Tag: 2020 Election

Undemocratic, Closeminded Efforts By Republicans Threaten US Democracy

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Bi+/LGBTQ Issues, Current Events, Social Issues

October 30, 2022
   I’m going to begin this by telling you that I’m an Independent politically. I don’t belong to any political party.  That said, I’m also going to tell you that this country cannot afford Republican control over governments at any level. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
   In many ways, the Republican Party is now the party of Trump, a party that is willingly following a narcissistic, lying authoritarian figure. Despite the fact that overwhelming evidence shows the 2020 election was fair and that Joe Biden legitimately won, the majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lies instead. And a significant percentage are actively promoting those lies. Many Republicans have gone so far as to push for laws and policies that are clearly undemocratic. Want some examples? Here you go: In several states, Republicans have proposed bills that would allow state legislatures to overturn election results and allot electoral votes themselves, literally ignoring the will of the voters. There are also proposals by Republicans that would make it very difficult for election officials to deal with partisan poll watchers who are intimidating and interfering with voters and election workers. Republicans in numerous states are also trying to get Trump following election deniers into positions (like secretary of state) where they would oversee future elections, thus increasing their ability to interfere with (and possibly overturn) legitimate election results they don’t like. These are not exaggerations. Republicans around the nation are also trying to make voting more difficult because they are afraid high voter turnout may increase the chances of Democrats winning. Tactics include things like making voter registration much more difficult, enacting stricter voter ID laws, and trying to limit or eliminate early voting as well as mail in voting. What’s especially disturbing is how these efforts are particularly targeting people (such as African Americans) who are more likely to vote for Democrats. Again, I’m not exaggerating here. I wish I was, but I’m not. This is really happening.
   Also consider this. The Jan 6th, 2021 assault on the US Capitol Building was a terrible event that was caused by outrageous, dangerous, false rhetoric being spread by numerous people. Whatever one’s political beliefs, understanding what happened and why it happened is vitally important. Yet most Republicans oppose Congress investigating the events and are continuing to blindly follow the dangerous rhetoric that led to the assault in the first place.
   Want some more examples of why we can’t afford Republican control over governments these days? Here you go. Republicans are actively attacking female reproductive rights despite the fact that most Americans are pro choice. Some Republicans even want to ban abortion nationwide. Around the country, Republicans are also pushing for very anti-LGBTQ policies and laws that blatantly discriminate against Queer people. The “don’t say gay” laws being promoted in states around the country are examples of this. Such laws are targeting LGBTQ youth, individuals who already have to deal with far too much intolerance and prejudice from others. Many LGBTQ minors live in homes where they face discrimination from their own parents. This is why it’s common for many Queer students to turn to teachers and school counselors for support and help. But this important resource is being taken away from many due to “don’t say gay” laws. With these laws, many teachers and counselors will be unable or too afraid to help. This in turn will increase the suicide rates of LGBTQ youth.
   The behavior of much of the Republican Party is the sort of thing that leads to authoritarianism and even full blown dictatorships. History is full of examples. Look at what happened in Germany during the 1920s and 30s when people chose to ignore facts, evidence, and even decency in order to blindly follow a brutal, narcissistic dictator instead.
   Whatever your political beliefs or party affiliation, people need to speak out against the lies spread by Trump and others. It’s time to stand up for democracy, honesty, decency, tolerance, kindness, open-mindedness, and the United States Constitution. We must vote in elected officials who do the same because if people don’t, future historians may look back on this time as the beginning of the end of American democracy.

Much Of The Republican Party Is Going Down A Dark, Undemocratic Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

