Abandon The Truth And Lose Democracy

Posted: January 6, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”

— Joni Mitchell in “Big Yellow Taxi”

Today marks the third anniversary of the insurrection designed to keep Donald J. Trump in office. Yesterday, President Joe Biden gave a speech in Valley Forge Pennsylvania reminding all of us that the attack that day was anti-American and against all of the values that we say we stand for in our country. He also reminded us that without due diligence, it will happen again. Sadly, he is correct.

The effective propaganda campaign waged by the Insurrectionist-in-Chief and his accomplices in the U.S. House of Representatives and the right-wing media is astonishingly effective. The Washington Post made headlines this week when it announced that in a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, twenty-five percent of Americans believe that it is “definitely” or “probably” true that the FBI instigated the assault on the Capitol. Even more astounding and dangerous to me is that in that same poll, seventy-seven percent of Trump voters are “not sure” or “definitely” believe that the FBI organized and encouraged the attack.

As we start the new year, it seems that our collective optimism that a new year can bring new and improved elements to our lives, is, I am afraid, misplaced. Apparently, the MAGA attempts to destroy our country so that a “strong man” (hint, hint) can take charge and straighten out our nation’s course are going to continue and where possible, are doubled down. Let’s start with the House of Representatives. The MAGA Republicans (essentially all of those Republicans in the House) are holding hostage a bill to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and our southern border until all of their demands (which coincidentally exactly match Trump’s) are met. For good measure, they are threatening to fail to act to keep the government open when the current continuing resolution (CR) partially runs out on 19 January 2024. (The CR is in two parts for different government functions. The other runs out on 2 February,) While Republicans in the Senate negotiate with Senate Democrats and the president, the House leadership refuses to participate and Speaker Mike Johnson (MAGA-LA) supports the most extreme demands of his caucus. 

All of which ignores the fact that the president and Democrats in the House and Senate all agree that we need to strengthen the border and have asked for roughly fourteen billion dollars to hire new Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) agents and asylum judges, provide aid to border areas dealing with the influx of migrants and to take other measures to strengthen the border. This is not enough for the Republican House who demand, among other things, restricting asylum requests and detaining those seeking asylum until their case is heard (currently that could be years), building Trump’s border wall (while over-riding any environmental or historical concerns and allowing for non-negotiable rights of imminent domain to confiscate private land for the wall), rolling back current protections for immigrant minors, and they want to preclude any reforms to the immigration system such as paths to citizenship or legalizing “Dreamers” (immigrants that were brought into the country as young children and now have lived, gone to school and worked in the United States and are, for all practical purposes, Americans.) There is more in their plan codified in House Resolution 2, but you get the idea. 

In sum, the House under the leadership of a MAGA Speaker refuses to help Ukraine fight Russia, provide needed assistance to Israel and Gaza, support Taiwan against an ever increasingly aggressive China, and provide needed assistance to our own border. But of course, they do not really care about the border. It is only a cudgel to be used to campaign against Democrats in general and President Biden in particular. Or as Texas MAGA Representative Troy Nehls said this week about the president’s border proposals, “Let me tell you, I’m not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating.” A great American. The issue is not solving the border problems, it is winning an election.

Speaking of such, let us return to the insurrection that increasing numbers of Americans believe is either fake, or “no big deal.” The story is a familiar one but worth repeating. Trump won the Electoral College in 2016, but as you will recall, he lost the popular vote. Immediately he called “fraud” “rigged” and claimed that there were gross improprieties in the way the results were tabulated. He then put together a national commission to prove that there was voter fraud in the 2016 election. The results of the investigation? Crickets. There was no fraud. The commission quietly disbanded. In Trump world, very little is new or original so he used the same script in 2020. Only this time he lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College. As president he tried to marshal all the resources at his command to upend the results and remain in office. When those efforts failed to work, he instigated an insurrection and gave “aid” and “comfort to the enemies” of the United States. 

Here is the through line. From the beginning Trump claimed that the “deep state” and “Democrats” did not want him to be president because he would fight for the “little guy.” He made that argument in 2016, again during his presidency, and in 2020. Those lined up against the little guy would do anything to keep him from becoming president again. He has been consistent over the last three years in claiming that the 2020 and 2016 elections were rigged. Any effort to debunk that claim is derided as being part of the conspiracy to keep him from office. Thus the insurrection was dialed up by the FBI, the courts are against him, he is unfairly being kept from what is rightfully his (and his cult followers) and on and on and on. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, a continuing spiral. Everything is rigged and you, the common person, are getting screwed because you are not getting what you deserve and I will give it to you. When someone is in the cult, it all makes sense. Swallowing wholesale the idea that the establishment does not want Trump in power results in everything else that happens to him make sense. It is not his fault, it is the deep state out to get him. For true believers (and there are millions, but there are also politicians that don’t buy any of that junk but see a path to their own power — more despicable than the believers) it all makes sense.

