Blog#44- 9/27/20
WILL IT BE A FUNERAL OR A WAR FOR DEMOCRACY?
By
Richard Davis
Just when it looked as though the current political climate in this country could not get any worse, events unfolded that have pushed us closer to unprecedented constitutional and human crises. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Supreme Court justice who changed the world for the better, has passed on. Her legacy will last for generations and life will be better for many Americans years after her death.
But the Republican politicians in Washington want to shorten the mourning period and act quickly to move the court as far to the right as they can. They have vowed to place a Trump appointee as quickly as possible and, because our government no longer serves the people, the minority viewpoint will prevail and the court will tilt to the right for too many years.
As bad as all that is there is another crisis looming. We have a president who will not rule out using force to determine the outcome of an election if it does not go his way. Many people have used all kinds of ways to describe this mentally ill president, but no one in his circle or in the Republican party is willing to stand up to his madness and make him accountable to the American people.
Over the past four years Trump has acted as if this country is one of his hotels or golf courses and we are now paying the price for this lack of accountability. They have let him go too far and he believes that he owns the presidency the way he owns a hotel and that no one should be able to take it away from him.
There are a lot of issues relating to Trump’s abuse of power and since he uses the justice department as his own private legal team he will never face legal opposition while in office. Any hope that he and his corrupt family will face legal consequences once he finally leaves office is fading faster than daylight on a winter afternoon.
We could talk about all of these gut wrenching issues but all the talk in the world will not change the fact that this country is being taken away from at least sixty percent of Americans. Most protests have centered around racial issues and that has been a good thing. But there is more at stake as we head closer to the November election.
It is possible that we could see the American democracy dissolve as Trump steals the election. Thomas Jefferson had the foresight to see that the government that he helped to create could face difficult challenges in later years. He said “…every generation needs a new revolution” and that, “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
I have never been so anxious about the political state of affairs in this country because we are being ruled, not governed. The rulers are people who feel no obligation to abide by any moral or ethical code.
Has the time come for a U.S. civil war? Will Americans allow the reigning cabal to grab power without consent of the governed? What will it take to restore some degree of balance to the American form of government?
What if Trump loses the election?
Donald Trump may win or lose, but he will never concede. Not under any circumstance. Not during the Interregnum and not afterward. If compelled in the end to vacate his office, Trump will insist from exile, as long as he draws breath, that the contest was rigged.
He’s already saying it.
Trump’s behavior and declared intent leave no room to suppose that he will accept the public’s verdict if the vote is going against him. He lies prodigiously—to manipulate events, to secure advantage, to dodge accountability, and to ward off injury to his pride. An election produces the perfect distillate of all those motives.
Barton Gellman in “The Atlantic”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-election-that-could-break-america/ar-BB19kN77?ocid=uxbndlbing
You asked
Has the time come for a U.S. civil war? It would be interesting to divide the country up by location and/or philosophy. Some people would have to move.
Will Americans allow the reigning cabal to grab power without consent of the governed? If they are reigning they already have power. As for grabbing power, see Bush v Gore, or more recently DNC v Sanders. Easy to do, and Americans allow it. There might be some angry tweets, though. Watch out!
What will it take to restore some degree of balance to the American form of government? Stock market crashes get the attention of politicians. National disasters, no. March on DC, no. Writing letters, no. Pandemics, no. I think people have to stop supporting the corruption of the two party system for things too really change, but most people are afraid of that possible change and settle for old habits and voting for the lesser of two evils. That’s been a downward spiral of lowest common denominators and we’re about to do it again. Neither of the major candidates are what this country needs now, but people on both sides are digging in with support for them. I’m going to watch the debate tonight. I expect to see two people that I wouldn’t want in my house, let alone representing my interests. But that’s where we are. Getting money out of politics and corporations out of law-making would do much to improve things, in my opinion.