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Asha Rangappa

@AshaRangappa_

14 Feb

One thing I have been thinking about since yesterday: Trump committed SO MANY impeachable offenses while in office, and he was only brought to account for three of them. Just looking back at the obstruction issues from the Mueller investigation, the multiple other legal issues 1/

stemming from the Ukraine scandal (including separation of powers and issues and violations of the law from not delivering aid as required by Congress), and the entire rap sheet stemming from the events leading up to the insurrection on January 6 2/

(consider that if the violence hadn't happened, it is unlikely there would have been articles of impeachment for TRYING TO SHAKEDOWN A STATE OFFICIAL TO FABRICATE VOTES)...like, he was lucky to ONLY be impeached twice! But it highlights a major structural problem: 3/

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Asha Rangappa

@AshaRangappa_

14 Feb

OK I have to get off Twitter. Emotionally exhausted, disappointed, but trying to remember what I am grateful for:

Thank you to Congress for taking swift action on the Articles of Impeachment, and for making it a serious charge

Thank you to the 10 Republicans who voted for it

Thank you to the *amazing* House Managers who put together an incredible, compelling case in record time

Thank you to the top-notch lawyers who advised them behind the scenes

Thank you to your excellent oral advocacy which presented the full horror of what happened to the world

Thank you for taking the time to prove every element in such detail, and beyond a reasonable doubt (IMO)

Thank you for staying professional and dignified in the face is insults and lies

Thank you to the 7 Republicans who voted with an open mind and on the merits, as required

Read 5 tweets

Asha Rangappa

@AshaRangappa_

12 Feb

THREAD. A quick recap of what the evidence presented by the House Managers have shown, and what a (real) defense would have to address to rebut it:

2. First, CAUSATION. The House lawyers demonstrated the causal link between Trump’s words and actions and the violence that resulted. To wit: lies beginning months before election about it being rigged, to foment anger; insurrectionists saying they were acting on Trump’s words;

3. and (this was key) active participation and involvement by Trump and WH with groups already known to engage in violent activity for January 6 event, including the change in plan to have a March from Ellipse to Capitol right as votes were starting

Read 9 tweets

Asha Rangappa

@AshaRangappa_

29 Jan

THREAD. I had to take a little break from political Twitter to gather my thoughts on how the GOP is responding to impeachment. I find that in the face of gaslighting, it is useful to repeat things that we know to be true, and then assess the choices from there. To wit:

2. TRUTH #1: Donald Trump did not win the 2020 election. He could not accept this outcome. Because of his inability to accept this outcome, he manufactured a Big Lie that he *did* win the election, and put all of the official powers at his disposal to force this to be the case

3. TRUTH #2: As part of this effort, he attempted to 1) shakedown the Secretary of State of Georgia to manufacture 11,780 "extra" votes that would give him a victory in that state; 2) conspired with officials at DOJ to manufacture false cases of voter fraud in Georgia

Read 13 tweets

Asha Rangappa

@AshaRangappa_

15 Jan

Very good piece about the failure of elite institutions to inculcate civic virtue and values. Part of the problem is that admissions criteria values things like sports, awards, etc. They can change that by placing value on demostrated civic engagement theconstitutionalist.org/2021/01/12/eli…

BTW, civic engagement is more than just volunteerism. Actually, rate of volunteering is very high among younger gen. Great. But civic engagement = participating in activities that teach democratic skills, like using process to create change, debating, advocacy

So participating in local counsels, writing for the paper, running for office of civic organizations, etc. as well as volunteering and helping the needy. Just important to think of civic engagement as bigger than just "helping people" -- it's participating in democracy

Read 4 tweets

Asha Rangappa

@AshaRangappa_

12 Jan

FBI has two modes: Reactive and proactive. We are hearing right now what they have done/are doing REactively. I have no doubt they will be excellent. But the question is: What did they miss in their PROactivity capacity, and why??? (Appear to be avoiding this) 1/

The entire point of many post 9/11 reforms was to enhance the FBI’s proactive capabilities. It is true that, particularly in a purely domestic context, the nat sec/civil liberties balance will heavily favor the latter. But it does not leave them impotent 2/

It’s hard to believe (based on what transpired) that they did not get enough critical info beforehand that crossed the free speech/criminal intent line to warrant better preparation.

Read 5 tweets

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