Threat To American Democracy

Preemptive Pardons Essential To Protect Courageous Leaders!

There is growing discussion of the concept of “preemptive” pardons being given by President Joe Biden, to a whole group of political figures who helped investigate and bring Donald Trump and others around him to legal accountability, particularly for the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection, but also other illegal activities.

The list could include all members of the January 6 House Committee that investigated the Insurrection, but also others who have been openly critical of Donald Trump over the years, which is legion in numbers.

The fear is that Donald Trump and his FBI nominee Kash Patel want revenge and retribution against political “enemies”, and even those in journalism and the media, which makes for a list that could be massive.

Clearly, not everyone who might be endangered by civil or criminal charges that might be brought by the FBI can be calculated, as to the risk of prosecution.

But beyond the list this author and blogger presented two days ago, there is real concern about such politically courageous figures as:

Liz Cheney
Adam Kinzinger
Adam Schiff
Jamie Raskin
General Mark Milley
Prosecutor Jack Smith

and innumerable Trump Administration employees who broke with Trump.

Even Dr Anthony Fauci, who had such a sterling career since Ronald Reagan onward, has become the target of those lunatics who think that the Pandemic and response to it was mishandled, a disgraceful lie!

And there is danger to the free press, including the NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and PBS, among others.

We are entering dark times, brought about by the stupidity, ignorance, and self-centeredness of so many Americans, including people I know personally, who only care about “Me, Myself and I”, and not the nation at large.

At this rate, our American democracy, rule of law, and enforcement of the Constitution is in dire straits!

Kash Patel’s “Deep State” List For Prosecution: Dire Threat To American Democracy!

Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI head, Kash Patel, is a danger to American democracy, and would revive the bad, abusive record of J. Edgar Hoover from 1924-1972.

The FBI was reformed after Hoover’s passing, and the ten year term of service was designed to take the organization out of politics, but now Trump wants this evil man, who talks about the “deep state”, to begin prosecution of a long list of political, government, and media leaders.

This is outrageous, and endangers the nation dramatically if this unqualified and dangerous man is given power to do what he wants.

Among those he wishes to prosecute (of a longer list) are the following 25 individuals:

Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
Hillary Clinton
James Comey
John Brennan
John Bolton
Bill Barr
Lloyd Austin
Mark Esper
Merrick Garland
Gina Haspel
Eric Holder
Cassidy Hutchinson
Andrew McCabe
General Mark Milley
Lisa Monaco
Robert Mueller
John Podesta
Samantha Power
Rod Rosenstein
Jake Sullivan
Miles Taylor
Alexander Vindman
Christopher Wray
Sally Yates

These are Democrats, Republicans, intelligence officials, Justice Department officials, people who exposed the corruption of Donald Trump, and others who were concerned about abuses of power under Trump.

The fact that the FBI appointment is a ten year term, not just while a President is in office, makes this nomination the most dangerous of all of Trump’s appointments, and must be fought bitterly to prevent Patel from accomplishing his evil intentions!

Impossible To Reject All Of Trump’s Outrageous Cabinet Appointments!

Reality must sink in, that there is no possibility to expect the Republican controlled US Senate to reject all of Donald Trump’s outrageous Cabinet appointments. Trump is not allowing FBI checks of his nominees, and threatens to force recess appointments of his nominees, if the majority Republicans do not play along!

At most, maybe one might be stopped, with the one thought to be most likely being Attorney General nominee, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who has most members of the House of his party, and many Republican Senators really opposed to him, based on his scandalous life, but also his horrendous relationships with fellow Republicans over the years.

Sadly, Director of National Intelligence nominee, former Congresswoman and Democrat Tulsi Gabbard; Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr (also a former Democrat); and Pete Hegseth, Fox News host and nominee for Secretary of Defense, despite horrendous information about all three of them, will unlikely be able to be stopped.

All of these male nominees have been accused of sexual harassment and sexual abuse, but will likely overcome accusations of their misbehaviors, as Donald Trump has managed to do so throughout his life!

