If you watched the Watergate hearings you can’t help but comparing them to the Jan. 6 hearings. Both were and are riveting. The big difference — Jan. 6 was about life and death. Watergate was bipartisan and Republicans, while disappointed, participated. America was a saner and politically safer place then under a scheming but generally patriotic Richard Nixon versus the current egotistical manic Donald Trump. A visit to the Nixon Museum in Yerba Buena includes full coverage of Watergate with few excuses.
For a summer we were glued to our television sets watching PBS cover the full hearings, gavel to gavel. We watched U.S. Sen. Sam Ervin (D), U.S. Sen. Howard Baker (R) and Nixon staffers John Dean and John Erlichman discuss what would become a constitutional crisis. I heard surprise witness Alexander Butterfield reveal Nixon’s conversations were on tapes. And Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker (R) asked: “What did the president know and when did he know it?”
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How different today. We see the mob attacking the Capitol and our history with President Trump urging them on. There is a noose on display to hang the vice president. And Trump tells the mob, maybe Pence deserves it. Scary. You’ve never seen anything like this even after living through the end of the Depression, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Who are these scumbags and why is Trump urging them on? The hearings tell us he thought he could change history, that he could remain president even though he lost an election. How do you explain this to your children or grandchildren? Stomp on the flag? Tear up your copy of the Constitution? Tell them to leave the room and not watch.
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Another highlight of the hearings was the opening presentation by Liz Cheney, Republican congresswoman of Wyoming, brave enough to be a truth teller and go down in history as a hero. Her remarks will be remembered: “Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.”
Not so for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson who on CNN tried to escape reporters’ questions regarding presenting an alternate slate of electors (pro-Trump) to Vice President Pence before the official count. He denied knowing anything about it.
Other heroes were the election chiefs who would not be intimidated by threats from the former president and his team even when they extended to their families. Heroes included Brad Rafensperger of Georgia and Rusty Brown of Arizona. Also lawyers in the Department of Justice, Trump appointees, who refused to rubber stamp his pipe dream.
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I caught up with state Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, last Saturday, as he was rushing from one event to another. How much our elected officials have to give up to do a good job. Time with family. Real vacations with phone and laptop off limits? Never. His daughter has just graduated from high school and is off to college. His son is a high school junior.
His district includes a portion of Santa Clara County and a bigger slice of San Mateo County. I asked if he was supporting either Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale or San Mateo Deputy Mayor Diane Papan in the runoff for state Assembly. He said neither. His main office is in San Mateo on El Camino Real, same office once occupied by Jerry Hill. Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, has an office in the same building next door.
Becker’s environmental credentials are well known. In Sacramento he is chair of a new subcommittee on clean energy’s future and vice chair of a joint Assembly/Senate committee on climate change. He also serves on Business and Economic Development Committee. His main focus is spreading jobs throughout the state.
After two years on the job (he can serve a maximum of 12) he loves the range of issues and has a voice in a Democratic caucus of only 31. In addition to climate issues, his main interest is early childhood education. I am sure he has political ambitions beyond the Senate but he will have to wait until there is an opening.
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No surprise Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach has endorsed Kevin Mullin for Congress. She and Mullin have been close friends for years and remained so on the campaign trail. Mutual friends tried to dissuade Beach from running. But she had her heart set on Congress. Seeing them on the same campaign panel was something to behold. They couldn’t have been nicer to each other. Politics may prevent him from endorsing in an anticipated duel for supervisor between Millbrae Councilmember Gina Papan and Beach.
Sue Lempert is the former mayor of San Mateo. Her column runs every Monday. She can be reached at sue@smdailyjournal.com.
Thanks Sue!! I always enjoy reading your columns. I do think that the January 6th hearings are bipartisan, though, with two lifelong Republicans on the committee and most of the witnesses being lifelong and staunch Republicans.