Very dangerous.

Which leads us to the Supreme Court agreeing to hear Trump’s appeal of the Colorado court’s decision to invoke the 14th Amendment, Section 3 finding that he was part of an insurrection against the United States and therefore ineligible to hold office. 

For a minute, I have to pause. Which one of us would ever think that it was necessary to go to court to stop a major U.S. political party candidate from running for president after instigating an insurrection? The mere thought of it is absurd. In my mind it would be inconceivable that anyone that tried to overthrow the government would be a leading candidate for president. Or at least it would have been for most of my life. I used to think about some folks in our country and their actions and say “this is not who we are” as a nation. Now, given that millions of people, knowing all of the facts, still support a man that tried to overthrow our government, I am beginning to wonder. Maybe this is who we are as a nation.

My own view is that the Supreme Court will find a technicality to keep Trump on the ballot without actually addressing whether or not he fomented an insurrection and subsequently gave aid and comfort to the insurrectionists. If that happens, then we have lost our way as a nation. Even now, Trump calls the insurrectionists “patriots” and “political hostages.” He vows to pardon them and have government officials apologize to them. He promises revenge and retribution to get even with his perceived enemies. 

Let’s quickly review the facts. More than 140 police officers were injured that day. To date 1,240 individuals have been charged with federal crimes relating to that day, 452 of them for assaulting law enforcement officers and roughly 900 have been convicted in a trial or pleaded guilty to their crimes. For 187 minutes Trump sat on his butt and refused efforts as Commander-in-Chief to take action to stop it, which in my professional career constitutes a gross negligence of duty. Obviously his oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution means nothing to him. This man has no socially redeeming value to our country. And yet, he has a chance of being elected our president and becoming a “dictator” on day one, as he publicly promised. 

Some people are upset that the courts may decide that Trump is ineligible to run for president. Let the voters decide at the ballot box, they say. I say why? He has already proven that he will not accept the results of any election unless he wins in a landslide. He has tried since 2015 to actively undermine our democracy. He led a coup for goodness sake! What makes anyone think that he will follow any rules, regulations or “guardrails”? He will not. He does not deserve to run for president much less to serve. Is it undemocratic to disallow Barak Obama or George W. Bush from running? They would be popular candidates today and many people would vote for them. They cannot of course, because the Constitution says that they cannot. The same Constitution applies to Trump. I am tired of him getting special consideration that you or I would not get. Frankly, I am just tired. The man is ruining our country, wholly aided and abetted by weak people in the Republican MAGA party that are literally physically afraid of him or that have sold their souls for a smidgeon of power.

Too many people think that “it can’t happen here.” All of the evidence is right in front of our faces. It can happen here. It is happening here. There are forces at work to destroy our country in order to rebuild it in their image of a white, “Christian,” male dominated society where the “right people” dictate to the rest of us as to how to live our lives. Trump just happens to be their standard bearer. Stopping him will put a crimp in their plans but it will not stop their efforts when a new Trumpian figure is in place. The bulk of the Republican party no longer is the party of small government, state’s rights and limited spending. They still talk that game but their actions show that really they want a large monolithic government that dictates the life choices, health care, education, even what books to read for our fellow citizens. It is their way or the highway. Otherwise you and I are “vermin” “poisoning the blood” of America. Believe what they tell you.

For 246 years we have had a pretty good ride as a democratic republic that values the freedom of individuals. Ours is not a perfect union, but throughout our history we strived “to form a more perfect union.” We sure will miss it if we lose it.

“A Republic If You Can Keep It”

Posted: December 21, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In a 4-3 vote on 19 December 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court reached a momentous and far-reaching decision. Citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, they deemed that Donald J. Trump was ineligible to be president again because he engaged in an insurrection on 6 January 2021. This decision raises many perplexing questions that could impact the future of our democratic republic.

The 14th Amendment was enacted in 1868 to solidify the civil rights gained through the Civil War. Primarily, it protects the rights of all Americans by addressing the basic tenets of citizenship in the United States. Perhaps its most cited sections concern birth-right citizenship and equal protection under the law found in Section 1 of the five sections. Section 3 is included to prevent former Confederates from holding state or federal office and reads as follows:

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of 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.”

The Colorado decision will undoubtedly be appealed by Trump’s lawyers to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), as I believe it should. While current “conservatives” push state’s rights, our system will not function if each state decides for itself what criteria are necessary to run for president. The question is how quickly the SCOTUS will hear the case. The Colorado court stayed its decision until 4 January 2024, unless the case is heard by the SCOTUS before then. The date reflects a 5 January deadline for printing the state’s primary ballot. There is precedent for a quick SCOTUS decision regarding presidential ballots as found in the 5-4 decision in 2000 that effectively handed George W. Bush the presidency in the case Bush v Gore.

