Leid Stories

Leid Stories—Political Fatigue: They’re Wearing Us Out—03.08.17

We continue yesterday’s discussion on President Trump’s claim that President Obama ordered the wiretapping of Trump’s campaign headquarters during the 2016 presidential campaign. Of particular interest are the legal questions Trump’s unprecedented actions raise.

Leid Stories—Cruising or A Legal Bruising: Lawsuits Against Trump Could End His Presidency—03.07.17

He’s been in office just six weeks, but Donald Trump has already worn out his welcome. His abrasive nature, unrelenting narcissism and tendency to play fast and loose with the facts are just a few of the reasons he’s polling as the least popular U.S. president this early in his term of office.

The events of last week aren’t improving Trump’s appeal, but they do seem to be galvanizing an effort among disparate groups to explore ways to get him out of the White House.  

Trump alleged that, prior to the 2016 election, his predecessor, President Barack Obama, a supporter of Hillary Clinton, had his campaign headquarters wiretapped. Trump so far has not offered any evidence to support his claim, and the heads of his own intelligence agencies have said they have found nothing to confirm that such a thing happened.

The situation is bizarre—a sitting president accusing a former president of a crime that has not been proven. Making such a charge can expose Trump to a slander suit by Obama and can even serve as grounds for Trump’s impeachment. Word is, legal experts working for Trump’s opponents are looking at suing Trump out of the White House.

Leid Stories—Whether Trump’s Winning or Losing, We’re Losing—03.06.17

Donald Trump’s week from hell continues this week, even as he and his minions try desperately to blunt the force and effect of deep body blows that have the new administration   reeling.

Trump’s Washington honeymoon is over far sooner than imagined or intended. The awe of Trump is now mostly shock and, increasingly, fury. Yet, in the face of increasing opposition, even within his own party, Trump predicts he’ll prevail.

Truth is, we’ve already begun to lose. 

Leid Stories—A Week of Political Madness That Just Won’t End!—03.03.17

Yep, that’s what we had to deal with this week: political madness.

We’ve been discussing various aspects of the political chaos on Leid Stories, but “Free Your Mind Friday,” our weekly open forum, provides an added opportunity to editorialize your point of view.

Join in. Let’s hear what YOU are thinking. Call 646-918-6619.

Leid Stories—Chaos of Trumpian Proportions: Will the Apprentice President Survive?—03.02.17

It wasn’t supposed to get this bad this early for Donald Trump, but at just 41 days old his presidency is already haggard and worn, covered with deep wounds from battles he’s fighting but not winning, and sinking below a neap tide of opposition from just about every quarter. The boastful, sure-footed Trump is mired in chaos—most of it his own making—and it’s clear it has stalled his momentum and brought him to a new understanding: This is not a reality show.

We take a look at the elements of Trump’s chaos and how it has become a key weapon for the opposition’s multilevel effort to end his tenure as president.

Leid Stories—Trump Occupies Congress; Presents A Legislative Agenda Designed to Overwhelm the Opposition—03.01.17

A muted, more controlled President Donald Trump occupied the podium at a joint session of Congress last night, his first formal address to the body, and presented a legislative agenda meant to occupy the opposition and other detractors.

Even before he said a word of his one-hour speech, Trump’s address set off a torrent of protests—among Democratic legislators themselves and by activist groups across the country—over key policy positions Trump was expected to push Congress to enact into law and fund. Public reaction, however, showed that Trump’s revamped demeanor helped him gain some ground among people found him objectionable.

Now that Trump has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet, how will the all-but-vanquished  Democrats respond?

Leid Stories—The New Democratic Party and the Reset Button—02.28.17

Even if it weren’t already a cruel inside joke, it inevitably would become one: The Democratic Party is busily reshuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship, and welcoming all aboard for a wonderful voyage.

So, you’re not on the boarding list? Don’t be so sure!

Leid Stories looks at how the Democratic Party’s leadership crisis has stymied “third-party” 

Leid Stories—Discussing the New Democratic Party—02.27.17

The Democratic National Committee held its expectedly raucous winter meeting in Atlanta, Ga., over the weekend, to take care took care of urgent party business. Most importantly, the DNC needed to name a chairperson.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida congresswoman who had headed the DNC, was forced to quit last year after DNC emails published by WikiLeaks showed Wasserman was actively sabotaging Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and supporting her longtime friend and ally Hillary Clinton instead. Party insider Donna Brazile, a frequent political commentator on major media networks, was named interim chair, but when WikiLeaks documents showed that she had passed primary debate questions to the Clinton campaign, she quickly served notice she would not serve her term.

Various factions of the Democratic Party turned up in Atlanta to turn up the heat on the party’s lackluster leadership and to push the new ideas that several new candidates had been campaigning on. But they were outdone. The party machine announced a spectacular “remake” of its leadership to take on Trump and the future: Tom Perez, former secretary of labor President Barack Obama, and Rep. Keith Ellison, of Minnesota’s 5^th District, as deputy chair.

Leid Stories discusses these and related developments and their impact on progressive politics.

Leid Stories—Breaking Rules: Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 Presidential Bid—02.16.17

Her historic 1972 presidential bid—the first for an African-American woman from a major party—all at once presented Shirley Chisholm, a congresswoman from Brooklyn, with a multitude of challenges, both within the Democratic Party and outside it.

In a speech at UCLA that election year, Chisholm discussed the barriers she had to overcome in life and in her professional and political career, why voters should take a new attitude to political involvement

 

 

Leid Stories—Looking Within: Redefining Political Leadership—02.15.17

Barely a month in office, President Trump has marked both his territory and his quarry, and, even in the face of widespread opposition, is making headway with his “vision” for America. Like it or not, the Trump train is on track and chugging along.

Trump’s PR machine points up his get-it-done leadership style and his responsiveness to his determined pledge to keep the faith with his support base. His detractors, especially the Democratic Party, seem unable to check his moves.

So, what is happening here? Is it that Trump, a political neophyte, is actually a political genius, or is it that he timed his entry into national politics when opposition forces had self-destructed, were disorganized, or weren’t even capable of waging a credible campaign. Bottom line: most voters on the flip side of Trump’s coin were demoralized and/or betrayed by the parties and independent movements they supported.

Leid Stories asks: Is a new political leadership to be developed?