I’ve heard it told that “history never repeats itself, but it sure does rhyme.” President Donald Trump’s dismissal of James Comey as FBI Director comes as an rhythmic echo of the so-called “Saturday Night Massacre.”
That night President Nixon fired the man who was investigating him for crimes at the Watergate.
That night, Nixon had unknowingly kicked off his eventual resignation.
Today, Trump fired James Comey, who for the last several months has been investigating ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Nixon. Trump. Bevin?
As we descend further into GOP control of our Commonwealth and of our Country, we continue to see just how similar Trump and Bevin are. Each is heralded as savior by the far right, and neither exhibits anything but brash authoritarianism. They want what they want, and they do not care how they get it.
In the one year that Matt Bevin has served in Frankfort, he has led a slash and burn campaign against all who might stand up to him.
Bevin has repeatedly attacked the press, claiming that seasoned journalists at the state’s largest publications are “an embarrassment to their profession.” When confronted with factual inaccuracies in his statements, he promises “later conversations” that never happen.
He didn’t like the University of Louisville’s Board of Directors. So, he fired them, illegally, and without precedent. Then he appointed his cronies in their place: an erratic pique, thousands of students’ lives are in jeopardy with the University stands at risk of losing its accreditation.
He refuses to reveal his tax filings. Just gonna leave this one here.
And when the Attorney General displayed the temerity to act an independent agent — as an independently elected statewide official endowed with Constitutional duties — the Governor and his allies tried to relocate the powers of the Attorney General to the Office of Governor.
The Governor and the President have this in common: they’re bullies who get cranky when people stand up to them. Matt Bevin is fighting to drag Kentucky down for his own benefit, and he wants to bulldoze anyone in his path. For the sake of Kentucky, and the country, we’re here to say: come at us.
