Former President Donald J. Trump is a cancer, a potentially lethal threat to our democratic republic.
Unfortunately, this “Summer of Indictments” and civil lawsuits won’t dissuade Trump supporters. And because his supporters are the base of the Republican Party, the elected officials leading the party will not dare criticize Trump. House seats are determined by primary voters, and the primary voters of the GOP belong to Trump.
Those of us opposed to Trump and the illiberal populists taking over the Republican Party, should confront the horrifying reality that trying to hold him legally responsible for January 6 could lead to another Trump term in the White House. Criminal charges and civil lawsuits only increase the likelihood Trump will be the 2024 Republican nominee for president, and he could win due to the Electoral College.
The four counts related to January 6, 2021, are serious. Then again, so are the other legal entanglements of the former president.
Trump indicted over efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss | AP News:
BY ERIC TUCKER AND MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Updated 8:53 PM CDT, August 1, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was indicted on felony charges Tuesday for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, with the Justice Department acting to hold him accountable for an unprecedented effort to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power and threaten American democracy.
The four-count indictment, the third criminal case against Trump, provided deeper insight into a dark moment that has already been the subject of exhaustive federal investigations and captivating public hearings. It chronicles a months-long campaign of lies about the election results and says that, even when those falsehoods resulted in a chaotic insurrection at the Capitol, Trump sought to exploit the violence by pointing to it as a reason to further delay the counting of votes that sealed his defeat.
I supported the impeachment of Trump, twice, knowing it was politically counterproductive. What is right doesn’t always produce the best results.
Imagine what would happen if President Joe Biden pardoned Trump. Seriously, consider it. Then, Biden could announce he’s not running for reelection and let a new generation take the reins of the Democratic Party.
Trump relies on the narrative that he’s a victim. That argument removed, what would remain?
Yes, Trump should be charged. Yes, there should be a record of his actions. But, I’m concerned he could be propelled back into office. I don’t know how to avoid that, short of eliminating some of his favorite campaign messages.
Then, charge everyone who was around Trump. Reduce Trump to a co-conspirator who will be exposed time and time again in various legal proceedings. Let history remember him as the blustery charlatan who caused a riot and tried to overturn an election.
There’s no question any sane, reasonable person knows Trump lost the 2020 election. Trump likely knows he lost. But the cult of Trump embraces the lies promoted by the former president.
Some might protest that I’m not a Republican and have no interest in what happens to the party. We all have an interest in both parties putting forth decent, honorable candidates. The nation needs two, strong, moderate parties of the left and right. We also need politicians willing to compromise and solve problems.
Instead, Trump Republicans care more about social issues than solving problems. There are no serious proposals for any major national problems from the current Republican leadership. If anything, they often deny serious problems, finding it easier to deny data and science.
I remain a fiscal conservative, social libertarian, and defense hawk.
Before 2016, I voted for more Republicans than Democrats, though I also voted for plenty of third-party candidates. Voters like me were part of the “three-legged stool” the Republicans needed. The Trump Republican Party retains only one of the three legs: religious social conservatives.
Trump is not a fiscal conservative. Trump is no social conservative, based on his own life. He’s not a genuine defense hawk, either. But the Republican Party is a cult of personality now. Indict Trump. Expose him as much as possible for history. Then, let us move forward.
Unfortunately, it is more than feasible that Trump or one of his sycophants will enter the White House in January 2025. Indictments help Trump more than hurt his chances of winning reelection.
