There's been an erosion of the separation of powers, along with a Congress that, even with a very slim Republican majority, is not going to follow the Constitution. And we have yet to see what limits, if any, the Supreme Court will lay on this unrestrained mess.
Laying Out the Options
Look, let's not beat around the bush here. We know what needs to be done to get this country back on track, and that is to somehow remove Trump from the Presidency. This fact is painfully obvious, just a month and a half into his second term. In spite of the fact that his caterwauling and hollering about the 2020 election being stolen from him was quite the strategy in preventing Democrats from making the same accusation of him this time around, I remain unconvinced that he won this election legitimately. The media is going to great lengths to try and make it appear otherwise, in spite of some glaring evidence that has been dug up by credible sources.
That being said, I also need to point out what we have learned about who we are as Americans in the 21st century. Education, specifically the system of public education that we have developed since the Civil War, has been the primary means of providing an informed and effective electorate, capable of maintaining a constitutional democracy that is truly of, by and for the people. Democracies do not always succeed because, in some countries, mostly underdeveloped and undereducated countries, the electorate does not have the educational background to understand how democracy works and how the people are empowered by it. The sign that we have reached this point in the United States is the number of votes Trump got, plus the number of people who are eligible to vote, but didn't participate at all. Education, as one of the primary means for preserving and protecting government of, by and for the people, has failed to do so.
We have a partisan political element that has been at work for at least 45 years, undermining the balance of power in the Constitution, pushing a white supremacist, Christian nationalist agenda, systematically undermining the function of the constitutional republic by using the opportunities it has when it is the majority party to take control of the judicial system that can't work the way it was designed in the balance of powers when it follows a partisan agenda rather than the rule of law. Republicans have abandoned compromise and negotiation as a means of making government work, and are bent on seeing it fail by demonizing opponents, and undermining the Constitution and the rule of law. Every Republican administration since Reagan has followed this pattern, testing the waters. Trump simply brings the most destructive elements to the table in his gross incompetence, mental instability and moral bankruptcy.
Our options, under the rule of law, include impeachment and removal, the invoking of the 25th amendment, or his resignation. But, there are some important steps that we can take now, which will demonstrate whether or not the Democratic party leadership in the Congress is a genuine opposition group, or a bunch of self-serving pretenders who are not capable of defending American constitutional democracy.
There are three special congressional elections coming up quickly. Control of the House rests on these three seats. Democrats, winning all three, would be in position to put the brakes on everything Trump is trying to do because this would give them control of the House. But in their old school way of looking at elections, Democrats tend to concede based on the odds, and accept defeat before they actually are defeated. I have not seen very much of an organized effort from the Democrats in the House who are charged with the responsibility for congressional election support. Fortunately, there are Democrats who have, on their own initiative, become involved.
They are all fairly red districts, purposefully so. But in special elections, turnout is the key. And whether they are realistically winnable or not, writing them off is simply unacceptable. Doing so would be a sign that our congressional leadership is not up to the task of protecting American democracy from the greatest existential threat it has faced since the Civil War. So these elections will be a test of our ability to protect our democracy from the fascist threat it now faces.
Staying Within the Limits of the Law
The Republicans, and Trump, have made it clear that they are not restrained by the rule of law. They were willing to organize and attempt a coup that would have destroyed the Constitution's peaceful transfer of power, and have clearly demonstrated, by pardoning the insurrectionists, that violent overthrow of the government is within the scope of what they are willing to do in order to gain, and hold, power to push their Christian nationalist, white supremacist agenda. They are equipping the federal government with the means to illegally remain in power, by the use of force and violence to violate the will of the people and there are Republicans, plenty of them, who have become advocates for overturning the rule of law when it is not to their own benefit.
They have already laid the groundwork for civil war. The power and politics of greed, and money, are now in a position to overpower the will of the American people. The Republicans have completely lost all integrity, which is why they have made a morally bankrupt, mentally unbalanced, insane, narcissistic egomaniac the leader of their party and helped elect him to the Presidency, where he has become a demagogue. Whether they are also being pushed along and infiltrated by a Russian element which, since Kruschev, has been pushed along by the claim that they will defeat the United States of America "from the inside, without firing a shot," is a matter of opinion. It certainly is consistent with my opinion. And they won't stop until someone stops them.
I've heard a lot of analogies about the Democratic party leadership facing off against this systematic attempt to take over the United States going back to the days of Reagan. "A day late and a dollar short," has been one of the mantras, as Democrats seem to be taken by surprise when the intentions of the Republicans, sometimes out in the open, are revealed. "Bringing a knife to a gunfight" is another analogy. We spin our wheels trying to explain complicated policies to the American people, while Republicans capture support with a simple message and the ability to saturate the electorate through the media. We're still using 1960's political strategy.
If you want to get an idea of one of the basic problems Democrats have when it comes to controlling the narrative and saturating the electorate, you can watch this video featuring journalist David Pakman interviewing political forecaster and analyst Rachel Bitecofer. This is why we were a day late and a dollar short on the 2024 election. Now the job is much harder.
I'm not an advocate for illegal, unconstitutional, violent means, which is essentially a civil war approach, to making change in American government. We have, in this experiment with democracy, the strongest Constitution in world history. It has been chipped away around the edges, undermined, and our justice department, when it had the chance, failed miserably at strengthening it out of fear of appearing "political." But, while it must be defended, it cannot be preserved by the threat of violence and it cannot be defended by a coup, which defeats the purpose and undermines what it stands for.
Public Pressure is a Powerful Weapon
In about six weeks, we have seen the Trump administration go from a full forward charge into the world of rule by executive order, bypassing or ignoring Congress and the courts, into full backward retreat when the reactions to these impulsive, incompetent actions began to be felt. We have gone from "definitely moving forward on day one with tariffs" to backing off the tariffs, and settling in to wait for a more opportune time, while the stock market crashes. We have moved from uncertainty to complete chaos. And the pressure has generated a definite reaction from a thin skinned demagogue whose mental capacity cannot handle opposition or challenges.
Winning those three congressional races will be key. If we can win in those kind of districts, it will be easier to pressure other Republicans when vote time comes around on other issues.
I think the plans being put in place by Democrats right now, such as Bernie Sanders going on a rally tour, and Democratic members of Congress holding town hall meetings in districts where Republicans won't come out and face the public is also an excellent strategy. Hammer away at the lies they are telling. I've heard Trump say a dozen times that he inherited a terrible economy from Joe Biden, which is a lie. Put the figures up there, prove him wrong and keep hammering at it.
Trump is an egomaniac. So whatever we can do to put the pressure on, we need to do. A relentless barrage may not do anything, and then again, it may create a situation to which he responds with an impulse, and quits. And if not, keep the pressure on.
Trump is an existential threat to American Democracy, and Democrats and independents who believe that must now gather the necessary strength to defeat him, sooner than later if it is at all possible. We don't know that any of our options is impossible unless we give it a try. People are waking up to how bad this is, and it's just been a few weeks. It may be entirely possible to put a stop to the abuse quickly, without having to threaten the constitution and the rule of law.
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