The Crisis

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.

Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776

I was gonna let current events go by without much comment.

But I can't.

Folks, the GOP is the minority party in this country. They have engineered political power today only through gerrymandering, voter suppression and the endless drumbeats of bald lies and distortions, never more than under the current president.

But when you ask Americans about specific policies and programs, the very policies that the GOP opposes are extremely popular! 

Nearly all the policies put in place during "liberal" dominance of the political sphere between 1930 and 1980 — the social safety net in all its forms, support for higher education, defense of the environment, civil rights...you name it, even abortion, in one form or another — all these policies, individually, American support by wide majorities.

The GOP is the minority party in this country.

And yet, this minority party is willing to allow the President of the United States patently to violate, not just the norms of civil discourse, but the due process of law itself, merely because it suits their short-term advantage.

We truly are facing a crisis no less significant than what precipitated the Civil War and the Revolution itself.

DT has promised to kill the investigation into his own political campaign. More than once. 

And only one — one — sitting GOP Senator dared to criticize him for it...a lame-duck Senator who, nevertheless, continued to vote with the POTUS more than 85% of the time.

And now he has finally taken practical steps to squash Mueller's investigation. By firing the Attorney General and promoting an underling who has also criticized the investigation, DT now has the practical means, if not to actually kill the investigation — which would force a truly catastrophic confrontation — to strangle it by reducing the funding...and the new AG will provide what's called "political cover."

What's more: We now have a Supreme Court that has also been artificially engineered to have a conservative majority, with at least one new "justice" who has already expressed doubts that a POTUS can be prosecuted while in office. 

So, if this does crisis does come to a head and goes before the SCOTUS, what will happen? Will there be legal recourse for the majority against the depredations of the minority?

Think about what all that means, America.

What will happen next?


P.S. It seems that DT has indeed overstepped his authority by appointing a replacement AG without consulting the Senate. (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/opinion/trump-attorney-general-sessions-unconstitutional.html?partner=rss&emc=rss)

I doubt that the GOP is even thinking about this. Why would they?