Trump Has Gone Postal-- What Is Required Of Patriots?

Louis & Donald Fix The Post Office by Nancy Ohanian

The House hadn't voted since it passed the Pentagon budget on July 31. Then on Saturday, there were 4 votes on the post office, including a Republican motion to prevent a vote from taking place at all. That Republican vote to recommit failed 223 to to 182. The 144 who voted, all voted to recommit. 222 Democrats voted against that but eight less-than-worthless fake Democrats from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- protected by the DCCC-- voted with the Republicans, of course; they always do. The enemies of the people:

• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Jared Golden (Blue Dog-ME)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY)
• Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA)
• Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)

When the bill itself hit the floor half an hour later, all 231 Democrats voted yes and 149 Republicans voted no. That doesn't add up to the 257-150 win. Well, Justin Amash, the conservative independent, was with his GOP buddies on this one. So that makes 150. But that doesn't account for 26 yes votes.

Ah-ha! 26 Republicans! Were there suddenly--out of the blue-- 26 mainstream Republicans unwilling to lend their names to Trump's and DeJoy's plans for fascist take-over? Well... that might describe Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Peter King (R-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), David McKinley (R-WV) and Will Hurd (R-TX). But the rest of them? All have something in common-- they are extremely vulnerable members petrified to be associated with Trump and his authoritarianism, even, if like Mike McCaul (R-TX), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Sam Graves (R-MO), they are total Trump lap-dogs who never stray from the party line. LaMalfa was the most shocking of all. But he's feeling the heat in a big way from progressive Democrat Audrey Denney and decided he's more afraid of her than of Trump at this point. Yesterday Audrey told us that she was "pleased to see Rep. LaMalfa vote the correct way on this bill-- and for once do something that favors his constituents instead of his corporate sponsors. I think it signifies the mounting pressure he is feeling from our campaign. It appears the vote may have cost Rep. LaMalfa some support within his strongest base." She pointed out some Trumpists in her district who are fuming:

And then there's multimillionaire clown Michael McCaul in Austin. You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull the wool over Mike Siegel's eyes. He nearly beat Trumpist shill McCaul in 2018 and, despite McCaul's one vote diverging from Trump Saturday, everyone in TX-10 knows what a puppet is and that it's time to get rid of theirs. "Michael McCaul's vote for USPS funding is a clear sign it's re-election time and our rally with NALC Letter Carriers and 50 constituents on Tuesday was a success," said Siegel, a public school teacher and civil rights attorney up against eight-term Rep. Michael McCaul. "McCaul has accepted over $50,000 in corporate PAC money from FedEx and UPS, which have a direct interest in gutting the Post Office. I'm not taking a dime of corporate PAC money. Our campaign has been running for years on a message to strengthen and expand the Post Office, including Postal Banking and infrastructure for universal broadband, to create thousands of good paying jobs."

Sam Graves was another lock-step Republican who surprised everyone who knows him by starting from the party line. But, like LaMalfa, he's feeling the heat-- from his constituents and from progressive Democrat Gena Ross. "As a proponent of the House Bill meant to provide necessary funding for the USPS, I am glad that Sam Graves voted approve it. As I’ve said before, funding the postal service should not be a partisan issue. For Democrats and Republicans alike, the postal service provides a crucial service. The right thing to do, regardless of party, was to vote yes. However, we cannot settle for someone who does the right thing just some of the time. I’m running for office to guarantee the Missourians in District 6 that if elected, I will always vote with their best interest in mind, and not just when it’s convenient for me. I’m running so that the people of District 6 will finally feel like their voices have been heard, and not like their concerns have been silenced. When elected, the people of District 6 will never have to worry about whether or not I’m serving them, or my own self-interest."

Like most Americans, rural and suburban Missouri voters do not want to see the post office wrecked-- but Jason Smith diverged with Sam Graves on this one. His opponent, Kathy Ellis: "Jason Smith should be ashamed of himself. If it wasn’t clear before how out of touch and ignorant he is, it’s crystal clear now. Smith’s vote against support for USPS-- on the heels of his vote against Coronavirus relief-- demonstrates, once again, that’s he’s unfit to represent Missouri’s 8th District. Our rural area relies on USPS for voting, business matters, communication, and medicine. And we deserve a real leader, not a rubber stamp for Trump and GOP policies. It’s time for him to go."

But in some ways the most interesting vote of all was from hereditary multimillionaire Chris Jacobs in western New York (NY-27). Jacobs voted to recommit and then, following the GOP party line like he always does (100%), he voted against the bill to save the post office. No one could possibly expect anything else from him, right? Well... apparently he got some negative feedback from voters in his district-- furious rural voters, particularly. Jacobs was so frightened, that he put out a statement claiming he pressed them wrong button when he voted and actually meant to vote against Trump and with the Democrats, something he has never done before. Let's allow Jacob's progressive opponent Nate McMurray, a vocal defender of the post office, to explain what ensued: "Saturday, thousands of letter carriers and postal workers in NY-27 went to bed believing that their congressman voted against their very existence as essential workers. Today, hundreds of thousands of voters woke up to wonder whether their congressman was even able to do his job. Chris claims he was 'distracted' during the vote and was on his way to the airport before he realized he had 'pushed the wrong button.' How could he allow that to happen? Could he have been eager to get home before his big fundraiser Monday morning? The truth is that this negligence would never have happened on a vote important to his big money donors. No matter his alleged intention, Chris Jacobs' actions have shown zero support for the USPS and zero ability to stand up to the President. Chris has been silent as Trump threatened our democracy, saying that no funding meant fewer mail-in ballots for November and a better chance for his re-election. He hasn't said a word about postmaster DeJoy stealing mailboxes and dismantling mail sorting machines here in Buffalo. I'm proud to be endorsed by the National Association of Letter Carriers, because they know I can't be distracted from the fight to protect our workers, unions, and democratic institutions. There is going to be another big vote in November, on inept politicians like Jacobs and Trump-- I know there are many former Jacobs voters in NY-27 who are ready to change their vote too."

