No human being with a conscience, a belief in American values, or a semi-functioning moral compass would dispute the fact that Donald Trump is a despicable human being. Simply put, Trump should never have been allowed to occupy a place he has no right even visiting, and it is an opinion no small number of Republicans held prior to Trump’s unlikely victory in 2016.
That so-called victory enabled Trump to lead the GOP’s long-running assault on America, its people, and its constitutionally-protected democratic institutions. It is easy to lay all blame on Trump for America’s rapid demise as a representative democracy, but the real blame belongs to Republicans in Congress. Trump is only executing policies Republicans have advocated for decades, and they willingly allow Trump to violate constitutionally-mandated procedures to maintain his loyalty to their causes.
No matter how one assesses the current state of American politics, it is no exaggeration to claim that Republicans have willingly abdicated their constitutionally-mandated responsibility to hold the leader of the Executive Branch to his sworn oath to support the nation’s founding document. The sad truth is that the assault on the Constitution, and the American people, began long before Trump’s poorly-attended inauguration. And, they will continue unabated regardless of Trump’s absurd tenure in the Oval Office.
There is little doubt that if a Democrat in the White House acted like the rule of law and the Constitution did not apply to them, congressional Republicans would have impeached and removed them with extreme prejudice. This is certainly true because when Republicans were convinced that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would easily win the 2016 presidential election, they announced plans to spend the next four years investigating the same issues they spent the previous four years investigating only to “find nothing.” Their goal was to quickly impeach Hillary Clinton after she was sworn in office after the election.
Instead of holding Trump to account for, among other things, violating the Emoluments Clause, Anti-nepotism Statute, and the so-called “Take Care” Clause, Republicans in Congress sat on their hands and enabled Trump’s corruption. Despite the Constitution clearly stating it is the obligation of Congress to, for example, impose tariffs, congressional Republicans looked the other way when Trump began his trade war with allies and opponents alike.
It is not that they are ignorant of Trump’s crimes, Republicans just don’t care because he willingly signs any Republican legislation that crosses his desk and duly appoints every hyper partisan religious conservative Moscow Mitch McConnell submits to infect the federal judiciary.
There is no better proof that McConnell’s flagrant disregard for the Constitution is on par with Trump’s than his refusal to “allow” then-President Barack Obama to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court. McConnell also led his party’s concerted efforts to obstruct any other of President Obama’s choices to head federal agencies, as well as nominate officials to fill vacant positions on the federal judiciary. The Constitution is clear in how SCOTUS and judicial vacancies are to be filled, but McConnell, like Trump, doesn’t adhere to the document he swore a “so help me god” oath to support and defend.
Although there are many theories regarding why Republicans continue supporting and protecting Trump from facing the consequences of leading a corrupt administration, it is most likely that Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman called it correctly. Republicans willingly support Trump’s lies, racism and authoritarian tendencies simply because Trump’s primary agenda is the Republicans’ agenda; raiding the Treasury to further enrich the already wealthy. And, if any American believes Republicans are finished using Trump they are beyond delusional. The theocrats in the GOP cannot control America’s women without Trump’s assistance in creating what Republicans and their religious right supporters demand – a Christian-run judiciary founded on the Christian bible’s Ten Commandments..
It is almost certain that Republicans know well that Trump should have been impeached and removed from office before he could inflict serious damage on the country. Instead, they have sat idly by and allowed Trump to implement policies, including those put in place by Republican administrations, to sate his vile xenophobic acolytes and evangelical sycophants lusting for an American Christian theocracy.
It is obvious to any decent American that to preserve what remains of American values Trump has to go. However, it is just as crucial to put an end to Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell. Moscow Mitch and his cohorts in the GOP will continue abusing the Constitution and the American people to further enrich the already wealthy and corporations.
If McConnell and Trump remain in power Americans can prepare for and expect a proper annihilation of domestic social programs and any policy intended for the general welfare of the people. Some might wonder why Republicans failed to convict Trump after he did the GOP’s bidding with tax cuts for the rich and began a vicious deregulation frenzy, but Trump’s announcement on Thursday signaled why Republicans still need him in the White House. He said he would fulfill the GOP’s long-standing dream of slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to reduce the trillions-of-dollars the Republican tax cuts added to the deficit.
America’s women may as well prepare to accept their fate as official third class citizens, because with McConnell’s valuable assistance Trump has created a federal judiciary Hell-bent on eliminating any and all semblance of a woman’s fundamental human right to self determination regarding her own body. In that sense, like giving the rich and corporations the keys to the Treasury, Trump and his Republican enablers have given the religious right the federal judiciary they demanded to eliminate a women’s right to control their own bodies.
Of all the vile things one might say about Donald Trump, it is that he is the personification of a hardline, nasty Republican. Over at Esquire Charlie Pearce summed up best the major problem plaguing America today. Mr. Pearce wrote that: “Trumpism is Republicanism inflated with poison gas.”
If Democratic candidates for any office fail to remind voters of that simple fact, then they can expect Republicans to do well in November regardless of Trump’s chances of re-election.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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