Before moving forward with this piece, there are a few things to say up front. I am not an attorney and certainly not an expert on the Constitution. I do, however, have a brain and believe that this section of the amendment is pretty straight forward in its language. I must also add that this case in not the result of far left wing radicals or an attempt by Democrats to derail the Trump campaign. The plaintiffs in the case are five conservative Republicans and an independent voter. The original arguments for applying the 14th Amendment to Trump came from some of the most conservative judges in the country, including members of the Federalist Society. It remains relevant to remember that the ruling disqualifies Trump from the ballot. It does not impose any punishment or result in a conviction for a crime. As is often cited, he is not qualified under the 14th Amendment just as he would not be qualified if he failed to meet the other requirements for the presidency under the Constitution (at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen and lived in the country for at least 14 years).

It would be easy to get down in the weeds and parse every word of Section 3. I am sure some will do exactly that. It seems to me that there are a few salient points that address the issues in larger ways through these main arguments. 

Is the president an “officer of the United States?” Common sense and logic say yes. Why would the Constitution disqualify an insurrectionist from every office requiring an oath to the Constitution, except for the highest office in the land and the one most susceptible to danger from insurrection? The counter argument is that the Constitution often references specific requirements, duties or official actions for office holders. The President and Vice President are not listed in Section 3 by name so therefore they cannot be disqualified for being insurrectionists. This just does not pass the logic test. It does not even pass the Trump logic test. In other court cases he is arguing that he is immune from prosecution as an officer of the government, but here, he claims not to be. 

Another area of dispute involves the boundaries of what exactly constitutes an insurrection. Was the attack on Congress on 6 January an insurrection? And if it was, how is Trump as president responsible for the attack or giving “aid and comfort” to it? To me, the actions Trump took for days and weeks leading up to the attack clearly demonstrate his intent and clear actions to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. The counter argument is that Trump has never been found guilty of engaging “in an insurrection or rebellion,” indeed he has yet even to be indicted for insurrection. Therefore, the argument goes, he cannot be disqualified. The Colorado Supreme Court and the lower court before it, studied the available, exhaustive investigations into the attack and unequivocally declared it to be an insurrection. I am with them.

Some argue that the disqualification would be imposed without due process. Again, I am not an attorney but it seems that Trump had lawyers in the court room presenting the case for his continued eligibility. They presented arguments as to why the Constitution should not apply and provided evidence to support their case. They will have the same opportunity in front of the SCOTUS. What more do they want?

Other arguments against the disqualification include questions concerning whether or not the provisions in this amendment are “self-executing.” In other words, is it a provision that can stand on its own and that can be enforced without any other action or laws required? There are a number of self-executing provisions in the Constitution, especially in the designation of powers of the three branches of government. Partly, this is about what exactly is an insurrection or rebellion. Should it be defined in law with specific consequences clarifying the 14th Amendment?

These are the broad outlines of the legal arguments swirling around the Colorado decision. The real fall out, of course, is political. Many MAGA and Republican luminaries are arguing that Trump’s fitness and qualifications for office should be decided at the ballot box. It is, they shout, un-American to keep the people from voting for the candidate of their choice. When I stop laughing, it might be worth noting that Trump tried, and continues to try, to do exactly that. He still claims he won the 2020 election and worked hard (including an insurrection) to keep the will of the voters from coming to fruition. He already tried to overthrow the government! He tried to prevent the duly elected president from taking office! How can that be any more un-American or anti-democratic? One might argue that disqualifying him from the ballot is actually the most pro-American, pro-democracy act we could imagine. The court system works “without fear or favor!”

(Note: In a future piece I plan to address Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, of which this is one more. The main institution that saved our Republic after the 2020 election was the courts. Trump is now working as hard as he can to disrupt, destroy and de-legitimize our court system. If he succeeds, there will be no guard rails to save our democracy should he prevail in 2024.)

The vast majority of the original citizens impacted by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment were never indicted or tried for insurrection or rebellion. There were no Congressional laws defining how the amendment should be applied. Why must we always bend the system to fit Trump’s desires and demands?

I hope that the Justices decide the case purely on legal and Constitutional grounds while ignoring the crescendo of pro-Trumpers that will put tremendous pressure on them to “stay out of politics.” Screaming “separation of powers” and all of that. I do not see how the SCOTUS can ignore the political and social ramifications of any decision they make. It will be viewed as a political decision, whichever way they go. My guess is that they will decide the issue on a narrow technical aspect of the law and the Constitution. As some suggest, they may hang their hat on the final provision of the section and decide that since the Congress can override a “disability” with a two-thirds vote of each House, then this is really a matter for the Congress to decide and the courts should stay out of it. 

In the end, we will be further down the road of dysfunction and division. 2024 will be wild. Be there.