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THE VIEW FROM HERE - Those of us who rely on the Woke mainstream media or the MAGA media have our news filtered by whatever Narrative the Left or Right is pushing. If some event does not satisfy the Woke or MAGA media it is ignored or appears as the opposite of reality. As a result, about 85% of the nation is unaware of Sen. John Thune’s perfidious betrayal of this oath of office and how, within the last few days, it has threatened the entire Free World.
The Back Story of Thune’s Betrayal of his Constitutional Duties
When the framers wrote the US Constitution, they relied on the honor and integrity of various elected officials to place their oath to the US Constitution and to the Republic which it created to perform their constitutional duty. When one reads the Federalist Papers, one sees that the greatest threat to our freedom and other inalienable rights came from too much power accumulating in one branch of government. When it came to the President, too much power in one person was tyranny rather than freedom. The framers knew that men were weak. Thus, the Constitution placed the heaviest duties on the US Senate to constrain the President.
The framers realized the overwhelming need to constrain Presidential power. While Congress was to be a separate branch of government, the House of Representatives’ function was to allow the House to express the public’s sentiments every two years and it was the only place the Constitution allowed for direct elections. Because the framers saw the public as ruled by passions, the Constitution looked to the more stable and mature US Senate for the maturity and integrity of Senators to constrain Presidential. The Senate’s stability rested upon their six-year terms where only one-third would be elected every two years. Senators’ six-year terms were designed to insulate the Senators from threats of the President as their terms were longer than the President’s. Over the centuries, the checks and balances have held strong because Senators voluntarily honor their oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution.
Next to the lifetime appointments of federal judges and their power to declare statutes and regulation unconstitutional, the Constitution imposes the greatest role on US Senators to check and balance Presidential power. The Senate’s power also acts in real time, while judicial oversight may take years. The Senate’s constitutional mandate to approve or reject Presidential nomination is crucial to constrain a President’s undue accumulation of power by making certain that he does not appoint cronies, incompetents, and persons of low moral character to vital positions.
Under our Constitution, the President absolutely, positively has no right whatsoever to have his nominees approved by the Senate. Thune’s February 19, 2025 statement "Senate Republicans have been committed to getting President Trump's nominees through," is a total abrogation of his Constitutional oath which is to approve or REJECT nominees. It would not matter whether the President won 100% of the electoral college votes; the Senate’s duty would remain unaltered – to approve or reject each nominee. Thune’s saying that the President has the right for his nominees to be approved is abhorrently unconstitutional.
Cabinet members above other nominees require strict scrutiny because of the advice that they will provide the President. Personal loyalty to the President should be a disqualifying characteristic, which is why JFK’s appointment of his brother Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney General was controversial. Nominees with personal loyalty to the President have a conflict of interest with their Constitutional duties to provide guidance and wise counsel to the President. On the other hand, the President should have cabinet members with whom he is compatible. Hence, presidents nominate cabinet members who share his philosophy and who honor the Constitution. For them to provide unconstitutional advise breaches their oaths. In the USA, there is no acceptable reason for a President to have advisors who place personal loyalty to the President over their Constitutional duties. Except for Elon Musk all high ranking official must swear allegiance to the Constitution. Musk has not sworn allegiance to US Constitution.
Sen. John Thune’s Betrayal is Worse than Benedict Arnold’s
Brief Review of Benedict Arnold: As soon as General Benedict Arnold was appointed in charge of the Hudson Valley including West Point, he began systematically weakening its defenses and its military strength as a crucial step to turn over West Point to the British. Arnold failed. See Wiki
Thune’s modus operandi parallel’s Benedict Arnold’s. Just as Arnold lobbied to be appointed West Point General so that he could betray the nation, Sen. John Thune sought to be Senate majority leader to protect the Senate from falling under Trump’s sway. Thune’s opposition was Sen. Rick Scott, who was correctly perceived to a Trump hit man. Just as Arnold took an oath to the nascent nation, Thune took an oath to the US Constitution and promised Senators that he would protect the Senate from becoming a rubber stamp for Trump.
Trump was already threatening each Senator that they had to vote for each and everyone of his nominees or they would face a election primary funded by Elon Musk. Remember, Musk owes to duty to the US Constitution. Trump’s threats backed up with Musk’s money are an obstruction of justice, blackmail, and extortion. We are not talking about the normal horsing trading what occurs over legislation. Trump and Musk are threatening Senators not to perform their Constitutional duties.
