Dear Friends,
Don’t don the party hats yet, but Sunday’s HUGE rally-flop in Tulsa might mark the beginning of Donald Trump’s tumble from his throne of tyranny.
Trump returns to the White House in Washington DC after his rally in Tulsa Saturday. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock
Tulsa was of notable political importance. Yet the real bellwether is how many key Republicans (and Republican-leaning entities) increasingly feel emboldened to challenge the President: Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, the US Supreme Court, the NFL (come on, you know it’s basically a front for the RNC), General Mark Milley, John Bolton, Jim Mattis, even Fox News’ Chris Wallace.
In the weeks ahead, look for the pile-on to gain further momentum.
Which brings me to soon-to-be-former US Congressman Steve King. For over a decade, decent Republicans groaned every time King made racist, homophobic, sexist, White-supremacist, or anti-immigrant remarks. But the Party never launched an effort to defeat him — until last year, after King nearly lost to Democrat J.D. Scholten in an overwhelmingly Republican district.
As with Steve King, the leadership of the Republican Party tolerates the many horrible things President Trump says and does. But what the Party can’t stomach is losing the presidency, as now appears likely to happen.
It’s thus conceivable that the RNC will find a way — perhaps gracefully, perhaps not — to show Trump the exit door while ushering in Mike Pence as the nominee of preference. The growing critique from Trump’s base, coupled with the embarrassing failure of his kick-off rally, make this a genuine possibility.
Of course, Democrats and other anti-Trump voters should be prepared to accept a Mike Pence presidency with eyes wide open. Pence would deliver for the Corporate Aristocracy as thoroughly as Trump, though without the political liability of constantly running his mouth.
One last comment about our flag-loving Commander-in-Chief: Check out this photo from the Chicago Tribune. The US Flag Code reads, “The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.”
Trump’s smug mug on a big US flag is flagrant desecration. Yet these two offenders weren’t arrested, though a protester burning the flag might have been, as was Homer Martz in 2016 for flying the US flag upside down to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline’s threat to his property.
Go figure.
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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM:
1. Trump’s tumble from his throne of tyranny has begun;
2. Court ruling on dicamba pits farmer against farmer (with Bill Freese, Center for Food Safety);
3. Governor Newsom hands out new fracking permits to allies (with Steve Horn, Real News Network);
4. Size matters – bigger is not always better (with Kathy Byrnes, Birds & Bees Urban Farm)
(Check out the video version of our Birds & Bees segment on Facebook).
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Ed Fallon