   Liz Cheney’s defeat in the Wyoming Republican primary is yet another example of the dark, undemocratic path much of the Republican Party is going down. And what’s worse is that this trend is threatening American democracy itself.
   In terms of policy and how she voted in Congress, Liz Cheney and I would disagree on a great many things, but I admire the fact she put defending American democracy and the United States Constitution above her political career or loyalty to a political party. She is one of the few Republicans willing to stand up to Trump and fight back against his lies and threats to our democratic values. She realizes the importance of democracy and the Constitution. So the fact that Republicans in Wyoming would vote so strongly against her reveals yet again how dark and twisted much of the Republican Party has become.
   In many ways, the Republican Party is now the party of Trump, a party that is willingly following a narcissistic, lying authoritarian figure. Despite the fact that overwhelming evidence shows the 2020 election was fair and that Joe Biden legitimately won, the majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lies instead. And a significant percentage are actively promoting those lies. Many Republicans have gone so far as to push for laws and policies that are clearly undemocratic. Want some examples? Here you go: In several states, Republicans have proposed bills that would allow state legislatures to overturn election results and allot electoral votes themselves, literally ignoring the will of the voters. There are also proposals by Republicans that would make it very difficult for election officials to deal with partisan poll watchers who are intimidating and interfering with voters and election workers. Republicans in numerous states are also trying to get Trump following election deniers into positions (like secretary of state) where they would oversee future elections, thus increasing their ability to interfere with (and possibly overturn) legitimate election results they don’t like. These are not exaggerations. Mail in voting is another target Republicans are aiming at despite the fact that it has been shown to be very secure and effective. The blunt reality is that Republicans are going after it because Democrats were the main ones who used mail in voting in the 2020 election. Again, I’m not exaggerating here. I wish I was, but I’m not. This is really happening.
   Much of the Republican Party is actively threatening American democracy, and this is a big reason why we can’t afford Republican control over governments (at any level) these days.
   Whatever your political beliefs or party affiliation, people need to speak out against the lies spread by Trump and others. It’s time to stand up for democracy and the United States Constitution and vote in elected officials who do the same because if people don’t, future historians may look back on this time as the beginning of the end of American democracy.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/05/19/voter-subversion-trump-republicans-push-laws-change-elections/9824186002/

Much of the Republican Party is on a Dark, Twisted Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

August 17, 2022
   Liz Cheney’s defeat in the Wyoming Republican primary is yet another example of the dark, undemocratic path much of the Republican Party is going down. And what’s worse is that this trend is threatening American democracy itself.
   In terms of policy and how she voted in Congress, Liz Cheney and I would disagree on a great many things, but I admire the fact she has put defending American democracy and the United States Constitution above her political career and loyalty to a political party. She is one of the few Republicans willing to stand up to Trump and fight back against his lies and threats to our democratic values. She realizes the importance of democracy and the Constitution. So the fact that Republicans in Wyoming would vote so strongly against her reveals yet again how dark and twisted so much of the Republican Party has become.
   In many ways, the Republican Party is now the party of Trump, a party that is willingly following a narcissistic, lying authoritarian figure. Despite the fact that overwhelming evidence shows the 2020 election was fair and that Joe Biden legitimately won, the majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lies instead. And many are actively promoting those lies. Republicans in multiple states are pushing for laws that would make voting more difficult for many Americans, and it’s no coincidence that those being targeted are usually individuals who vote for Democrats. This is no exaggeration. Mail in voting has been shown to be quite secure and effective, yet Republicans are going after it because Democrats are the main ones who used it in the last election. Republicans are also trying to put Trump followers in official positions where they could interfere with state election results. Some are even pushing for policies where Republican controlled legislatures would be able to overturn election results if they didn’t like the way the population voted. Again, I’m not exaggerating here. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not. This is really happening.
   Whatever your political beliefs or party affiliation, people need to speak out against the lies spread by Trump and others. It’s time to stand up for democracy and the United States Constitution and vote in elected officials who do the same because if people don’t, future historians may look back on this time as the beginning of the end of American democracy.