The idea that America’s Justice Department; Intelligence Agencies; Health Care System; and Military and Defense establishment are under attack by extremists chosen by a President who is out to destroy the existing system of American democracy, is a reality hard to accept.

All decent people, including this author and blogger, are fighting off a sense of despair and depression, but knowing that if good people give in and give up, then the damage done will be greater, than if there is resistance.

US Senate Should NOT Give Trump Recess Appointments For Cabinet Choices!

Donald Trump is clearly attempting to grab power from the US Senate in his move to make recess appointments to his Cabinet, bypassing the power of the Senate “to advise and consent”.

The idea of recess appointments has always been rarely utilized, and for Trump to just go ahead and pick his advisers, and ignore the Senate, is alarming.

One has to hope that enough Republicans are willing to challenge Trump, and prevent what would be the gaining of a new absolute power of Trump, and potentially, future Presidents, making the Senate a weakened legislative body.

There may be 53 Republican Senators, but if four of them resist Trump, they, hopefully, could stop this dangerous power grab.

Potential such Senators would likely include:

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Senator Susan Collins of Maine
Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Senaator Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma

If the Senate allows Trump to do what he wants, and allows Billionaire Elon Musk to have a major power over Trump policies as well, without any resistance, it will be a massive step toward what Trump had called “Dictatorship on Day One”!

This is a battle for survival of American democracy, and no patriotic American can sit on the sidelines, and they must pressure the Senate and others on Capitol Hill to fight and resist in every way possible!

Trump’s Proposed Department Of Government Efficiency Headed By Musk And Ramaswamy A Threat To American Democracy!

An attack on the federal bureaucracy has been proposed by Donald Trump, with his idea of a new Department of Government Efficiency, to be pursued by two billionaires—Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy!

This is an attack on American democracy and the authority of the legislative branch, as the proposal is to cut the federal budget by about one third, saving $2 trillion, out of a $6.5 trillion national budget!

There are very few public figures more oboxious, all knowing, and arrogant than Musk and Ramaswamy, and the irony is that they want to create a new government agency to cut funding on other government agencies, truly looney.

Ramaswamy wants to cut the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, and also, overall, cut the federal work force by 75 percent.

That should, on its own, be enough to declare these two arrogant, super wealthy prima donnas, as totally off the wall lunatics, and the ideas they promoted are basically anarchistic in nature, and needs to be repudiated in an aggressive manner!

Massive cuts in Social Security and defense spending would be required under this lunatic plan, and instead, both Musk and Ramaswamy need to be told to go back to enrichment of their own fortunes, and leave the American people alone!

Realignment Seems To Have Occurred, But It May Not Last Past Next Presidential Election!

The Democratic Party has received a heavy rebuke from voters, who once could be counted upon to remain in support of the party.

It is mind boggling that 46 percent of Latinos, 39 percent of Asian Americans, 20 percent of African Americans, and working class Whites abandoned the party that promoted civil rights and social justice reforms over the 90 years since Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s.

But their “abandonment” is more centered around the key issue of the economy, the reality that the COVID 19 Pandemic created high inflation which finally, but belatedly, has been overcome in recent months.

Overall, the economy has done well, but since people think first about the issue of groceries, gas, and other costs that had been mounting, they decided to avoid dealing with the other issues so important out there, such as survival of democracy, abortion rights, and foreign policy concerns.

The inability of Joe Biden to deal with the problem of immigration at the border also was effectively used by Republicans, along with creating the false issue of transgender rights.

Donald Trump is not going to keep the support of the groups who voted for him, once they realize he is only concerned about corporations and the wealthy, and is on the road to another massive tax cut, adding trillions to the national debt, and imposing tariffs that will raise the cost of living for the people who decided to support him.

Donald Trump is assured to antagonize and alienate groups that will realize they have been taken advantage of, and as long as the Democratic Party comes up with new proposals and plans and have a dynamic primary season for the 2028 Presidential nomination, the party will be able to retrieve what they have lost!

Electing Trump Allows Dangerous Characters To Promote Policy!

What is even more scary than Donald Trump being returned to the Oval Office is that it would allow dangerous characters to promote their evil intentions, as they would have ultimate power over many areas of government policy, with Trump not fully engaged, and allowing his loyalists to do whatever they wish.

