A house divided against itself cannot stand.
The line from Lincoln’s speech that begins this GNR is the most famous from his Senate campaign speech. It continues:
A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other
Lincoln was right, of course. And his sentiment is just as right about today’s America. We are divided into two countries: one that puts kids in cages and fears all who differs from us and one that cares about one another and the world.
We can’t be these two different things at once. We have to choose as a country. A nation divided cannot stand.
And for us to choose correctly, all of us have to do all we can.
We have to fight for victory in 2020. we have to be clear and steadfast in our dedication to a kinder and better world. We can’t condone the actions of hate by playing “both sides have a point” games. The morality of this moment is not a “both sides” issue. There is not right side to grifting from the poor, locking kids in cages, abandoning our allies, and taking rights away from the oppressed.
We have to pick. 2020 has the potential to set the course for this choice. We have seen the other side. We have seen a nation run by a man with no regard for our values. If we don’t want that path to win, we have to fight like hell for our country in this upcoming election. it is time to choose and we need to do all we can to make sure America chooses correctly.
But at the same time, while we are clear on the need to move forward with the most moral and compassionate course for our country, we cannot give into the temptation to villainize half of our population.
Dividing out country is what Putin strove for in 2016 and he was rewarded beyond his wildest dreams.
America is divided: red versus blue. rural versus urban. secular versus religious.
It isn’t all Putin of course. His road was paved by human nature. We have a basic tendency to divide the world into Us versus Them. He used that tendency to divide America — to play on our fears and worst natures and turn us from one nation to this fractured mess led by an idiotic thief.
We can’t give in to the acorn of pleasure that comes from mocking and hating the other side. Yes, there are some people on the far right who are unreachable and awful. But they aren’t the only ones voting red. We can’t let our differences destroy us. Hate is not the answer to hate. If we mock and belittle and cut off people who disagree with us them we are playing their game on their court and we will lose. We win when love wins.
Don’t forget, this “us” versus “them” mentality is slippery. One minute you hate trump and all those who surround him and then you hate everyone who led up to him and then you hate everyone who didn’t act more quickly to stop him and then you hate everyone who didn’t speak up soon enough and then you hate those that are silent and then you hate those who are fighting against him but not the way you think we should be fighting and then you hate those who want a different leader to lead us out of this abyss. Hate spreads like wildfire and is just as destructive.
When hate wins, we are left with nothing but fear and division and bitterness. When hate wins, Trump wins.
The only way to win is to love. Love yourself for all you are doing for this country. Love the other members of the resistance. Love your candidates and your hard working representatives. Love the people fighting for us even if they aren’t doing it the way you want. Love the people who want to lead us but aren’t your first choice. Love the people who agree with us but haven’t found the courage to come forward. Love those too afraid to take a side. Love those who have been misled and brainwashed by the right wing lie machine. Love those who have lost their souls to trump and those around him. And if you can find it in your heart, send that love to trump. Don’t love him for what he does or how he does it. Love the spark of light and humanity inside him that lives inside all of us and connects us all. Love that light. Or you know, stop before you actually get to trump. That is pretty good too 😆
And then do all you can to get him out of the White House and to the backside of history.
Now onto the good news.
***I am traveling for work this week so if I miss some really important news, please add it to the comments. ***
Trump Is Losing Control of the Story
Trump was able to fight off the mess that Mueller brought to him by controlling the story — the lie presented by Barr wasn’t challenged in time for people to form a different opinion. Then, Trump used fake executive privilege to stop any useful testimony.
This time, that isn’t working. And it is wonderful.
Impeachment inquiry shows Trump at the center of Ukraine efforts against rivals
Two Cabinet secretaries. The acting White House chief of staff. A bevy of career diplomats. President Trump’s personal attorney. And at the center of the impeachment inquiry, the president himself.
Over two weeks of closed-door testimony, a clear portrait has emerged of a president personally orchestrating the effort to pressure a foreign government to dig up dirt on a potential 2020 political rival — and marshaling the full resources of the federal bureaucracy to help in that endeavor.
Public Servants Are Starting to Respond to Donald Trump’s False Attacks
Trump’s failure so far to discredit the whistle-blower had weakened his power to silence current and former officials. “He tried to smash the whistle-blower, and it didn’t work,” Baker said. “One of the things that Donald Trump has trafficked in is fear. And, once people are no longer afraid of him, I think more people will come forward.”
Trump’s impeachment barricade crumbles
Donald Trump's impeachment blockade has collapsed.
Kent’s appearance on Tuesday was just the latest evidence that the White House’s stonewalling against congressional requests for documents and testimony is crumbling — and Democrats now have a new sense of momentum.
Four critical consequences of former Trump aides’ testimony
First, the whistleblower has become essentially irrelevant. The investigators have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to witnesses with firsthand knowledge of events.
Second, witnesses paint an identical picture: Trump through Giuliani was attempting to force Ukraine to provide dirt on a political opponent and held up aid to accomplish that aim.
Third, the entire mystique of “executive privilege” has vanished. Current and former officials have been told not to testify
Finally, the evidence has become overwhelming, leaving Republicans with virtually no ground on which to stand to defend Trump. Instead they whine about process (behind closed doors! no vote of the full House to kick off impeachment!), none of which is germane or exculpatory.
Growing number of Republicans struggle to defend Trump on G-7 choice, Ukraine and Syria
A growing number of congressional Republicans expressed exasperation Friday over what they view as President Trump’s indefensible behavior, a sign that the president’s stranglehold on his party is starting to weaken as Congress hurtles toward a historic impeachment vote.