Much Of The Republican Party Is Heading Down A Dangerous Path

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

Feb 7, 2022
   A significant amount of the Republican Party is heading down a dangerous, undemocratic, authoritarian style, and potentially violent path that is absolutely threatening American democracy. This may sound like an outrageous statement, but it is still unfortunately true. Quite scary indeed. But we cannot and should not ignore the dangers. Instead, we need to educate ourselves about what is happening and speak out. We should stand up for truth, justice, open-mindedness, kindness, thoughtfulness, fairness, and democracy.
   We have seen over and over how so many Republicans have followed Donald Trump no matter what, even when he is clearly in the wrong. The evidence is overwhelming that the 2020 election was free and fair and that Trump’s claims of widespread fraud are false. Every election will have isolated issues or problems. That is normal in a big election, but there was no widespread fraud here. Ballot counting rooms in every state had Republican, Democrat, and Independent observers monitoring the process and responding to questions that arose. There were also international observers from multiple countries watching things, and every state certified the election, because it was fair. The Trump campaign lost over 60 court cases where it tried to claim widespread fraud, and many of the judges who ruled against it were conservatives. The Trump campaign lost all these cases because it did not have the evidence to back up its outrageous claims. In other words, the 2020 election was free and fair with Biden legitimately winning and Trump legitimately losing. Yet Trump and others have continued spreading their false claims and lies about it, and what is disturbingly frightening is how millions of Americans believe these lies. The spreading of these false claims led to the violent Jan 6 assault on the US Capitol Building by Trump followers. But the danger to American democracy doesn’t end there.
   Donald Trump uses the willingness of millions of Americans to blindly follow him to enhance his power and control over much of the Republican Party in an authoritarian style way. He has many Republicans in elected positions bowing to him, even when a number of them know he is wrong, because they fear he will turn his followers against them and vote them out of office. A scary number of Republicans in elected positions appear willing to undermine democratic values in order to keep their jobs, and another disturbing facet is how some of these officials are true believers. Republicans in numerous states are fighting to pass laws that would make voting much more difficult for millions of Americans. They appear to be doing this to make Trump happy and to increase their chances of defeating Democrats in future elections because it’s no coincidence that these new laws often target people who are more likely to vote for Democrats.
   Recently, we saw how the Republican National Committee (RNC) officially censured Republican Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger just because of their participation in the Congressional Investigation of the violent Jan 6 attack on the Capitol Building. In this censure, they actually referred to the Jan 6 events as “legitimate political discourse.” Think about that for a minute. We all saw the violence of that day as Trump supporters literally assaulted the US Capitol Building. We could see members of Congress fearing for their lives and Capitol police being physically attacked because of lies being spread by Trump and others. The events of that day were not “legitimate political discourse,” yet that is how the RNC referred to it. At the same time, we have seen elected Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene make numerous hateful, false, cruel statements without being censured by the Republican Party.
   Think about this. And these are just a few examples of the dangerous trend many Republicans are going down. 
   This is why we must educate ourselves and speak up. We should stand up for truth, open-mindedness, tolerance, kindness, thoughtfulness, fairness, justice, and democracy. And we have to get out there and vote for individuals who also have the courage to truly stand up and fight for these ideals as well.

Scary Times For American Democracy

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

Jan 6, 2022
   1 year ago, an angry mob stormed the United States Capitol Building in an effort to stop Congress from performing it’s Constitutional duty of certifying the 2020 election. This was the first time such a terrible event has occurred in the United States history. And what is even more disturbing is how so many people, many of whom are Republicans, are trying to downplay the seriousness of the assault.
   Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: the 2020 presidential election was free and fair. Every single state, including those run by Republicans, certified the election because they found no evidence of widespread fraud. There were Republican, Democrat, and Independent observers in all the ballot counting rooms in all the states during the counting process. There were also international observers from multiple countries monitoring the election. And again, no evidence of widespread fraud was found. There have been numerous recounts and investigations into the election. For example, in Georgia, the official overseeing the election in that state was a Republican. After the Trump campaign made its claims of fraud, Georgia instituted serious investigations which included the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as well as the FBI, and no evidence of widespread fraud was found. The Trump campaign lost over 60 court cases where it was trying to push its claims of fraud, and many of the judges who ruled against Trump were conservatives themselves. The reason they ruled against Trump is because the Trump campaign had no legitimate evidence that would hold up in a court of law.
   Yet despite all this, Trump and many of his associates and followers continue to spread lies about the election claiming widespread fraud which in fact did not exist. There is strong evidence that it was these false claims that instigated the mob of Trump followers to riot and attack the US Capitol Building. And it is beyond disturbing and frankly dangerous the way Trump and many others continue to spread false claims of fraud when no widespread fraud actually occurred. It is undermining American democracy, and that is no exaggeration. Many people are losing faith in the electoral process due to these false claims still being spread. A growing number of Americans are saying they think violence against the government is acceptable. There are also Republicans in numerous states trying to pass laws that would make voting more difficult for millions of Americans, and they seem to be doing this in large part because of the false claims being spread by Trump and their willingness to bow to Trump’s demands. It is also deeply disturbing how many Republicans in Congress are trying to downplay the seriousness of the January 6th events these days. Some are even trying to rewrite what happened.
   This is why it is so vitally important to learn about the details, causes, and ramifications of the Jan 6th Capitol Building attack. We especially need to understand the causes since those are still simmering and festering in society today. Democracy is an amazing thing, but it is also a fragile thing. History has proven this many times.
   So we need to stay vigilant. We must stand for truth (whatever it may be) and democracy.

