Underlying this impeachment trial was the attempted
overturning of election results by violent means. Part of that insurrection was the fact that
the then president of these United States incited the riotous violence on the
Capitol and its members using a mob of supporters invited to Washington by
that president for the express purpose of undoing the last step in counting
Electoral College votes and certifying the result. This can be and has been defined as a coup
'd'état: “the forcible overthrow of a government, as by a cabal (a group
involved in political intrigue, often secretive or conspiratorial).
Since this is an action never taken by any other president, it should have been treated with great seriousness and perspicacity because the verdict could not avoid setting a precedent. The House Managers took it very seriously and made a powerful presentation. Not so the defense team. Notwithstanding, this acquittal of Donald J. Trump will serve to open our presidency to the possibility of absolute power to commit whatever action serves a particular president’s wishes. This verdict has the potential of changing our presidency forever, leaving it open for any extremist to arrange for his or her extended reign over a non-democracy. This was a make-or- break decision.
As was indicated by the Managers, one of the things that most concerned the Founders about our governing experiment was the power of the executive. Incidentally, the use of power has haunted Donald Trump for most of his life, according to his niece. It is something that DJT has always had on his mind – just how he can acquire power over others, whether in the real estate business or in the White House.
So, here we were having to deal with the question of use of power, both in relation to Trump’s personal skewed ATTITUDE toward it and his use (and abuse) of the powers of the presidency including what he did to assure that he maintained the power he had acquired in that office. GIVING UP THAT POWER HAS BEEN AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK FOR HIM.
This whole crazy
insurrection incident revolves around his inability to believe that the power
of his office had been transferred by the people to someone else. He thought sure he would win re-election
(probably because he thought that his dirty tricks would work in his favor
--like delaying the mail so that enough ballots from targeted districts would
not be returned on time and end up being null and void.
The potential loss of all that presidential power to Joe Biden rankled him so badly that he tried the route of court challenges but also turned to scurrilous acts in his many attempts to overturn what he described as ‘fraudulent’ votes. He even asked the Secretary of State in Georgia to find 11,870 votes that would reverse Georgia’s election of Biden. Fraud and cheating are tools often used by him to gain power over others, which probably means that he does not recognize the impeachable high crime of inciting a mob to cheat and steal for him. I believe this level of denial of reality approaches that of a person suffering from delusional disorder at the same time he exhibits illusions of grandeur!
As expected, a majority of forty-three Republican Senators ignored the evidence of instigating and the real issue of the misuse of presidential power to enhance his own position and standing. Beyond any reasonable doubt, our democratic system of governance has been disabled by a Republican Party that has been captured, not only by a despot named Trump but by a Trumpian cabal that has but one mission: to take control of government at all levels away from multi-cultural liberals to return to white supremacy and authoritarian government. That future is a bleak one if any office holder decides to follow the example of Donald Trump without regard to accountability.
This man’s flaws and shortcomings have been ignored or overlooked for most of his life, which is bad enough. But now we are at a point where his abuses of power resulting in violent insurrection have been accepted and supported with a show of legislative incompetence and cowardice. We have entered a whole new stage of needing to defend our system of government and its democratic values and principles.
The enemies
of democracy have breached the Capitol of our system, killed and injured people
in the process, and are now planning their next moves at local and state
levels, starting with 100s of legislative bills offered in 20+ states to limit
the vote for many citizens. And,
according to reliable sources like the NY Times, the Southern Poverty Law
Center, and others, there are Far Right militia groups already planning insurrections
that target officials and legislatures at state and local levels. Those 43
Senators who failed to hold Trump responsible for fanning the flames of
insurrection must now share the responsibility as co-instigators and abettors
of the violence and sedition yet to come.
It is our responsibility as citizen defenders of democracy and our Constitution to try to do all in our power to hamper this de-construction of our system. This is no time for business as usual. Democracy is under siege by Far-Right sympathizers and backers, including some millionaires and Republican officials who seek power and control over the entire structure of governing and over societal standards and norms, like a woman’s right to choose and public education. We must not allow them to get away with their lies and their abuse of anyone who disagrees with them.
