Claudia felt bewildered when she read yesterday’s reports on how Trump tried (again) to prevent people from learning that the Russians were helping his campaign.
Yes, we have a lawbreaking president. But that is only part of the problem. The other part is that the lawbreaking president is being shielded by a major political party, many of whom are actual accomplices.
(Accomplice liability is when you know someone committed a crime, and you either help them out or cover for them.)
The criminal justice system is not intended to address a problem like the one we have right now.
Ziblatt and Levitsky, in How Democracies Die, explain that in the 20th century, political coups were usually bloody, violent, and sudden (example: Pinochet led an armed attack on country, killed Allende, and seized power).
But there is another less dramatic, but equally destructive method: Presidents or prime ministers subvert the very process that brought them to power. This is what’s happening now. Trump and the GOP were elected to office, and are now subverting the democratic processes.
The drafters of the Constitution considered the possibility that a president might break laws, and offered a remedy: Impeachment and removal. It’s clear that this GOP-led Senate isn’t going to remove, no matter what evidence is produced against Trump.
In other words, the GOP Senators are refusing to honor their oath and do their jobs. The Constitution also provides a remedy for Senators who do not do their jobs: Vote them out. We still have a chance to do that.
That’s why we all need to stay focussed, prepare for the onslaught of crazy (the technical term is “crisis and spectacle”), and prepare to be hit by an onslaught of disinformation. The best thing you can do is turn your anxiety to action.