This Is A Dangerous Time For American Democracy

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

Jan 3, 2022
   It’s really frustrating and disheartening that people are still arguing about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. And when you think about it, it’s downright scary.
   Here are the facts: there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Let me say that again: there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Donald Trump legitimately lost, and Joe Biden legitimately won. That is the truth. How do I know that is the truth? Well, consider the following.
   Every single state (including those controlled by Republicans) certified the election. There were Republican, Democrat, and Independent observers in all the ballot counting rooms in all the states. On top of this, there were international observers from multiple countries monitoring the election. Now consider that Trump and his people lost over 60 court cases where they were trying to challenge the election results with their false claims of fraud, and many of the judges who ruled against Trump were Republicans themselves. The reason they ruled against Trump is because Trump and his people had no evidence to back up their false claims of widespread fraud. When you consider all of this, it is clear that the election was free and fair and that there was no widespread fraud.
   Yet Trump, his allies, and many of his devout followers continue promoting their false claims of fraud with regards to the election. And what is further concerning is how polls are showing that the majority of Republicans feel that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump despite the fact they don’t have legitimate evidence to back up these claims. Many Republicans are saying they currently don’t trust the election process in the United States.
   This state of affairs is truly frightening and extremely dangerous because it is undermining our democracy and could lead to authoritarianism especially when one considers the authoritarian style power Trump is currently wielding over the Republican Party and how millions of Republicans continue to devotedly follow him no matter what (even when is lying outrageously to them). Trump is spreading his false claims about the election over and over with the idea that if he says them enough, people will believe him even though the claims are totally untrue. And it’s scary that millions and millions of Americans are believing these lies. Trump is essentially demanding that all Republicans, especially those in elected positions, bow to his will and demands. There are some Republicans in elected positions who secretly disagree with Trump, even strongly disagree with him, but are so afraid of him that they go along with his demands even when those demands are wrong.
   The events of January 6th, 2021 were horrifying and unprecedented in American history. Of course Congress needed to investigate what happened to try and prevent it from ever occurring again, yet the majority of Republicans in Congress voted against a bipartisan 9/11 style commission to look into the events that occurred. I think secretly, numerous Republicans wanted such a commission, but they voted against it because Trump demanded they do so. And many were likely also afraid that the legitimate results of such a commission would be at the very least embarrassing and possibly hurt them politically in the future.
   When you look at what is going on these days, especially with regards to Trump’s lies and hold over the Republican Party, one can see how our democracy is in serious danger. There are retired military leaders who are genuinely concerned that in 2024 we may see violence worse than the January 6th riot (or insurrection) and that there is a chance that members of the US military might join in. Such a possibility is beyond horrifying because that is what leads to authoritarianism and full-blown dictatorship. The cold hard truth is that in many ways, a significant portion of the Republican Party is now going in the direction of authoritarianism and away from true democracy.
   Whatever political persuasion you may be, we all need to be vigilant and speak up for truth and democracy. We need to be smart about what we say and how we say it and make sure that we can back up our positions with evidence. We need to stand against the lies and authoritarian trends that Trump and his allies are pushing.
   Democracy is a wonderful thing, but as history has shown, it can be easily lost. So let’s stand up for democracy and be sure that it lives on for many years into the future.