It is the unawareness, the ignorance and the I-don’t-care attitude of individual citizens that will destroy this Republic from within, just like it has happened in other countries like Italy and Germany in the 1930s and ‘40s, and others like Cuba, Argentina, and Nicaragua in later decades. While the rantings of Mussolini and Hitler had a great deal to do with takeover of their governments, it was the capture and manipulation of truth and people’s minds that led to their ability to overthrow existing structures and to establish fascistic despotic regimes where violence, mob rule, and cult of the leader took hold and forced all to follow. Those regimes satisfied the basic need of some for absolute control, power and supremacy of the Aryan Race. The Big Lie, brain-washing propaganda, scapegoating, and racial bias that is willing to kill or maim minorities and vulnerable populations are some of the malignancies we have inherited from these regimes that now demand our full attention.
It is deeply disturbing that tens of thousands of voters were unable to depend on facts, knowledge, education, analysis, research and critical judgment, or even their common sense, to keep from being swept up by those cancers from Nazism, Fascism, Racism, and totalitarianism. Because of this failure of citizen awareness and critical analysis, we are now a nation on the brink of disaster with the possible loss of our constitution, the rule of law and the principles that should guide our governmental polities. We are nearer the end of American democracy because not enough of us – including the media – were willing to call the threat what it was and is. Instead, they asked: how did we get here? And expressed frustration instead of deep analysis; anger instead of resolve; caution instead of remedy. And now we have an entire Political Party captured by a despot and acting either like cowards or dunces as they fail to face our flawed past or prepare for future battle for our national soul.
As I watched the impeachment trial and the House manager presentations, I was impressed by their organized approach to prosecution and gratified by the many times they cited Trump’s own words and actions against him. I was disappointed that they left out statements by him early on that defined his character and his aims. They could have been used to define and oppose his unprincipled approach to life and morality. He not only doesn’t follow what is right for others, he does not give a damn if it harms others. He told us directly who he is and how he operates, and many have still not realized that they are responsible for electing and supporting an anti-democratic despot out to destroy equality of opportunity, equal justice and the rule of law. Allowing oneself to be coerced into supporting one’s own destruction and worshipping one’s destroyer marks the epitome of stupidity and delusion. We still have people who believe he won't run again in 2024, or if he does he won't be elected. They still fail to grasp who he is.
Did you miss what Trump said when he made his grand entrance in 2015 on the Trump Tower escalator to announce his presidential candidacy? He said:
1) “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with (them). They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
2) I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created. I tell you that. I'll bring back our jobs from China, from Mexico, from Japan, from so many places. I'll bring back our jobs, and I'll bring back our money. Number one, the people negotiating don't have a clue. ”
“I will find -- within our military, I will find the General Patton, or I will find General MacArthur, I will find the right guy. I will find the guy that's going to take that military and make it really work. Nobody, nobody will be pushing us around.
” I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”
In another famous quote, the Donald reveals his attitude toward lawlessness, and being able to flaunt the law without repercussion or accountability. Remember – he told us this and we did not get it then and don’t get it fully now.
At a Sioux Center, Iowa, rally in 2016, he said:.
3) "I have the most loyal people -- did you ever see that?" I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" "It's, like, incredible."
Further, Trump spoke with barely contained awe about the displays of reverence North Koreans are obligated to show toward their supreme leader.
4) “He’s the head of the country,” Trump said of Kim during a live interview on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.” “And I mean he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different. “He speaks and his people sit up at attention,” the President added. “I want my people to do the same.”
From the beginning of his run for the presidency, Trump has told us about himself more than once:
· He believes he is special - above and beyond others - and smarter than everyone else.
· He believes that he knows and can get the best people to work with him and that they will give him their full loyalty and devotion which he demands from everyone who works with or for him
· He believes (from some experience) that he can do about anything he wants – right or wrong – without having to suffer consequences that others must endure
This is who he is and, according to Mary, his niece, he will never change – he is who he is and will do what is necessary to make sure that he gets what he desires. Anyone who crosses him will surely feel the revenge of a sociopath who has no empathy for others (the losers).
The problem with the Republican Party, especially those in Congress, is that they have become just like the Kim Jong Un automatons who dare not oppose their leader. With the acquittal, Donald Trump gained exactly what he sought all along: the unquestioning loyalty of those who rule. And he got a bonus in that the acts of mob violence he instigated and fomented have been forgiven by the very people against whom he directed that violence!
- voter rights on the chopping block in over 20 states with over 100 bills to take away those rights already pending
- storm troopers already showing up at state and local events and government of
- incidents of intimidation showing up in various areas
- bullying and intimidation increasing at schools and political events
- 538 active hate groups throughout the nation.
