Cogent, compact, and compelling. I hope Merrick Garland is a subscriber to The Bulwark. If not, why not? Does anyone know what caliber pen he's firing?
Charlie, I appreciate your advice to Merrick Garland. The thing that confounds me is that as this Justice Department wrings its hands and frets the question of whether or not to charge Trump, the party of McConnnel and Trump has already made up their mind for when they get control. If you think about the prisoner's dilemma, the Republicans always seem to be the team that takes the deal and sends the Democrats to the slammer for the full charge. Personally, I think the same is ultimately true of the filibuster. It's the one shred of traditionality that McConnel honors. If the GOP doesn't take the Senate and Mitch announces retirement, the Dems should drop the filibuster like a radioactive hot potato because the GOP will do it as soon as they have power and Mitch ain't there to protect it.
Re Garland, if the Senate failed to find the President guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, and they did fail to find that, then that should be that as far January 6 (and the election) is concerned. If he committed crimes via his various business, in whatever way, that is a different matter entirely.
The idea of throwing all the books at TFG reminds me of my reaction to the Kyle Rittenhouse case. If Rittenhouse had been charged with just the first murder, which was clearly NOT self-defense, then I think he would have been convicted. By introducing the subsequent murder and non-fatal shooting the prosecution let in some doubt. I want TFG tried and convicted.
Spot on, Charlie. Trump must be crushed, just like Putin. There is no point to doing anything else. The only chance we have to survive as a democracy is to ensure that people who try to destroy it are punished to the fullest extent of the law. That starts with charging everything that should be charged.
I'm with the Go Big and Soon crowd. To me, the 2016 election proved that anyone can be installed in the Oval Office, anyone no matter how unfit, unqualified, uninterested. What that did was demean the Oval Office to the lowest common denominator. It made it illegitimate. Just as SCOTUS was demeaned and made illegitimate by its own and Mitch McConnell’s perfidies. And Congress does not stand above the other branches but with them, having worked hard to create those downfalls. The result is that if a “president” is “above the law” then EVERYONE is above the law and that is called LAWLESSNESS.
So the mild-mannered Garland has no choice but to prosecute the would-be king if the USA has any hope of ever again having even a semblance of Law and Order or Constitutional rule.
I think that in most countries, Trump and his cronies in WH, Congress and probably SCOTUS, would already have been purged from Government. Nowhere has democracy seemed more incapable of governing than here and now. No wonder people turn away from democracy as a governing principle. Tyrants depend on that. (The world has watched the USA become weaker and weaker and more and more timid and cautious and fearful in the past half century. Both our friends and our enemies have been watching. When did “doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do” go out of favor and become so political and cringe-inducing?)
Let me stipulate that I don't like Dems spending money to support batshit MAGA candidates. However, I don't hear many people mention one possible reason for doing so, which is that MAGA candidates on the ballot are likely to drive Democrats to show up and vote in midterms. Here in Arizona, I suspect that if Karrin Taylor Robson wins the GOP nomination for Governor, Democrats just won't be as galvanized to show up and vote for Katie Hobbs, who lots of people are not that excited about. Robson would be like Doug Ducey 2.0. But if it's Kari Lake on the ballot, Dems will show up just to vote against her.
This is just my theory, and I do still hate the technique. But I think it's as much about bringing out Dems to vote as it is about trying to elevate a preferred weaker candidate.
Ben Domenech is such a cuck. Trump repeatedly insults his wife and all he has the balls to say is thank you sir may I have another. He's as pathetic as Ted Cruz.
The TFG's actions are the equivalent of a non-military assault on the capital. It was a Civil War whose theaters of operation were akin to guerrilla actions. Nixon got a slap on the hand and a pardon. I suspect TFG thought he would be able to succeed where Nixon failed or get a pardon.
We are a nation that needs a full-on Nuremberg Type prosecution of the TFG and those who abetted, enabled, supported, and lied on his behalf. Any actions less will be a sign of weakness, and these actions will happen again. Once, we were a beacon of liberty. France sent us a statue. TFG came close to turning us into a Russia. Full-throated prosecution is what we and the world need in this time when autocracy is ascending.
Go big. Even if there’s a mistrial, the trial itself will still be very painful both financially and politically. Show future presidents what they can expect if they break the law.
One point that I don't see often discussed is the historic aspect of Garland's "Sophie's Choice":
The trial of Trump on what ever charges are the most appropriate to bring forth is not about Trump. The trial is about creating precedent that no one is above the law.
As it stands now, it seems to younger generations (I'm a front end Boomer) that if one has enough power and money we might as well be living in ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, or America's Gilded Age.
The potential outcome of the trial is irrelevant to history. The key is to get all the sordid anti-democratic attitudes of Trump and his zombie minions out in the trial for posterity. It will be obvious to the reader decades from now that indeed Trump was poison fruit eaten by his MAGA devotees.
Trump being found guilty and serving time is only important in the here and now. There may be catastrophic response to him being found guilty...or a hung jury (a tie).
Be that as it may be, the key to the preserving the Union for future generations is to ensure that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!
"We are not descended from fearful men." Fear gives us unbridled aggression from:
1. Russia
2. China
3. Trump
These are existential threats to our United States and need to be treated as such.
Just heard - the Senate approved the burn pit bill by 86-11.
