Last In A Series
BY VERN TURNER
The gap between Part II and this final part is, in part, due to the cascade of events surrounding the United States government, the president [lower case intended due to the current holder of the office] and the Republican Party.
I have to begin somewhere, so let’s start with the abdication of Lindsey Graham from responsible senator to boot-licking sycophant in a matter of weeks. I guess watching Trump cheat during all those rounds of golf gave Graham another reason to exist. Leadership by example, you know.
Now, Graham, as with most Republicans caught in the fetid web of corruption, has declared that the investigations into Trump’s campaign and his obvious obstruction of justice is over, and the Democrats in the House don’t get a do-over.
Yeah. Really. An educated, barred lawyer said that. Then, we only have to pick up the paper to see that the army of lawyers surrounding the orange creature are building stone walls as if they were journeymen masons.
Never mind that the Constitution requires Congressional oversight to the executive branch. There is also black-letter law that compels the IRS and Treasury to submit tax returns on anybody it wants to. “No,” says Mnuchin. “The Congress has no legislative purpose for this request.” It should be noted that the law says nothing about “legislative purpose.” Oversight is the baseline law here. It is amazing how everyone else except Republicans clearly see this law. Not in Trump’s White House. But this is just more of the smoke machine being employed by the criminal enterprise in the White House to protect its head mob boss therein.
More poignant, perhaps, is the latest flood of state legislatures producing draconian laws that criminalize abortion for any reason. These “laws” come from legislatures that are dominated by Republicans and fueled by wrong-headed evangelical churches.
In Alabama, the law was sponsored by a woman. The attachment between Republicans and their backward-thinking churches in these states has even warped the minds of women to act against their own genders’ rights and freedoms of choice. Why would they do that? Simply put, these 19th century throwbacks want to make test cases to Trump’s Supreme Court to overthrow Roe v. Wade. The cretin class thinks it finally has what it wants in Trump and SCOTUS to get done what the controllers of women have wanted to do since 1973.
By the way, 78% percent of Americans think there should be legal abortion available to women with some degree of regulation. Only 18% want all abortions to be illegal/criminal including those as a result for rape and incest. Doctors who perform abortions are subject to virtual life in prison, this during a time when doctors are in short supply – especially in poor, minority communities. Anyone see a racial component here?
Sadly, it might come to pass. Trump’s recent rhetoric about “radical Democrats ripping babies from the womb …” is totally fascist, inflammatory and, of course, wrong. His demagoguery is basically intended to inflame his very base base, but it also serves as a distraction from the horrors of the squirrel eating his brain.
Trump’s fundamental fears are directly associated with his money, how he gets it, what he does with it and how many law violations it takes to keep getting it. Touting this reversed opinion on abortion added to all the lawsuits and orders to ignore Congressional subpoenas is part of the stonewall the Criminal-in-Chief wants to play into the 2020 election.
It’s also clear that the stonewall strategy is a goad to have House Democrats start impeachment hearings. As a very smart pundit has said, “Trump is the master of playing the victim and his base lap it up.”
So, Trump wants to whine his way into a second term while the rule of law goes glimmering down the drain of this president’s toilet of defilement of the law, the Constitution and the moral fiber of this country.
It is not new to watch poker players overplay their hand and get cleaned out in the process. The Republicans, as James Comey has recently said, are having their souls eaten by the wretch in the White House.
Rod Rosenstein: from potential wire-wearer for 25th Amendment vote whipper to Trump ass-kisser as he’s shown the door. Don McGahn: from Trump confidant, White House Council to defier of Congressional subpoena at Trump’s direction … even though he is a private citizen.
These are just two examples of all the people who have had their moral fibers ripped out of their hearts and minds by the most power-laden criminal in the history of our nation.
Will the American people finally tire of this mayhem? Will they finally see that enough threads of our national fiber are being shredded by a lawless administration and malign Republicans who are terrified that they will be voted off of re-election tickets in the primaries [it should be remembered that the primary voter population is much smaller and much more focused than that in the general elections]? In view of recent Republican behavior, I’d say no. They will dutifully follow their Republican memes, corruption and faux patriotism right over the cliff whether Trump wins or not.
Trump’s approval rating is still hovering in the low 40% area. I’m not sure the polls are representing a fair sample size. I remember a televised town hall in West Virginia, a state Trump won by 40%. When confronted with the policies of Trump and the Republicans in Congress, they audience basically yelled, “NO!” This was an indicator that the times of the Republican Party and its disgusting leadership is on shaky electoral grounds.
Keep in mind that Trump sees this too. My greatest concern is that he and his war god, John Bolton will start wars in Venezuela, Iran and/or North Korea thus creating a declared national crisis. Trump will then suspend the 2020 election and that will be the end of the United States of America as a Constitutional Republic. We will have officially become the world’s largest banana republic. Some would argue that we’re already there.
The final comments to this three-part series address the American people – 90% of whom haven’t read any of the Mueller Report, and probably won’t. They really don’t care. What they do care about is affordable health care [Republicans want to end the ACA], livable salaries [Republicans fight raising the minimum wage], jobs for their children and grandchildren that allows them to live some sort of American dream [Republicans continue to send our jobs to other countries], affordable public/higher education [Republicans resist giving any college loan relief], and strong initiatives toward slowing down climate change [Republicans think climate change is a hoax].
If enough of these people finally get it that Republicans have been lying to them for the last 40 years, they might just get off their couches and vote Republicans into extinction.
No, Republicans are not for small government. No, Republicans are not for spending cuts – only tax cuts for the rich. No, Republicans do not believe in social welfare programs. No, Republicans do not embrace the teachings of Jesus. They are committed to the rich, only the rich and the rich that can make them stay in power and get richer from handouts and bribes.
Republicans have perverted religion to their own use as a political lever to stay in power. The rights of women have been degraded, defiled and reduced to pre-1920 attitudes. I’m sure the right for women to vote really pisses off the white, male-dominated GOP.
The Democrats are far from perfect, but they are fielding many excellent candidates for president. If the election is allowed to occur in 2020, not only do Americans have to oust Trump by a large margin, but they must also vote out as many Republican senators as possible.
If these things don’t happen, what we will see is the continued road to war and destruction of peace on Earth and the disallowing of the American dream to all who are not white, male Republicans. It’s really that simple.
Oh, and one more thing. Don’t think for a second that Donald Trump won’t use nuclear weapons. He will do it unilaterally [because he can] and without discussion. If his precious ego and pathology is threatened by the truth, I’m convinced he will do, literally, anything, to protect himself from those truths.
If you believe in God, pray for Trump’s and the Republicans’ removal from positions of harm. If you don’t, become an activist in your community to defeat Republicans wherever they lie. The women, both white and brown, in this country must unite as a group to preserve your rights and the sanctity of controlling your own body. In doing so, you will save the Republic from the crime family dedicated to destroying it for their own enrichment. This may be your last chance.
– Denver resident Vern Turner is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer. His latest book, Why Angels Weep: America and Donald Trump, is available through Amazon.
