The legal system seeks to determine the truth.
The political system legitimizes power.
They are two different realms.
I watch Fox News while I make morning coffee. I watched the news anchor dismiss the New York jury decision with a wave of her hand. She said that the real jury would speak via the ballot box in November.
That is the Trump position.
I understand that the realms of law and politics overlap, but they operate in two separate ways. The political system works on popularity. The legal system looks at evidence and facts. I mostly look at politics. The matters that can be considered in political decisions are every bit of profiling and body language and first-impression gut feelings that shape how we navigate the world. Most voters don't make decisions based on a checklist of policy positions, even if they think they do. As I write here repeatedly, politics isn’t about denoted messages or facts. Political allegiance is as personal as romantic love or whether one prefers chocolate or strawberry ice cream. It is about gut.
Was Trump guilty of crimes? The jury said yes.
That's the difference between the two realms. One is fed by prejudices and rumors and the free-for-all of information from all directions. The other is about evidence everyone can examine in the bright light of rationality while focused on a narrow question.
Trump, right-wing media, and GOP officeholders are saying that the legal system is not only flawed, but that it is irrelevant. “The real jury is the election.” That a dangerous idea. It ends a justice system and replaces it with mob rule. They are asking us to vote on what the truth is.
I am pretty much resigned to the fact that Trump will win in 2024. Biden doesn’t look like a strong leader who can change things. People are restless for change. Trump looks like a crazy sociopath, but strong. Biden looks elderly. His blocking the Democratic Party nominating process was a massively selfish and suicidal decision for Democrats, but it is done. Politics gives power to what people want. People want change, and Biden isn't it.
But Trump's popularity over Biden's has nothing to do with whether Trump is guilty. The jury found that Trump falsified business records, and did so in furtherance of other crimes. Those other crimes were either corruptly mischaracterizing documents that will be filed for taxes or for corruptly attempting to influence an election or for making an illegal campaign contribution, or maybe a little of all of these.
Trump can be both guilty of felonies and popular enough to be elected president. Trump should be punished like any other first-offense felon who was in flagrant contempt in court, but whose case is on appeal. He can also stand for election like any other candidate who has been convicted of felonies.
The November election isn’t where we decide if Trump is guilty of corrupt felonious acts. The legal system did that.
November is where we decide if we want him to be president.
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9 comments:
What if the upcoming Democratic convention did something unconventional and chose someone other than Biden (and other than Harris)? There are so many good choices: e.g. Gretchen Whidmer, Gina Raimundo, John Fetterman.
Are they smart enough to pick a popular centrist who might actually be able to win in November? Or are they determined to run straight into the iceberg of public opinion and go down with the ship?
Republicans once touted themselves as the party of law and order. Not anymore. Now it’s the party that calls insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol police “patriots.” Their leader and presidential candidate is a convicted felon who tried to overthrow the government. The once-Grand Old Party of Lincoln has degenerated into a shameless mockery of itself, like an agitated alcoholic too drunk and demented to know or care that he pooped in his pants.
I’ve been saying it for months. Convince Joe to step down for the good of the party and let the Convention choose someone else. I think there are a lot of people who don’t like either candidate and might hold their nose and vote for Trump. If a better choice was offered, they could easily vote for the Democrat. Not Harris.
Bill Maher had a great idea. Sentence Trump to community service. Picture him in an orange jumpsuit picking up garbage along the side of the road. Secret Service makes sure he does a good job.
A lot of if people don't need to hold their nose and fire for Felony 0ne. They just need to stay home and not fill out their Ballots, and if enough disillusioned Independents and Democrats do that, Felon One wins, and the Seditionist Party takes both House and Senate, and the Republic falls.
I think the Ego Virus which seems to infect those who get to sit in that custom made chair behind the Resolute Desk has a firm hold on President Biden, but I still hope Peter is wrong and Biden pulls it out for a win.
My fingers are doubly crossed that something like what you described happens at the Dem convention. The idea of running Biden/Harris again considering their lack of popularity and the stakes of what we face (the literal end of our fun little experiment of being a democratic republic) makes it beyond irresponsible. Speaking as an extemely liberal person, I hated at the time when the DNC forced Hillary on us as the Dem nominee (and look how well that worked out) and this feels potentially orders of magnitude worse.
Forget about replacing Biden. If it were going to happen, it would have. Sure, there are plenty of people who would prefer that both parties give us a better choice. But they won’t, so we're stuck with choosing between a respected statesman who honors his oath of office or the convicted felon who led an attempted coup. Anyone who would hold their nose and vote for Trump either doesn’t take his threats seriously (big mistake) or is as malevolent as Trump is.
The Archie Bunker TV character from the 1970s and early 1980s (particularly on "All in the Family") represents the typical GQP voter. The party should be renamed the Archie Bunker Party (ABP). The theme song "Those Were the Days" could be played in commercials, at campaign events and at the ABP convention.
Continued whining is not going to help. You might try looking on the positive side for a change. Unless he has a major health crisis or some other major catastrophe occurs, Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for president and Kamala Harris will be his choice for VP.
Is it really that difficult to support the team with only 5 months until the election? Don't be a poor sport and a sore loser just because your preferred person is not the nominee.
Re-runs of "All in the Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place" (its sequel) continue to be broadcast on free television channels. No cable or subscriptions required.
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