General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDan Rather: That is what makes the release of Donald Trump's legal rationalizations so chilling
That is what makes the release of Donald Trump's legal rationalizations so chilling. To be blunt, they are un-American. They betray a complete disconnect from our constitutional government, and thus are themselves an act of betrayal.
I know that there is much being written about the silence from most members of the GOP to this latest outrage. Indeed, it is an outrage in some ways that encompasses all the others - for there, in black and white, is an outline of a monarchy and not a republic. But my inner compass suggests that while we have not seen a backlash from many Trump voters and Republican officials, yet, this is going too far, far too far, for most Americans. And that pressure cannot be checked forever, at the ballot box or in the streets.
Trump is benefiting from a roaring economy (thanks in no small part to what was bestowed by his predecessor). It is summer and families are busy planning trips and taking in ballgames or a day at the beach. It is easy to be distracted or preoccupied with the necessities of everyday life. But in the end, I think that the recklessness of a man who seeks only personal power and self aggrandizement - whose personal and professional failings have already spurred the largest resistance movement I have seen in decades - will wear thin even with many who may have voted for him.
Frankly, this is not what Trump promised on the campaign trail. Amidst the racist dog whistles and the crude rhetoric was a promise that he would be a pragmatic politician looking out for the little guy. What we have now is a man who would be king. And the institutions of our government, our courts, our system of states, our free press, and our voters, are not going to abide by it. Our Founding Fathers feared such a man. They knew the tyranny of kings, and chose to rebel. So they set out to establish a republic built to make sure it would never happen on our shores.
These are the stakes. And I sense there is a lot of fight out there amongst a populace intent on making sure that we remain a nation of laws.
https://www.facebook.com/theDanRather/posts/10160475188805716
Chickensoup
(650 posts)at these dark hours.
Where are the Democratic leadership?
What are they waiting for?
I have a feeling that the same advisers
Of the last lost election are still wrongly
advising.
Time for actions. Time to be bold, loud
, determined and courageous .
Our forefathers as well the coming
generations expect that from us.
Our time is now .
murielm99
(30,785 posts)If you have been paying attention, you will see them speaking out publicly, doing everything they can to get more Democrats elected, and acting. Did you just see the thread about Senator Merkley? Have you been paying attention to Schiff, or Tammy Duckworth?
Stop attacking Democrats.
PatrickforO
(14,605 posts)Them is us.
Democrats at all levels are working very hard to resist the worst of this illegal and corrupt administration.
If you'd like to actually be a part of the change, I suggest you become active in your local Dem party. Caucus. Attend the assemblies. Support local candidates. Exert control over the nominating process and platform content. Vote in the primary. Vote in the general election.
In the meantime, keep abreast of the issues and call your US Rep and US Senators at least once a week. Tomorrow, I will be calling mine about how Senator Merkley was turned away from an immigration detention center in FL where a private for-profit ICE contractor is housing children who have been ripped from the arms of their parents. Last week I called about the ongoing suffering in Puerto Rico, and recommended that my Congressional delegation pressure Wall Street into forgiving PR's debt since we bailed out Wall Street under TARP in 2008 to the tune of $750 billion in taxpayer monies.
And, support initiatives such as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. If enough states pass this (states having => 270 Electoral College Votes), then the Electoral College is circumvented since the Compact requires them to vote with the national popular vote.
The NPV Interstate Compact is a big deal because the American people have been cheated in two presidential elections. Gore should have won in 2000. Clinton should have won in 2016.
Hekate
(91,042 posts)...Hillary and the Democrats did not lose the last election. She got 3,000,000 more votes than Trump. The majority of voters wanted her, not Trump.
It took the combined forces of a corrupt and obsolete Electoral College, gerrymandered districts courtesy of the GOP, Cambridge Analytica, Vladimir Putin, voter suppression of minority voters, and all-out vote-counting fraud to ensure that Hillary Clinton was not sworn in as POTUS.
Never forget that.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)blue-wave
(4,375 posts)kentuck
(111,111 posts)I've been thinking the same thing.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,117 posts)spanone
(135,950 posts)Cosmocat
(14,589 posts)I dont see the fight.
We have it, but the other 2/3 of the country...
defacto7
(13,485 posts)Dan Rather is a solid voice of reason in what are incomprehensible times.
mountain grammy
(26,676 posts)You said it, Dan!