We can’t have someone in the Oval Office who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘confidential’ or ‘classified.’ ~Donald Trump
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President. … It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the President or anyone else. ~Theodore Roosevelt
So much for the arguments that the President, on his own, can’t do much damage.
On Monday, May 15, the Washington Post broke the news that our Commander In Chief disclosed highly classified information – information that our country obtained through an information sharing agreement with an ally – to Russian diplomats spies during a meeting in the Oval Office.
It does not matter whether what he did was legal.
It was a betrayal.
He betrayed the men and women that put their lives on the line to keep us safe, betrayed our allies, and betrayed us as American citizens. It’s almost too obvious to state that his disclosure jeopardizes our safety in a very material way. Terrorist plots are regularly thwarted because of our strong intelligence relationships worldwide.
Trump took a flamethrower to those relationships with his actions. As I’m writing this, reports are surfacing that a European ally has already announced that if the reports are true, it may stop sharing information with us. A member of the German parliament’s intelligence oversight committee said that if Trump “passes this [intelligence] information to other governments at will, then Trump becomes a security risk for the entire Western world.”
That’s right. The American President has become a security risk for the entire Western world.
A Public Policy Polling poll out this morning shows that even before this new revelation 48% of Americans supported impeaching Trump. I imagine that number is higher today.
I had planned a full post about how our work now toward the 2018 elections will support the full investigations into Russia that we all desire. (I don’t know whether it’s occurred to the GOP yet, but there’s an expiration date on their delay; if the Dems overtake the House in 2018 we can have the extensive investigations that we know are required.)
But based upon last night’s news it’s more important today, and tomorrow, and Thursday, and Friday, for you to call both Senators and your Representative and express your dismay, your concern, and your demands that they do something about this very dire situation.
To help you do that, I’ve provided some scripts below. If you are familiar with your Senators and your Rep, you will probably be able to further personalize these scripts based upon their committee membership. (For example, in my discussion with Senator Blunt’s staffer this morning I noted that as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Blunt knows just how serious of a matter this is, and how it will negatively impact our intelligence gathering operations. In my conversation with Senator McCaskill’s office, I emphasized her Homeland Security committee membership.)
Whether you engage in a long or a short conversation with your representatives’ staffers, it’s more important now than ever tell them that you just won’t stand for this kind of betrayal from your leaders.
This is the only action I’m providing this week, because I’ll be making these calls daily.
I hope you’ll join me and jam the phone lines.
Let’s prove that the American public simply won’t stand for this.
Script:
GOP Senator: Hi, my name is ____ and I’m a constituent at [zip code]. I’m calling to find out whether and when Senator ____ is going to take a stand regarding Trump’s divulging of classified information to Russian diplomats. As a resident of ____ and as an American, I expect Senator ____ to protect me, and to protect my country. Trump’s actions damaged our relationships with allies and made us less safe. [Go to either option below:]
[If they have made a statement condemning Trump’s actions]: I appreciate Senator _____’s understanding of the gravity of this situation, but a statement isn’t enough. What exactly is Senator ____ going to do to protect me as a citizen of _____, and as an American? At what point will the Senator start to put actions behind words, and be the leader that I know he/she can be? We’re waiting, and hoping, that he/she does the right thing and asks for Trump’s resignation. If he/she doesn’t I can guarantee that I will do everything in my power, and my fellow constituents will do everything in their power, to ensure that the Senator understands the tenacity of our disapproval. This will not go away.
[If they have made a wishy-washy statement]: I cannot imagine that when Senator ____ took his/her oath of office that he/she would “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” that he/she would be defending a President who divulged classified information to Russian spies. At what point will the Senator start to put actions behind words, and be the leader that I know he/she can be? We’re waiting, and hoping, that he/she does the right thing and asks for Trump’s resignation. If he/she doesn’t I can guarantee that I will do everything in my power, and my fellow constituents will do everything in their power, to ensure that the Senator understands the tenacity of our disapproval. This will not go away.
Dem Senator: Hi, my name is ____ and I’m a constituent at [zip code]. I’m calling to find out whether and when Senator ____ is going to take a stand regarding Trump’s divulging of classified information to Russian diplomats. As a resident of ____ and as an American, I expect Senator ____ to protect me, and to protect my country. Trump’s actions damaged our relationships with allies and made us less safe. I expect Senator ____ to ask for Trump’s resignation, immediately.
GOP Representative: Hi, my name is ____ and I’m a constituent at [zip code]. I’m calling to find out whether and when Representative ____ is going to take a stand regarding Trump’s divulging of classified information to Russian diplomats. As a resident of ____ and as an American, I expect Representative ____ to protect me, and to protect my country. Trump’s actions damaged our relationships with allies and made us less safe. [Go to either option below:]
[If they have made a statement condemning Trump’s actions]: I appreciate Representative _____’s understanding of the gravity of this situation, but a statement isn’t enough. What exactly is Rep ____ going to do to protect me as a citizen of _____, and as an American? At what point will the Representative start to put actions behind words, and be the leader that I know he/she can be? We’re waiting, and hoping, that he/she does the right thing and asks for Trump’s resignation. If he/she doesn’t I can guarantee that I will do everything in my power, and my fellow constituents will do everything in their power, to ensure that he/she understands the tenacity of our disapproval. This will not go away, and 2018 is right around the corner.
[If they have made a wishy-washy statement]: I cannot imagine that when Representative ____ took his/her oath of office that he/she would “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” that he/she would be defending a President who divulged classified information to Russian spies. At what point will the Representative start to put actions behind words, and be the leader that I know he/she can be? We’re waiting, and hoping, that he/she does the right thing and asks for Trump’s resignation. If he/she doesn’t I can guarantee that I will do everything in my power, and my fellow constituents will do everything in their power, to ensure that he/she understands the tenacity of our disapproval. This will not go away, and 2018 is right around the corner.
Dem Representative: Hi, my name is ____ and I’m a constituent at [zip code]. I’m calling to find out whether and when Representative ____ is going to take a stand regarding Trump’s divulging of classified information to Russian diplomats. As a resident of ____ and as an American, I expect Representative ____ to protect me, and to protect my country. Trump’s actions damaged our relationships with allies and made us less safe. Even before this debacle, 48% of Americans supported impeachment. That is the best solution at this point. I expect Representative ____ to ask for Trump’s resignation, immediately. If he doesn’t tender his resignation, I want to see Representative ______ calling for articles of impeachment to be drafted, or drafting them him/herself.
That covers this week’s pep talk and list of actions. If you want one more quick action, send this pep talk to a friend or two!
If you’d like to sign up to get this pep talk and action list in your in-box each week, you can do that here!
A huge thank you to everyone who has written. I’m sorry I can’t respond to everyone, but know I really appreciate your words of encouragement.
And thank you, again, for being part of what makes this country amazing.
Small Deeds Done 