I don’t get it. There are people in America who are reasonably intelligent, understand the Constitution, and have read Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Some of these same people have expressed a genuine and understandable fear for the future of democracy in America. Yet, they refuse to say Donald Trump should be disqualified from office based on his attempt to overthrow the 2020 election.
They worry about how Republicans will react if Trump is eliminated, and they don’t want Trump to use that to make himself a martyr. But here’s the thing: What they fear will happen anyway — it always does with Trump.
Trump’s lies aren’t based on reality; he doesn’t need to be attacked to say he’s being attacked. Where have these people been?
Trump’s martyrdom is not a new thing
Trump has been playing the martyr his entire adult life. Despite all the money his father gave him, Trump was never popular with other popular people. Trump is a loser. He’s only popular with losers. He martyrs himself because he can’t face the truth of his complete failure to be anything but a buffoon. Everyone in his former cabinet in the White House has confirmed this. In the words of Rex Tillerson, who knew him well, Trump is “a fucking moron.”
And he’s an insurrectionist. And he’s promised to break the law again if elected. What part of “not qualified” do these people not understand?
Fascists win when everyone else gives up
Ruth Ben-Ghiat pointed out in a TV interview on MSNBC recently that a big part of the fascist playbook is creating and feeding the belief in the inevitability of the fascist’s success. This is how Hitler won in Germany.
Fascists start with an election, which they rig for their own benefit while adamantly and consistently accusing their opposition of cheating. Then, they make changes to ensure future elections will always result in a win for them. This is Trump’s playbook.
The tools of Trump’s trade are lies, conspiracy theories, and propaganda. It’s never a fair fight with Trump — he pretends the unfairness is all coming from the other side — but the real dirty work is being done daily by Trump’s manipulation of the media and his gullible base of like-minded losers.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself
Trump needs us to fear that if he’s attacked, hundreds of thousands of supporters will rush to his rescue and make the attackers pay. But they won’t. There is no army waiting to attack. It’s just a bunch of losers like Trump who threaten because they have no other method of playing the game.
Let’s remember that Trump was still the president on Jan 6. and even though he put all of his effort behind the events of that day, and even with too few Capitol police on hand, Trump’s violent mob did not succeed in taking back the presidency for him. He does not have that kind of power now. He is no longer president.
What’s more, with many of his loyalists in jail, the talent pool for his next coup attempt is significantly smaller. These are facts. We need to focus on facts, not allow ourselves to be swept away by the fear created by the blatantly false narratives Trump loves to tell.
Everything Trump does is about generating fear so he can push his way into a position of power again. Unfortunately, too many smart and capable people are falling directly into the hands of Trump loyalists who are louder, meaner, and incapable of being shamed.
When Trump’s lies are believed, fear takes over. This is what they are counting on.
Public outcry be damned
It doesn’t matter if the public believes Trump should be allowed to run for president. It’s up to our leaders and the media to point out that, in this specific circumstance, the candidate in question is not qualified. End of story. There is no discussion of value to be had with this question. Even having the discussion shows a fear of doing the right thing for fear it might be difficult.
I can’t tell how much of this thinking is cowardice and how much is ego — people believing they are so smart they can, like Comey, predict how Republicans will behave and so refuse to do the right thing because they believe it’s okay for them to fudge a little to manipulate the outcome. Either way, it’s a failure to do what the Constitution says we must do. We must not allow an insurrectionist to become an officer of our country. Period.
The era of ego-based, cowardly, and lazy governance
Our elected leaders are not standing up for us. Members of Congress don’t filibuster now, either. They just say they will, and the opposition folds. That’s not how it is supposed to be. A filibuster means you stand there with no food, water, bathroom breaks, or chair, and you tell your colleagues and the American people why you won’t support the legislation you refuse to vote for.
I don't know when this started, but now Democrats just cower when Republicans threaten to filibuster. It’s pathetic. They don’t make them state their case; they just throw up their hands and then blame Republicans because they can’t get anything done. They’re lazy. There’s another adjective that fits.
Ego-based, cowardly, lazy. That’s the Congress we have now. No wonder they are the least productive Congress in my lifetime.
And now, the pundits, podcasters, news anchors, and talk-show hosts are all intellectualizing their fears and using them to pretend they have no responsibility for honestly addressing the issue. We do not have the luxury of playing this game. This is not an intellectual exercise. Nobody knows what will happen next. We are in unprecedented times in this country.
The one and only appropriate response to this is simple: Read the Constitution and follow the law.
And please, do not apologize for it! It is Trump who owes us an apology — he and his band of misfits who tried to destroy democracy on Jan. 6. They’re the ones we need to stand up to. If we don’t do it now, it will be too late.
Don’t believe the lies Trump and his allies are telling you. Believe what’s written in the Constitution. Support what you know to be true. Everything else is just a waste of precious time.