“The first thing all of us are taught is right from wrong. We’re not taught right from left.” – Former Federal Appeals Court Judge Michael Luttig
It’s important to know who Michael Luttig is. He is conservative. Very. He was appointed to the Federal Appeals Court in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush. He was regularly compared to former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He has NEVER voted for a Democrat for President, possibly for any office. So why does he matter? Today he announced that he is voting for Kamala Harris. He didn’t endorse her, but he did write a five page, single spaced, legal type opinion why he is voting for a Democrat for President for the first time in his life. Why else does it matter? Because in 2023 he coauthored an article with Laurence Tribe, a VERY liberal professor at the Harvard Law School, stating that Donald J. Trump was ineligible to be President of the United States because he violated the Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution when he engaged in insurrection through his actions leading to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. While I may not agree with him on many things, we, and a handful of Republicans (can anyone say Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzniger) put a commitment to our Constitution and the rule of law above the allegiance to any individual or political party.
On to the real talking points…..
There are estimated to be over 10,000 people in Chicago to protest against the U.S. support of Israel in the war against Hamas. At its root is the ongoing killing of Palestinian civilians, a large portion of them children. At this point reports say that more than 40,000 have been killed. Will there be violence in Chicago? Probably not, but if there is we can expect Donald Trump to blame the Democratic Party and claim that we are the party of violence and rioting and only HE can restore law and order. So the response?
In August 2017 a “Unite the Right” rally was held in Charlottesville, VA to protest the decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Rallying cries included “Jews will not replace us”. There was violence including the killing of Heather Heyer when a car intentionally ran into a group of counter-protesters. Nineteen others were injured. Trump’s reply? It wasn’t at all close to an unequivocal denunciation of white supremacy and the violence. Trump was questioned: “Mr. President, are you putting what you’re calling the alt-left and white supremacists on the same moral plane?” He replied: “Excuse me, excuse me. They didn’t put themselves — and you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.” Asked further about the people at the rally he answered: “You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people — and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists — because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists.” No, DJT, there were NO “fine people” trying to keep that statue in place. There were racists, white supremacists. “Jews will not replace us” is not an expression of love and acceptance. The statue was a symbol of the hate that fought to maintain the enslavement of people stolen from Africa. Statues like this were erected throughout the south by the Daughters of the Confederacy to remind Black people how their white neighbors saw them and racial hierarchy in their communities. “fine people” don’t endorse racism and hate. Good President’s don’t stand with them.
Should DJT call out about his standing against violence and for law and order then we need to remind the people of his hypocrisy. Remind people that he called the crowd to Washington that went on to attack the Capitol on January 6. He gleefully watched the attack on TV and did nothing when asked to call out the National Guard to restore order. Tell the story that you can’t claim to support our police and deny the violence that was done on that day. It was NOT a peaceful protest. It was an act of domestic terrorism. It was an attack on police officers. And Donald Trump is responsible.
And don’t get me started when writing about when Trump teargassed peaceful protesters in a Washington park so he could walk across the street from the White House, hold up a bible, and, well, lie a lot.
Finally, we need to talk about Gov. Tim Walz. He’s now being attacked for his response to the rioting after the murder of George Floyd. Yet Trump, JD Vance, and the acolytes of hate are trying to rewrite history. On a June 1, 2020 call Trump said: “I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim. You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast it was like bowling pins.” Apparently Gov. Tim Walz stood for law and order and now there need to be lies told to refute that.
Too much of politics is based on feelings, not facts. Facts won’t change minds. But the right talking points will change the feeling of who stands against violence, who supports law and order, and who supports our police. I’m a 63 year-old cisgendered straight white male and I didn’t feel safe in Donald Trump’s America. I’ve questioned whether I’ll be safe if he is elected again because I’ve stood out and will continue to stand out against his hate, against white supremacy, against racism, against the attacks on our gay, lesbian, and trans brothers and sisters. And to tell the truth? It will be easy for me to hide. The same is not true of people who don’t look and identify like me. We may not change minds with facts, but we can by telling the truth about what it takes to stay safe in this country.
Resist