Last week, outgoing Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, where I live, announced that he and Democratic Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware would reintroduce their bill to the Senate to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling and possible collusion of the Trump campaign in the 2016 presidential election to get Trump elected. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated his assertion that it was unneeded and that he therefore would vote against it if it came to a vote.
With Whitaker now the temporary Attorney General, I think it is so necessary to do this to help protect Mueller’s investigation, since Whitaker has repeatedly made negative remarks against it. Democrats are calling for him to recuse himself, but I doubt that will happen. He is a strong Trump supporter. And Trump claims he can hire whoever he wants for that position without Congressional approval. Constitutional lawyers are divided on this point of law, but it appears that most think the president doesn’t have that power.
President Trump tweeted today, “Jeff Flake(y) doesn’t want to protect the Non-Senate confirmed Special Counsel, he wants to protect his future after being unelectable in Arizona for the “crime” of doing a terrible job! A weak and ineffective guy!” Trump bragged recently about this how he is the one who caused Flake to decide not to try to renew his senatorial seat. Trump had earlier said of Flake, “I retired him. I’m very proud of it, I did the country a great service.”
What a load of you know what! I think Jeff Flake is quite an honorable man. Flake was right–that Arizona has been such a pro-Trump, ultra conservative state that he, Flake, didn’t have a chance of being reelected. However, the mid-terms are showing that Arizona voters may be having a change of heart and it may be because Trump’s approval rating with all voters nationally is taking a nose dive. Trump’s approval rating sure has been tumbling down around the world, especially with U.S. allied nations.
How many times has Donald Trump disparaged people without reasonable cause since he has been president? I’d say he has been so hyper-judgmental. I’ve never seen a politician doing even near like that in my lifetime. It’s just one more reason why I’ve been saying repeatedly on this blog since soon after Trump starting campaigning for the presidency that he is not qualified to be president. I’ve conceded that, sure, he might help the nation economically; but that’s not all there is to being the USA president.
Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get” (Matthew 7.1-2 NRSV). He then said of those who do such things, “You hypocrite” (v. 5).
Was Jesus judging, as he said not to do, and thus contradicting himself when he then added, “you hypocrite”? Not at all. The verses in between explain why. He said, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye” (vv. 3-5).
Jesus didn’t have a log in his own eye. He didn’t have a speck in his eye either. There was “no fault in him” as Governor Pilate said of him shortly before his crucifixion. That is the qualification necessary for rebuking others. For the Bible clearly sanctions rebuke, but with the qualification of not being personally guilty of that sin. That’s what the prophets of Israel sometimes did. The Apostle Paul wrote, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (1 Timothy 3.16). Reproof is rebuke.
During Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and during political rallies since he has president, he has energized his crowds to say of former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “Lock her up!” I think Donald Trump should be shaking in his boots about him getting locked up. I think it’s pretty obvious that’s he’s been worried about it for some time or he wouldn’t have been so against Mueller’s investigation. Mueller reportedly is about finished with his investigation, and his team is writing the necessary report about it to give to Congress. Let’s see what happens with that.
Donald Trump has lambasted so many people, judging them as a hypocrite when he’s got a log in his own eye, that I think he’s in for a bad time ahead or Jesus isn’t right about what he said in his Sermon on Mount quoted above.
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