Blah, blah, blah, Sue again with her “orange man” bad shtick… Let’s not forget Sue thinks our great President Trump is a Russian spy. Hey Sue, there’s no need to watch any minute of the Unselect Committee. There’s no bipartisanship since Pelosi would not seat Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks on the committee and instead Pelosi cherry-picked RINOs and TDS-infected Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. Where’s the discussion on why Pelosi and DC Mayor Bowser, after being warned two weeks in advance that there may be possible violence on Jan. 6, turned down thousands of National Guard troops? Let’s also not forget recent polls show the majority of Americans believe this Kangaroo Court is biased. As for viewership, if people want comedy, reruns of Young Sheldon are better than the puppet show known as the Unselect Committee. Meanwhile, our great President Trump’s influence is becoming stronger and stronger.
Terence Y: Don’t you have any friends who can tell you how you keep exposing your incredible ignorance, - to their utter embarrassment, I’m sure? You don’t seem to grasp even a fiber of what is going on, and to classify Sue Lempert’s excellent column with your usual “bla-bla” nonsense, shows how removed you are from any semblance of reality. I expect you to respond with more of your bla-bla to further prove my point. Btw.: There were some Nazis who felt that the Nürnberg proceedings after WWII were one-sided, too! Yeah, - really!
Jorg, considering you don’t know what incendiary ammunition is, or what an assault rifle is, or what the word “any” means, I think it’s patently obvious to our dear readers as to who is exposing their incredible ignorance, to their utter embarrassment - his name begins with “J” and ends in “org.” Please don’t continue to bore us with your cycle of deflection. BTW, perhaps you can spend some time teaching Tommy how to string sentences together. And as always, thanks for the exclamation points. Can you spare a “flat Earth” next time, mister?
TY: I don't know if it is possible to stoop any lower than to argue about what to call a weapon that assaulted so many, and ammunition that massacred beyond recognition 19 little school kids and 2 devoted teachers. Feel proud of yourself!
Jorg, I don’t know if it is possible to stoop any lower than to sensationalize a tragedy by lying about the use of incendiary ammunition? Are you proud of yourself for making things up to push a narrative?
Oh Terence Y, would that the twice-impeached former president had been with it enough to be a Russian spy. No, say rather that he was a useful idiot. A tool that the Russians wielded against our democracy.
Westy: I think poor TY could use a support upper right now, so why don’t we give him some credit for his ingenious idea of tying his deep admiration for Trump in with Sue Lempert’s column, where she refers to the saner times under Nixon, - the epitome of honesty compared to the twice impeached, compulsory liar Trump. Trump has a long time ago made George W. Bush look good in comparison, and now he makes even Nixon shine in comparison. We should thank TY for making that so abundantly clear!
I will agree with you that your conman liar Trump is not a spy, he doesn’t have spine for it. Now if you want to talk traitor, Trump is your man. He didn’t spy, he just gave his buddy Vlad all the info he had. Luckily for the US, the intelligence community knew he couldn’t be trusted so they only gave him minimal info. I doubt that he ever had the actual nuclear code.
As for your bunk about the Select Committee, Newsmax probably didn’t tell you that 3 of the 5 names submitted by hypocrite McCarthy were accepted by Pelosi but in his typical Trumpian childish way he said if you don’t take them all you can’t have any. Jordan and Banks sole purpose was to disrupt the proceedings and try to spread their debunked election fraud theory. Don’t forget that almost all of the testimony so far has been by Republicans that were his staff members and they all said he was just a train wreck looking for a place to happen.
BTW, I haven’t asked lately, how are you doing with your bamboo fibers?
This is hilarious! We’ve got an orange man bad party line. We’ve got Taffy and Tommy, Westy and Jorg. Maybe all of you can put your heads together and come up with two cents worth of credible news. Or better yet, list a treasonous Biden accomplishment. I feel like I should be sending each of you a jar of Tang so in addition to our great President Trump living in your heads, you’ll be able to taste some orange (unfortunately, it’ll be artificial, like your arguments). BTW Taffy, why haven’t you asked your friends here to help you with your panda pie study? I’d recommend double-masking.
Terence Y: After all the embarrassing Jan. 6 Committee revelations, do you still think highly of Trump, or don’t you understand any of what has been revealed? Perhaps too painful to admit what a sorry, childish clown you have been admiring, - while no big surprise to the vast majority of us, as well as the rest of the world?
