Indictment

In the wake of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, my emotions have run the gamut from shock, to sadness, to anger. It is very hard to analyze some events that hit you so hard emotionally.

The brutal killing of Black Americans in a local grocery store just because they were people of color exposes the truth behind Republicans’ appeals to racism and white supremacy. If I had a dollar for every time, I have heard a Republican launch into a tirade over the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, Stacy Abrams, I would be buying myself a new set of golf clubs. Their anger rises to a level that cannot be the result simply of her policy positions. As a mainstream Democrat who believes that government can be a force for good, she is a capitalist and a believer in fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution, including voting rights and opportunities for all Americans. I am convinced that their over-the-top, visceral anger lies in a deep-seated immoral belief in white supremacy. When a major political party assumes the radical and ugly beliefs of its disgraced ex-president, Donald Trump, and then weaponizes those beliefs by claiming white people are victims and endangered, that party bears a huge responsibility for the actions of the most radicalized people within their political base. They bear responsibility not only for the foul personal attacks on Stacy Abrams, but also for the ugly racist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the brutal racial killings in Buffalo, New York, and the unforgiveable venomous attack on our Capitol on January 6, 2021. The reason they cannot escape responsibility for these other events is because they have accepted, rationalized, justified, and promoted the racist beliefs within the Trumpified GOP.

As for the killings of the teachers and school children in Uvalde, Texas, the killer’s motivation did not appear to be racial. Like the Buffalo shootings, though, it does embrace cold, pure evil. How someone could shoot their own grandmother and then drive to an elementary school and randomly and callously murder innocent children and their teachers is something most people can hardly comprehend. While Republicans continue to parrot the lies and misinformation of the National Rifle Association (NRA), they bear huge responsibility for this preventable tragedy. Their sadness and offers of prayer and support for the victims’ families rings very hollow to me. My views on sensible gun safety/control have changed in recent years. I see no legitimate reason for the sale and ownership of assault weapons or large clips of semiautomatic rounds of ammunition. While legitimate and necessary for soldiers, these weapons are not for ordinary citizens. Furthermore, there is no legitimate reason for selling guns to anyone younger than 21 years old. Households should keep legally purchased guns in a gun safe to protect children. No one at any age with a criminal record (including domestic violence) or a recent history of severe mental illness or extremist views should ever be able to purchase guns. Thorough background checks of prospective gun owners before any gun sale takes place should be the law everywhere. These simple, common-sense gun laws, while certainly not a guarantee that all gun violence will end, would go a long way toward reducing gun violence and death. Ridiculous ideas by the gun lobby and its acolytes in the House and Senate and state legislatures such as arming teachers or school security personnel is not the answer. The Republican Party’s response to gun violence in general and mass shooting specifically is like Pontius Pilate. They want to wash their hands of any responsibility for the horror and the heartbreak. At the same time, they want to reap the benefits of campaign contributions from the IRA and preserve the right to arm their rabid base of potential insurrectionists with the most malevolent and powerful weapons available.

Now is the time for people of good faith and honor to stand up to the gun lobby and the politicians controlled by them. The people who died in these awful shootings had their lives stolen. Their families grieve and expect politicians to do something. Those Republican politicians unwilling to confront this evil amongst us are no better than the shooters. They deserve removal from office if they once again do nothing. They seem more concerned with appeasing far right voters and feeding at the campaign trough of the NRA. If ever there were a time to stop this gun madness, that time is now.

This short list of questions should be asked of Republican candidates (including incumbents) well before voters cast their ballots in the 2022 mid-term elections.

1. Should exceptions for rape, incest, and health of the mother be included in any anti-abortion or restrictive-abortion legislation put in place after the Supreme Court’s likely final decision to reverse Roe v Wade?
2. Should abortion be legal for at least some time period before birth?
3. Do you support Donald Trump’s comments that Vladimir Putin is a “genius” after the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
4. Would Donald Trump have been willing or able to pull the NATO alliance and most of the rest of the nations of the world together to stand up to Putin?
5. Do you believe Donald Trump when he continues to say that the presidential election of 2020 was stolen?
6. If you do believe that election was stolen, where is your proof after losing court decision after court decision and recount after recount?
7. Do you agree with Donald Trump who has said that those who violently attacked our Capitol on January 6^th were either victims or patriots?
8. Do you believe that those who planned, promoted, and participated in illegal attempts to overturn the presidential election should be held legally accountable?
9. If your answer is “yes” to the previous question, would you be willing to include specific members of the House and Senate and/or the previous president if clear culpability could be attached to any of them?
10. Do you accept any responsibility as a political party for our current high inflation rate knowing that the national debt increased by 39% in the single term of Donald Trump?

