Impeachment of Trump reveals Pelosi's masterful touch

Unless you have been under a rock for the last week you know, as well as the postman, that President Donald Trump has been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives; a move that was urged by progressives, and those from the left of the Democratic party, but was not an A-1 target by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reluctant to imperil those moderate Democrats in district that love him, but also as a veteran of the Clinton Impeachment, as she saw a surge of support for the embattled president as he took a second term, and did not want to see the same for Trump.

With the whistle blower's alarm about the July 25 call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky it no longer become an option, but a requirement, for the 79 year- old lawmaker as she not only steered the ship, but also a course carefully crafted to not only protect moderate Dems but also to show that the Party could legislate, as well as bring charges against an errant and egregious president, as he tried to arm twist the young president of a U.S. ally in the cold war to contain Russian aggression.

Joined to the mandate of the U.S. Constitution, and with requisite patriotism, the now delay in serving the papers of impeachment to the Senate have showed the mettle of the Speaker and the fact that she is the lady of the hour, shoring up a reputation, that months before seemed at risk, and now, underscores that she is the master of the game with her adroit handling of the process; forcing both the president and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate to put up or shut up - on a process that she is dictating; or in other words, she has them in a vise.

“I was one of them; I thought it was time for new leadership,” said one of those freshmen, Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota. “And I’ve got to tell you, thank goodness. Thank goodness that we have Nancy Pelosi speaking for the House of Representatives because I do not think there is a better, more qualified, more principled person for these circumstances,” reported The New York Times.

As they added, “When news of Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign broke, and Ms. Pelosi decided she could hold off no longer, she involved herself in every aspect of the impeachment inquiry. She met nearly every day — sometimes twice a day — with the leaders of the six committees that were already investigating the president on an array of matters.”

Some in the media have advocated for a blitzkrieg of ads about Trump across the country, but Pelosi’s methods are cheaper, and offer a more targeted away of attack.

Trump’s rages are also part of the plan: puncture his well-known ego, and damage his legacy, since he will always have impeachment on his record. The idea that he will be remembered, as “Oh, yea, he was the one that got impeached,” must hover over him, even as he beds down in the Executive Mansion each night.

The republican majority in the Senate seems to be as worried as rattlesnakes in a bag writhing to be free, as Pelosi pokes the bag with another stick, making them shiver.

Trump, who wants a short trial, is obviously worried, even as he creates rallies across in his strongholds, to shore up the base and denigrate Pelosi, all the while showing nervousness, towards her, with angry rhetoric blared from Twitter, and the now infamous letter to the Speaker, that seemed to have not been vetted.

While Pelosi governs on principle, she is crafty enough to know when to end the stalemate, and call the game. Pundits meanwhile are pondering if her actions can lose the majority in the House, or have it in the Senate. Standing on principle and past accomplishments, she has said that matters like health care are more important.

Taking a closer look, there is also this quote from the Times, ““We don’t get to choose how history remembers us,” said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, who compared Ms. Pelosi to Diogenes, the Greek philosopher who was said to have wandered Athens with a light, searching for an honest man. “Of course she’s going to be an inspiration because of this. Somebody had to be that person with the light — even if it was a lonely challenge.”

Some may have missed an underlying motive from the Speaker: push independent, or undecided voters, in the direction of the Democrats, and show them that while the impeachment occurred, they could also rule, and notable on the reformulated NAFTA, now the USMCA, and protect, and this is equally important, union workers and farmers, both groups that Trump won over in 2016.

While no observers, or lawmakers expect that the Senate will move to remove Trump from office, McConnell’s statements that he will work hand in hand with Trump reveals that this is not going to come even remotely close to a fair, if not valid trial, despite statements otherwise.

“And in fairness, when I heard that I was disturbed,” Lisa Murkowski, Republican lawmaker from Alaska, said to KTUU, in her home state, before describing that there should be distance between the White House and the Senate in how the trial is conducted. “To me it means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense, and so I heard what leader McConnell had said, I happened to think that that has further confused the process.”

The cries of “witch hunt “rebound around the Senate, showing tremors, if not fault lines in  the Senate chambers, and hovering in the background, like Richelieu, is Attorney General Barr, who has shattered any semblance of subjectivity, and giving support to those members who feel that the tripart character of American rule of law is truly imperiled.

November Jobs numbers high, but wages still low

Aided and abetted by the return of over 413,000 General Motors strikers the U.S. economy hit a headline grabbing 266,000 non-farm jobs in Friday’s report by the Labor Department, for November, giving bragging rights to President Donald Trump in his bid for reelection, and a push back against the Democrats, in the court of public opinion, and their path towards impeachment.

A euphoric Trump tweeted, “It’s the economy, stupid,” and the White House website released an equally euphoric statement, without the invective.