In interviews with more than 20 GOP lawmakers and congressional aides in the past 48 hours, many said they were repulsed by Trump’s decision to host an international summit at his own resort and incensed by acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s admission — later withdrawn — that U.S. aid to Ukraine was withheld for political reasons. Others expressed anger over the president’s abandonment of Kurdish allies in Syria.
One Republican, Rep. Francis Rooney (Fla.) — whose district Trump carried by 22 percentage points — did not rule out voting to impeach the president and compared the situation to the Watergate scandal that ended Richard Nixon’s presidency.
Testimony from GOP diplomat complicates Trump defense
House Democrats seized on Thursday’s testimony from a top U.S. diplomat as evidence that President Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giulianiacted inappropriately in their contacts with Ukraine.
“Sondland’s opening statement throws Giuliani and the president under the bus, absolutely, basically saying he was directed by the president to talk to Giuliani to get anything done on Ukraine,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.).
“Giuliani very clearly asked for two things,” Lieu continued. “That Ukraine investigate the Bidens; and that Ukraine look at this crazy DNC conspiracy theory” — a reference to the debunked conservative conspiracy that a cyber firm fabricated records to create the false appearance that Russia hacked Democrats in the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Moscow was behind the interference.
Once again MAGA stands for My attorney is Getting Arrested
Federal Prosecutors Scrutinize Rudy Giuliani’s Ukraine Business Dealings, Finances
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are examining Rudy Giuliani’s business dealings in Ukraine, including his finances, meetings and work for a city mayor there, according to people familiar with the matter.
Democrats are Handling this Very Well
House Democrats express greater confidence about impeachment showdown with Trump
To many Democrats, it was a puzzling decision: Just days after suddenly embracing an impeachment inquiry of President Trump — a moment of seeming political crisis — House leaders sent lawmakers home for their scheduled two-week recess.
But as Congress returns to work Tuesday, fears of lost momentum, internal dissension and dissipating interest in impeachment have mostly evaporated among House Democrats, who view the past two weeks as among the most damaging to Trump as they dig in for their constitutional showdown with the president.
Holding these in private is genius because the crooks can’t compare notes and don’t know who told the truth on them.
also….
Mounting frustration inside White House over Hill depositions as refusals to comply with subpoenas increase
Inside the West Wing, sources say, there is escalating concern about administration witnesses who are giving depositions on Capitol Hill.
, officials are growing frustrated because they are mainly being forced to learn about what these officials divulged from news reporters. There is no White House counsel present in the room and officials are not given transcripts or readouts after they leave, one person told CNN.
Great Legal News
Appeals court to hold rehearing on Trump hotel lawsuit
A federal appeals court will reconsider a ruling from a three-judge panel that threw out a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel.
The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Tuesday to hold a hearing before the full court of 15 judges. Arguments are scheduled for Dec. 12.
‘Confidential informants’ part of Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s investigation involving President Trump’s tax returns
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance revealed Tuesday that “confidential informants” are part of his probe involving President Trump’s tax returns.
“The criminal investigation is proceeding based upon information derived from public sources, confidential informants, and the grand jury process,” Carey Dunne, an attorney in Vance’s office, wrote to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ahead of arguments next week.
Cuomo signs law aimed at weakening Trump's pardon power, closes 'double jeopardy' loophole
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a measure Wednesday that would allow the state to pursue charges against people who have received a presidential pardon — a law seen as a direct shot at President Donald Trump.
Multiple ex-Trump aides or associates are imprisoned or facing legal scrutiny in New York.
Great 2020 News
Internal Democratic poll suggests a way to bleed Trump dry
Voters back a Democrat who supports an impeachment investigation over a Republican who opposes an impeachment investigation by 11 points. Even in the 57 most competitive battleground districts, moving the inquiry forward is slightly favorable at 49-48. Additionally, Democrats’ lead in the generic ballot remains steady in national polling (+8 average) and in battleground districts (+3 average).
The fact that the Democrats’ lead in the generic ballot match-up has remained solid suggests the Democrats’ embrace of the impeachment inquiry has not diminished their standing at all, despite what some had feared
Our Senate candidates are getting stronger and theirs are getting weaker
Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama and Gary Peters of Michigan are the two most vulnerable Democrats in Morning Consult's quarterly Senate rankings survey. They've each gained support in the past quarter, with Jones up 3 points and Peters up 1 point. Both are holding their heads above water—with not overwhelming support, but support.
On the other hand, Morning Consult notes, the "most vulnerable Republican senators are not improving their standing in their home states ahead of a tough 2020 election cycle." Iowa's Joni Ernst had the biggest slide, a 9-point drop. Forty-three percent of Iowa voters disapprove of the job she's doing, against 39% approval. This is the first time she's been underwater. Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Cory Gardner of Colorado each saw 3-point drops in net approval. They, Ernst, and Arizona's Martha McSally all have approval ratings below 40%.
Susan Collins slid down another 2 points, after winning last quarter's prize for the biggest fall from grace. Her approval rating dropped from 45% to 43%, and her disapproval inched up—it was 48% last quarter and is 49% now. This year is the first time Collins has been underwater in Morning Consult's surveys.
Trump job approval slips 2 points in Gallup poll
President Trump’s job approval slipped 2 points, down to 40.7 percent, in his 11th quarter in office, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.
That is it for today. Lots right? We are saving our democracy and I couldn’t be prouder and more lucky to be in it with all of you. ❤️ ✊ ❤️