Jorg, I might be worried if the Unselect Committee were a real committee. As this Kangaroo Court has shown, they’re nothing but a bunch of clowns in a circus for the easily fooled and manipulated (Jorg, I see you’ve got a VIP seat). I’m definitely not worried about the nothingburgers the witness is spewing. She’s the one who was happily planning to work for our great President Trump in Florida, but because she wasn’t hired, she’s now auditioning for a job with MSNBC or CNN. Meanwhile our great President Trump becomes stronger and stronger. BTW, where should I send your super-size jar of Tang? Tommy only gets the regular size jar until he can string a few orange man bad sentences together.
Terence Y: No great surprise, but your disrespectful characterization of the Jan. 6 Committee and the most credible witness we have seen in a long time, Miss Hutchinson, shows that you have no idea what you are talking about, with no understanding and without a clue to what is going on. Zero. She is being praised across the world and may very well be the last straw towards the end of Trump. This is very promising.
Jorg, you’re hilarious. It’s too late for the Unselect Committee to earn respect as they haven’t shown respect for truth, justice, and the American way. Instead, the Kangaroo Court is trying, badly I might add, to make up “truth,” has thrown out the concept of justice and has embraced the Soviet way. Add to it a “star” witness nobody’s ever heard of, trying to gain her 15 minutes of fame and at the same time potentially interviewing for a spot on corrupt news CNN or MSNBC, providing hearsay information and you have a continuing clown show. Not only that, Ms. Hutchinson’s gossip has already been shown to be full of lies. But of course Jorg, we all know you have issues with truth, justice, and the American way. BTW, why no exclamation points this time – did you break the “!” key? I notice there are no “1’s” in your response.
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(18) comments
Thanks Sue!! I always enjoy reading your columns. I do think that the January 6th hearings are bipartisan, though, with two lifelong Republicans on the committee and most of the witnesses being lifelong and staunch Republicans.
Blah, blah, blah, Sue again with her “orange man” bad shtick… Let’s not forget Sue thinks our great President Trump is a Russian spy. Hey Sue, there’s no need to watch any minute of the Unselect Committee. There’s no bipartisanship since Pelosi would not seat Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks on the committee and instead Pelosi cherry-picked RINOs and TDS-infected Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. Where’s the discussion on why Pelosi and DC Mayor Bowser, after being warned two weeks in advance that there may be possible violence on Jan. 6, turned down thousands of National Guard troops? Let’s also not forget recent polls show the majority of Americans believe this Kangaroo Court is biased. As for viewership, if people want comedy, reruns of Young Sheldon are better than the puppet show known as the Unselect Committee. Meanwhile, our great President Trump’s influence is becoming stronger and stronger.
Terence Y: Don’t you have any friends who can tell you how you keep exposing your incredible ignorance, - to their utter embarrassment, I’m sure? You don’t seem to grasp even a fiber of what is going on, and to classify Sue Lempert’s excellent column with your usual “bla-bla” nonsense, shows how removed you are from any semblance of reality. I expect you to respond with more of your bla-bla to further prove my point. Btw.: There were some Nazis who felt that the Nürnberg proceedings after WWII were one-sided, too! Yeah, - really!
Jorg, considering you don’t know what incendiary ammunition is, or what an assault rifle is, or what the word “any” means, I think it’s patently obvious to our dear readers as to who is exposing their incredible ignorance, to their utter embarrassment - his name begins with “J” and ends in “org.” Please don’t continue to bore us with your cycle of deflection. BTW, perhaps you can spend some time teaching Tommy how to string sentences together. And as always, thanks for the exclamation points. Can you spare a “flat Earth” next time, mister?
TY: I don't know if it is possible to stoop any lower than to argue about what to call a weapon that assaulted so many, and ammunition that massacred beyond recognition 19 little school kids and 2 devoted teachers. Feel proud of yourself!
Jorg, I don’t know if it is possible to stoop any lower than to sensationalize a tragedy by lying about the use of incendiary ammunition? Are you proud of yourself for making things up to push a narrative?
You're exceptionally unhinged today, Terence.
TT: “TY exceptionally unhinged”? Not at all, just his usual “know-nothing-understanding-even-less” self!