As majority leader Thune has done absolutely nothing to protect a single Senator from Trump’s and Musk’s unlawful threats. Nor, should Americans let a single Senator off the hook for caving into the threats. Face with similar choice between personal self-interest and following unconstitutional orders US attorneys chose to resign rather than violate their oath of office to dismiss the charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. These honorable men and women are:
1) Danielle Sassoon, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York
2) John Keller, acting head of Public Integrity Section
3) Kevin Driscoll, acting head of Criminal Division
4) Hagan Scotten, assistant U.S. attorney with the Southern District of New York
In addition, four deputy majors to NYC Mayor Adams resigned over the same illegal behavior of Trump’s having charges dropped (without prejudice) in return for Mayor Adams’ supporting Trump’s deportation plans.
Thune, Trump, and Musk Turn on the Free World
The four worst Trump nominees are: RFK, Jr. Department of Health Human Services Director, Tulsi Gabbard, head of United States Director of National Intelligence, Pig Hegseth Secretary of Defense and soon Kash (“Cash”) Patel as FBI Director.
As the nation is learning in the past few days, with the aid of Hegseth, Gabbard, and even Marco Rubio, Trump has sided with Putin and against the Free World. If Thune had not allowed Hegseth and Gabbard to be approved, Trump would not have embarked on this reckless course of action. As Trump did with the 2020 election, Trump is spouting the most vicious falsehoods about Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, .e.g, Zelenskyy started the war with Russia, with his being a dictator with only 4% support at home when polls show that Zelenskyy has between 50% and 57%. In addition, Trump has shut out not only Zelenskyy from settlement takes, he has barred NATO.
With no rational or honest advisors, Trump is taking Putin’s side in the war and Trump is opposing NATO. Trump believes that US international relations rest solely upon him alone. Despite the fact that the US and Europe have spent 80 years developing alliances to constrain Russia, Trump disregarding and attacking our allies in pursuit of a personal deal with Putin.
Yes, Trump Is Mentally Ill and Thune Knew That Fact When Thune Betrayed the Nation
Some DSM criteria for mental illness are visible and noisy, and thus, they require no psychological testing or personal interview. Trump has two of the most visible and noisy personality disorders: Histrionic and Narcissistic with associated traits of paranoia. People with such diagnoses act them out all the time in their behavior, whereas a psychopath may be very clever in disguising his true mental state. As CW has published about 25 articles on Trump’s disorders, there is no need elaborate in detail on them.
BTW, all these traits are well known the Thune who may not play dumb about the disasters which his perfidy has brought upon us.
Histrionics believe that they have close personal relationship with famous people. Trump insists he has a great relationship with Putin, who actually detests Trump as a person. Histrionics have to be the center of attention which makes it very hard for them to be member of a coalition, e.g., NATO. This trait is re-enforced by Trump’s Narcissistic Disorder’s grandiose sense of entitlement, which deludes Trump into believing that he is always correct, facts are whatever he deems them to be, he should always lead, and no one should disagree with him.
Hence, we arrive that Trump’s lunacy over Ukraine’s Zelenskyy. During the 2016 election Trump wanted Zelenskyy to interfere withe US election by making false statements about Hunter Biden. Trump’s grandiose sense of entitlement compels him to believe that Zelenksyy should have interfered with our national elections. Zelenskyy’s proper refusal to do so resulted in Trump having a type mental breakdown, i.e., a Narcissistic rage Backed up with Trump’s paranoid features, his rage at Zelenskyy is out of proportion for even a Narcissist. Thune was aware that due to Trump’s on-going rage at Zelenskyy, Trump poses a serious threat to not only the United States, but also to Europe and the Free World in general. Nonetheless, Thune violated his constitutional duty to protect the Senate’s advice and consent duty in favor of his own personal comfort not to face a primary challenge in 2006.
Thune’s betrayal is far greater than Benedict Arnold’s because Thune was successful and Arnold was unsuccessful. West Point and control of the Hudson River Valley did not fall to the British. If Thune had possessed the honor and integrity to protect Senators from Trump’s threats, Hegseth and Gabbard would not have been approved and the USA would not be in the process of aligning itself with Putin against NATO.
The actions which Thune could have taken are many. While it will take another article to detail them, two action could have been: (1) to select lower level appointees and have the Senate reject them, or (2) Thune could have required far more information about Trump’s appointees. Just these two actions might have sent enough signals to Trump to withdraw the really bad nominees long before their hearing so that Trump save face in public.
(Richard Lee Abrams has been an attorney, a Realtor and community relations consultant as well as a CityWatch contributor. You may email him at [email protected])
