Month: May 2019

Calls for impeachment are the latest displays of the naturalistic fallacy and system justification

benfell

Retraction, July 18, 2019: Events have transpired that force me to acknowledge that the faith I have placed in Nancy Pelosi was foolishly misplaced. Consider this the Democratic Party’s last chance and that, with me, they have now absolutely blown it. There is no merit or legitimacy to be found in this party which I now refer to as the neoliberal party.[1]

When one confuses what should be with what is, they commit the naturalistic fallacy. And so it is with calls for impeachment reverberating through my Twitter feed.

In essence, the argument is still Will Bunch’s, that horrible things may well happen, but impeachment is the “right thing.”[2] This is supplemented by assertions that impeachment is the constitutional remedy for executive branch stonewalling of congressional investigations[3] and speculation that as investigations proceed, support for impeachment will increase or, at least, that opposition might decrease.[4] Read more →

  1. [1]David Benfell, “A retraction: I now support impeachment,” July 18, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/07/18/a-retraction-i-now-support-impeachment/↩
  2. [2]Will Bunch, “Trump’s diabolical plan to blow up democracy, get reelected and avoid jail just might work,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 5, 2019, https://www.philly.com/opinion/commentary/trump-wants-impeachment-2020-reelection-strategy-blame-democrats-ignore-subpoenas-20190505.html↩
  3. [3]Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, and Daniel Lippman, “How would you explain the Democratic investigations to a Washington outsider?” Politico, May 15, 2019, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2019/05/15/how-would-you-explain-the-democratic-investigations-to-a-washington-outsider-436677↩
  4. [4]Becky Palmer, [microblog post], May 18, 2019, https://twitter.com/palmer_becky/status/1129841881041559555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw↩

Family values and children as commodities

benfell

I’m finding this weird:

First, Jennifer Gunter’s distinction between 1) bearing, and 2) raising a child is valid and I will leave that there.

My problem arises when Katie Williamson says, “I’d love to love your baby! Just gimme it!” This suggests that a baby, even while still a zygote, is a commodity. One substitutes for another. “Just gimme it!”
Read more →

Why Nancy Pelosi is right about impeachment

benfell

Retraction, July 18, 2019: Events have transpired that force me to acknowledge that the faith I have placed in Nancy Pelosi was foolishly misplaced. Consider this the Democratic Party’s last chance and that, with me, they have now absolutely blown it. There is no merit or legitimacy to be found in this party which I now refer to as the neoliberal party.[1]

It should be a no-brainer: Impeachment is dead on arrival at the Senate. There is no reason to believe that Republicans in the Senate are willing to entertain any evidence or arguments Democrats have to offer.

Which means that impeachment of Donald Trump, no matter how desirable, is grandstanding and nothing more.

Becky Palmer invokes the specter of the Watergate hearings, which were indeed sensational, did indeed lead to Richard Nixon’s downfall. Read more →

  1. [1]David Benfell, “A retraction: I now support impeachment,” July 18, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/07/18/a-retraction-i-now-support-impeachment/↩

The lesser of two evils? The more successful con artist.

benfell

A bit of insight from the Politico “Playbook” newsletter:

DEMOCRATS WANT YOU TO BELIEVE that President DONALD TRUMP is crooked, and the White House is stonewalling their attempts to keep him accountable. But they’re trying to amplify that message amid the din of the the day-to-day back and forth between committee chairs, the leadership and the Justice Department.

THE BIG PROBLEM FOR DEMOCRATS: They say the administration’s stonewalling amounts to a “constitutional crisis.” But they have all-but ruled out impeachment – the process by which Congress deals with constitutional crises – because many atop the party believe it’s a political disaster in the making.

SO NOW, the Democrats’ message has turned into this: Trump is a threat to democracy and our government, BUT … we won’t impeach him because it’s a battle we would lose, it might not be worth it and he’s impeaching himself each time he talks.

COMPARE THAT TO TRUMP’S MESSAGE: No collusion or obstruction. It fits on a bumper sticker. Never mind that it’s a bit more complicated than that.[1]

Ouch.
Read more →

  1. [1]Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, and Daniel Lippman, “How would you explain the Democratic investigations to a Washington outsider?” Politico, May 15, 2019, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2019/05/15/how-would-you-explain-the-democratic-investigations-to-a-washington-outsider-436677↩

About Brexit

benfell

United Kingdom voters, you’re getting it wrong.

You’re not to blame for that. Hell, I got it wrong. When I wrote that “I’d seen enough of the arguments in the campaign leading up to the United Kingdom referendum on remaining in or leaving the European Union, often labeled ‘Brexit,’ to conclude that this was largely a race between neoliberals against authoritarian populists and paleoconservatives,”[1] I hadn’t contemplated that part of the Leave campaign could in fact be an attempt to enable further deregulation, beyond what the European Union, itself under the control of the ordoliberal flavor of neoliberalism, would ever allow. The signs were there: I missed them. This, of course, is only one of several factions in the argument over Brexit, which is why your parliament can’t agree on any one plan, be it Theresa May’s or anyone else’s.
Read more →

  1. [1]David Benfell, “The ‘Brexit’ vote may signify the end of the illusion of ‘progress,’” Not Housebroken, June 26, 2016, https://disunitedstates.org/2016/06/26/the-brexit-vote-may-signify-the-end-of-the-illusion-of-progress/↩