Friday, May 12, 2017

A Republic -- If They Can Keep It



Michael Harris puts James Comey's dismissal in its larger context. Donald Trump plans to sabotage the Republic:

The good news is, people don’t like it. The bad news? He’s beginning to squeeze.

There is nothing wrong with President Donald J. Trump that can’t be fixed by impeachment … provided the United States is still governed by institutions and laws, not by one man.

It is an open question whether Trump will destroy America through his own brand of thuggish ego coup, or if America will stop Trump in his dictatorial tracks with the constitutional powers it holds over all presidents. Up until now, the rule has been clear: The office never sanctifies the man.

The United States faces a constitutional crisis. It's not, clear, however, if the nation is up to righting itself:

The mewling attempts by many journalists and broadcasters to present Trump’s train-wreck presidency as a conventional duel between rival political parties — a partisan feud like any other — must end now. This is no longer a case of sour grapes from loser Democrats. This is a made-in-the-USA democratic death spiral, engineered from the top.

Still, journalists and legislators dither. Cable news is virtually unwatchable these days, with some outstanding exceptions like Jake Tapper, Jim Scuitto and Chris Cuomo of CNN. They still square up and fight when faced with the malevolence of Trump’s fabrication-machine.

But they are in the minority. The Trump apologists the networks feel obliged to drag on every night for ‘balance’ would be funny … if they weren’t so dangerous. They are not showing respect for the office of president when they twist Trump’s lies and misdeeds into benevolent shapes. They are showing contempt for their fellow citizens.

But it's not just the firing of Comey that's the problem. It's everything that Trump does:

It’s the sum of these actions that make this a crisis moment for Americans — the way in which Trump’s flagrant lies and attacks on the rule of law have put a match to American democracy and foundational rights like freedom of speech. It’s the fact that a reporter got arrested this week for asking a question of Trump’s Health Secretary Tom Price in West Virginia.

The red flags have been waving ever since Trump assumed office. When  Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government he and the other founding fathers had agreed upon, he answered, " A Republic, if you can keep it. "


Image: The Project To Restore Liberty

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's interesting to me, Owen, who isn't showing up to defend Don the Con, any longer.
Jeffrey Lord is a die-hard, but aside from the inner circle- pickin's are slim.
Of course Trump has still got Fox and Brietbart, so there's that.

Owen Gray said...

It's interesting to watch Trump's defenders -- like Sean Spicer -- head for the bushes, lovingit.

Anonymous said...

LOL!

Now, I'm going to weep.

Owen Gray said...

Imagine how much he'll be missed, lovingit.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I forgot- Trump has a new 'defender'- a certain Ken Cuccinelli, selling his soul for all the world to see. From last evening on AC360- his facial expressions revealed that he doesn't even believe what he presented as truth. A 'good soldier'.

Owen Gray said...

In the end, lovingit, Trump makes liars out of all his followers.

Deacon Jester said...

Harris finally got to the bottom of his tea cup.

Owen Gray said...

Say what you want about Harris, Deacon. But he has no trouble spotting lies.

Deacon Jester said...

Oh, he'd seen the lies clearly enough. He just couldn't see the danger to the republic with the same clarity. Now he can see the leaves at the bottom his cup...

Owen Gray said...

I suspect a lot of people have had the same epiphany, Deacon.

Steve said...

The US is now the evil empire. Case in point. The war is Syria was always about a pipeline for gas from Qtar. Now the US will establish a Kurd republic in Syria/Iraq to pump the gas. Turkey will be bought off with Syrian territory. So it goes So it goes.

Owen Gray said...

The Ugly American once again calls the shots in Washington, Steve.

zoombats in Hong Kong said...

I Guiliani gets the nod that could prove very interesting. Given his passion for dressing in drag much like his famous predecessor, J. Edgar we should have a treasure trove of things to tongue wag about. Don't forget that there are pictures of The "toddler in chief" cavorting with Rudy while dressed En-Femme, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Toby said...

The War Against the Assad Regime Is Not a "Pipeline War"

By Gareth Porter, Truthout

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/37685-the-war-against-the-assad-regime-is-not-a-pipeline-war

Anonymous said...

Blogger Owen Gray said...
It's interesting to watch Trump's defenders -- like Sean Spicer -- head for the bushes, loving it.
According to Rush Limbaugh he was just taking a leak!
Just joking .
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the ultra Republicans to justify Trumps wavering message.
His Presidency is like a Brian Rixs farce.
Strangely his farcical actions totally confuse an MSM who seem unwilling or incapable of separating fact from fiction; so is the demise of those that relish and worship the reality shows of television.

TB

Owen Gray said...

They both share a passion for ego and hot air, zoombats.

Owen Gray said...

Thanks for the link, Toby. There's a lot more to the war in Syria than oil.

Owen Gray said...

The irony of Reality TV is that it's not reality, TB. It's a circus. But it's not reality.

John B. said...

The comment about "tapes" might indicate the rollout of a new marketing strategy. Trump must surely have understood the unavoidable comparisons to Nixon's case that would result. I won't be surprised if he announces that every ridiculous comment he's made since being elected was just part of great comedic performance created to entertain a weary public and troll the gullible dishonest media.

I'd recommend assigning the task to Kellyanne: "You couldn't have thought the President was being serious. He was just providing some much needed alternative comic relief. But now he understands that he overestimated your sophistication and a lot of you didn't get it. You don't really want him to switch over to low-energy boring and serious, do you? That's no fun. Who has more fun than we do?"

Owen Gray said...

You would think that Trump would know his Watergate history, John. But I'm increasingly inclined to believe that Trump doesn't know much at all.