Tag: Raffensperger

If we can keep it

From the founding of the American republic, we have had different views on policies to improve our “more perfect union.” That we have lived and flourished together is the result of several important features of American society that we should never take for granted.

The first is a constitution that establishes a limited government that provides maximum scope for each of us to live our individual lives as we see fit. The potential frictions from our different views are thus minimized.

But the individual freedom structure of our government and its accompanying laws are not enough to explain our relative success. Civil society can only flourish within that structure if our values are virtuous and our cultural norms support tolerance and cooperation. Such norms derive from tradition but evolve with experience of what works. This was the insight of Fusionism—the need for both freedom (limited government and free markets) and good values. “Popularizer [William F] Buckley and politician [Ronald] Reagan took the productive tension between freedom and heritage and translated it into political action under the term “fusionism.” “Conservative nationalist or fusionist manque”

“As far as viewing individual freedom as the supreme principle, Mr. Fusionism Frank Meyer explained in his “Western Civilization,” that freedom did rank first politically, as what he called the ‘criterion principle, the guide.’ But ‘the application of principle to circumstances demands a prudential art’ derived from ‘the intricate fibers of tradition and civilization, carried in the minds of men from generation to generation…. The compelling, if secondary, claims of other principles, though not decisive to judgment in the political sphere in the way that freedom is, do nevertheless bear upon every concrete political problem.’ So, practical action requires balancing freedom and beliefs.” 

Culture informs how we use our freedom. Our personal survival and flourishing (self-interest) naturally have priority. But our cultural and moral values help inform our behavior toward ourselves and toward our neighbors that best serve our flourishing and happiness. Our personal welfare also depends on how we treat others.  In the fusionist spirit, two of the critical elements of successful societies are trust in the institutions that govern them and respect for those with whom they disagree.

Political debate in America today is too often merely finger pointing and damning the other side as disingenuous—treating them as enemies rather than partners in brainstorming sessions to find the best solution to opposing views. The pros and cons of proposals and an understanding of the sincere needs and concerns of the other side and the development of compromises and consensus are not possible in such an environment. Our defense of free speech is critical but of limited value if we are just shouting at each other and forget that listening is an important part of a productive conversation.

More deeply disturbing and dangerous is the widespread loss of confidence in our institutions. How best to protect ourselves and our families and our community from Covid-19, for example, should not be a political issue. We should be able to rely on the best advice coming from our public health agencies as they gather and evaluate the evidence. But these institutions bent to political pressures and lost public confidence. “Should you get vaccinated for covid-19”   “The unnecessary fight over covid-19”

More disturbing still is former President Donald Trump’s persistent lies to his supporters that he actually won the 2020 election, thus undermining trust in our elections. That Trump makes such claims is less surprising than that so many of his supporter believe it despite the almost total failure of any evidence presented in court (thus under oath) to establish voter fraud or miscounting, and the rejection of such claims by Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, and  Trump’s appointed Attorney General, William Barr, who called the claims “BS.” There is no way anyone really seeking the truth can still believe Trump’s claim of a stolen election. But a lot of people still seem to.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. We all listened to Trump’s failed effort to persuade George Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 more votes for him. “Trump-Raffensperger call transcript on Georgia vote”   When such efforts were exhausted, Trump explored ways to overturn the election results in Congress with the help of “legal” advice from John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani. The final desperate plan was to convince Vice President Mike Pence to reject the Electoral College vote and declare Trump President. The scheme was illegal. The Vice President’s legal adviser, Greg Jacob, explained the illegal nature of the plan to its author, John Eastman, and to the Vice President as did Judge Michael Luttig. VP Pence refused Trump’s pressure to overturn the election, for which we must all be very grateful.

In response to Pence’s refusal to violate the law, “Trump tweeted that Pence ‘didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done,’ prompting rioters Trump had sent to the Capital to “chant ‘hang Mike Pence’ and erect mock gallows.  Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney has described testimony from Trump aides saying he responded by saying Pence ‘deserves it.’” “How did Trump respond when mob chanted hang Mike Pence?”

The mob that attacked the Capital on Jan 6, 2021 was sent by Donald Trump. “Five people died during the attack or in the immediate aftermath.”  “January 6 attack on capitol-guide to what we now know”  “A grand jury has accused Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four associates with seditious conspiracy tied to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.” “Proud Boys leader charged with seditious conspiracy related to Jan 6”   “Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group, and 10 other members or associates have been charged with seditious conspiracy in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.”  “Stewart Rhodes arrested-Oath Keepers-Jan 6 insurrection” Two of them have pleaded guilty so far.

Trump’s behavior on Jan 6, such as his long delay in taking any action, remains somewhat cloudy because some of the key Republicans involved that day have refused the subpoenas to testify before the Jan 6 Commission:

“Those gaps are largely the result of the refusal of key Trump allies to participate in the investigation, a list that includes his former chief of staff Mark Meadows as well as his most prominent defenders on Capitol Hill: GOP Reps. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Scott Perry (Pa.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (Ala.), all of whom have rejected congressional subpoenas to appear before the panel” “Jan 6 committee is telling a story but plenty of gaps remain”

This is an outrage. It is disrespectful to those of us, hopefully all Americans, who want and deserve to know the full truth of what happened that day (and before).

What if Trump is allowed to run again in 2024 and claims that he has won even if he hasn’t?  Will our institutions and public trust in them withstand the better trained and better prepared Trump insurgents next time. Judge Luttig issued a strong “warning to a country whose democracy, he said, is on ‘a knife’s edge.’”