Trump roadie Alex Mooney (R-WV) was one of the Republicans who voted against Saturday's bill to provide $25 million in USPS funding, even as one of West Virginia's other Republican Congressmen, David McKinley, voted for it. The postal service employs nearly 4,000 West Virginians. "On-time mail delivery is a basic public service, and is particularly critical in a rural state like West Virginia," said Cathy Kunkel, Mooney's challenger. "We urgently need to fund the postal service to get through the November election. Beyond that, Congress must repeal the bill that required the Postal Service to pre-fund retiree medical benefits, which has put an unnecessary strain on its finances. It is deeply disappointing that Congressman Mooney voted against funding for this fundamental institution of our democracy."

Republicans without serious challengers-- and also Republicans who still can't get their heads out of Trump's ass-- just toed the party line (without making up stories like Jacobs did to evade accountability). The most foolish votes against the interests of their own constituents were by two crooks, Roger Williams (R-TX), Mike Garcia (R-CA) and Ken Calvert (R-CA). I asked Julie Oliver, Williams' opponent how Williams' vote can re explained, since people in central Texas like and depend on the postal service. Like Mike Siegel, Julie is also based in Austin and also running in a gerrymandered Republican district. And like Mike, she's looking like a winner. But in her case, her corrupt opponent, Roger Williams, refused to vote for the post office. "After taking $20,000 from UPS and Fedex, Roger Williams voted against funding the United States Post Office," said Julie. "It's about corruption, plain and simple. And it's not just a disservice to veterans, seniors, and rural Texans who rely on USPS for last-mile delivery. It's un-American."

The bill itself, likely to be buried in the Senate by Moscow Mitch, would prevent DeJoy from making any changes to postal operations that could slow delivery of mailed-in ballots for this fall’s elections and would force him to reverse the decisions he's already made to slow down the mail until the pandemic is over-- like removing mail-sorting machines, restricting overtime pay, destroying post boxes and handling election mail as anything other than first-class for prioritized delivery. In line with what was requested by the Republican postal service board of governors, the legislation also approved $25 billion in funding for the service. Trump's says if Moscow Mitch fails to stop it, he'll veto it.

DeJoy will be grilled by members of the House Oversight Committee this morning and with members like Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ro Khanna (D-CA), AOC (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Katie Porter (D-CA)-- plus neo-Nazis Gym Jordan (R-OH), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Jody Hice (R-GA), Glenn Grothman (R-WI) and Clay Higgins (R-LA)-- you can count on the hearing being a lot more exciting than Trump's hodgepodge tribute to himself that starts tonight.

Yesterday, conservative Republican #NeverTrumper Steve Schmidt wrote in a Business Insider OpEd that because of Trump's post office agenda, American democracy is in grave danger, "an attack on the right to vote... Trump's scheme to cause chaos at the US Postal Service and undermine faith in our voting system-- in the midst of a pandemic no less-- must be met with a rededication by all Americans who love this country to vote the president out of office."

Trump is causing chaos in America. He has attacked and weakened our most vital institutions for the past four years, and now, he has decided that he will stay in power by any means necessary, even going as far as to muse about running for an unconstitutional third-term in 2024.

Trump is trying to steal the election using a voter suppression scheme that confuses Americans and undermines the very basics of voting.

The US Postal Service has been selected by Trump to be the unwitting bludgeon as he assaults our free and fair elections process. He has installed a crony at the head of the USPS to make changes that will sow confusion and slow mail service, threatening the ability of the USPS to deliver mail-in ballots on time.

And it's not only the election. Imagine our fellow citizens, seniors, and veterans, who need their medications right now. The inescapable reality is that more Americans will die needlessly as the result of yet another cold, calculating, and calloused decision by Trump.

The USPS is as old as the nation and shares with it a storied history. The first US Postmaster General was Dr. Benjamin Franklin. He understood that mail delivery is amongst the very highest priorities and requirements of a functioning national government.

From the daring days of the Pony Express, to the pioneering Air Mail pilots at the dawn of aviation, to the men and women who walk a route today and know our kids' names and always have a treat for the dog, the USPS has been a vital part of our country. We cannot let Trump and his appointees threaten it.

As has been the case for the past four years, Trump's assault on our country's institutions is made possible by the silence of his collaborators in this plot against America.

What are we supposed to call it when one of America's two political parties succumbs fully to the siren of power at the expense of the American experiment? Freedom is on the line.

...We must defend freedom. We must vote. We must organize. We must participate. We must never ever let any person or any nation threaten our right to vote. It is an inheritance paid for in blood. We will never surrender it.

Donald Trump is a name that will live in ignominy for all time. His depravities, incompetence, and malice will be repudiated by the American people in a decisive vote that Trump will be unable to stop.

In the end, we are Americans. We decide who leads. We will vote.

Any and every Republican elected office who doesn't stand up to Trump on this, is complicit and should be voted out of office. The folks at the Lincoln Project know the stuff in this ad is true-- most of them were the ones who created or applied these right-wing strategies in American political campaigns to begin with: