This opinion post discussed fascism, democracy, and the rule of law. Suppose you are a bank robber. You rob a bank, steal the money, and add some personal handwritten notes between your attorney and yourself in with the money. The police investigate, and take the money and notes as evidence of a crime. You go to your favorite judge, and tell the judge that your money was taken from you, you want the police to stop their investigation, and that personal attorney-client communications are present. To top it off, you request the money and notes be returned to you. Since the police are biased, you request the judge give you a neutral third party to review the money and documents. The judge agrees. Scenario #1
Suppose you are a former, defeated President. You steal damaging national secrets from the government, hold onto them at your insecure country club, stonewall the return of the documents, and add some personal handwritten notes between your attorney and yourself in with the documents. The Department of Justice and FBI investigate, and take the too secret national secrets and notes as evidence of a crime. You go to your favorite FL judge, and tell the judge that your personal documents were taken from you, you want the FBI to stop their investigation, and that personal attorney-client communications are present. To top it off, you request the national secrets and notes be returned to you. Since the FBI are biased, you request the judge give you a neutral third party to review the money and documents. The judge agrees. Scenario #2
We can laugh off Scenario #1 as stupid and against all common sense, and stuff from movies. Scenario #2 is stupid and against all sense, is going on in real time, and is not from a movie.
As we see with Russia’s hostile invasion of Ukraine, there is one US party that supports Putin’s efforts, the Republican Party. The Republican Party, is misnamed, it doesn’t support anything resembling a republic. They can properly be called the American Fascist Party.
As fascism is encompassed many aspects, take this test to see how many fascist tendencies you have. https://www.idrlabs.com/fascism/test.php
In a nutshell, fascists are against immigrants, they value men over women, they are openly racist, anti-education, anti-books, anti-science, don’t believe in elections unless they win, and they want to use violence against their political enemies. They seek power for themselves at the expense if everyone else. If the world’s longest democracy were to succumb to fascism, you can see how bleak the situation would be for the world.
This is why the former, defeated President has to go to jail for stealing national secrets, obstructing their return, and not returning all the documents. If democracy and the rule of law are to mean anything, he needs to be indicted by a grand jury. Every day he walks free is a mockery of justice.
It’s not only about the former, defeated President. He’s the ringleader.
It’s about Secretary’s of State, Attorney Generals, and Governors that don’t believe in the will of the people to decide their political future. Eugene Robinson, opinion writer at the Washington Post, penned the following: The 2022 midterms are the most important of my lifetime.
A terrifying survey in The Post last week found that of 569 Republican candidates nationwide for House or Senate seats or major statewide offices, an astounding 299 — more than half — “have denied or questioned the outcome of the last presidential election.”
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
This is a crazy number. Every single one of them should be defeated in a sane country. We can not say all of the US is sane anymore. Because of gerrymandering, many of these folks who despise democracy, elections, and the rule of law will be in positions of power. If Congress is lost to the American Fascist Party, or state governments, the loss of the rights and freedom will be imminent. Mr. Robinson says it well when that the above is not an exaggeration.
It is hard for me to write those words because one of the first things I was taught as a young journalist was to be wary of superlatives. But the truth is plain — and painful: Democrats must keep control of at least one chamber of Congress, and preferably both, because the Republican Party has become a danger to the American experiment.
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Don’t take voting, democracy, or the rule of law for granted. Too many of us are sleep walking that this is a normal political horse race. Everything is on the line. Vote, help others to vote, register voters, donate, and be vocal. Your life is at stake. Act like it.
Sincerely yours,
smilingdad
Featured image from Pixabay
smilingdad 