Cogent, compact, and compelling. I hope Merrick Garland is a subscriber to The Bulwark. If not, why not? Does anyone know what caliber pen he's firing?
Charlie, I appreciate your advice to Merrick Garland. The thing that confounds me is that as this Justice Department wrings its hands and frets the question of whether or not to charge Trump, the party of McConnnel and Trump has already made up their mind for when they get control. If you think about the prisoner's dilemma, the Republicans always seem to be the team that takes the deal and sends the Democrats to the slammer for the full charge. Personally, I think the same is ultimately true of the filibuster. It's the one shred of traditionality that McConnel honors. If the GOP doesn't take the Senate and Mitch announces retirement, the Dems should drop the filibuster like a radioactive hot potato because the GOP will do it as soon as they have power and Mitch ain't there to protect it.
Re Garland, if the Senate failed to find the President guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, and they did fail to find that, then that should be that as far January 6 (and the election) is concerned. If he committed crimes via his various business, in whatever way, that is a different matter entirely.
Domenech is a shit heel and it's nice of Twitter to allow him to reveal himself.
The idea of throwing all the books at TFG reminds me of my reaction to the Kyle Rittenhouse case. If Rittenhouse had been charged with just the first murder, which was clearly NOT self-defense, then I think he would have been convicted. By introducing the subsequent murder and non-fatal shooting the prosecution let in some doubt. I want TFG tried and convicted.
Spot on, Charlie. Trump must be crushed, just like Putin. There is no point to doing anything else. The only chance we have to survive as a democracy is to ensure that people who try to destroy it are punished to the fullest extent of the law. That starts with charging everything that should be charged.
"18 months removed from Donald Trump's second impeachment, has the GOP anger at party lawmakers who backed the effort subsided?"
You have to ask? Not by a long shot.
I'm with the Go Big and Soon crowd. To me, the 2016 election proved that anyone can be installed in the Oval Office, anyone no matter how unfit, unqualified, uninterested. What that did was demean the Oval Office to the lowest common denominator. It made it illegitimate. Just as SCOTUS was demeaned and made illegitimate by its own and Mitch McConnell’s perfidies. And Congress does not stand above the other branches but with them, having worked hard to create those downfalls. The result is that if a “president” is “above the law” then EVERYONE is above the law and that is called LAWLESSNESS.
So the mild-mannered Garland has no choice but to prosecute the would-be king if the USA has any hope of ever again having even a semblance of Law and Order or Constitutional rule.
I think that in most countries, Trump and his cronies in WH, Congress and probably SCOTUS, would already have been purged from Government. Nowhere has democracy seemed more incapable of governing than here and now. No wonder people turn away from democracy as a governing principle. Tyrants depend on that. (The world has watched the USA become weaker and weaker and more and more timid and cautious and fearful in the past half century. Both our friends and our enemies have been watching. When did “doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do” go out of favor and become so political and cringe-inducing?)
Let me stipulate that I don't like Dems spending money to support batshit MAGA candidates. However, I don't hear many people mention one possible reason for doing so, which is that MAGA candidates on the ballot are likely to drive Democrats to show up and vote in midterms. Here in Arizona, I suspect that if Karrin Taylor Robson wins the GOP nomination for Governor, Democrats just won't be as galvanized to show up and vote for Katie Hobbs, who lots of people are not that excited about. Robson would be like Doug Ducey 2.0. But if it's Kari Lake on the ballot, Dems will show up just to vote against her.
This is just my theory, and I do still hate the technique. But I think it's as much about bringing out Dems to vote as it is about trying to elevate a preferred weaker candidate.
Question: If Trump had not claimed the election was stolen, would a crowd of people have charged the Capitol? I think not.
Ben Domenech is such a cuck. Trump repeatedly insults his wife and all he has the balls to say is thank you sir may I have another. He's as pathetic as Ted Cruz.
The TFG's actions are the equivalent of a non-military assault on the capital. It was a Civil War whose theaters of operation were akin to guerrilla actions. Nixon got a slap on the hand and a pardon. I suspect TFG thought he would be able to succeed where Nixon failed or get a pardon.
We are a nation that needs a full-on Nuremberg Type prosecution of the TFG and those who abetted, enabled, supported, and lied on his behalf. Any actions less will be a sign of weakness, and these actions will happen again. Once, we were a beacon of liberty. France sent us a statue. TFG came close to turning us into a Russia. Full-throated prosecution is what we and the world need in this time when autocracy is ascending.
Go big. Even if there’s a mistrial, the trial itself will still be very painful both financially and politically. Show future presidents what they can expect if they break the law.
One point that I don't see often discussed is the historic aspect of Garland's "Sophie's Choice":
The trial of Trump on what ever charges are the most appropriate to bring forth is not about Trump. The trial is about creating precedent that no one is above the law.
As it stands now, it seems to younger generations (I'm a front end Boomer) that if one has enough power and money we might as well be living in ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, or America's Gilded Age.
The potential outcome of the trial is irrelevant to history. The key is to get all the sordid anti-democratic attitudes of Trump and his zombie minions out in the trial for posterity. It will be obvious to the reader decades from now that indeed Trump was poison fruit eaten by his MAGA devotees.
Trump being found guilty and serving time is only important in the here and now. There may be catastrophic response to him being found guilty...or a hung jury (a tie).
Be that as it may be, the key to the preserving the Union for future generations is to ensure that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!