Baradar “screamed something very tough.”
TRUMP: “If you do anything bad to the United States of America, if you do anything bad to any of our civilians, to any American citizen, or if you do anything out of the normal, you know, they’ve been fighting for a 1,000 years, but out of the normal, because you’ve had your wars, and if you do anything out of the normal, but anything bad to America or any American citizens, I will hit you harder than anybody has ever been hit in world history.”
Chris Cillizza: “This sentence is 85 words long. And it ends with Trump recounting that he told Baradar that if the Taliban hurt any Americans that Trump would “hit you harder than anybody has ever been hit in world history.” Which, well, would be pretty hard. Also, Trump’s description of Afghanistan’s history — “you’ve had your wars” — is truly remarkable.”
TRUMP: “I wanted to be out by May 1. I had spoken to him quite a bit before May 1, but we had a condition of May 1. But they missed conditions, and so therefore, I bombed and we hit them very hard.”
Chris Cillizza “Trump using the word ‘I’ to describe a bombing campaign is not surprising, given what we know about him. But it is still a little surreal.”
TRUMP: I never realized, and of course I realized the importance and power of the presidency, but I never realized how important the office of the president is until this happened, because when I watched what happened over the last week and a half with some horrible, stupid decisions that were made, number one being allowing our military to leave before the civilians and before we get all of our equipment back, $83 billion dollars.”
Chris Cillizza: “So, Trump never realized the power of the presidency until after he had left office and was watching the Afghanistan situation from afar? Really? Of course, he also contradicts himself in the same answer when he says “of course I realized the importance and power of the presidency” right before he says “I never realized how important the office of the president is.” So….The back-and-forth is, well, something else.”
Trump couldn’t even name the person to whom he spoke, and didn’t know whether he was the head of the Taliban. He couldn’t relate the “something very tough” that was said. But, as usual, it’s all about HIM, HIM, HIM, just like he tried to politicize the deaths of the 13 service members for his own self-aggrandizement without even offering a scintilla of sympathy for the lives lost, for which he bears much of the responsibility. But, of course, he could do better.
For what I hope is the last time, Trump took a one-page screening test for dementia that requires only the ability to draw the hands of a clock showing certain times of day and to repeat 5 words. NO ONE other than you Trumpsters are “concerned about his capacity”, and you, like Hannity, think if you keep repeating this lie, it will become fact.
Your pathetic attempt to wax philosophical is just that–pathetic. If the US was “weak” in Afghanistan, it’s because of Trump drawing down our troops and releasing Taliban prisoners, all before everyone was out. He didn’t remove any equipment, either.
Remain in Mexico was from the get go was a weak statement, the desire to limit illegal immigration. The statement should have read; Remain in Your Country, anyone trying to cross the United States Border illegally will be cited for illegal entry into the United States, returned to Country of origin, (origin; where the illegal has citizenship or the country adjacent to United States border that allowed the illegal passage to the adjoining border of the United States), and/or incarcerated for illegal entry into the United States or other crimes.
President Obama appointed Federal Judge Miranda Du, has ruled that Section 1326 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is racist. Reasoning since the majority of the illegals cross the southern border, it disproportionally affects Mexican or Latin-x (whatever that’s supposed to mean, still Anglo Saxon), thus is racist.
It is the rightful time for the Supreme Court to hear a case regarding the whole of immigration law. This willy-nilly interpretation or disregard for immigration laws is unacceptable. President after President have issued Executive Orders changing the prior President Order(s). The United States has defined borders and written laws which have been agreed upon and which the President Swore to Uphold “I (Joe Biden) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The Constitution and the law of these United States must be applied equally without considerations of a Political, Moral or Equity concern. The path we are now on is full of peril and evil exist. Where disregarding the law is applauded, incompetence rewarded, and naiveté notions thought genius (defined as: someone exerting influence over another for good or evil). We are under assault from lawless agitators and politicians you suppose they need not fallow the law. The attitude shows it head in many quarters of our society, from boardrooms to the hood, to law enforcement, judicial, political, and other various entities issuing directives not supported by law.
Trying to define what form of government now exists in the United States the only conclusion I could arrive at is a Bureaucratic/Monarchy consisting of an advisory legislative body, a judiciary without legal principles, a population questioning their faith at being treated honestly, equally and with respect, and further understanding that we can HANDLE THE TRUTH so truthfully also. This game of CHICKEN the political left is playing with the laws and constitution of the United States must be confronted and stopped, before full ruination comes to our Republic.
Beautiful photos, Darren. Thank you.
“Flowers are the music of the ground from earth’s lips spoken without sound.” — Edwin Curran, Poet
“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
Yes, I agree!