GOP revealed – The Ukiah Daily Journal

When I saw the Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001, I felt a punch in the gut as I realized that the whole world had changed that day. That attack by foreign terrorists used airplanes. On July 1 of this year, I felt the same, but this time domestic terrorists abused their positions of trust. The Supreme Court decided to grant immunity to the President, destroying the foundation of our society: equal treatment under the law. This settles the election. The Republicans have dropped their mask and are revealing themselves to be a party that puts profits before principles, party before country, driven by self-righteous religious zeal.

Republicans were forced to put their cards on the table to keep their criminal, morally compromised candidate out of the courtroom before the election, giving them a modest window of opportunity to respond effectively. Because Biden is president, he now enjoys immunity and cannot be prosecuted. In addition, Biden is now “King Joe” and has previously unrealized executive powers should he choose to act.

Countless proposals have been put forward, ranging from expanding the Supreme Court to arresting Trump as a “national threat” and imprisoning him in Guantanamo. Republicans on the Supreme Court could be removed from office, as the Constitution allows, if they have not been of “good conduct” while in office, and then arrested for treason and perjury upon their confirmation by the Senate. Simple murder, now “legal” if declared an “official act,” has been suggested as the quickest remedy. But just because corrupt GOP judges gave “King Joe” these sweeping powers, in fact, moral values ​​preclude such actions, so a more nuanced response is needed.

The goal is to restore the rule of law, and the first step should be a clear electoral defeat to the authoritarian Republican power struggle. With control of Congress and the White House, Supreme Court reform could be pushed forward, with term limits and mandatory ethical standards that were not necessary until this MAGA Court.

To that end, “King Joe” can declare that presidential elections will be decided by popular vote, thus doing away with the structurally distorted Electoral College and swing state drama that has enabled minority rule for decades. The president and vice president are the only people elected by all voters, so choosing them by popular vote is reasonable and has no impact on other parts of the electoral system. Five of the six renegade members of the Supreme Court were elected by Bush the Younger and Trump, both of whom lost the popular vote, so their justices do not represent the will of the people.

The National Popular Vote Act is an existing agreement between states that agree to cast all of their electoral votes for the national winner of the popular vote. It goes into effect when states with more than 270 votes total agree. So far, 18 states have agreed, with a total of 209 votes. Another 7 states with Democratic governors have 87 more votes, and most have already had hearings on this bill, so they may be willing to support immediate action at the federal level.

“King Joe” could declare Election Day a national holiday and mandate that no one has to wait in line for more than half an hour to vote. In addition, harassment of poll workers could be made a serious crime punishable by heavy fines and prison sentences. The National Guard could be ordered to secure every polling place to prevent voter intimidation.

Strategically, the Democratic campaign should shift the focus from the personality clash between Trump and Biden to the stark policy differences between the parties. Whatever Biden’s actual limitations, he is an ethical man who, unlike his opponent, is advised by ethical people. The Republicans have made it clear: ethics have no place in their quest for absolute power. This election is about choosing between a representative democracy in which the law applies equally to all and a theocratic autocracy in which the powerful few are “special” and operate according to different rules that benefit them.

Trump’s personality is a distraction that draws attention away from the Republicans’ total lack of publicly known policy goals. The Republicans’ real actions are taking place in secret: They are planning a “shock and awe” project to undermine the government and quickly install an autocratic alternative that will dominate every aspect of American life, as outlined in the voluminous “Project 2025” document available online.

A unified Democratic campaign should ignore Trump entirely (which would make him even angrier) and instead emphasize the policy differences between the two parties to ensure that every voter knows exactly what the GOP Project 2025 has in store for them. We win through policy, not personality.

Crispin B. Hollinshead lives in Ukiah. This and previous articles can be found at cbhollinshead.blogspot.com.