“Because of the Trump Administration’s pro-growth policies, high labor demand is leading to increased employment and growing wages as businesses raise pay to attract workers,” it noted.

On the economic forefront, Friday’s news also got considerable support from some economists, and exceeded their polled predictions of an increase of 180,000, plus an extended round of hurrahs from observers.

“I think that this report is a real blockbuster,” said Daniel Zhao, senior economist at the career site Glassdoor. “Payrolls smashed expectations,” reported The New York Times.

There is still considerable slack in one key area - wages  - which while rising year-over-year by 3.1 percent, only increased 0.2 for November, a sum that is statistically inconsistent with a recovery - especially one that is 11 years old.

Most of that wage increase is seen on the lower level job scale, and especially in the service sector, where workers are subjected to long hours, often on their feet, and performing messy, and often dangerous duties.

Getting to a mid-level income has become hard, and often the obstacles by age, gender and race are compounded by downsizing and moving employees off the payroll and to contractor status, leaving many struggling.

The more accurate U-6 report, which shows both discouraged workers and those that are stuck in part-time jobs was 6.9, an increase from the October rate of 6.5 percent, and was 7.3 in July and August, showing only a slight improvement.

Labor Force Participation Report showed another dip, albeit slightly from 63.3 percent to 63.2 percent giving meager encouragement to those not compromised by age, or gender, but did reflect a growing increase in older baby boomers who are working long past retirement age, in an era of not only income inequality, but also growing housing costs.

There has been a brief reversal in labor force participation, for one city - Chicago, and in a recent report from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, showed an increase in LFP - excluding 16 to 24 year olds - by one percent for the 25 to 45 year old age range; a slight increase than for Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC.

A less clear, and highly debated, estimation of who is working remains the subject of debate for many professional economists, and as we have seen there is a distinct gender gap, with more women entering the workforce than men, partly attributable to the lowered wages, but also the focus on service jobs, where men are more reluctant to accept.

The wage gap is still ironic considering the tight labor market, where usually employers give higher wages to keep them from leaving, but even with greater competition by employers for employees, those seeking highly skilled areas are feeling the pinch, since it seems that most are working, yet there is some light for those who are working seasonally, in the hope of permanent status.

“Historically, about 4 percent to 7 percent of seasonal workers are hired, said Amy Glaser, senior vice president of the staffing firm Adecco. This season, she expects that 20 percent could be retained after the new year,” in her interview with the Times.

Race is still a factor for Black Americans, despite recent gains, still faces historical and persistent compromises -- often seeing a segmented workplace, and lowered wages, with Black women facing dual discrimination, as the Center for American Progress recently noted.

“The trend toward ever-lower unemployment rates should not obscure the fact that African Americans systematically suffer higher unemployment rates than whites, even in a good labor market. The unemployment rate for Black workers remains higher than that for white workers even when looking at subpopulations.”

Manufacturing came in at 41,000 - but still lower than desired, and “When you look globally, there are some tentative signs that the global manufacturing slowdown is bottoming out,” Michael Gapen, chief United States economist for Barclays, said. “But it may take the U.S. manufacturing sector a little longer than the rest of the world to stabilize,” he told the Times.

To be realized, manufacturing, in a global economy, is supported by a vast network of suppliers, so that a car made in America, might have parts from other countries as far flung as Eastern Europe, or China, and the Trump trade war with China, shows no signs of abating and with this month’s job report some have guessed there will be less pressure for him to make a deal.

Honing in on the increases, a snapshot shows that hotels, and restaurants came in at 45,000; but taking an aerial view, there is a decrease with 205,000 new jobs, from the 2018 average of 223,000.

“In the near term, it’s easier for employers to invest in hiring workers than it may be to, say, build a new factory during a protracted trade war, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com,” told The Washington Post, giving us pause for rejoicing.

“If you’re going to build a structure, that’s a substantial commitment,” Hamrick added. “The good news for employers, and the bad news for workers, is that most employees have virtually no job security, so that does provide employers a bit more flexibility.”

Job and wage insecurity may be the new normal, and as noted in our previous posts, “Economists are puzzled about the cause. Some believe that falling union membership and the lack of bargaining power by employees has made it harder for people to demand a raise. Others point to workers seeking better benefits in exchange for higher wages, or low levels of inflation that have made it easier to keep wages low.”

“It doesn’t make sense. We would expect in a tightening labor market to see stronger wage growth,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “Instead, wage growth has been backsliding this year.”

Updated Dec. 10, 2019, at 4:20 p.m. CST

Live in Chicago, it's Elizabeth Warren!

