Three. As those of us raised on Schoolhouse Rock well know,
“Three is a magic number”. A lot of good things come in threes, Holy Trinities, Trilogies, even triptychs and even more importantly Three, right now is OUR magic number to save America. And it is no hyperbole to say that, as of this morning America, at least the one we know and love is in some pretty grave peril.
Any benefit of the doubt Trump was entitled to vanished when he confirmed that misogynist, anti-Semitic and white supremacist Breitbart owner Stephen Bannon was going to play the role of Karl Rove in this production of “oh Shit here we go again” . And, if you, for some reason, STILL had doubts this morning’s announcement of who would play key roles in Trump’s new administration should have driven a stake through the heart of those doubts, cut off their head, filled it with holy wafers and buried it at a crossroads.
This is bad. Folks Really bad. The LEAST objectionable pick of the three is having Tea party-affiliated Rep. Pompeo run the CIA and he’s still pretty bad .
But ATTORNEY GENERAL “JEFF” JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SESSIONS III??! Pure high-octane Nightmare Fuel. What do you think happens to, say, the Voting Rights Act, when Jeff Sessions’ Civil rights Division is in charge of enforcing it?
And let’s not even get started on Gen Flynn being in charge of the nation’s security. He’s Putin’s BFF, who once defended Russia against the (proven) allegation that they hacked the DNC emails by tweeting “"This is a new low, Not anymore, Jews. Not anymore."
But the GOP controls the presidency , both houses of Congress, and, soon the judiciary again, so , what’s to be done? Even if we try to filibuster these nominees’ nominations, there is a better than even chance McConnell will amend the rules to remove the filibuster. Should we all just get started on building those bunkers and investing in Xanax futures?
Well, that’s where that magic number comes in. 3. The incoming Senate will be comprised of 51 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Now, the arithmetical wizards among you will have recognized that this means the Republicans have a three seat advantage. That’s a very thin margin, and in these unprecedented times, it’s really not a stable one. If our new minority leader, with his blandishments and powers of persuasion, could convince three of the more moderate members of that party, or even three patriotic members of that party to either switch their party affiliation, or simply announce their intention to caucus with the democrats.. Well, it’s suddenly a whole new day for us. All of those appointments will require the “advice and consent” of the Senate-OUR senate. We would control the nomination hearings and be able to subject his nominees to , pardon the phrase “extreme vetting” and vote outright to reject the unfit ones. As lagniappe, we also at least get to go back to legislative gridlock, and ensure basically nothing of President Trump’s (Jesus that STILL hurts to type) agenda gets passed into law.
“Sounds good”, I hear you say, “but it’s a pure pipe dream” WHY would any Senator DO that? Well, see, that's the funny thing about Senators, they tend to be a bit more individualistic than their apparatchik-like counterparts in the House, and are motivated by their own agendas. In my mind there are three VERY good candidates for flipping, and possibly a fourth as well:
1) Senator Lindsey Graham (SC): He has made his disdain for Trump MANIFESTLY clear. (Remember “choosing between Cruz and Trump is like deciding whether you want to shot or poisoned”) and unlike many of the GOP establishment, he never “fell back in line” where Trump was concerned. And even if his personal animosity weren’t enough, he knows that his opposition is going to cost him in a GOP senate, and he’s going to be frozen out by a Trump-run party. If he knew he was switching as part of a package that put the Dems in the majority, and we promised him plum committee assignments, i think out of sheer self-interest he’d make the jump.
2) Senator Susan Collins (ME) : She’s always been regarded as a very “moderate” Republican (we can debate at another time whether this is true) but it isn’t her “moderate” status that makes her a prime candidate for approaching, but her future ambition. The persistent chatter in Maine is that she want to be its next governor in 2018. Despite the fact that LePage is currently its governor, Maine is a relatively Blue, or at least light purple, state and, in this election Maine became the first state to create “ranked choice voting” in state-wide elections, which means that a candidate will require a majority to win, so LePage’s two victories which came because the Democratic vote was split, will not happen anymore. Therefore, if she wants to win the state she is going to have to really burnish her moderate to liberal bona-fides, and what better way to do that than to be hailed as one of the “saviors” of the Senate by Democrats?
and then there was one.
My first instinct was to look at NeverTrumper and Part time Uber-Driver Sen Ben Sasse, but he’s been making some very conciliatory noises towards the Trump camp recently, and hope for him is fading, but then it hit me, there is a better candidate for the third musketeer, a cranky old man who is probably on his last Senate term anyway, a guy whose self-image is built around the fact that he thinks he’s a “maverick” to begin with, a guy noted for his temper who Trump personally insulted in the worst possible way:
Yep. John McCain: now, hear me out: McCain publicly expressed his alarm, since the election, about Trump’s moves to make nice with Russia (concerns that the nomination of Gen Flynn will dial up to 11). Furthermore, anyone who knows McCain knows that he is a proud guy, and one who, at 80, has to know that this term is basically his last hurrah (he even had to fight off a Trump-endorsed primary challenger). Right now, when his obituary is written, the lede will be that he was a failed presidential candidate who unleashed Sarah Palin on an unsuspecting nation. I don’t think he want to go out like that. So, we give him the chance to settle a score with Trump, AND write a last Chapter in his political sage where he gets to play “maverick” one more time, and maybe chalk up a mention alongside people like Clay and Calhoun, as senators who never became president but had an ENORMOUS influence on the country. Vanity, revenge, Pride all in a neat package. What ‘s not to like?
So, the candidates are out there, the big question is HOW do we make this happen? Well, I’ll tell you: I don’t know. This is something that will take the efforts of the very top levels of the Democratic party to make a reality. IF someone reading this has access to those decision makers, I beg you to plant this seed in their head, socialize this idea that this CAN happen.
The rest of you? Make some noise. Make this “a thing”. Start socializing the idea wherever you discuss politics so it won;t seem so radical or far-fetched. . If you live in a state with a democratic Senator call them up and ask them if they are working on this, and if not, why not, Call Senator Schumer’s office and do the same. Do it not once, but a lot, text, email follow-ups as well If you live in a state with a GOP senator, particularly one of the three above, call THEM up and urge them to switch for the good of our nation. Assure the staff you talk to of your support for thier boss in the next election if they do switch. (even if you have to hold your nose, it will be worth it)
This is it, boys in girls, we face some dark days ahead if we don;t do SOMETHING. Right now, to me, this is the most achievable and effective something we have to make the next four years less terrible. It might be a long shot, but literally what do we have to lose by taking it?
Three. it’s just 3% of the Senate. We CAN do this. We HAVE to do this.
and in closing, if the news of the day has you grabbing your heart medicine/anti-depressants/ sleeping pills, let me leave you with this. it helps:
Austin Lounge Lizards: “We’ve Been Through Some Crappy Times Before”
