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This morning, I am attempting to shift my thinking from reactive to analytical.
So… there’s a long thread coming.
So… there’s a long thread coming.
First, Trump’s promise of a peaceful transition is immaterial. We have four years of Trump spouting promises that range from the ludicrous to manipulative to patently untrue.
There is no reason to take any comfort in any promise Trump makes. And that essentially makes him unfit
There is no reason to take any comfort in any promise Trump makes. And that essentially makes him unfit
Both the 25th Amendment, impeachment procedure and censoring should be pursued, regardless of whether they will succeed or fail: if the law consistently refused to prosecute for fear of failing at trial, there would be no law at all. The three acts are all appropriate measures
They are all the legal tools at the disposal of a state founded on the rule of law. The point is to see them being employed. The added point is that if any of them succeed, it will mean that Trump can never run for office again. This is important.
It is important because the lingering threat of a Trump run in the future seems to be keeping many GOP politicians from doing the right thing. While it’s despicable that they should require that cover, they clearly need it to behave morally, ethically and legally.
Second, Trump and his GOP enablers need to be prosecuted for fomenting disorder. It is illegal to shout fire in a crowded theatre and, essentially, the perpetuation of the lies about the election is just that. Fully 1/3 of America believe these lies, and it will require ...
Very public, transparent gestures in order to begin to disabuse them of these fallacies, or the country will smoulder towards greater levels of discord.
There are cleverer, more efficient Trumps learning from his mistakes, preparing to harness this weakness to their purpose.
There are cleverer, more efficient Trumps learning from his mistakes, preparing to harness this weakness to their purpose.
To let Trump and his co-conspirators off the hook for the sake of momentary peace and quiet will not be seen as an act of reconciliation by his supporters, but as weakness and ineffectualness. THey are authoritarians who do respect force.
The US government needs to act with force against insurrection and its authors ‘pour encourager les autres’. To warn the many other budding Trumps that their attempt to take on his mantle will end in their public humiliation.
It is in the Democratic DNA to be reasonable, to let bygones be bygones, to attempt to understand the feelings and motives of those enabled by Trump’s authoritarianism and lawlessness. But it is vital the center and the left be VERY pragmatic right now.
Because the future of working democracies is at stake.
The language of chaos and disorder that Trump has taught his supporters and his pretenders needs to be deconstructed publicly and with impunity.
There always have been and will be a percentage of the population who
The language of chaos and disorder that Trump has taught his supporters and his pretenders needs to be deconstructed publicly and with impunity.
There always have been and will be a percentage of the population who
are amenable and manipulatable by forces like Trumpism. You cannot get rid of them. But those same people are highly susceptible to shows of force.
The democratic mechanisms of the US need, at this moment, to enact a dramatic show of public legal censure.
Now.
The democratic mechanisms of the US need, at this moment, to enact a dramatic show of public legal censure.
Now.
Because the kind of forces behind the Trumpist movement will take anything less as an opening to go further.
It’s a moment for terrible tough love: impeachment, 25th Amendment, Censure… do them all.
It’s a moment for terrible tough love: impeachment, 25th Amendment, Censure… do them all.
"Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done”
This quote from Lord Hewart is very relevant here. There is a reason why heads on pikes were such an effective gesture.
The legal challenges Trump has lost have all been quiet, staid legal proceedings...
This quote from Lord Hewart is very relevant here. There is a reason why heads on pikes were such an effective gesture.
The legal challenges Trump has lost have all been quiet, staid legal proceedings...
Their very civility and orderliness make it easy for Trump’s supporters to ignore them and dismiss them.
The state mechanisms of impeachment, 25th Amendment and censure are all very public, very theatrical acts. This is very important to re-aligning that 1/3 of the country.
The state mechanisms of impeachment, 25th Amendment and censure are all very public, very theatrical acts. This is very important to re-aligning that 1/3 of the country.
Authoritarians are acutely sensitive and fearful of public humiliation. That is the tool we must use. The outcome is less important than the enactment of the ritual.