We are beginning to wonder about the hazards of covering live events and the often unpleasant surprises, whether from facing troops of young protesters with ear-blasting bullhorns, at the Goodwin Series at Northeastern Illinois University, to cover the appearance of former White House press boss, Sean Spicer, to having beefy security guards escort us past the local men in blue at recent Chicago Teachers Union protests; so we were delightfully surprised that presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be in our own Chicago neighborhood and within walking distance, and dutifully made our RSVP, according to the website for her Saturday night appearance at the Chicago Armory, less than a ten minute walk from our home.

Wariness set in when we noticed crowds lining up outside the building on the way to the local library, and after the drizzle began the crowd continued to grow as we approached the line one-half hour, at 4:30 p.m., before the door’s opened, at 5:00 p.m. for Warren’s 6:00 p.m. appearance; but, again, in the name of a free press, we soldiered on to realize that the que extended for blocks, and right back to our doorstep.

Whether this was divine intervention, or not, and realizing that hazarding a guess might engender us to more than rain, perhaps even an unseasonable swarm of locusts, we retreated to our living room sofa.

Tapping into the unearthly power of the internet and the reports of friends, who did make it into the Armory, we bring this report.

With crowds swarming amidst the patriotic bunting, Warren was introduced by the indefatigable U.S.  Rep. Jan Schakowsky who gave a thundering endorsement of Warren, as only she can do, with more energy than seems warranted for a tiny lady, and who gave the candidate a much needed shot in the arm, as she, in recent Iowa polls trailed behind our neighbor to the South, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

As the Chicago Tribune reported, “Schakowsky is the first woman in Illinois’ congressional delegation to endorse a presidential contender and becomes Warren’s most significant endorsement in the state to date. Previously, U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis, both of Chicago, backed California Sen. Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination.”

“But I am here this evening, and so honored to be here, to not only introduce but for the first time endorse the woman I believe will not only be the best president, but the woman that I believe is the most likely to lead us to victory in 2020 — my candidate, Elizabeth Warren,” she intoned.

  

Gaining support in the Heartland, but most of all, emphasizing her protection for working families is familiar Warren territory, as is her formidable energy that belies her 70 years.

Fulling embracing “bread and butter: issues, she noted, “When I was a girl, a full-time minimum wage in America would support a family of three,” said Warren, 70. “Today, a full-time minimum wage job in America will not keep a mama and a baby out of poverty. That is wrong.”

For many who reside in the Edgewater neighborhood, where the Armory is located, the message may have been more of persuasion, since the median income is over $46,000, and where its white majority, totaling 63 percent, hold a bachelor's degree, or higher, (56 percent), and whose increasing gentrification, has dwindled the number of black and brown residents to 16 percent, or less.

It also may have to do with reclaiming her lead in the polls; while in early November she was behind Joe Biden, she then took a descent, especially in Iowa, as previously noted, and a need to drill down on progressives - but especially to chip away at Pete’s supporters: white, college educated, and older voters, many of whom line Sheridan Road, just east of the Armory.

Reiterating her claims to decrease the power of corporations, and Big Pharma, she noted that they hold “power over their employees, power over their customers, power over the communities where they’re located and power over Washington."

In response, she said, “We need more power in the hands of workers.”

This is a populism theme that reached its apex in the 2016 election, but has been reshaped by Warren, and to an extent, by her rival Bernie Sanders.

“We have a government that works great for giant oil companies that want to drill everywhere, just not for the rest of us who see climate change bearing down upon us,” Warren said.

The light brush with climate change was a surprise to some who felt, “disappointed that she did not speak more about this,” said one observer, a longtime supporter of climate change, and the necessity for a plan to conquer it.

“And when you see a government that works great for those with money, it’s not working so good for anyone else. That’s corruption pure and simple, and we need to call it out,” she added.

Needing to gain further truck with progressives, especially those, that she might need to siphon from Sanders, Warren, previously, “in September endorsed Marie Newman of LaGrange in her primary challenge for the Southwest Side and suburban congressional seat held by eight-term Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski of Western Springs, a social conservative,” added the Trib.

Within the liberal demographics of Edgewater, the senator’s message, may also have been extended to a strong progressive voter base, if the size of Saturday’s crowd is any indication; and, certainly her campaign seems to have done its homework, in its choice of areas..

Missing from Warren’s well-honed message was any mention of the lack of affordable housing in Chicago, and a growing homeless problem across the U.S. that has increased to 16 percent in Los Angeles alone.

While one can lead to the other; and, despite, or perhaps because of Edgewater’s growing gentrification, less than one block away from Schakowsky’s office, the homeless are picking through the garbage cans, including our own, and retrieving near empty milk cartons, food scraps, and worn out shoes.

Warren’s support of a minimum wage increase to $15.00 an hour is admirable, but some of her supporters and critics are wondering if she will pick up this piece of what is, by all appearances, an earnest social capital campaign.