There would be no guard rails of people who intervened in the Trump Presidency over four years, and in many cases, then resigned or were fired, but now “true believers” with extreme ideas would be in total charge.

These include the following, just a short list but terrifying:

JD Vance (a heartbeat away from the Presidency)
Elon Musk
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Stephen Miller
Steve Bannon
Roger Stone
Tucker Carlson
Howard Lutnick
Rudy Giuliani
Matt Gaetz
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Laura Loomer
Charlie Kirk
Nick Fuentes

These characters and many others would be a massive threat to the continuation of American democracy and the rule of law.

Alarming That Billionaire Owners Of Media Are Staying Neutral On Presidential Endorsements!

An alarming development as the Presidential Election of 2024 nears, is that the billionaire owners of two highly significant and reputable national newspapers have refused to allow their staffs to make an endorsement for President. The Washington Post has had 76 Pulitzer Prizes in its history, and the Los Angeles Times has had more than 40 in its history.

Jeff Bezos of the Washington Post and Patrick Soon-Shiong of the Los Angeles Times have prevented endorsements in the most significant Presidential race since 1940 and 1860. This is billionaire cowardice, kowtowing to the authoritarian threat of Donald Trump!

Their actions, interfering with the editorial board and staff, is causing alarm and provoking resignations, as well as cancellation of subscriptions by readers, as it seems clear that the personal business interests of both men are getting in the way of principles and public safety at a crucial moment in the fight for protection of democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law!

Additionally, the New York Post, owned by the Rupert Murdoch family, the most despicable newspaper owner imaginable, has decided to endorse Donald Trump, after having backed away from support two years ago after the legal cases against Donald Trump were made clear as a result of the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

Danger Of American Fascism Greater Now Than Ever Before!

America has had the danger of Fascism before in its history, but never as great as in the present with Donald Trump!

In the past, we had Huey Long in the 1930s before 1936, with him being assassinated in September 1935.

We also had Strom Thurmond in 1948.

We also had George Wallace in 1968.

We also had Patrick Buchanan in 1992 and 2000.

The closest threat before now was Wallace in 1968, who ran as the American Independent Party nominee, and won 5 Southern states and 46 electoral votes. I cover the story of Wallace in my Presidential Assassinations book.

Strom Thurmond won 4 Southern states and 39 electoral votes in 1948 as the candidate of the Dixiecrats.

Long was a great potential threat to Franklin D. Roosevelt for 1936, but was assassinated in 1935, as I cover in my Presidential Assassinations book.

Patrick Buchanan weakened George H. W. Bush in 1992 primaries, and his name on the ballot in Florida in 2000 led to confusion, gaining votes that were meant to go to Democratic nominee Al Gore, affecting the election of George W. Bush.

But now, Donald Trump is a real threat, not only to immigrants, but also to critics, whether in the news media or opposition politicians, and calling for a dictatorship on Day One, leading General Mark Milley to declare Trump a Fascist, and the most dangerous threat to American democracy, the Constitution, and rule of law in all of American history!

Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson Both “Clear And Present Danger” To American Democracy

Not only is Donald Trump a threat to American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, who now has been revealed to have had up to seven contacts with Vladimir Putin since he left the Presidency.

But also, billionaire Elon Musk and extremist right wing commentator Tucker Carlson have laughed at Elon Musk’s earlier statement that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have not been threatened as Donald Trump was by two assassination attempts, but further joked about the idea that it could happen to Harris!

This is freedom of speech gone amuck, and makes both Musk and Carlson “clear and present dangers”, who need to be warned that such statements are NOT freedom of speech, but threats to a Presidential candidate, and that prosecution by the Secret Service could be in the offing!

Public figures such as Musk and Carlson can have the potential to incite bloodshed and violence by their reckless oratory, and assassination is not something to laugh about!

They are not “normal” citizens, but rather public figures who can influence unstable people with the idea that it is legitimate to threaten Presidential candidates, so they need to be warned to stop such rhetoric immediately!