- The experts in this area who have raced and sued these groups for a long time – the Southern Poverty Law Center-- have identified these groups across every area of this country. They even made it easy for individuals to identify such groups in their local areas by means of a button and interactive maps on their website ( Hate Map | Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org).
- SPLC has gone further by putting together lawsuits against these despicable groups whenever possible (check their site again for their Hate Watch blog and the issues they are pursuing)
ü leaders who approve of violent overthrow of government functions
ü people who instill hate of others as a way of life and as the lifeblood of their movement
ü those who revel in their violence and recruit others by glorifying it
ü those who teach children and young people that violence is good, that political opponents and certain other people -- like Jews and Blacks -- are bad and must be gotten rid of
ü those who maintain the socially destructive myth that a white culture is inherently purer and superior to any multicultural tendency or policy
ü those seeking to convert democracy to autocracy, including a strong leader who will give strong directions (dictates) to his followers
ü those seeking to brainwash our grandchildren and children to take up arms, hate others not like us, and destroy those who do not think like us.
So, what is next? What do progressive democrats and independents do now that Republicans have chosen to be a party of anarchists and insurrectionists? It is our responsibility as citizen defenders of democracy and our Constitution to try to do all in our power to hamper this de-construction of our system. I offer the following thoughts, some from my own recent experience.
Encourage
and support lawsuits against Trump (and other corrupt politicians) to hold
him personally responsible for all the criminality and abuse of power he
demonstrated during his campaigns and tenure
v Get
involved at your local level governing groups to call out any and all activity
that even smells a little like Trumpism or white supremacy
v Join a progressive activist organization and encourage their full involvement in tracking every Trumpian follower who decides to run for office, or who is being considered for appointment to public office; be merciless in revealing and opposing their Far -Right anti-democratic actions and words
v Speak up about topics that are central to democratic causes and issues; send opinion pieces to your local paper and support educational forums whenever the chance arises
v Do not tolerate the pushing of Far-Right propaganda anywhere; knock it down by opposition that stings, if possible. For example, I recently wrote a letter to a health group I used to patronize to indicate I was leaving their practice because one doctor in the practice used part of my appointment time to push misinformation and unscientific drivel about the non-efficacy of wearing face masks. I will be encouraging others to do the same.
v Speaking of “sting,” it is past time for Democrats to pass some laws that cause people to think twice before disobeying them; that means putting teeth in them. For example, if voter suppression is even proposed by state or local governments, let us pass laws to cripple those entities in ways that sting, e.g. let us pass laws that withdraw all federal funds from those entities until all such laws are abolished
v Seek out lawyers and businesses willing to press actions that will reduce the bottom line of Far Right and hate groups. We must go after their funding to reduce their ability to organize, recruit, train members; and to afford travel and accommodations
v If they do travel, make sure they are conforming to COVID rules and regulations
v All of which is in addition to continuing support of progressive candidates, of voter rights, and the increased involvement of new activists
v Report flagrant abuses of laws and legal standards to the proper authorities
REPUBLICANS HAVE BECOME
INSURRECTIONISTS -- JOIN THE MOVEMENT TO OPPOSE THEM AT EVERY TURN!!
v Join a progressive activist organization and encourage their full involvement in tracking every Trumpian follower who decides to run for office, or who is being considered for appointment to public office; be merciless in revealing and opposing their Far -Right anti-democratic actions and words
v Speak up about topics that are central to democratic causes and issues; send opinion pieces to your local paper and support educational forums whenever the chance arises
v Do not tolerate the pushing of Far-Right propaganda anywhere; knock it down by opposition that stings, if possible. For example, I recently wrote a letter to a health group I used to patronize to indicate I was leaving their practice because one doctor in the practice used part of my appointment time to push misinformation and unscientific drivel about the non-efficacy of wearing face masks. I will be encouraging others to do the same.
v Speaking of “sting,” it is past time for Democrats to pass some laws that cause people to think twice before disobeying them; that means putting teeth in them. For example, if voter suppression is even proposed by state or local governments, let us pass laws to cripple those entities in ways that sting, e.g. let us pass laws that withdraw all federal funds from those entities until all such laws are abolished
v Seek out lawyers and businesses willing to press actions that will reduce the bottom line of Far Right and hate groups. We must go after their funding to reduce their ability to organize, recruit, train members; and to afford travel and accommodations
v If they do travel, make sure they are conforming to COVID rules and regulations
v All of which is in addition to continuing support of progressive candidates, of voter rights, and the increased involvement of new activists
v Report flagrant abuses of laws and legal standards to the proper authorities