The Republican Party Has Gone Dangerously Off The Rails

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

7-20-21
   It’s really scary how off the rails so much of the Republican Party has become.
   Think about it. Really think about what’s going on.
   The Republican party in many ways is now controlled by one person, Donald Trump. That in itself undermines democracy and what democracy is supposed to be about. What makes it even worse in this case is how twisted, disturbed, and authoritarian Trump’s outrageous behavior is. He lies on a colossal scale which is made even more dangerous by the way his blind followers go right along with with these lies without question. They let him get away with it, which in turn encourages his terrible behavior even more.
   Let’s look at one example: the 2020 election. This election was free and fair. There was no widespread fraud. Every single state, including those run by Republican officials, certified the election because it was free and fair. International observers from multiple countries were present monitoring the election, and they stated the election was free and fair. There were Republican, Democrat, and Independent observers in all the ballot counting rooms in every state. Add to all this the fact that Trump and his people went to court over 60 times trying to push their outrageous false claims of widespread fraud and lost. And many of the judges who ruled against Trump had been appointed by Republicans themselves. The reason Trump and his people lost over 60 court cases in connection to the election is because they have no case. They have no evidence that would stand up in a court of law. It is very clear that Trump lost the election fair and square. But Trump doesn’t like to lose and wants power, so he has continued making his false, dangerous claims about the election even though they are flat out lies. And despite the fact that his claims are totally false, his followers blindly go along with them spreading these dangerous falsehoods.  And we all saw how on January 6th, all these false claims about the election led to a mob of extremist Trump supporters assaulting United States Capitol Building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying this free and fair election. And yet despite all this, Trump and his supporters continue pushing their dangerous, undemocratic false claims about the election.
   This brings us to Republicans in elected positions, the majority of whom are bowing to Trump’s authoritarian leadership over the party. Some of these officials are blind followers of Trump themselves while others secretly may not like Trump but continue to bow to him because they are afraid of losing future primary elections. In other words, this latter group is putting their own desire for political power over American democracy. In Washington DC, only a few Congressional Republicans are willing to speak out against Trump.
   This state of affairs is quite scary and truly is dangerous to our democracy. We need to be aware of what is happening and stand up for our democratic values and speak out against authoritarianism in all its forms. We need to put pressure on more Republicans to break away from Trump’s extremist, undemocratic authoritarianism. And in future elections, we need to vote in people who stand for true democracy. Considering how much of the Republican Party is currently under the sway of Trump, in the next few elections, we need to vote in Democrats as much as possible in order to ensure our democracy endures. And I say this as an Independent (I’m not a Democrat). Right now, with so much of the Republican Party following an authoritarian leader, which is what Trump is, the Republican Party cannot be trusted with majority control over the government.

Republicans’ Killing A Bipartisan Congressional Jan 6th Commission Undermines US Democracy

