I Sense a Deep Stirring Across This Nation

By Dan Rather, Dan Rather's Facebook Page

25 December 17

obody would ever call Virginia Senator Mark Warner a firebrand, which is what made his stirring speech in the Senate yesterday all the more potent. Warner laid down a marker for his fellow senators, and for those who will eventually write the history of this fraught moment in our national story. There was no need to read between the lines.

Warner's words were the kind you could see quoted in textbooks or played in the archival clips of the documentaries of the future.

"Any attempt by this President to remove special counsel Mueller from his position or to pardon key witnesses in any effort to shield them from accountability or shut down the investigation would be a gross abuse of power and a flagrant violation of executive branch responsibilities and authorities," Warner said. "These truly are red lines and simply cannot allow them to be crossed."

There is some palpable fear out there that President Trump, fanned by the irresponsible voices in his right wing media echochamber, supported by his enablers in Congress and seduced by his own ego might fire Mueller or otherwise hamper the investigation during the Christmas holidays. I share this concern. This is a time when he might figure the nation is preoccupied and Congress is out of session. To be fair, President Trump has said repeatedly he will not fire Mueller. But we have seen before how short the half life is on the veracity of his words.

So we wait, and wonder whether we will find ourselves plunged into a Constitutional Crisis. I do believe that if the President does fire Mueller, it will be a gross miscalculation. He may hold on to his GOP allies (When did the party of law and order become the party of attacking law enforcement?) But I sense a deep stirring across this nation among people who will not let this pass without their fury being heard - in the streets and at the ballot box.