The required answers to these questions should be a simple “yes” or “no.”  Spinning and/or lying should not be allowed.

Recently Senator Rick Scott of Florida unveiled an 11-point set of proposals (modeled after Newt Gingrich’s Republican Contract for America) for consideration by the national Republican Party. Immediately thereafter, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, walked away from several parts of Scott’s plan.

This plan was not well received by not only by Mitch McConnell, but also not by other fellow Republicans. Among other things, Scott’s plan called for raising federal income taxes on half of Americans who pay little or no income tax because of their relatively low incomes.

In addition, Scott’s proposal would automatically sunset (discontinue) programs such as Social Security and Medicare within 5 years. These programs would have to be reinstated by formal votes in Congress every 5 years.

Obviously, Scott’s foolish programs would give political ammunition to the Democrats for a devastating series of ads prior to the mid-term elections. Polling by Blue Rose Research found that 65% of voters were less likely to support the GOP if Republicans offered a new plan that would effectively end Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security in 5 years. Also, 60% of voters said they would be less likely to support Republicans if they planned to raise taxes on more than half of Americans. Finally, 55% of voters said they would be less likely to support Republicans if they supported a plan to end the coverage protections for pre-existing conditions from the Affordable Care Act in 5 years.

It should not surprise anyone that proposals to eliminate popular federal programs and to raise taxes on Americans with lower incomes would be unpopular and politically damaging to the Republican Party. These unserious and selfish proposals open the door for Democrats in the fight to maintain narrow margins in the House and Senate.

The more Republicans are forced to fight in the mid-terms on this ground, the better it will be for the Democrats. Combine this with Republicans being forced to fight over their support for Donald Trump’s insurrection and attempted coup, and you have a recipe for potential political success for the Democrats even in a less than optimal political environment.

Too many Americans (mostly Trump supporters) toss around the term “woke” as a pejorative way to label people not in their political tribe. They try to disparage people with different views on racial and social issues by referring to them as “woke,” implying that their views are far left and abhorrent. The “woke” accusation has just become another ruthless weapon in the far-right’s political arsenal aimed again at “owning the libs.” Many far-right extremists also use the term, “groomer” to describe people they view as “woke.” The clear and ugly implication is that anyone who supports diversity and acceptance of gays or transgender people or anyone who stands up against the bullying of gays or transgender people is somehow either a pedophile, a promiscuous corruptor/recruiter of young straight people, or an enabler.

Nothing could be further from the truth. That is why it was so refreshing to see and hear State Senator Mallory McMorrow of Michigan recently take on this spiritual ugliness. Instead of ignoring the insults and retreating from the culture war battles, she spoke out honestly, sincerely, and defiantly.  She confronted this political bullying head on without hesitation or fear of political consequences. She spoke from her heart in a way that could reach millions of decent Americans who’ve become sick of this mean, divisive rhetoric and deplorable politics.

Many Trump/Republican voters claim to be evangelical Christians. I think it is long past time for many of them to begin asking themselves why they are deliberately ignoring the message of the Gospels. Jesus wanted people to love one another. He opened his arms to all people. He was inclusive, not divisive. In today’s GOP, Jesus probably would be attacked for being “woke” and/or a “socialist.”

Most Americans, whether they are Christian, from other religious faiths, or not religious at all, want all people to be treated with kindness and respect. Too many people on the right are now willing to view marginalized people (gays, transgenders, immigrants, and people of color) as less human and the people who defend them as “woke.” I was once a Republican, but I am no longer. The ugly divisive policies and rhetoric are two of the primary reasons that I left the party. I would much rather be awakened to the harmful effects of discrimination as opposed to asleep, in denial, or quite frankly in favor of discrimination that affects millions of Americans. Our nation has until recently been a beacon of hope for all people. We need to recapture the “best” in our hearts, not give in to the “worst.” We must continue to promote voting rights, end ugly discrimination on racial and LBTQ grounds, and begin to place ourselves in other people’s shoes.

