The Good Faith Experiment is Over
When is it all enough?
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Just hours ago, Senator Alex Padilla of California was assaulted, forced to the floor, and handcuffed by federal law enforcement agents after attempting to ask a question during a Los Angeles press conference held by Kristi Noem, Trump’s DHS Secretary.
While being forcibly removed from the room for doing his job, Senator Padilla clearly identified himself, which was ignored by both the federal agents and Noem, who said nothing to stop what was occurring despite knowing a sitting senator was being treated this way.
Shortly after Senator Padilla was detained, the Department of Homeland Security put out this statement on Twitter:
Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem.
Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. Secret Service thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.
Secretary Noem met with Senator Padilla after and held a 15 minute meeting.
Look at the video again.
The Senator clearly identified himself. He did not lunge at Noem. And although the Secret Service is literally trained to identify senior federal lawmakers and Noem certainly recognized him, they’re attempting to claim this incident was motivated by believing Sen. Padilla was some random man trying to attack her.
This is yet another action taken by Trump administration officials to constantly push the envelope and test what they can get away with.
On Tuesday, Trump’s Justice Department announced they would proceed with an absurd and incredibly flimsy indictment against Congresswoman LaMonica McIver of New Jersey following last month’s incident in which she was falsely accused of assaulting federal agents while protesting outside an immigration facility.
Over the past week, Trump has federalized the California Army National Guard over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom and deployed U.S. Marines against peaceful protestors in Los Angeles in an attempt to stoke public violence as a pretext for consolidating power.
In the midst of that, while talking to reporters, Trump endorsed the arrest of Gov. Newsom for speaking out against the unnecessary and inflammatory mobilization of troops in California.
I have tried my best to offer understanding for Democratic federal lawmakers over the past five months, even as Trump has acted illegally, even as he’s viciously attacked vulnerable communities, even as he’s encouraged the illegal and cruel actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) against innocent people, even as he’s repeatedly defied the orders of federal judges.
When some Democratic senators bizarrely chose to vote for the confirmation of Trump’s unqualified and toxic cabinet nominees, even while I was critical, I tried to recognize their motivation in doing so.
I tried to acknowledge their attempt to demonstrate good faith with the Trump administration and Republican colleagues by supporting these nominees as a tangible measure of bipartisan cooperation.
I didn’t agree with it. I thought it was ridiculous. But I did attempt to—at the very least—acknowledge the objective of their strategy.
Seven Democratic senators voted to confirm Kristi Noem and six Democratic senators declined to vote either way. They did so—despite Noem clearly being unqualified—because they wanted to signal their best intention to work across the aisle.
She was confirmed, 59-34.
And now, in the latest of a string of appalling actions by this administration, a sitting U.S. senator has been assaulted and detained in the state he honorably serves solely because he tried to do his job as a public servant.
The good faith experiment is clearly over.
Neither Trump nor Noem nor any of his other cabinet officials are reciprocating good faith, and we need the Democratic senators who didn't stand against her nomination to be loud as hell right now.
We need Democratic lawmakers to finally acknowledge that their good faith intentions will not be reciprocated by their Republican counterparts.
There's a time for nice speeches, and there's a time for deploying every single procedural tactic within one's power to make life hell for unrepentant fascists.
When will they finally come to the conclusion that enough is enough?
"We need Democratic lawmakers to finally acknowledge that their good faith intentions will not be reciprocated by their Republican counterparts.
There's a time for nice speeches, and there's a time for deploying every single procedural tactic within one's power to make life hell for unrepentant fascists."
Amen, Charlotte. Amen.
With you, Sister.