Will the Trump Indictments Lead to Legal Warfare?
When politics moves from the ballot box to the jury booth everyone loses.
I subscribe to a lot of Substacks. Like a-lot. One of my favorites is “Tell Me How This Ends” by Chris Bray. If you got a minute, you should check it out. I gotta tell you, I really wish someone could tell me how this ends. Unless you’ve been under a proverbial rock for last few months, you’re probably aware that former president Donald Trump has been indicted. Then he was indicted, indicted, and indicted again. Starting with the absurd charges out of New York involving his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels. Culminating with the not-quite-but-close-to-as absurd RICO charges out of Fulton county Georgia. Those charges are in regards to his attempts to overthrow/change/find fraud relating to the 2020 election. It leaves us in a place we certainly have never been before. Man, it feels like I’ve said/written that phrase a billion times over the last few years. “Unprecedented” is the word that carries the day, seemingly everyday, for as long as I can remember now.
The old world of “norms” seems like a quaint little comfort that’s been forcibly ripped away. I am old enough to remember the Clinton impeachment/scandal. At the time it was kinda earth shattering. Presidents were suppose to commit normal felonious acts, like war crimes, or selling weapons and drugs and giving the proceeds to guerilla fighters. Even under handed politics and campaign chicanery were within the norm. Blow jobs and perjury were so salacious and titillating. Add to that the house Republicans, lead by speaker Newt Gingrich being willing to impeach the president essentially over an affair ( yes I know perjury, but it was a question he really should not have been asked). Oh, it seemed so incredible at the time, the demeaning of the Oval Office, the willingness to weaponize the impeachment process for purely political reasons. It was all so exciting. Never, through all of it, did ever fear for the future of our country the way I do now.
The current naked use of the legal system as a means to political ends is not going to stop with these Trump indictments. You and I both know there are right wing prosecutors out there desperately searching for a way to bring charges against Biden. I’m talking about the frivolous bs too, not the very real shenanigans around “his son’s” business dealings. If the Clinton campaign launching the Russiagate boondoggle isn’t at least on the level of Watergate, I seriously don’t know what is. Forging evidence and lying to the FBI about it’s veracity is at least as bad as breaking into a campaign office to get some inside strategies. Like, substantially worse to my mind, but that’s neither here nor there. I don’t believe she will escape without some kinda charges somewhere.
I truly wish the Dems would’ve just let the election play out and let the people decide. The irony is, if they had, I think even ol’ Grandpa dementia would’ve won. With these indictments, I don’t know. The more that it appears they’re taking away peoples right to choose ( pun intended) the more they’re pushed to Trump. Make no mistake, people that are just now beginning to consider Trump aren’t being pulled in, they’re being pushed away by the Dems. With the duopoly, most folks feel they only have two choices, so, if the Dems don’t want them, then they’ll vote for Trump. I would obviously encourage those people to vote third party, but I know few would listen.
I sometimes fear that maybe the Dems don’t even care anymore. Maybe they may see a road to entrenching themselves in power through the legal system. After ten years, at least, hearing about the looming 1durable demographic advantage the Dems were gonna start enjoying at any minute, maybe they just can’t let go of the dream. Many of them seem to act as if they have an inalienable right to rule. Many seem to honestly believe they must protect democracy from the people. With the media totally on board, it’s hard to see a good outcome. When both sides claim to be the one and only law, then there is no law. It will come down to individual police and soldiers deciding who’s orders to listen to. I think when we’ve hit that point, it’s game over. Time to pack up and head for the mountains. God, I hope I’m just being crazy. That I’m being my pessimistic self. I had a multitude of fears when Donald Trump won in 2016, and for the most part they were all bunk. It seems as if everything has escalated ten fold since then though. So, I plan to just keep an eye on everything, make sure we got some emergency supplies socked away( as you always should), and a spot on the map picked out to head to2if it comes to that.
The idea that demographics would lead to entrenched Democratic majority was always a pipe dream.
Hopefully it won’t.