Stunner times two

There was one moment during the first Republican presidential debate on Wednesday that absolutely took my breath away:

When asked by the moderator if Mafia Don were to be convicted in a court of law (and thus imprisoned), would they still vote for him to be President?

Six of the eight candidates raised their hands. Yes, they would support him.

Wait. Candidates running for the office of the President of the United States would vote for a criminal to be president if he was their party's nominee? Holy crap.

On the one hand, I think I know what's happening here. Given the choice, those voting for a criminal would rather do that than see a Democrat in office.

On the other hand, that's still pretty weak sauce. It shows a clear lack of respect for the presidency and it makes me wonder why they're running for the office in the first place if they hold it in such low regard. What a bunch of shallow, heartless, unpatriotic ignoramuses. How does putting a convicted criminal in the presidency serve the people of the United States? I'm pretty sure this unholy concept didn't figure into the thinking of the Founding Fathers as they crafted the Constitution.

Then, about 48 hours later, came the second stunner: Mafia Don received his new identity number as Inmate PO1135809 at the Fulton County Prison for alleged crimes (election interference) committed in Georgia during the 2020 election. You know, where he begs to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger in what is a now a famously infamous phone recording, "I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break."

Give me a break. That's all you need to overthrow the will of the people. That's all you need to topple democracy. Give me a break. In government, these are the words of an unctuous autocratic demagogue.

Of all the 91 charges against him in four different venues, in my mind this recorded conversation stands as the most outstanding piece of evidence against him. Stop the steal, indeed.

Trump's mugshot, to my thinking, is almost comical. He's glowering. He's leering. He looks like a predatory insect out of a Marvel movie adventure searching for the Infinity Stones. You just know he rehearsed the pose over and over in advance, liking what he saw in the mirror. He might have have the shot taken over and over in the booking office until the cameraman got it right.

And now the T-shirt with the mugshot can be yours for a mere $34.

I don't know. I guess my vision of American government is more idealistic, and certainly less cynical, than what Mafia Don has to offer. I envision politicians who actually work for the people to try and make the lives of their constituents better; I envision politicians who actually abide by their oaths of office. 

It shouldn't be that difficult.

Let's try the 14th Amendment

Well, this is interesting:

"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector or President and Vice-President or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House remove such disability."

That's Section 3 of the 14th Amendment (1868) to the Constitution. It's not a particularly easy read, say, like a James Patterson novel or your everyday sports page, but there it is – a pathway to keep Mafia Don from running for president again.

Well, at least in theory.

It was originally designed to keep former Confederates from entering Federal government after the Civil War. That's logical enough if you consider the Confederacy to be an immoral (a slave state) and treasonous (anti-Constitutional) conspiracy.

Our Constitution is genius. It anticipated the arrival of Mafia Don.

The clause, however, known as the "disqualification clause," has never been tested.

Since we've never had a president question the outcome of a free and fair election before, and we've never had a president incite an insurrection before (or had a president liable for sexual assault, or impeached twice or indicted four times for a total of 91 crimes – including racketeering), we're treading upon previously untreaded ground here.

The clause, as it reads, gives Congress the power to disqualify someone who has already held a public office from holding "any office" if they participate in an "insurrection or rebellion" against the United States. 

While the clause applies to current or former federal officials, there is a question as to whether or not it applies to the presidency.

I suspect that if the clause is ever invoked, it ultimately will be headed to the Supreme Court. You know, the Supreme Court that is currently dealing with its own issues of lapses in ethics and morals. Supreme, indeed.

I don't know if invoking the 14th Amendment will actually succeed, but as 2024 approaches with more and more speed, and as the indictments weigh more heavily upon Mafia Don's shoulders, I bet you'll hear more and more about it. It would certainly be interesting to see the 14th Amendment play out against a fascist former president who actually called for the suspension of the Constitution (see here.)

Very interesting, indeed.

 

Here we go

When District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a protective order on Friday toward criminal defendant (and former President of the United States) Donald Trump, indicted for alleged crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, it was to prevent him from disseminating material obtained from the government during the discovery phase of the trial.

In other words, to keep his mouth shut. No more "If you come after me, I'm coming after you" stuff and thus effectively tainting the jury pool. Jury tampering, if you will.

