Monday, January 30, 2023

Why are we, as Americans, Allowing This?

 A criminal who led one of the most corrupt presidencies in American history is on the campaign trail seeking election to a second term.  That's exactly the opposite of what should be happening in a country that claims it is a "nation of laws."  If the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the civil rights of the people in whose hands lies the full power of government, cannot prevent a corrupt, criminal, insurrectionist from entering a political campaign to get back into the most powerful political position in the world, after his crimes and corruption have been revealed, then how can it protect the rights of its citizens?  

There are those who would say that the very fact he is on the campaign trail is a testimony to the constitution's protection of freedom of conscience and free speech.  After all, one is innocent until proven guilty, entitled to a speedy trial with a jury of their peers and bears the consequences of their lawbreaking only after being found guilty.  That would be true in normal circumstances, where there is an arrest, indictment, gathering of the evidence and a speedy, fair trial with a jury of peers.  

In most cases, the defendant is subject to arrest and indictment following the commission of the crime of which they are accused.  In this case, the defendant has not only been allowed to walk away from the crime, he has continued to verbally encourage violence as a means of escaping justice.  The media points this out every time he does it and if they can figure this out, then it must not be nearly as complicated as the legal system is making it.  Dozens of defendants in the January 6th Trump Insurrection trials have pointed to the former failed President's statements as the reason for them showing up in Washington, DC on January 6th, and for risking their own jobs, reputations and freedom to do his bidding.  If they figured out that he was inciting an insurrection, surely there are well educated judges and attorneys who could arrange those facts in a trial and come out with a conviction.  

The former failed President has been connected in multiple ways to the direct incitement of the insurrection, involving everything from attempted fraud by encouraging the selection of fake electors and forging electoral documents to leaders of subversive anti-government militias who testified that they were following the President's orders by showing up at the Capitol armed, engaging with police long before the insurrectionists arrived, to disrupt Congress while counting the electoral votes.  

And we know all of this because it has been reported.  Even the extremist media has laid it out so that it is very clear exactly what happened.  

And yet, there he is, an announced candidate for the Republican party's nomination for President in 2024.  Few Republicans have made much of a fuss about his crimes and attempted overthrow of the Constitution and the government, a few more have fussed about the fact that he now appears to be an unelectable millstone around the party's neck, dragging them all down to defeat in 2024, especially if 2022 was supposed to be the bellwether referendum on his political influence.  

And that's just the crime associated with the insurrection.  That doesn't include his refusal to step completely away from his business interests while President, or using campaign donations to buck up failed business ventures, or the pile of obstruction of justice that has been confirmed in the Russia investigation and documented in the Mueller report.  It doesn't include the multiple obstructions, bribes and attempts to get out of half a dozen improprieties or questionable diplomatic and business dealings. Stormy Daniels?  That's still out there and there is both obstruction of justice and real criminal activity he committed involved with that case.  What's going on in Georgia, where another bribery and election fraud attempt is under investigation, for two years now?   

This is not happening in some unstable, third-world, fledgling democracy.  It is happening in the United States of America.  In the one nation on the planet that has served as an example for all other democracies, ours is seemingly powerless to prevent a subversive insurrectionist who attempted to overthrow the legitimately elected government from embarrassing the whole country by being able to run for its highest office.  

Why are we allowing this?

1 comment:

  1. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/failed-political-candidate-indicted-shootings-new-mexico-officials-hom-rcna68316

    They've indicted Solomon Pena and are holding him until trial. What Trump did was worse. Why not indict and hold him until trial, and prevent his campaigning aimed at inciting more violence?

    ReplyDelete