In what should be a ceremony that the press always ignores, the certification of the Electoral College vote on January 6th is morphing into another Trumpian spectacle of Sturm und Drang. It seems some Republican senators, with the support of Trump, will mount a challenge to the Electoral College vote, trying to reverse its outcome in several battleground states that went for Biden, giving him the victory. Trump has exhausted all legal paths to change the outcome. All failures. He still denies Biden won. He is, indeed, in denial, as we mental health counselors say. Big time. Why won’t Trump concede his loss?
Is it that he is afraid that once he is out of power, his wrongdoings will catch up to him and he will wind up in prison? Perhaps. You and I would assume that, but Trump has evaded so many attempts to cripple him through the courts that I think he thinks he is invincible. Just hire enough lawyers who issue enough legal roadblocks and his accusers get tired of the time and money it costs to continue accusing. Even tax evasion, that misstep that finally caught Al Capone, won’t catch him, he surmises. Never has and never will.
So now, he has one more ploy. Actually a series of ploys. First, he has his traitor Representatives and Senators vote to deny certifying the Electoral College tally in certain states. When that fails he has Pence fail to certify the final tally (Pence has no constitutional authority whatsoever to do so). When that fails he instigates his radical, armed supporters, such as various white supremacist groups who he has dogwhistled to “Stand by,” to take to the streets and perform enough acts of violence and chaos to allow him to declare martial law (He has already called for such violent rallies on the 6th!). Police, many of whom are either members or sympathizers of these White Supremacist groups do nothing to restrain the violence, effectively being complicit in a violent takeover of the government. His cult followers also take to the streets screaming and creating havoc. The final ploy in this string of ploys? Trump remains in power, declaring himself President for at least another four years.
Impossible? Improbable, perhaps, but not impossible. Trump is desperate enough to try this. He has nothing really to lose since he’s already lost the prize he thought he had all along: remaining in power. His ego cannot and will not tolerate a loss. You must not be a loser, his father drummed into his skull. Of course all of the above must succeed for the final Trumpian outcome to come true. If it doesn’t work, Trump will leave office but declare himself the victim of a fraudulent election, making himself a martyr, still beloved by his cult followers. This might encourage him to run again in 2024 to continue his onslaught against our government and way of life.
Is there anything you and I can do to stop this insanity? I’m doing what I can do by writing this post. We are past the point of “calling our representatives.” We are past the point of voting or sending in our donations. Our democracy has voted Trump down hard, but our democracy still teeters on the brink of destruction. Wild animals and criminals are most dangerous when they are wounded or cornered, and Trump, both wild and a criminal, is both wounded, cornered, and dangerous.
It is the last day of 2020. My wife is preparing a celebratory meal and festive drinks. As is customary, I wish you all a very, very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. I pray for your wellbeing. I pray for the wellbeing of our great country. I pray for the final and ultimate defeat of the ogre Donald Trump and his surrogates.
I do believe his harmful actions and words have led to the deaths of 338,000 Americans. Because of Trump, people discounted the virus and let their guard down. No masks. No social distancing. No hand washing. Large indoor gatherings. The virus wasn’t the problem. It was people’s reaction and response to it.
What I have to say next may sound shocking, but I think we must pause to thank the coronavirus for directly leading to the takedown of Donald Trump. Without this pandemic coming when it did, Trump would have surely won the election and the final dismantling of our Democracy would be underway, paving the way for oligarchy and eventual dictatorship. So I for one, though I grieve deeply for the dead, bow to the virus and thank it for what it brought. And, with hope, I think it is still the virus that will sling the final shot at Goliath’s head as David did all those many years ago.
That’s about all I have on my mind tonight, folks. Stay alert. Stay smart. Stay mindful. Stay hopeful. Stay the course. We will get through this. We will survive and thrive.
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