79 years ago, more than 150K troops from 8 Allied countries stormed the beaches of Normandy — the largest invasion force in history.
“The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” -Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
June 6 marked the 79th anniversary of D-Day when the decisive battles of World War Two ended German domination of Europe. High hopes and a great deal of worry existed over its outcome.
I was exactly four months old on that day. Throughout my childhood, wartime struggles and exploits were a staple of movies and books. Veterans provided personal explanations of how the Allies won the war.
Surveying political events of recent days, I feel the same commingled emotions of hope and despair inspired by events then.
Fascist tendencies abound as right-wing politicians seize on telling people what they can’t do while simultaneously claiming devotion to individual freedom. George Orwell explained this decades ago. Some of us thought it was settled history.
Trump is the first American president to model his rhetoric and presidential behavior on that of a 20th-century dictator. There are clear signs the heat from multiple probes into events, especially his illegal retention of classified documents, has him at a vigorous boil.
In a two-hour session with Justice Department officials, his lawyers made their case against any criminal indictment for the ex-president regarding classified documents, aspects of the 2020 election, or the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Legally, The DOJ stays mum on all of this. But we can decode Trump’s immediate reaction after the meeting from his all-caps post on his affiliated social media site Truth Social:
“HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S [sic] WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE HAS 1,850 BOXES, MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED, AND SOME DATING BACK TO HIS SENATE DAY WHEN EVEN DEMOCRAT SENATORS ARE SHOCKED. ALSO, PRESIDENT CLINTON HAD DOCUMENTS, AND WON IN COURT. CROOKED HILLARY DELETED 33,000 EMAILS, MANY CLASSIFIED, AND WASN’T EVEN CLOSE TO BEING CHARGED! ONLY TRUMP - THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
Shortly after that, the Republican National Committee tweeted footage of House Oversight Committee chair Representative James Comer (R-KY) suggesting that the “Biden family” has engaged in “a pattern of bribery, where payments would be made through shell accounts and multiple banks,” in a system of “money laundering.”
This is a pure projection by Republicans, a tacit admission that the modus operandi of the Trump family closely reflects a Mafia clan. There has been no credible evidence, formally or even informally, to justify this exaggeration about Biden.
The White House, on the other hand, has praised Republicans for a reasonable and cooperative agreement ending the hostage situation around the default issue. However, expect the Democrats to make a big deal out of how they behaved as the “adults in the room” dealing with the “Radical Rightwing Republicans” (can we think RRR?) on this issue.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu ended speculation he would seek the GOP presidential nomination. Instead, he warned that abortion and women’s rights are crucial issues ahead: “Republicans should recognize that every time they open their mouths to talk about banning abortion, an independent voter joins the Democrats.”
After the Supreme Court killed the national right to abortion by overturning a 50-year-old ruling, Republican-dominated states passed new anti-abortion laws. Results in a recent Wisconsin election focused on the abortion issue showed an 11-point plus for the sensible Democratic candidate for State Supreme Court. Wisconsin has been a 50:50 state in voting over the last 25 years.
Q: Bob LaFollette, where are you when we need you?
A: The Wisconsin progressive died 98 years ago.
I started with D-Day. I end with this: I watched or listened to my first set of political conventions in 1952. Pundits assured America the Republican choice was Ohio Senator Robert Taft.
Some Republicans with a different idea convinced the architect hero of D-day to be their candidate. Retired Army General Dwight David “IKE” Eisenhower became a two-term president.
History suggests it is wise to expect the unexpected.
By Kenneth Tiven