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The Unintended Gift Of Donald Trump [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-06-13

This is the second indictment of a twice impeached President. At least two more coming, another Federal charge and the Atlanta election interference case. One not being talked about is another New York criminal charge brought by the the State AG. Message to Americans and the world is that the rule of law is still working in the US, for now. There’s a cautionary tale in all this and a gift of sorts. Donald Trump in his ham handed ineptitude transparently revealed the weaknesses and cracks in our system that will require attention if we are going to be able to withstand the next authoritarian who might show up.

One who is smarter, more savvy and closer to our collective vision of a leader than he is. We most likely have dodged a bullet; if Trump had operated more stealthily in his corruption he could have gotten away with much more carnage to our institutions. We were on to the problem much earlier and could have ended the threat early on except for the actions of a complicit Congress that was willing, almost eager, to provide the cover that allowed for a corrupt President to avoid being removed from office through the impeachment process, the only safeguard we have for getting rid of a tyrant who occupies the office. We now know that much has changed in the Republican Party since Richard Nixon’s time and there is no will amongst their congressional membership for protecting the public’s interest or even the democratic process which Republican party leadership has openly demonstrated to not be all that keen on.

Our system is not a only vulnerable, it is inherently flawed. The originators had some really good ideas and created a useful and often resilient foundation for a style of government that is more egalitarian than the monarchy it replaced. We were able to survive the cracks and flaws because there was enough will to preserve it among the elected leaders when key inflection points were reached. We are in one of those right now and the signs are pointing to an uncertainty that ultimately good people will stand up to protect the institutions and processes that would enable it to continue. There have been a series of events that are troubling, the biggest being that one of the major parties is embracing an authoritarian with little regard for the Constitution and the rule of law. A less obvious one is is the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh who should have been easily disqualified once the allegations against him for attempted rape were shown to be credible. Another is the number of Republican votes in Congress after January 6th to not certify the election, this was an important red flag. If not for Democrats having the majority, that vote could have gone the other way.

It’s easier to sit back and think things will work out; in our lifetime they appear to eventually get sorted out. Our tendency for disengagement in the Democratic process of voting (less than 60% of eligible citizens historically) is rooted in the idea that everything will be alright, someone will take care it. This is something we do in our own day to day personal lives too. It’s a coping mechanism that sustains us much of the time, until it doesn’t. Donald Trump gave us a glimpse in to the potential for losing all the things we have come to count on about American democracy. It only survived because the guy in charge of the assault was so incredibly inept and unsavory. As a country we must take away from all this that we can’t count on it as a strategy. This may be the only warning we get.



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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/13/2175224/-The-Unintended-Gift-Of-Donald-Trump

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