Deja Vu

I experienced a strong feeling of deja vu yesterday watching Michael Cohen speaking before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.  I was reminded of being glued to the Watergate hearings in 1973, living in a caretaker’s 1880 farmhouse in a communal environment  with my husband and two year old daughter.  It was jaw dropping, to say the least.

However, 1973 is worlds away from 2019.  The Senate voted 77-0 to establish a special investigating committee on abuses in the 1972 campaign.  It was presided over by universally respected North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin, a strict constitutionalist.  He was particularly irate about Nixon’s extraordinary extensions of presidential powers, including the ‘impoundment’ of funds authorized for expenditure by Congress.

Most amazing was the fact that the hearings were televised by all three commercial networks, which speaks to remarkable civic high mindedness back then.  After awhile, they began rotating the coverage but PBS continued to carry it live daily.

Everyone was watching…televisions found their way into the workplace, college students skipped classes, no housework was done, lawns were unmoved.  Pretty much, life came to a screeching halt.  The hearings were compared in import to the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

One letter to the editor appeared in the Washington Post stating, “Never have I enjoyed watching television more…with the spectacle of high human drama interwoven with the finest possible example of the democratic process at work unfolding before my eyes for hours on end, with no rehearsal, no canned laughter, very little commentary (none needed!), and, best of all, no commercial interruption.”

Take that in:  ‘FINEST EXAMPLE OF DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AT WORK.’  Wow.  Absolute truth.  As everyone knows, I am a flaming liberal and proud of it….having marched in my share of anti-war rallies, Equal Rights Amendment rallies, Pro-Choice rallies.  But, glued to that 12 inch black and white TV, I fell in love with conservative Sam Ervin.  I fell in love with his wit, his southern folksiness, his integrity and character.  He loved his country and was determined to see that truth won out over deceit.

And, after months and months of testimony and hollow denials by the President, the Supreme Court unanimously ordered the President to turn over evidence to the special prosecutor and the House passed three articles of impeachment.  Nixon resigned 10 days later in August 1974.

The rule of law won.  The Constitution held firm.  These Democrats and Republicans were predominantly men with high ethical standards.  Of course, there were the rogue defenders of the rogue President, but they were clearly in the minority.

Fast forward to 2019 where independent thinking is in short supply, where cable news has contributed greatly to the tremendous divide in our country, where many families cannot sit down civilly to Thanksgiving dinner anymore, where the gap between poor and rich is greater than ever.

Fact Checker has documented that President Trump has told close to 9,000 lies since taking office.  Bill Clinton was impeached for telling one.  The Republican Party has abandoned the rule of law.  By supporting Trump at any cost, they have chosen the law of rule.  Whoever rules aka Trump can get away with anything as long as they hold the Senate.  They cannot even bring themselves to call out Trump for his love affairs with the worst and most violent dictators in the world.

This country is in trouble.  Serious trouble.  One of the most chilling statements by Michael Cohen yesterday was his prediction that if Trump loses in 2020, he will not give up the Oval Office willingly.  He will have to be forcibly taken out of there.  A sentiment I’ve had since the day he took office.  The Trump Mob is in charge.

The Trump Republicans continued their attack on the witness’s credibility yesterday, who deflected them saying, “Yes, I lied for Donald Trump.”  “Yes, I was a fool.”  And he gave them fair warning also.  They’ll go down in flames with The Donald.  Maybe, maybe not.  Regardless, I admire Cohen’s bravery and he’s probably safer in jail than anywhere else.  He should worry about his family.

I have no idea where this is going.  I never expect to see Mueller’s Report if he ever finishes it.  And, how could he in light of this complex quagmire of lies and omissions?  But, no amount of evidence will ever move the Trump base.

This is 2019, not 1973.  Where are the Sam Ervins?  Where are the people in the President’s party who will support truth, justice and the rule of law?  They were certainly MIA yesterday.

I still think this country will fight back.  They’ll fight for the Constitution and the rule of law.  I don’t think it’s too late.  What will it take for the Republican Party to find its moral compass?  I have no idea.

But, maybe, just maybe we’ll experience the opportunity to see that “finest example of the democratic process at work.”  For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I fervently hope so.