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

5-18-21
   Well, the Republicans did it. They killed any hope that a bipartisan Congressional Commission will investigate the January 6th assault on the United States Capitol Building.
   Think about that. What happened on January 6th has never happened before in American history. We’ve never had an angry mob of American citizens storm the Capitol Building like that with the intent of interfering with a legitimate national election. What occurred on that day was of major significance, and as such, a bipartisan Congressional Commission is not only recommended, frankly, it’s essential to make it clear to the entire world that US Democracy will continue to stand and thrive into the future.
   But instead, Republicans killed any hopes of a Commission.
   The fact that the Republicans did this is beyond disturbing and sickening. It’s dangerous. There are times when issues arise which are so vitally important that partisan politics should be put aside. Frankly, it should be a no-brainer that a bipartisan Commission is entirely in order here.  And the proposed Commission would have been based on the 9/11 Commission with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats on it and both sides having subpoena power. Democrats also agreed to the Republican demand that the Commission wrap up by the end of 2021 so that it didn’t push into midterm elections.
   What is going on?
   In my opinion, it’s a symptom of the dangerous path the Republican Party has been going down of late. Most Republicans are bowing to Donald Trump’s whims and demands no matter how outrageous or incorrect those demands may be. Some may be doing this because they’re true believers while others may be doing it out of fear, fear that Donald Trump will speak out against them so that they may lose their future reelections, and many Republicans are especially worried about the midterm elections. They appear to be putting party loyalty and a tendency to blindly follow an authoritarian wannabe, Donald Trump, over standing up for American Democracy and the United States Constitution.
   It’s obvious why Trump doesn’t want a January 6th Commission. Trump’s outrageous rhetoric and lies about the election clearly instigated the mob who then stormed the US Capitol Building. So Trump is afraid that he’s going to be made to look bad by a Commission, and there are other Republicans who fear that as well because they were parroting Donald Trump’s lies too.
   But it’s also extremely troubling the way there are Republicans such as Mitch McConnell who, while they may have laid the blame on Trump immediately after the January 6th events, have since changed their tune so that they no longer appear to hold Trump responsible to any significant degree. Many Republicans started downplaying the assault with one even referring to the mob as “tourists.” Tourists?! Are you kidding me?! They literally assaulted the United States Capitol Building on live TV. The entire world saw it happen! Those were not tourists.
   This is so dangerous to our democracy. We have a major political party, the Republicans, that is bowing to the disturbing will of one person, Donald Trump, despite the fact that that person has been spreading outrageous rhetoric and flat out lies. Instead of learning about what happened in a bipartisan way for the good of country, the majority of the Republican Party want to sweep the Jan 6th assault under the rug because of Trump’s outrageous demands and the Republicans’ desire to try to gain more power in the midterm elections. This further undermines American democracy.
   People need to open their eyes about what is going on these days because our democratic values are under threat. Remember the Republican Senators and Representatives who voted against the January 6th Commission and vote them out of office when they come up for reelection. Speak out against them. Make your voices heard.
   Demand democracy!
   Democracy is precious and should not be taken for granted. We must all stay vigilant to ensure our democratic values survive and thrive into the future.
  

Getting Beyond The Vicious Toxicity Of The Trump Era Will Be Challenging.

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

2-1-21
   The toxic rhetoric, hate, and lies from Trump and others continue to haunt us. Thousands of National Guard troops are still in Washington DC in order to help protect the US Capitol Building and other important sites from far right extremists.
   Think about that.
   Right now, the biggest terror threat to our country is from home grown, domestic terrorists. Far right extremists who have been encouraged and galvanized by Trump’s outrageous lies and rhetoric.
   It’s seriously disturbing and sad that our country has sunk to this level. And it’s clear that Donald Trump along with those enabling him and blindly following him are major factors in bringing our nation to this twisted, deeply troubling state of affairs.
   Divisions, lack of understanding, intolerance, hate, prejudice, and so on were already problems in the United States when Trump started his campaign for the Presidency back in 2016. The thing is: Trump took advantage of these problems, encouraging and exacerbating them, with his outrageous, hurtful, vicious, and often totally false rhetoric, actions, and lies. Instead of trying to unite people, he worsened divisions creating a toxic, hateful atmosphere so that prejudiced hate groups felt emboldened to become more brazen and vocal.
   Then came the 2020 election, which overwhelming evidence shows was free and fair. There was no widespread fraud or irregularities.
   But Trump began attacking the election before it even had a chance to get started as he viciously went after mail in voting for months prior to a single ballot being sent out to anyone.  Once he lost the election, he quickly began spreading ridiculous, totally false claims and conspiracy theories in his quest to try to stay in office, even though Joe Biden clearly and legitimately won.
   The years of lies, intolerance, xenophobia, and outrageous rhetoric from Trump and others in addition to all these false claims about the election incited these far right extremists to storm the US Capitol Building in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the free and fair 2020 election. Fortunately, these domestic terrorists failed, and Congress did its Constitutional duty and certified the election.
   Troubling still is how throughout all of this, numerous Republicans in important positions as well as millions of every day Americans are still enabling Trump’s horrendous behavior by always going along with him, not standing up to him, and flat out blindly following him. It appears that a significant amount of Republicans in Congress are still bowing to Trump’s whims, even after everything that has happened.
   It’s disgusting, horrifying, sickening, and disturbing seeing how low things have sunk to. It’s also scary how many people are still blindly following Trump despite the fact he incited insurrection and is still undermining (I would say attacking) our democracy.
   For things to get better, we have to be strong and stand up for decency, honesty, compassion, science, caring, and democracy. While Donald Trump and a number of other people should be held accountable for their despicable actions, we also need to put the hate, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, and viciousness of the Trump era behind us and strive to make this a better place for all. People must relearn how to open their minds, listen to one another, and work together where possible.
   It won’t be easy. We as a society and a country are battered and bruised. Healing will take time as will bridging the deep divides that have been tearing this nation apart.
   But we will get through it. Our democracy will endure and if we work at it, the United States will get closer to being the shining beacon that we want it to be.

