When Trump won a narrow victory into the Presidency by razor-thin vote margins in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, I didn't think he would stand a chance at re-election. He had been an also-ran in the Republican field before, and my guess was that he would be such an incompetent, inept President that the voters would get tired of him in short order, after the novelty wore off, and would be clamoring for his ouster long before election day.
The incompetent, inept Presidency materialized immediately. In spite of the populist rhetoric that it was time for someone who wasn't steeped in the Washington political culture and without political baggage to be President, the Trump presidency proved from day one that experience counts for more than just something--it counts for everything. The contrast between the confusion of Trump's first hundred days in office, when even minor tasks weren't getting done, and Biden's is one of the best examples of why, in spite of American distaste for "career politicians," they are the ones who know what to do and how to get it done.
In addition to the incompetence was the corruption. Not only did Trump cheat in business, evade paying taxes (which his father told him to pay would make him a "sucker"), default on debts and commit fraud, he made money on fame he earned by bragging about how he got away with it and about how immoral and "unconventional" he was. He humiliated the women to whom he was married by publicizing and bragging about the multiple affairs he had. He used his "charitable foundation" as a cover for acquiring personal income. It was a mess and predictably, it translated over into his Presidency.
The corruption during his term in office surpassed anything seen before in American History, including Nixon. It was only the fact that Republicans controlled Congress and were so bent on holding power that they abandoned their own party's claims to integrity, honesty and being the party of "law and order" to block impeachment on what amounted to multiple charges bordering on treason. The Democrats, who didn't want to appear overly "political" in their approach to Trump's crimes still wound up having to impeach him twice because the crimes were just too great to ignore. Of course, still blinded by partisan prejudice, the Republicans blocked both attempts in spite of overwhelming evidence.
But when the American people were given the change to rule on the Trump administration, they did. In spite of multiple attempts by Trump and his supporters before, during and after the election to try and overturn legitimate results, including voter suppression tactics in Republican-controlled states, pressure on Republicans in charge of elections to commit fraud or "find" votes that didn't exist, and fradulent claims of voter irregularities, mis-counts and other lies, over 81 million Americans stood up and said "NO!" to a Trump second term. Actually 81,268,924 legitimately cast ballots by American voters said "YES!" to Joe Biden. Actually a total of 84,167,249 said "NO!" to Trump.
That's how we do it in this country.
The period of time between November 3, 2020 and January 20, 2021 confirms the absolute unfitness of Trump to ever serve in elected office again. The damage he did to the Constitution by his resistance to the peaceful transfer of power is unforgiveable, inexcuseable and should result in his spending the rest of his life in prison. And that extends to anyone who was part of his administration and participated in that disaster.
Everything bad that we knew about this lying, cheating demagogue prior to his run for the White House was confirmed once the vote totals were certified and the electoral votes were cast. Trump and his associates did everything within their power to subvert the Constitution, attack the democratic process and disenfranchise American voters. He tried to steal the election before it happened, and when that didn't work, he tried to steal it afterward, including inciting an insurrection that was an attempt to overthrow Congress and remain in office afterward, as a dictator since that would be the only result of such an action. In short, he tried to destroy our country, my country, your country.
The influence of Donald Trump, and of Trumpism, needs to be removed from America as quickly and as thoroughly as it can be done.
Pursuing the Legal Consequences
I'm all in favor of Congress and the Justice Department pursuing every legal avenue possible against Trump and his cronies, not only for the insurrection and rebellion that he incited, but for other crimes he committed while in office or even before he entered office. He should be held accountable in the same way any ordinary American citizen would be if they had committed the same crimes. There's no doubt of his role in inciting the insurrection and he should be held responsible, including for the deaths that occurred. Of course, anything like that would be considered political, and for that reason, it is not likely to result in much more than some lower level people going to prison as scapegoats. I'd settle for a permanent ban on Trump ever being able to run for public office again, or being stripped of his citizenship.
But if the law is going to stand, it has to be supported. Regardless of criticism, the Constitutional provisions for investigation and justice need to be carried out or it will be meaningless. The law needs to be enforced. Trump is a lawbreaker and needs to be subject to the penalties of law for his crimes.
Voting is the Way to Get Rid of Trumpism
The best way to rid the country of the destructive, dangerous ideas of Trumpism is for those who see its danger to make sure they vote. The ideas planted in people's minds that led to the disastrous attack on the US Capitol at the end of Trump's presidency won't go away just because he's been made subject to the law. Trumpism is a rebellion against the rule of law, an attack on democratic principles fueled by lies and misleading distortions of the truth.
So 84 million Americans went to the polls on November 3, 2020 and voted for change. And they got it.
