[Peace-discuss] Robert Reich to MoveOn

[C. G. Estabrook]

Robert Reich’s letter to ‘MoveOn’ is an absolutely mad appeal by a self-proclaimed 'liberal' to get Trump out of office as soon as possible.

Why is the political establishment so desperate not just to win the next election but to remove Trump now?

I think that the answer is to be found in the US grand strategy , followed by all recent US administrations. That depends on maintaining the US control of the world economy by retarding the economic development of Eurasia. (Not a new idea - see the 'Open Door Policy' of 1899.) Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote clearly of the US government's need to prevent the emergence of "peer competitors," Russia and China.

Trump was the first major party candidate in 40 years to attack the neoliberal and neoconservative policies of previous administrations, which were designed to do that.

In office, Trump has been compelled or cajoled to acquiesce in those policies, but the political establishment can't be assured that will continue, given the rising populist wave that put him in office. The threat has to be suppressed as soon as possible, and a reliable neolib/neocon executive put in place (by a coup, if necessary, as Adm. McRaven recently argued in the NYT).

The example of Obama - the first president to be at war throughout two presidential terms, who waged no less than eight wars to constrain Eurasia and protect the economic control of the US 1% and for whom stooges like Reich and McRaven are working, must be followed, insists that establishment.

(Reich? McRaving? To avoid being Trumped? Do the gods of history have a sardonic sense of humor?)

—CGE
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Dear MoveOn member,

When I wrote to you last month, it seemed that—at long last, after years of us shouting it from the rooftops—Congress finally saw that Donald Trump was guilty of more than enough high crimes and misdemeanors to impeach, convict, and remove him from office. Finally, Trump looked to be in serious trouble.
But I'm worried that, right now, we are falling short in our push to secure Trump's impeachment, conviction, and removal, in spite of blockbuster public testimony at the impeachment hearings and our best current efforts. I still think that we can win, but only if we turn things around—and fast.
I'm going to explain why we're falling behind—and what we can do about it—below, and I will also ask you to donate to MoveOn. So if you want to donate before I launch into my explanation, here's the link to chip in $3.
OK, so here's the situation: When last I wrote you, several moderate and soon-to-be-retired House Republicans had opened the door to Republicans voting for Trump's impeachment.
Unfortunately, nearly a month later and even after a flurry of grassroots activity and truly damning testimony in the House, we are not a whole lot closer to breaking the Republican dam against Trump's impeachment.
But I am hopeful: It's clear that Republicans in Congress know that Trump is guilty—and that they also know that they look like fools for protecting him. Every day, they are making a calculation of how far they can take their charade. And it's our job to push so hard that they have no choice but to support impeachment.
Now, you may feel incredible frustration with just how immovable Republicans are. I know I do! Sometimes, it feels as through Republicans in Congress won't hold Trump accountable on anything, and we keep losing fights against them.
It's true that we haven't won every fight. But we have had an impact—a big impact!
We saved the Affordable Care Act by one vote in the Senate, and that happened only because of overwhelming grassroots pressure from us. I believe that without MoveOn, the Affordable Care Act would have been repealed.
And we got congressional Republicans to stand up against Trump's heinous family separation policies with near unanimity, at least for a period of time. That only happened because of our grassroots energy and unprecedented protests that were all over the news.
Here's my take on taking on Republicans and Trump, C.: We can't just focus on whether a fight is winnable.
We can't afford to worry about winnability and back down from tough fights out of fear that we might lose. We have to fight no matter what, because what's at stake goes far beyond party politics.
What's at stake is the very future of our democracy. Are we still a nation that respects the rule of law? Or, thanks to Trump and the GOP, are we so far gone that the only thing that matters is blind loyalty? That's why the impeachment fight is critical for our children's future—and for the future of our nation's democracy and the rule of law.
Until the final vote is cast in the Senate, we cannot waiver. I believe if we give this fight our all, we can win. But let's say we do fall short, despite our best efforts. If the impeachment vote is bipartisan, rather than just along party lines, that will make a huge difference in the long run.
Are you with me, C.? If so, please join me and chip in $3 to support MoveOn's impeachment work today.
I want to be clear: It's not that Democrats are losing the public debate. And it's not that the public testimony against Trump and his administration isn't damning. We have known for years that Trump should be impeached.
In their impeachment inquiry, Democrats have demonstrated clearly—again and again and again—that Trump committed bribery and extortion. The facts are indisputable. Any reasonable person realizes this.
But the truth is not enough. The will to hold Trump accountable, on the Republican side, is not yet there. The political calculus does not yet force Republicans' hands. And the right-wing echo chamber is relentlessly peddling a false narrative to defend Trump. That's what we're up against. And that's why I'm asking:
C., will you click this link and pitch in $3 to support MoveOn's all-hands-on-deck campaign to impeach, convict, and remove Donald Trump from office?
Activists are working their tails off to push Republicans to find their backbones and take action. But we aren't yet moving the needle enough to build the overwhelming pressure on Republicans that we'll need to get Republican votes in the House and, if we play our cards right, convict Trump in the Senate.
I've been following MoveOn's impeachment campaign closely the past few months. And it appears that while MoveOn has raised enough to do the most critical things to keep the campaign moving, their budget is falling short.
There's not enough money to keep phones on Capitol Hill ringing off the hook every single day, and to expand billboards into more House and Senate districts, and to run TV ads in critical districts, and to follow every vulnerable lawmaker around the halls of Congress to capture their cowardice on camera, and to buy enough Facebook ads to promote protests across the country the day before the impeachment vote, and to blanket the media with ads to counteract the lies and misinformation coming from Trump's propaganda machine.
The bottom line? There's a lot to do right at once right now, and MoveOn doesn't have the resources to do it all. Trump and his enablers don't have to make hard choices, because they're spending tens of millions of dollars given to them by millionaires and billionaires to spread lies and misinformation. And while we don't need to raise and spend as much as Trump's supporters do to win, we do have to raise enough to play ball.
MoveOn's being forced to make hard choices right now, but $3, or whatever you can afford, will help them increase their budget and do what's needed to win the fight on impeachment.
So how do we turn this around? It starts with our grassroots power. We've got to show how many people are engaged. That means we need to keep calling, and we've got to keep showing up to protest, and we've got to be louder and even more persistent than ever.
And it takes money, too. Not a lot per person. But from a lot of people. If everyone receiving this email chipped in just a few bucks, MoveOn would raise more than enough to compete head-to-head with Donald Trump.
But not everyone even opened this email. Fewer still have read it this far. And not everyone reading today can afford to pitch in even a little.
Which is why, C., if you can afford to, then I hope you'll pitch in $3 to support MoveOn's impeachment work, so that we can go big and leave no stone unturned on impeachment—right now, when it matters most.
And I hope that you'll stay in this fight, even though it's hard and upsetting.
Remember, things won't be this hard forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And if we fight with all our might, work really, really hard, and give this everything we've got, we can reach that light sooner.
Thanks for all you do.

–Robert Reich
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