It only took two days. Republicans are already making the moral equivalency argument they are just following Democratic precedent when they say, “Joe Biden is not MY president. Isn’t that what all you 2016 deniers said about Donald Trump?” They are half right. I was proud to say Trump was not MY president. Primarily because I was not responsible for his becoming the chief executive of the United States. But more importantly, for more reasons than I choose not to re-litigate here, I never want anyone, anywhere, anytime to explicitly or implicitly think I would possibly associate with such an indecent, un-American individual regardless of their station in life.
But here is the difference these one-conspiracy-fits-all advocates miss. I NEVER said, “Donald Trump is not THE president.” You do not support impeachment and conviction of someone who is not THE president. You do not wonder if Mike Pence has enough backbone to save the nation he swears he loves by invoking the 25th Amendment for anyone other than THE president. You do not spend six months doing everything you can to deny someone a SECOND term unless they are THE president for four years.
I can only surmise Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kevin McCarthy and 146 other GOP members of Congress never watched the Sesame Street segment, “Which one of these is not like the others.”
- Impeachment
- 25th Amendment
- Presidential Elections
- Storming the United States Capitol
Ooh! Ooh! I KNOW! The first three are in the Constitution. The fourth is only grounded in statute, in particular U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 115, Section 2384 which makes it a crime when “two or more persons … conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States … or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof.”
During floor debate following the deadly attack on the “People’s House,” GOP speakers were quick to point out they were doing nothing more than their Democratic counterparts in 2000, 2004 and 2016. True, if you believe telling your spouse he or she has not put on weight is the same as telling 365 million people an international pandemic will magically go away. Or that 60+ judges, governors, election officials and state legislators of all partisan backgrounds are part of a six state cabal to steal an election.
In 2000 and 2004, objections involved one state each time, Florida and Ohio respectively. In 2016 the issue was Russian interference in the election. In each case, the objections were raise by one or two lone voices, not a majority of the Democratic caucus. And in all three instances, the Democratic nominee conceded the election. And none of the challengers invited supporters to come to Washington, D.C. and halt the constitutionally mandated process of counting state-certified slates of electors.
There is one more reason I never accepted Trump as MY president. Recognition is a two-way street. As I wrote on December 19, 2016, I acknowledged his constitutional right to sit at the Resolute Desk, but maintained my right not to support the substance of or his approach to governance when he suggested people like me were not real Americans. At a “victory rally” in Mobile, Alabama two days earlier Trump told the crowd, those who rejected his candidacy were not patriots nor did they really love America. Donald Trump had the same right to accurately claim I was not ONE of HIS people, but not that I no longer qualified as AN American as a result.
For the learning impaired let me put it this way. When I look at a banana, I admit it is a fruit, just not MY kind of fruit. I have to accept the fact it is a banana based on its physical characteristics and the process by which it became a banana. But I am entitled to my own opinion whether to make one part of my diet.
I have no doubt one of the consequences cable news and on-line outlets will face in coming days is the dilemma when they do not have the benefit of breaking news from the White House multiple times a day. News media of all stripes will be looking to fill airtime with insights about the state of the nation and citizen attitudes. There will be occasions when correspondents will ask die-hard Trump voters how they feel about Joe Biden’s performance in office. In many cases, the response may be, “He’s not MY president.” How refreshing it would be if the reporter followed up, “I understand. That’s your prerogative. But do you recognize him as THE president.” If the answer is, “No,” will that same reporter then ask, “Then do you believe in democracy and the Constitution?”
As the most trusted man in America Walter Cronkite used to say, “And that’s the way it is. January 23, 2021.”
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP
On September 11, 2001, 40 individuals aboard United Flight #93, after becoming aware of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, decided they had to stop any further incursion. At the time, they did not know the intended target was the U.S. Capitol, but were convinced it was one other major symbol of America that would be next. With that knowledge, 33 year-old Flint, Michigan native Todd Beamer gave the command, “Let’s roll.” Beamer and his fellow passengers will forever be remembered as heroes. A high school in Federal Way, Washington bears his name and is dedicated as a perpetual reminder of the bravery and sacrifice of those who chose country over self.
Hawley turns to the crowd, raises his left fist and might as well have said, “Let’s roll.” Except this time, the Senator was urging the passengers on Trump Flight #45 to take command of the plane and make sure it struck its target. After the damage was done, did Hawley admit he may have crossed the line between personal interests and his oath of office? Did he at least try to de-escalate the tension by telling those he urged on just hours before, “I’m with you, but this is not the way to do it.” No! Instead he took to the floor during a joint session of Congress and again affirmed, despite all evidence to the contrary, the insurgents’ “cause was just.” You know, the same rationale others have used to pass Jim Crow legislation, enforce school segregation, deny black citizens the right to vote and honor generals who led armed troops against the United States with statues and by attaching their names to military bases, schools and other public buildings.
Scottish philosopher Alexander Fraser Tyler developed the paradigm by which the destructive heat which dooms civilizations rises incrementally over time. His description of the rise and fall of geopolitical societies consists of the following eight stages.
I suspect one person who might file an amicus brief when the constitutionality of the ban comes before a judge will be Roy Wood, Jr. Some of you may recognize Wood as “the senior black correspondent” on “The Daily with Trevor Noah.” However, his rationale against banning the Confederate flag was first voiced during his “Father Figure” comedy special on Comedy Central during which his opening after taking the stage before a largely African-American audience was:
Which brings me to Mitch McConnell. You remember Mitch, the guy who spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the 2020 campaign backing “law and order” Senate candidates, warning Americans that calls to “defund the police” would lead to lawlessness and chaos in the streets. Well, Mitch was right. However, what he did not tell you is that he would be the one to “defund the police.”
In the past, we have asked people, “Imagine you were disabled. Put yourself in our shoes.” But the truth is they WILL be in our shoes. They look at us and see a disabled person. We need to remind them we look at them and see a “temporarily abled” person.