Let’s talk for a minute about Joe Biden’s economic stewardship of the country versus Donald Trump’s economic stewardship of the country.

Let’s begin with job growth. In the first 14 months of the Biden presidency, 7.9 million jobs were created including 11 straight months of job growth. This has been the greatest job growth over this time period in American history. The unemployment rate is now at 3.6%.

Under former President Donald Trump, there was moderate job growth of about 6 million over three years, but by the end of his four years in office, Trump had the worst job growth record since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression. Net job growth over Trump’s four years in office was negative 3 million. Of course, COVID hit during his last year in office, but COVID remained a stubborn problem for President Biden as well. Our current president just handled COVID and the economy so much better than Donald Trump.

Let’s next look at deficit spending and the national debt.  Donald Trump’s reckless unpaid deficit spending caused the national debt to swell by 39% in his four years in office. The prior 44 presidents (many of whom served for more than one term) collectively accounted for about 72% of the national debt over 228 years. Donald Trump in one term in office accounted for about 28% of the national debt in 4 years. The hypocrisy and incompetence of the Trump-led Republican Party on the issue of federal government spending was and is something to behold!

Finally, let’s examine and analyze the causes of our current high inflation. The Republican Party’s shameless blaming the current inflation exclusively on President Biden is not only unfair, but factually and morally wrong.  They blame Democratic spending proposals, misrepresenting proposals for what has been passed. They ignore the proposed tax package that would have paid for these proposals with slightly higher taxes on marginal income above $450,000. They (the Republicans) continue to ignore the massive unpaid deficit spending during the Trump presidency. They continue to ignore the global supply chain issues and the contraction of production throughout the economy (for instance the number of truckers who left the work force permanently after COVID hit the economy). They also continue to ignore the accommodative money supply and Federal Reserve balance sheet expansion.  Republicans also quite disingenuously continue to ignore the price slashes that occurred by businesses responding to the economic impact of covid and the natural response to recoup these price cuts now occurring. Finally, most economists believe that the inflationary forces unleashed because of the supply disruptions will eventually abate particularly in response to recent moves by the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates.

While Republicans have sought to capitalize politically by blaming inflation on President Biden, they are projecting their own failures on the current president and his party. Whether the Republicans are successful or not will be revealed in the mid-term elections. Ultimately, we will learn how successful their negative messaging has been, how smart (or dumb) a majority of voters are, and whether inflation trumps threats to our democracy. Only time will tell.

Let’s talk for a minute about COVID. Recent statistics posted by the CDC show that the top ten states with the highest per capita death rates from COVID are all under the control of Republican governors. It is amazing that these merchants of death continue to rail against vaccinations and wearing of masks. These libertarians are truthfully nothing more than power seeking demagogues.  They don’t care about the well-being of their states’ populations.  All they care about is their relentless pursuit of false narratives in the hope of political gain.

One of the worst of the worst is Ron DeSantis. Oh, I pray for the people of Florida. If Floridians re-elect him as governor and strengthen his hand as a possible presidential contender in 2024, Republican Floridians deserve nothing but contempt and ridicule from other Floridians and the rest of the country.

I haven’t posted a blog for a few months because of some health issues. As I am starting to feel much better after radiation therapy, I am ready to plow forward.

For quite some time, the political right and the Republican Party has made a concerted effort to paint the Biden administration and Democrats in general as weak on crime. They equate the “Black Lives Matter” movement as made up of radical leftists and defund the police proponents. Most people in the Democratic Party and most people sympathetic to the “Black Lives Matter” movement do not want to defund the police. They support the police, but they expect the police to treat all people with dignity and justice. They simply abhor police brutality when and where it occurs. They want their neighborhoods safe and free from crime, but they also expect police to treat all people regardless of race or religion the same.