Trump’s Assault On Democracy Should Enrage All Americans

by inmanb17cedcb09, posted in Current Events

1-10-21
   We’ve seen over and over how unfit for the Office of President Donald Trump is with repeated examples of his inappropriate, outrageous, and disgraceful behavior. He’s ridiculed people with disabilities, lied more than any other modern president, regularly undermined his own government officials and policies, insulted valuable allies while going out of his way to avoid saying anything bad about Vladimir Putin and Russia. Also consider how horribly the Trump Administration has handled the COVID Pandemic so that in many ways, states have been left largely on their own to deal with the devastating crisis. This alone has undoubtedly cost many lives to be lost tragically, needlessly, and unnecessarily.
   Then we come to the 2020 Presidential election. This was a free and fair election. Every state has certified the results. There were Democratic, Republican, and Independent observers in all the ballot counting rooms. International observers from multiple countries were even present monitoring the election. There was no widespread irregularities or fraud. But Donald Trump has been attacking the election making totally baseless and completely false claims of fraud that he has no evidence for. He has lost over 60 lawsuits because of his lack of evidence. And many of the judges who ruled against Trump were conservative. The fact is that there was no widespread fraud. It was a free and fair election, yet millions of people, who have been blindly following Trump, seem to believe his disgusting lies. He has been purposely spewing out these false claims of fraud, getting his followers angrier and angrier, as he has tried to stop Biden from becoming President. Trump has become dangerously unstable, unhinged, and obsessed with the election which has culminated in his inciting an angry mob to storm the US Capitol Building.
   Think about that. The President of the United States incited a mob to assault the Capitol Building. The clear intent of the insurrection was to try to interfere with Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
   The horrendously undemocratic and frankly unAmerican effort failed, for Congress reconvened within hours and finished it’s Constitutionally mandated duty.
   Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th as President of the United States.
   Now the question is what to do about Trump. In my opinion Trump’s behavior has been so clearly unstable and wrong on so many levels that he should be removed from office as soon as possible. Since voluntary resignation almost certainly will not happen, I feel that it’s time for Vice President Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office for being unfit to serve. Unfortunately, since the Cabinet is full of Trump loyalists who have been going along with and enabling Trump’s terrible behavior for a long time, it doesn’t appear likely that enough of them will the courage to do the right thing.
   That leaves Impeachment. It looks like this will happen quickly in the House of Representatives. And Trump must be held accountable. The problem is that Mitch McConnell is most likely not going to call the Senate back to session early. As a result, the Senate wouldn’t be able to even start a trial until the day before the Presidential inauguration of Joe Biden. Once Biden is in office, he understandably wants to immediately start dealing with important legislation, such as getting economic relief to the country and organizing a national strategy to fight COVID-19. A Senate trial right after the inauguration would delay such action. Plus, there is the concern about whether enough Republican Senators have the guts to be willing to vote to convict. One option would be to delay a Senate trial for a few months. This would let Biden and Congress focus on immediate issues that need to be dealt with as soon as possible. It would also allow more thorough investigations to occur into what happened, including the events leading up to the attack. A big positive of Trump being successfully convicted would be preventing him from running for office ever again. But would enough Republican Senators be willing to convict Donald Trump.
   We are going through unprecedented times. I truly hope Donald Trump is held responsible for his horrendous and disgusting actions in attacking our democracy. It is also time for people, who have been following Donald Trump, to open their eyes and recognize how bad, undemocratic, and unAmerican he is.