Well, here it is Sunday morning, and as far as I know, Trump has remained relatively silent. It might be a personal record for silence, I don't know. Part of me is pretty sure that Chutkan will throw Trump in jail for any violation of the order, and part of me thinks that Trump is arrogant enough to force the issue, reasoning that 24 hours or so in the hoosegow is exactly what he wants to further inflame his base of whiny and aggrieved supporters.

This, Trump's third indictment with a fourth one expected from Georgia later this week, illustrates the sad state of affairs No. 45 has brought on this country: conspiracy, fraud, conspiracy to defraud, obvious lies stated as his perceived notion of fact, liable for sexual assault, apartheid, subversion of democracy, voter suppression, misogamy, delusion of reality, unconstitutionality and simple meaness.

In my mind, he might be the most un-American president in our history.

•  •  •

I guess it's no surprise that in the Trump era – whether he's president or not – we have a conservative Supreme Court that reflects Trump's arrogance.

I'm thinking of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who is busy accepting 38 vacations in the past 30 years – some apparently unreported – from billionaire donors like Harlan Crow and others. Man, if there's one way to corrupt the judicial system, money would be it. 

So how can we be sure Thomas' decisions on the court are not being influenced by his donor friends? Why isn't Chief Justice John Roberts laying down an ethics rule book?

Is the title "Justice" even appropriate for members of this court?

•  •  •

Republican Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville (who might not actually be from Alabama) is single-handedly withholding 301 promotions in all five branches of the military because of the military's policy on abortion. Tuberville, who says he is a pro-lifer, objects to the military's paid leave and reimbursed travel expenses for personnel seeking abortions in states that have not banned or restricted the procedure.

Because of Tuberville, both the Army and the Marine Corps are waiting for commandants to be promoted into their positions of leadership. Because of Tuberville's idiocy, the military – and thus the nation's security – is at a greater risk. Culture war versus security. Imagine that. Meanwhile, Tuberville insists he's on a righteous crusade.

I'd ask why anybody would support a clown like this. Then I remember when Trump said that military personnel who died in the line of duty were suckers...that coming from Private Bone Spurs himself. And look at the support he continues to receive.

All of this stuff is why many folks find themselves worrying for the democracy of this country as the 2024 general elections draw closer and closer.

It's time to think hard about what we want for this country. There are no protective orders in an autocracy.

Unpresidential

 "If you go after me, I'm coming after you."

          - Donald Trump, August 4, 2023

The above quote sounds a whole lot like something a Mafia Don would say.

Instead, this was posted on former president Donald Trump's oxymoronic Truth Social platform. It sounds like a threat. I think it was meant to be a threat. I think the clearly unhinged ex-POTUS was aiming this threat at potential jurors, prosecutors, judges, potential witnesses, bailiffs, court stenographers, court custodians and anyone else connected to any of his three – and no doubt soon to be four – indictments that so far are totaling more than 70 charges of illegalities against him.

You know, things like obstruction, conspiracy to fraud, battery, defamation, violation of the Espionage Act and making false statements. Among others.

Just what you want from a president.

"If you go after me, I'm coming after you."

There has been a plethora of inspiring moments from other presidents worthy of our consideration: 

• "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." – John F. Kennedy

• "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right..." – Abraham Lincoln

• "A house divided against itself cannot stand." – Abraham Lincoln

• "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." – Franklin Delano Roosevelt 

•  "Believe you can and you're halfway there." – Theodore Roosevelt

• "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." – Theodore Roosevelt

• "It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." – George Washington

• "Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light." – George Washington

Those are just a few incredible presidential moments designed, in part, to help unite the country in its times of travail. It's what presidents do. It's in their job description, especially the part that says "... will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

And then we have this:

"If you go after me, I'm coming after you."

Sweet Jesus, how did this man ever get to the presidential podium? He reeks of privilege, of arrogance, of malignant malevolence, of insipid ignorance, of consciousness of guilt, of cognitive dissonance, of anything but the humane American character found in the shared DNA of our national history (both good and bad) and experience.

And now he's running for a second term, determined to complete the damage he's already inflicted upon us, determined to replace our democracy with autocracy, to divide us further with his hypocrisy and lies.

Mafia Don's first term as president was an American anomaly. A second term would be suicide. This cannot happen to us again. It cannot.