Oh Terence Y, would that the twice-impeached former president had been with it enough to be a Russian spy. No, say rather that he was a useful idiot. A tool that the Russians wielded against our democracy.
Westy: I think poor TY could use a support upper right now, so why don’t we give him some credit for his ingenious idea of tying his deep admiration for Trump in with Sue Lempert’s column, where she refers to the saner times under Nixon, - the epitome of honesty compared to the twice impeached, compulsory liar Trump. Trump has a long time ago made George W. Bush look good in comparison, and now he makes even Nixon shine in comparison. We should thank TY for making that so abundantly clear!
Terence,
I will agree with you that your conman liar Trump is not a spy, he doesn’t have spine for it. Now if you want to talk traitor, Trump is your man. He didn’t spy, he just gave his buddy Vlad all the info he had. Luckily for the US, the intelligence community knew he couldn’t be trusted so they only gave him minimal info. I doubt that he ever had the actual nuclear code.
As for your bunk about the Select Committee, Newsmax probably didn’t tell you that 3 of the 5 names submitted by hypocrite McCarthy were accepted by Pelosi but in his typical Trumpian childish way he said if you don’t take them all you can’t have any. Jordan and Banks sole purpose was to disrupt the proceedings and try to spread their debunked election fraud theory. Don’t forget that almost all of the testimony so far has been by Republicans that were his staff members and they all said he was just a train wreck looking for a place to happen.
BTW, I haven’t asked lately, how are you doing with your bamboo fibers?
This is hilarious! We’ve got an orange man bad party line. We’ve got Taffy and Tommy, Westy and Jorg. Maybe all of you can put your heads together and come up with two cents worth of credible news. Or better yet, list a treasonous Biden accomplishment. I feel like I should be sending each of you a jar of Tang so in addition to our great President Trump living in your heads, you’ll be able to taste some orange (unfortunately, it’ll be artificial, like your arguments). BTW Taffy, why haven’t you asked your friends here to help you with your panda pie study? I’d recommend double-masking.
Even MORE unhinged today. lol
Terence Y: After all the embarrassing Jan. 6 Committee revelations, do you still think highly of Trump, or don’t you understand any of what has been revealed? Perhaps too painful to admit what a sorry, childish clown you have been admiring, - while no big surprise to the vast majority of us, as well as the rest of the world?
Jorg, I might be worried if the Unselect Committee were a real committee. As this Kangaroo Court has shown, they’re nothing but a bunch of clowns in a circus for the easily fooled and manipulated (Jorg, I see you’ve got a VIP seat). I’m definitely not worried about the nothingburgers the witness is spewing. She’s the one who was happily planning to work for our great President Trump in Florida, but because she wasn’t hired, she’s now auditioning for a job with MSNBC or CNN. Meanwhile our great President Trump becomes stronger and stronger. BTW, where should I send your super-size jar of Tang? Tommy only gets the regular size jar until he can string a few orange man bad sentences together.
Terence Y: No great surprise, but your disrespectful characterization of the Jan. 6 Committee and the most credible witness we have seen in a long time, Miss Hutchinson, shows that you have no idea what you are talking about, with no understanding and without a clue to what is going on. Zero. She is being praised across the world and may very well be the last straw towards the end of Trump. This is very promising.
Jorg, you’re hilarious. It’s too late for the Unselect Committee to earn respect as they haven’t shown respect for truth, justice, and the American way. Instead, the Kangaroo Court is trying, badly I might add, to make up “truth,” has thrown out the concept of justice and has embraced the Soviet way. Add to it a “star” witness nobody’s ever heard of, trying to gain her 15 minutes of fame and at the same time potentially interviewing for a spot on corrupt news CNN or MSNBC, providing hearsay information and you have a continuing clown show. Not only that, Ms. Hutchinson’s gossip has already been shown to be full of lies. But of course Jorg, we all know you have issues with truth, justice, and the American way. BTW, why no exclamation points this time – did you break the “!” key? I notice there are no “1’s” in your response.
OK, good enough, Terence Y! You have made it abundantly clear to everyone what a Flat-Earther you are!!! Satisfied now?
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