While the Republican Party tries to grab the mantle as the party dedicated to crime fighting, they fall dreadfully short. Eight out of the ten states with the highest per capita murder rates are red states, not blue states. Most are led by Republican governors. Property crimes also tend to be higher in red states than blue states. So, my message to Republicans, is this: Get off your phony high horses and quit demonizing Democrats on this issue.
Also, who participated in and promoted a false narrative (BIG LIE) about the 2020 election that resulted in death and injuries to police defending our Capital on January 6th, 2020. I think we all know the answer to that question. Also, which former president has made a mockery of the rule of law and was impeached twice? Again, we all know the answer to that question.

I pray that the 45th president is held accountable for his actions!

This book was primarily written to express my frustration with the presidency of Donald Trump and the seeming willingness of his supporters to accept, rationalize and promote policies and behavior that most of his supporters would have found so objectionable from their opponents. Frankly, I wrote this book to make a political and moral case against the Trump administration and the Republican party. As a lifelong Republican, I hope and pray that at least a small number of Trump supporters move away from supporting this thoroughly dishonest person. I wanted to make the case that by continuing their support of a man so unfit for high office, they were painting themselves and their political party into a dark historical corner. After numerous conversations with Trump supporters over the past few years, I sadly became convinced that most were not open to admitting the dangerous drift away from the rule of law and toward authoritarian attacks on our democracy. They seemed too willing to withdraw from world leadership and too willing to accept and promote dictators around the world.  Ultimately my motivation changed from trying to convince Trump supporters to abandon their support of a sociopath, to rallying patriotic Americans (Democrats, Independents, and disaffected Republicans) to stand up to the danger of Donald Trump and his effect on a once proud political party.

Some people, particularly extreme Trump partisans, could find the tone of my book to be too angry.  Perhaps my book can be viewed by some as an angry rant. Perhaps, it can also be viewed by others as the righteous indignation of a US citizen and a former Republican revolted by the hypocrisy and selective memory of too many Republicans, willing to trade American democracy and their constitutional republic, for tax cuts, voter suppression, and lunges toward fascist authoritarianism.  After watching the party of Lincoln and Reagan become the party of Trump, I and millions of other Americans are angry!  During the Trump administration, we saw truth and honor thrown under the bus on a daily basis. We saw an ugly traitorous mob storm the Capitol.  If not for the courageous Capital and Metropolitan police, who fought, were injured and some who died, the lives of many members of Congress and the US Senate could have been lost.  During the insurrection and in the days that immediately followed, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and Kevin McCarthy spoke out against President Trump and his obvious role in attempting to overthrow the results of a legitimate and fair election. It did not take long, however, for them to minimize and excuse the insurrection, and again to coddle Donald Trump and his continuing big lie about election fraud.

I wrote this book while being treated with high doses of prednisone to eliminate crushing headaches and to prevent blindness from giant cell arteritis. My dog, Kensi, would sit on my lap at 3 AM while I researched and wrote this book. Sadly, she passed away from kidney disease before I finished the book. I must admit that fear of not recovering gave me a sense of urgency to complete the book as soon as possible. 

About my book’s angry tone, as the late comedian, Flip Wilson, used to say, “The devil made me do it.”  So maybe the prednisone made me do it!  Seriously though, maybe the prednisone did help focus my thoughts, drive my writing, and yes, amp up some righteous anger.  I close this initial blog post by asking all Americans to remember January 6th, a day of infamy, and to try to understand the extreme anger most Americans felt toward the insidious assault on American  institutions and American democracy.  If you are a Trump supporter and you thoroughly examine the case against the Trump administration presented in this book, you might at least begin to understand some of the profound anger other Americans feel toward this man you admire and his acolytes.    If you are not a Trump supporter, you will be reminded of the myriad reasons you did not support him, and you will understand intellectually and emotionally the visceral anger he kindles in most Americans.

Welcome. My name is Brant J. Moore, author of Indictment. I’m so happy to have you as a visitor to my blog about my new book. This project is very special to me, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you here.

I’ll be using this blog to interact with you about Indictment, expanding on some of the topics in it and blogging on some of the ideas related to my book. This is a great place for you to get to know me, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you, too. What did you think of Indictment.? What questions do you have for me? How do you relate to my book?

I’ll be returning here frequently with new posts and responses to feedback from you. Until next time, tell me a little bit about yourself.