The Trump administration could still do some real damage. There will be lax enforcement of financial and environmental regulations. There will probably be tax cuts for the rich and underfunding of important social programs. There will be more harassment of immigrants and no progress on comprehensive immigration reform. But its ability to remake America in the libertarian image (privatize Social Security! voucherize Medicare!) envisioned by Paul Ryan is distinctly limited — even assuming that Trump backs such moves wholeheartedly, which he very well might not, given his public pronouncements on these programs.
In the end, the Trumpian populism of the 2010s will probably have no more staying power than the agrarian populism of the 1880s and 1890s, which was also driven by demographic groups on the decline and was similarly undercut by structural change and the transition to a new economic era. That earlier populist era was followed by an era of strong social advancement in the early 20th century — the Progressive Era.
| Time for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign | ||
| The petition to Congress reads: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied about his ties to Russia during his confirmation hearing. Congress must demand his resignation, demand that his successor immediately appoint a special prosecutor and use all the tools at its disposal to conduct transparent, independent investigations into Sessions’ and other Trump campaign and administration connections to Russia.” Add your name:
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Dear Viewer,
The Russia bombshells keep dropping. Last week, news broke that Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his confirmation hearings.1 According to The Washington Post, while serving as an advisor and surrogate for Trump’s campaign, Sessions spoke twice, including once in private, with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. He then denied that those meetings occurred during his confirmation hearings. It is clear that the Trump campaign, transition team and administration have had very questionable contacts with the Russian government. It is now also clear that the country’s top law enforcement official has lied about them. The American people deserve an honest attorney general and an impartial, objective, thorough and independent investigation into all credible allegations concerning the relationship between Donald Trump and the Russian government. There is no chance that the Trump administration will investigate itself. Republicans in Congress are only offering weak solutions. We need to force Congress to take a bolder stance now. During Sessions’ confirmation hearing, Sen. Al Franken asked him about the Trump campaign’s communications with the Russian government. Sessions told Sen. Franken “I didn’t have – did not have communication with the Russians.” Sessions responded to a written question from Sen. Patrick Leahy asking whether he had “been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day” with a one word “No.”2 Sessions is not even denying his meetings with Kislyak. He is simply claiming they did not discuss the campaign. That is outrageous. Sessions testified before Congress at a time when there was evidence that Russia helped Trump steal the election and that Russia could have unknown influence over Trump’s administration. Sens. Franken and Leahy’s questions were trying to address that clear threat to our democracy, and Sessions lied. Those lies destroy not only Sessions’ credibility to investigate Trump’s ties to Russia but his credibility to serve as attorney general at all. He must resign now. Bowing to withering pressure, Sessions has now recused himself from any Department of Justice investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election as well as any examination of contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Some congressional Republicans are promoting recusal as well. But, recusal is not enough. It still situates the investigation inside Trump’s compromised, corrupt executive branch. Recent news shows that Obama administration officials were so concerned that Trump’s team would bury or destroy evidence about Russian election hacking that they went to extraordinary steps to protect and distribute it.3 As threats to the legitimacy of his presidency mounts, Trump will only try harder to cover up his ties to Russia. There must be a completely independent investigation by a special prosecutor and Senate Select Committee. Democrats in Congress are already demanding this, but Republicans will choose party politics over our democracy unless we force them to act. Can you add your name now? Republicans who refuse to push for an independent investigation are blocking the public’s ability to know the answers to a long list of questions about Trump’s ties with Russia:
Every time news breaks about Trump and Russia, congressional Republicans claim to care about an investigation but backtrack when the news dies down.4 That is exactly what some are trying to do now, and they’ll get away with it if we don’t force them to act. The more people who add their names, the greater the pressure will be. Tell Congress: Demand that Jeff Sessions resigns and that his successor appoints a special prosecutor who can conduct a real, independent and thorough investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/sessions_resign?t=7&akid=21978.11103932.Nbk9Er Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager Add your name:
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