What The Loyal Opposition Does

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It really lifts me up to know that there are so many of us who care about the future of this country. And we’re going to continue to sustain each other and find a path forward.

There is no point in pretending this is going to be easy, because it won’t be. But we do know that sunlight continues to be the best disinfectant. The Trump administration has already been forced to rescind its spending freeze after days of public outrage following extensive reporting and commentary on it. Two federal judges ordered the freeze stayed as well. Although stretched thin, it’s entirely possible that the rule of law isn’t dead just yet. In addition, we should never give up on the force we can bring to bear as voters and concerned citizens. We should never back off.

If all goes as Trump plans, Kash Patel will take over the reins of the FBI, the world’s preeminent law enforcement agency, following today's confirmation hearing. In his opening remarks, Senator Chuck Grassley told Patel, “Public trust in the FBI is low. Only 41% of the American public thinks the FBI is doing a good job … Mr. Patel, it’ll be your job to restore the public’s trust and return the FBI to its core mission of fighting crime.”

That’s going to be a heavy lift since Patel struggled with the truth today, having no recollection of unflattering details about his past and continuing to puff his resume. It’s bad when the boss calls you out for claiming you played a bigger role in a case than you actually did:

Senator Dick Durbin called Patel “a staunch Trump loyalist who has repeatedly peddled false conspiracy theories and threatened to go after President Trump's enemies.” Patel has now reversed course and claims he doesn’t have an “enemies list” and that he wouldn’t launch revenge prosecutions. I’m of the “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” school of thought. Just because Patel is saying the right thing now when the cameras are on and his confirmation is at stake doesn’t mean we should believe him. Watch what they do when they’re not trying to get a job that requires Senate confirmation!

It’s not just Democrats who have concerns about Patel. Way back then, Trump’s Attorney General Bill Barr rejected Patel as a possible deputy director of the FBI, telling Trump’s then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that Patel would be appointed over “my dead body.” Strong words coming from the man who complacently did Donald Trump’s bidding in most other regards. Then there’s the Atlantic article that included this tidbit: the author wrote that “many of the nearly forty” of Patel’s former Trump Administration colleagues she spoke with for the piece would only do so if they could remain anonymous because they feared retaliation.

Senator Durbin also said this morning, “The American people deserve an FBI Director focused on keeping our families safe from terrorism, drug trafficking, and violent crime, not the checklist of grievances in this book. Mr. Patel, your record makes clear that you are not that person.”

Tulsi Gabbard also appeared for the start of her confirmation hearing this morning. She has been nominated to be the Director of National Intelligence. Colorado Senator Michael Bennet tried to pin her down on whether Edward Snowden, who released U.S. secrets, is a traitor. Although agreeing he broke the law, she refused to answer that question four times as Bennet continued to press. It was a stark refusal from a person who, if confirmed, would have access to many of the nation’s most important secrets.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., whose confirmation hearing is still going, continued to display a stunning absence of knowledge about the job he would have, a job that is critical to the health and well-being of Americans.

This is an excellent moment to make sure your elected representatives hear your voice. Democrats derailed the nomination of Matt Gaetz to be AG by bringing enough focus to bear to force Republican senators to blink. Whie people who care about good government may not win every battle, some of them are winnable. In any event, no one should make it easy for Republican senators to vote for unqualified and unsuited nominees Donald Trump has put forward for key positions of trust.

The loyal (to the Republic) opposition is supposed to do just that—oppose. And they’re supposed to do it vociferously. We can all do that. Spend some time contacting your senators while these nominations are in play. Let them know you’re going to hold them accountable if they vote to confirm. If just one or two of the Republicans wobble, it could be enough to derail these disastrous nominations. Let’s make sure that if they are going to support these candidates, they do it knowing we oppose them.

We’re in this together,

Joyce