America seems to be passing, just barely, the test of our ability to hold a single issue in our collective attention long enough to determine its significance and whether it requires action. There have been a flood of editorials and even a lawsuit from Democratic members of Congress declaring that Matthew Whittaker’s appointment as acting Attorney General is unacceptable and even unconstitutional.
And there has been increasing pressure from Congress and an incensed press for Trump to act on the evidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman ordered the killing of one of his subjects, dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Credit is due to some Republicans for this, Senator Bob Corker, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Bill Kristol, one of the founders of The Weekly Standard. They are the kind of conservatives who know how and when to take a moral stand, even on the shifting sands of Washington’s politics.
And all this amidst some worthy competition for our attention, like catastrophic wildfires, Facebook’s antisemitic lobbying campaigns, Brexit’s endgame, and a tanking stock market, just to name a few.
Some tweets from Corker and Kristol below. Both Republicans, mind you:
…and now we watch the Donald J. Trump apologists become Mohammed bin Salman apologists.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) November 21, 2018
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Under the law, the president is now required to determine whether MbS is responsible and report to our committee with a determination and a decision on the imposition of sanctions. Read our letter: pic.twitter.com/G9xFGyw4TH
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) November 21, 2018
