The Day Democracy Died
At the start of the Memorial Day weekend, 2019, Democracy in America Died.
The list of what happened this week is long, and I don’t have to keep the order and dates right, but it occurred. The climax was another National Emergency, finally explained by Secretary of State Pompeo, whereby the US sold $8 billion in highly sophisticated weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan, against the will of the Senate. This is Trump’s second National Emergency, the first over the Wall. Both of these removed the Power of the Purse from the Congress, but now made the Senate irrelevant over foreign relations.
Earlier, the Senate had voted to cut off military aid to Saudi Arabia because of the destruction and starvation it was causing in Yemen. Trump vetoed that bill.
Trump has opened, under his colluder Attorney General Barr, the third investigation of the intelligence that led to the Mueller investigation over Trump campaign attempts at collusion with Russia, and the later ten-fold obstruction of the investigation. Trump has now called the initial FBI investigation a coup attempt, named the perpetrators as having committed treason, and asked for the death penalty. As usual for Trump, this violates the Due Process 5th Amendment. It’s hard to imagine any trial going forth, when the public has already been prejudiced against defendant by Trump’s well covered pre-judgement. Previous FBI director Comey was Trump’s first target. Some of us think that Comey threw the election to Trump. This purge of political opponents is a standard beginning of all dictatorships. It is also dicey since Barr was given the right to declassify anything, which violates all secrecy protocols. Remember when Hillary was continually investigated and lambasted because her home server was supposed to be a security risk?
Trump has now formally called Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi crazy. She is third in line to the President, and the highest any woman has risen in our misogynistic democratic governmental evolution. Trump has now set the ground rules, so that we can now psychologically evaluate him as the paranoid narcissistic erstwhile dictator that he is. And yet Trump has banished transgender individuals from the Military, and H&HS housing.
The other person who helped Trump win, Julian Assange of Wikileaks, is now being charged with treason for exposing secret monitoring of civilians, which is making the free press very queasy. At the same time, Trump is ordering AG Barr to declassify anything and anybody in the investigation of the Mueller investigation, in order to get revenge for only one man, Donald Trump. He is still looking to prosecute Hillary Clinton, the other highest woman achiever in American history.
Trump and Rudy’s publishing a doctored video implying that Speaker Pelosi is slowing down, is scandalous, and they could be sued for defamation of character. But Trump cannot be charged because he is President, and Rudy eventually removed it. Again, tactics of a dictator.
Trump continues to block any Congressional oversight of anything concerning him, or his government. Trump has declared that he is holding all infrastructure projects hostage until Congress ends all investigations, to save only his own personal reputation.
Speaking of The Wall, Trump is promoting that it be built by a company which is a campaign contributor. It also has Steve Bannon and other conservatives on its board of directors.
The Republican Senate and its Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell are doing little to stop Trump.
Woe to our democracy. We have spent 230 years improving our democracy, including a Bill of Rights, which Trump routinely violates, and 23 hard-to-pass and progressive amendments, and it is all vanishing in a few weeks.
