"What We Know is Damning"

[TygrBright]

From Ezra Klein at Vox: Trump and Putin: what we know is damning

But Chait’s piece, like much in this debate, reflects the view that we are still largely in the dark about the true nature of the Trump organization’s relationship with Russia. We’re not. At this point, we know an enormous amount about the connections between Trump and Russia, about Russia’s role in the 2016 election, about the Trump Organization’s efforts to hide its contacts with Russians, about Trump’s efforts to impede the investigation into the subject, and about Trump’s treatment of Russia and Putin and NATO since getting elected.

“Every single time we’ve heard of that the Russians reached out to offer something — dirt on Hillary Clinton, access to another trove of emails, secret meetings, back channels — the common theme of every single individual in Trump’s orbit was, ‘Yes. Help us out,’” says Susan Hennessey, a former National Security Agency official and the executive editor of Lawfare. “That is the really astounding picture that has emerged.”

and

Learning the truth is important for its own sake, and there is much left to find out. But the obsessive focus on what we still don’t know reflects a hope, among Trump’s opponents, that Mueller will find something, reveal something, bait Trump into doing something, that will trigger consequences of some kind. The truth is there is nothing so automatic in the system, and no reason to believe further revelations would call forth that kind of response.

The big issue, at this point, isn’t what we don’t know; it’s that we have no idea what to do with what we do know.

Klein goes on to argue that, in the absence of Constitutional remedies and the structural inability of the GOP to hold [Redacted] accountable, Democrats must focus on winning the 2020 election in order to be able to do anything to undo the damage done by Russia and their puppets in the GOP. Even assuming a blue wave does enable them to win a Congressional majority in 2020, their focus will have to be, not on flailing about trying to find accountability remedies that do not exist, but winning in 2020.

And, he asserts, to win in 2020 will require a focus, not on the treason and holding the traitors accountable, but on restoring health care and Social Security, and rescuing the economy.

I'm not sure Klein is right, but it all sounds drearily like the discussions we went through after the Nixon resignation, about whether "accountability" or "moving on" was more important.

It might be useful to start having this discussion now, or it might be a derailment. Either way, I'm not sure we can avoid it.

gloomily,
Bright

[Chiboy]

1. " accountability or moving on"

There is no moving on without accountability, I hope the Democratic leadership understands that

[TygrBright]

2. They didn't understand it in 1974.

And I'm hearing a lot of the same arguments now.

wearily,
Bright

[BSdetect]

3. They must not be nice about accountability. No pardons. Confiscate every assett.

[AlexSFCA]

4. when have dems ever held reps accountable?

[TygrBright]

6. Not in my lifetime. n/t

[smirkymonkey]

5. K&R