CommentsONE MAN’S OPINION--We have allowed leaders, besotted with power lust, to trash the Constitution, bringing us to the brink of civil war. On January 14, 2019, CityWatch published, “Who’s the Biggest Threat to the Republic: Trump, …or ‘We the People”?
Yours Truly wrote: “Pogo Was Correct – It’s We the People
“Neither Grumpy-Trumpy nor Money-Mad Pelosi poses the greatest threat to the Republic. We the People are the threat. Who decided to reject MLK’s principle to judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin? Who ignored the Declaration of Independence’s claim that each person has inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Who decided that quality of life was less important than ideological purity of group rights? These decisions are made by We the People.”
We Ignored the Republic to Our Great Detriment
One reason that the Founding Fathers created a Republic was in case a madman became President. They knew that once the people elected a tyrant, they were likely to re-elect him. That is why the Constitution gave the House of Representatives the sole power to gather the evidence required to have a madman removed from office. They knew that a democracy could not do it. At best, it would take 4 years during which time a madman could cause horrible harm. Hence, they fashioned the impeachment process giving distinct roles to the House and to the Senate. Impeachment was intended to be non-democratic and instead have leaders with integrity take action to protect the Republic from a madman.
The Founding Fathers did not foresee someone as craven as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who would thwart removal of Trump by not gathering enough evidence to turn the political tide against a mental defective. The law professors told Pelosi not to stop gathering evidence. In response Pelosi immediately halted all evidence gathering and ceased televising more witnesses like Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and Col Vindman. It was everyone seeing these great Americans give credible evidence which was turning the tide against Trump. It was seeing Trump threaten female witnesses while they were testifying which was causing many GOP to turn against Trump.
In late November 2019 even elements on Fox News were distancing themselves from Trump. GOP leaders were telling Pelosi the additional evidence for the House to bring forth so that more moderate GOP would break free from Trump. While the far-right wing would never abandon Trump, the bulk of the GOP was preparing to Nixonize him. The contrast between Trump and these fine men and women testifying before the House Committee had doomed Trump --- until Pelosi abruptly stopped all the testifying.
Nancy Pelosi’s power rests with fundraising for Dem candidate and Trump’s insanity is her best fund-raising tool. If Trump were removed not only would her main mode to raise money disappear, but millions of Americans would praise the GOP for turning against Trump. In turn, many GOP Representatives and Senators who might have been voted out of office in November 2020 would retain their seats. Thus, Pelosi’s career benefitted the longer Trump remained in office and the greater the harm he caused.
Pelosi’s claim that the Senate should go find more evidence to convict Trump is absurd. The Senate’s role is to be the jury in the impeachment trial. In America, juries do not look for evidence. When a juror is caught bringing extra evidence, like Google searches, into the jury room, a mistrial is declared.
The Constitution gave the House the sole right to gather the evidence and to write the Articles of Impeachment. Pelosi intentionally had narrow articles of impeachment drawn up. That allowed her to falsely claim, the evidence she could gather was limited. It was limited to the Ukraine folly because she imposed that limitation.
The articles’ scope could have expanded to all the financial self-dealing between Trump and the White House. Trump has spent over $100 million taxpayer dollars to golf and vacation at his own properties.
The articles could have included his helping his children with their businesses in other countries.
The articles could have included witness tampering during the impeachment.
The articles could have added Trump’s attempt to get James Comey, the FBI director responsible for overseeing the investigation into Trump’s relationship with Russia during the 2016 election, to stop the Flynn investigation
Pelosi only wanted enough bad information to help fundraising but not enough real data so that the GOP could cooperate with Nixonizing Trump.
Civil War Looms
If the nation elects Biden, a civil war is likely. Trump has made clear that his election loss can happened only if there is voter fraud. He has shown only encouragement to the most extreme elements like Qanon. We even have armed private militias (oxymoron) intimidating government officials and showing up at the Kentucky Derby for some reason.
There are reports of a left-wing group including the Not F***ing Around Coalition, an armed Black militia, and about the white Angry Viking, an armed group, supposedly to support law enforcement. Group Rights -- Identity Politics lead to violent civil wars. A respect for individual inalienable right does not lead to war.
As the FBI warned Pelosi about a decade ago, violent right-wing White Supremacists were a significant threat. Rather than take steps to reduce racial strife, Pelosi increased the anti-white Identity Politics which blames all Whites for the problems of Blacks due to something called White Entitlement (Privilege) which usually ends with calls for Whites to pay slavery reparations.
To date, Black Lives Matter have done a good job at sticking with Thomas Jefferson’s individual inalienable rights and with Martin Luther King’s “judge a man by his character; not the color of his skin.” BLM has been adroit at featuring systemic. predatory racism. But, BLM is being subverted and coopted by the racist anti-white agenda of Identity Politics which fuels the paranoia of the White Supremacists.
Ironically, Pelosi’s racist Identity politics may convince enough moderate White voters that they are safer with a crazy man who promises to protect them than with sleepy old Joe. The upside of a Trump win is No Civil War.
Say hello to El Presidente for life.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a Los Angeles attorney and a CityWatch contributor. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Abrams’ views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.)
-cw