Just a heads up. This likely will be the first non satirical essay of several relating to Trump. This is therapy for me. This whole Trump phenomena is something I can not get my head around, and feel the need for sane explanation. There are so many politcally unprecedented and morally apprehensible episodes that Trump has inflicted on the country and my psyche I could not express myself in a one thousand page book. All of what I write about is or will be written by far more authoritative and professional people than me. But this is all personally protective. My blog has always been more of a journal for me than anything else. There will be a time when history records thoroughly what went on during the period that Trump was active politically. I want any ancestoral record of my life and character to make it absolutly clear what a soulless son of a bitch I believe Trump is.
Like many American citizens I am conflicted a bit over the the Maine and Colorado decisions to keep Trump off state ballots. I can’t disagree with the logic here. Trump incited an insurrection, he is a govermental “officer” no matter how you try and over-anylize it, and thus section 3 of the 14th amendmant should prohibit him from holding office. So yes, I personally think it would be great if SCOTUS would agree. On the other hand, I do want to see him electorally defeated, certainly for democracy’s sake, but also, more importantly for me, to make sure he is not pardoned in any way for the crimes he has commited. Of course I suppose I should say “allegedly” committed since as of now, with the exception of the E Jean Carroll sexual assault case, you could say none of the impending suits have been settled in court. Well, ouside of a partial decision in the civil suit. Jesus it’s impossible to keep Trump legal engalments straight. But I know he is guilty, for at least the crime of insurrection identified by the Colorado Supreme Court, because I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES!
How will Supreme Court apply Section 3 of 14th Amendment?
“Not an insurrection,” you say. What was it then? MAGA absolutists have said it was just a ‘peaceful protest’. Are you shitting me? Unless you didn’t see what happened at all, or choose to block out everything except edited video footage, a few minutes of the actual video will prove you wrong. If that doesn’t change your mind, there’s no sense arguing with you. I’m trying to establish reality here. I implore you to just take some time to really LOOK at the video. And understand Tucker Carlson’s edited edition doesn’t count. ‘Riot’ sort of works. But that is too generic. That’s more of a Philadelphia thing. Win or lose, that city is complety behind any of their athletic teams with some mind-boggling rioting. January 6th was politically motivated. It was an attempt to obstruct an official government proceeding and alter an election. ‘Rebellion’ and ‘insurrection’ are the common terms, specific terms, for riots or uprisings against authority or established government. What we are talking about was that. Take your pick.
Did Trump actually engage in insurection, or give comfort or aid to insurrectionists? Yes, and possibly. Regarding engagement the only defense of Trump I have heard is his speech at the elipse was political free speech. Speech in service of a crime is still a crime. What about giving comfort or aid? Let’s take that part literally, texturally, like Supreme Court originalists have history of doing. It is known the Willard Hotel is where some of the most censorious planning of the rebellion developed. Just up the block from the Willard is what was then Trump’s D.C. Hotel. According to social media posts, that was a key gathering point for those trying to overthrow the election. If someone in Trump’s administration met there to plan the insurection in any way, is that not aid? Of course from the time Trump sent out his “be there, will be wild” invite December 19, to the 6th of January, the day Trump refers to as “the most beautiful day,” room charges skyrocketed to $8,000 a night. I guess Trump could claim all that was going on at his hotel was greed, not insurrection. And maybe more the reason the day was so beautiful to him. But come on. If you spent 8K on a hotel room you better have felt comforted. If not, take it up with Trump.
If SCOTUS determines an insurrecton occured, what choice does it have but to uphold the Colorado court? Lest You Don’t Believe Trump is an Insurrectionist
That’s a scarry thought. No matter what the decision, one side won’t be happy. Judicial pundits are convinced the judges will be as evasive as possible and keep Trump on ballots. Recent public conduct would indicate that for safety’s sake that makes sense. Entrenched MAGA supporters seem to be more volatile, and more than likely to have more ammo. And Trump’s attorneys have boldly asserted in true Trumpian fashion that certain Trump appointed judges owe him a favor, and Trump himself hinting they better come through or there will be “bedlam.” Intimidation has no boundaries with Trump. However, it will be interesting to see how the conservative originalists handle their opinion. They have been so adamant insisting the second ammendment must be intrpreted only in the context of when it was written, I imagine it will be challenging to be consistent concerning the 14th.
Which reminds me of one of the more ludicrous arguments insurrection deniers bring up. As that theory goes, because there were no firearms involved, you can’t call January 6th an insurrection. Thankfully, there were metal detectors at ground entrances so there were no long guns known to have been carried to the Capitol building. But as arrests were made, police did find several people who had managed to slip through with hand guns. And as the crowd started gathering on that morning, media reporting shows several people wandering around with assault rifles, and even a few perched in trees and holding long guns. Also, Police discovered at least two vehicles that were housing veritable arsenals parked in the area. The fear of never getting their weapons back detered most people with guns from proceeding to the capitol. No thanks to Trump, as we know. According to the Hutchison deposition he was upset with crowd size expectations and tried his best to get the metal detectors taken down so the crowd would get bigger and more visually pleasing to him. As he knew, they were not there to hurt him. The January 6th insurrection was a perfect example of how damaging mob violence can be with only one shot being fired.
If Trump is elected, or someone like Nkiki Haley is elected, you can bet Trump’s immense pile of criminal dirt will be vacuumed up and conveniently disposed of. To imagine he is not guilty of at least a few of the over 90 indictments on record seems implausible. But it is not his personal criminal activity that really bothers me. It’s what Trump has done to the country. How one man could threaten our democracy so haphazardly and stir up so much hatred in society are the overlapping reasons why I hope he is ultimately held accountable and never again allowed to hold any politcal office.
Sorry. More to follow.