 “Ignoring Jan 6 hearings Michael Luttig explains why you shouldn’t”   “Read Luttig statement”

Trump seems to be preparing for such an event.  “Speaking during a Faith and Freedom event in Nashville, Tenn., Trump said [of] the defendants charged in the Capitol riot… if I become president, someday if I decide to do it, I will be looking at them very, very seriously for pardons. Very, very seriously….” “Trump-says-he-would-look-very-very-seriously-at-pardons-for-jan-6-defendants-if-reelected”

I hope that he won’t be allowed to run:  “The criminal case against Donald Trump”

More on Trump “acquittal”

Following the Senate’s failure to convict Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capital as part of his “Stop the Steal” campaign to overturn Biden’s election, Senator Mitch McConnell proclaimed that “There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day….” Nonetheless, he voted against conviction on the grounds that according to some legal scholars the impeachment provisions of the U.S. Constitution applied only to a President still in office.  Since Trump was no longer the President, impeachment did not apply.  However, if that were so he should have voted to convict Trump and left it to the Supreme Court to sort out this issue if Trump challenged the conviction on these constitutional grounds.

In retrospect (for those of us who were eager to get all of this behind us and move on), it would have been wiser and more convincing to the doubters to have delayed the Senate trial by several months of evidence gathering and to provide for each side to bring and cross exam witnesses. The 9/11 type commission suggested by Rep. Pelosi might correct that mistake. But as Sen. McConnell pointed out in his post Senate vote speech that Trump will now be tried, and no doubt convicted, of many crimes in the courts. I am confident that justice will ultimately prevail.

“Out of office and without the protections that the presidency afforded him, Trump is now facing multiple criminal investigations, civil state inquiries and defamation lawsuits by two women accusing him of sexual assault.”  “Trump legal problems post impeachment”   

Georgia has launched investigations into calls Trump made to election officials in an attempt to overturn that state’s election results. We all heard Trump’s threats to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger if he could not find 11,780 votes for Trump in order to flip the election outcome.  I found the call truly shocking, even from Trump.

“In New York… the Manhattan District Attorney’s office is looking into whether the Trump Organization violated state laws, such as insurance fraud, tax fraud or other schemes to defraud….  Prosecutors are awaiting a decision from the US Supreme Court on whether it will continue to delay the enforcement of a subpoena for eight years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns and related records from his accounting firm.” Op. cit.

A potentially large number of people could charge Trump with various damages in connection with the January 6 attack of the Capitol.  For example, Mississippi Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson has accused Trump and others “of conspiring to disenfranchise millions of black voters by preventing Congress from certifying election results on January 6th.  A lawsuit, brought by the NAACP on behalf of Mr. Thompson, argues that they violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.” “NAACP Rep Bennie Thompson sue Trump Giuliani over capitol riot”

As more and more of his supporters encounter the fact that Trump was unable to produce any credible evidence of significant voter fraud, they will hopefully increasingly give up believing it.  The multi billion-dollar defamation suits by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News, former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, and Sidney Powell, and others who claimed that their voting systems switched votes from Trump to Biden should also help change some minds. Most of those making such claims publicly retracted them and apologized for them “Fox Business host Lou Dobbs and Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro aired [multiple segments debunking false election claims made on their shows for weeks] that Smartmatic was involved in schemes to switch votes from President Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden….” “Fox news suddenly worried about a defamation suit-forced to debunk its own false election claims”  and Fox News fired them. Most people who believe fake claims eventually give them up when confronted with credible counter evidence (I hope).

But what if they don’t? “Some of the senators may have little sympathy for the former president, yet made the partisan choice to appease an increasingly extremist Republican base. A recent poll conducted by the conservative American Enterprise Institute found that nearly 4 out of 10 Republicans believe that political violence is justifiable and could be necessary in a troubled domestic future. Another poll found that three-quarters of Republican voters want Trump to play a prominent role in the party’s future.”  “Trump acquittal questions multiparty system” Most of the rest, presumably, will not remain in a party that includes Trump.

Is the Republican Party thus doomed to minority status for many years to come?  My hope is that multiple court convictions of at least a few of Trump’s many (presumed) crimes will significantly shrink his support and eliminate his role in the party. His refusal to help Rep. Kevin McCarty on January 6 (much less Vice President Pence) was one of the more damning pieces of evidence of Trump’s complicity with the Capital attackers. Yet, “Wary of inflaming tensions within his own party, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) is staying silent about his frantic Jan. 6 call to then-President Trump as rioters raided the Capitol.” “Riot probe to likely focus on McCarthy-Trump call” In my opinion, Republican leadership should push Trump out of the party as quickly as possible. An internet poll on February 17 found 75% of the responding Republicans thought that Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump should be censured. This is not promising. The country needs two strong political parties.

The Party should start by squeezing out its radical loony extremists like Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene.  https://wcoats.blog/2021/02/04/cancer-in-the-republican-party/  The reactions by Republican Party leaders in states whose Republican senators voted against Trump raise concerns that hard core Trump supporters would rather destroy the Republican Party than abandon their Stable Genius. “The Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) was sent a scathing letter from eleven members of his own family just two days after he called for former President Donald Trump to be removed from office.” “GOP rep Kinzinger is blasted by his own family after calling for trumps removal” The Central Committee of the North Carolina Republican Party unanimously censured Sen. Richard Burr for voting to convict Trump. They said that the party “agrees with the strong majority of Republicans in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that the Democrat-led attempt to impeach a former President lies outside the United States Constitution.” Maybe, maybe not, but there was a proper way to find out while still confirming Trump’s guilt.

I do not wish to see the Republican Party destroyed. In my opinion, its survival and viability will depend on how quickly Trump fades from the picture and how successfully the Party marginalizes its lunatic fringe.  Reducing gerrymandering of congressional districts on the basis of the latest ten-year census would also help reduce the election of the most radical candidate from each party in primary elections.