The contrast between the confusion, disorder and a country literally coming apart at the seams during the whole Trump administration, and particularly during its last year, makes you wonder if you are even living in the same company. The fact that the United States managed to put an insane, unstable, self-absorbed, indulgent maniac in its highest office is, frankly, unfathomable. I'm not a social scientist, but I believe a combination of circumstances led to the Trump disaster, including a complete breakdown of our educational system, which has geared itself toward technology, science and math to benefit the economic establishment at the expense of social studies and history that are essential for the preservation of a constitutional, democratic republic, along with prolific social media that creates massive confusion and undermines the accountability of a free press.
The 2020 election was a temporary reprieve. America's enemies are still out there and so is the means to subvert our government and our nation. Among Trump supporters are those who are willing to show their stupidity and ignorance, threatening civil war or state secession if they don't get their way, ideas whose origins have been linked to Vladimir Putin. No loyal American patriot would ever utter such words, or think such thoughts, except that they are pathetically ignorant of the circumstances in the world today. We have a narrow window of opportunity here to unite the country and rid it of the ignorance and influence of Trumpism for good.
It rests with the ballot box.
The attacks that are being waged against voting rights are a clear sign that free and fair elections are the enemy of Trumpism. So that battle needs to be won first. And the best way to win it is to identify the sources of it in the state legislatures and put some effort into voter turnout that changes the make-up of those chambers. That means fighting the gerrymandering attempts that are already occurring to try and disenfranchise voters using geography and making sure that voters can identify the politicians behind it so they can vote against them when the time comes. It will take a lot of work, but there is evidence that it can be done. The voter turnout in 2020 is evidence of that.
Of course, the courts should be used wherever possible, though many of the judges in both the state and federal systems are infected with Trumpism as well. But using the vote to change the make-up of the legislature is far more effective and decisive. Yeah, there are always setbacks and there are those places where the ignorant have a lock on the electorate. But I'm optimistic at this point because it is part of the agenda, people are talking about it, money is being raised to fund the effort, and I see a much higher level of awareness on social media than previously. The President is involved and isn't backing away in spite of some of the obstacles being thrown in.
There were 84 million American voters who cast ballots to put an end to the most incompetent, inept, corrupt and destructive presidency in American history. They succeeded. And in spite of all of the power of the presidency being brought to bear against the peaceful transition of power, it happened anyway, a victory for patriotic, freedom loving Americans and a defeat for the enemies of the constitution and our democratic republic. The will of the people prevailed once again. It must keep prevailing and that is dependent on making sure that patriotic Americans cast ballots in ways that defeat the nation's internal enemies.
Our Democratic Republic Can't be Taken for Granted
This isn't about issues. Trump's "agenda" isn't driven by conviction or belief, it is driven by a quest for power. Everything is a "deal." He has zero respect for the authority of the constitution. He made three appointments to the Supreme Court and when the court's unanimous rulings denied giving credence to his lies about massive voter fraud, he ripped Justice Kavanaugh to shreds, claiming he wasn't really qualified, that he did him a favor by appointing him "over the objection of most of the Senators," and that he wouldn't even be practicing law if he weren't on the court. He made appointments based on an expectation that they would return the favor, not that they would follow the law.
He did the same thing with Jeff Sessions, appointing him Attorney General and then expecting him to act as his personal attorney. When Sessions recused himself from the Mueller investigation, an act of unusual integrity for him, Trump blew up and Sessions was eventually fired. That kind of attitude shows a blatant, deliberate ignorance of constitutional law, an appalling lack of integrity and a corrupt character. Giving him the reins of the Presidency put this country in the gravest danger it has ever experienced. Trumpism is a greater threat than Communism. It was a demonstration that it is possible to destroy America from within and the fact that his supporters are either blind to it and refuse to see it or actually support it themselves should be the best reason we have to take it seriously and make every effort we can to eradicate it once and for all. And that effort starts at the ballot box, making sure that Trump is never even nominated for public office and that no Trump supporter or enabler gets elected to public office.
Our government institutions are not permanent. They have lasted quite a while across the history of the world but there was a time, not all that long ago, that they did not exist. There is no guarantee that they will continue to exist. The basis of our government, which is a democratic republic, is that the political power is vested in the citizens of the country. Because the foundation is so deeply rooted and so broad, its strength lies in the willingness of its people to participate in it and the greatest common asset that it offers is freedom.
Its biggest enemies are ignorance and apathy, two of the pillars of Trumpism. It is almost unfathomable to me that there are people in this country who lack the vision to see what a different place America and the world would be if our country did not exist, or, if it were not a constitutional democratic republic. Our freedom is so extensive, and the confidence it breeds is so great, that it allows ideas to exist which are actually dangerous to the very freedom that protects them. Those ideas have to be exposed, identified as dangerous and neutralized.
That happens at the ballot box.
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