A few observations RE: Bolton vs. Trump...
1). YES...he IS a neocon, and one of the most loathed among the George W. Bush era cast of characters. That hasn't changed, and he'll still be Bolton if he becomes the "smoking gun" that tips the scales, but my gut is telling me that the Senate majority will go for an acquittal no matter what happens. Having them vote to remove Trump will be the shock of a lifetime and I don't see it happening, no matter what testimony he might give. McConnell and the GOP are simply too terrified of Trump and preserving their own self-interests. It's not about ousting the "most vulnerable" Republicans....they're probably going to have more time to spend with their families after November. It's about McConnell being "The Grim Reaper" through another presidential term. He'll pull every filthy trick in the book to hold onto that. This one's on Kentucky voters.
2). He is smarter than Trump in ways not even worth listing here, because most of the people you know are smarter than Trump. My cats are smarter than Trump.
3). He has a raging ego, equal to or greater than Trump's. What has come out during his tenure with Trump, and after, is that he places a huge value on "being right." So does Trump, but Trump's always ill-informed and wrong. Bolton ls "right" for all the wrong reasons...within the sphere of the war hawk, neocon sphere...but he can probably find most countries on a map, or...at minimum...his own ass with a flashlight and a funnel. This is a skill that Trump lacks.
4). John Bolton most likely has no interest whatsoever in doing anything "for" Democrats. He was a deep red neocon going into this, and he'll be a deep red neocon on the other side of it.
5). John Bolton most likely has a keen interest in being "right" and doing some real-time revisionist history RE: his legacy.
6). YES...it's mostly about selling copies of the book.
7). Trump cannot stop poking the bear...see Trump argues John Bolton should have complained when he was ‘very publicly terminated’ ...and the more he pokes him, the more determined Bolton will be to shut him up, and the easiest way to do that, NOW...rather than in March when the book comes out...would be to testify before the Senate and spill his guts. Not because he's pro-Democrat. Not because he gives a damn about any "America" that exists outside of his neocon tunnel vision. He'll do it to shut Trump up and deliver payback. Trump is also getting Republicans who were previously viewed as "friendly" to Bolton to attack him. This is like poking the bear with a red-hot poker for all of the reasons I've already listed. Pride and ego are a helluva drug.
8). IF McConnell is successful in his plan to have Hannity, Limbaugh and the rest whip the GOP into a stark, mortal terror over DARING to vote for witnesses by the end of the week, this will leave a mark in a country where 75% of the American people want witnesses.
9). If Bolton testifies, Trump is screwed. If the Republican Senate votes to acquit after a Bolton testimony, they're screwed right along with them.
10). Whatever happens, we'd damn well better whip ourselves into an unrestrained fervor over whichever candidate makes the final cut to go up against Trump. If the least likely scenario happens...Trump removed from office...we need to have the same unbridled enthusiasm for whatever candidate goes up against PENCE.
11). Bolton is not "afraid" of Trump. This makes Bolton a Pelosi-like figure in Trump's eyes, and is part of his motivation in escalating his attacks. My personal belief, as misguided as it may be, is that he blew off House testimony largely to protect his book sales, and possibly what he viewed his "standing" in the GOP, which Trump is lifting his leg on daily, so Bolton's only recourse for that now is to shut up Trump (see above).
History will prove my observations to be on target, misguided, or a combination of both.
= new reply since forum marked as read
There was an op-ed in today's LA Times by Jonah Goldberg that I actually agreed with. I'll see if I can find it, and if I do, I'll share.
It was about Bolton, of course.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-01-27/trump-calls-bolton-disgruntled-liar-let-him-testify-under-oath
“I’m with the Bush-Cheney team, and I’m here to stop the count.”
Those words were bellowed by John Bolton in a Tallahassee library in December of 2000, when he was part of a team of Republican lawyers trying to stop the Florida recount of votes cast in the Bush-Gore race. Until now, it was the most famous utterance President Trump’s former national security advisor had ever made. That’s about to change with the looming publication of his book, due out in March, about serving in the Trump administration. It’s even vaguely possible he could make an appearance in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump this week.
Still it’s worth considering the irony of Bolton’s earlier words. The Bush vs. Gore Florida recount wasn’t the beginning of our divided times, but it was a major inflection point. It pushed the internal combustion engine of partisanship into a higher gear, and we’ve never really revved back down. And at this point, Bolton is in the strange position of not fitting comfortably on either side of the partisan divide.
The gist of Bolton’s story is that the president’s story is not true. According to an account of the book’s contents reported in the New York Times, Bolton says he heard Trump say he was withholding aid to the Ukrainians pending an investigation into Biden and other Democrats. (One wonders who these other Democrats were.) The N.Y. Times story says the book also contradicts statements about who knew what and when inside the administration, no doubt causing heartburn for White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Atty. Gen. Bill Barr, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, off-book fixer Rudy Giuliani and, of course, all of the GOP senators determined to avoid hearing from witnesses in the impeachment trial.
The response from Trump World is predictable. Bolton is a disgruntled liar, bitter over being fired and desperate to sell books. I have no doubt Bolton — a former colleague of mine at the American Enterprise Institute — is disgruntled. I’m also sure he very much wants to sell books. But I don’t buy the lying part.
The rest at the link.
"I’m also sure he very much wants to sell books. But I don’t buy the lying part."
And if Trump had kept silent, maybe Bolton would have done the same. Thoughts and prayers!
Response to Miles Archer (Original post)
