Readers may recall that in my August 29, 2019 article, I engaged in a bit of speculation concerning the upcoming November 3 presidential election and what our accidental president, Donald Trump, might do if he lost it. In fact, I posited two scenarios, both equally scary.
My speculations have taken a step closer to reality in light of The Donald’s recent comments. When asked if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose, he refused to answer the question; instead, he declared that there would be no transfer, only a “continuation.” He did not elaborate on that remark, although he made it in an ominous tone of voice.
Now, he hurriedly has nominated a conservative appellate court judge, Amy Coney Barrett, to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg so that she could be confirmed by the U.S. Senate’s Mitch McConnell and Company before the election. The idea is to challenge the election results if they go against the president and to take the case directly to a 6-3 conservative-friendly High Court where the vote would be overturned, thus forcing a new election (and new opportunities to rig it). It would be 2000 all over again when the Supreme Court gave the presidency to Bush the Younger, even though Bush lost the popular vote.
The fact of the matter is that Trump doesn’t believe in elections, only in coronations. He wants to be president for life. I would not be surprised, if he should be re-elected, by his calling for a constitutional amendment to repeal the 22nd Amendment which imposes term limits on presidents. He could run for re-election ad infinitum, and rig one after another. The only vote against him, and the only vote counted, would be that of the Grim Reaper.
Many Republican governors have done their parts to achieve this scenario, purging the voter rolls in those precincts heavily Democratic, reducing the number of polling places and voting machines, which force voters to choose between their right to vote and protect their health during the pandemic), and require proper ID. Trump has attempted to reduce the number of sorting machines and street-side postal boxes and to cut postal workers’ hours to reduce the number of mail-in ballots. It has been reported that an army of Trump loyalists would stand by, illegally, ready to descend upon polling places in select precincts in order to prevent any “irregularities,” such as. challenging the legitimacy of suspected Biden supporters.
It may be hard to believe that the Republican Party was founded as a reform party. In 1853, a group of concerned citizens from various states met right here in River City (Aurora) to discuss the possibility of creating a new political voice to challenge the corrupt politics of the Whigs and the Democrats (and there was a lot of that!). They met again in Ripon, Wis. in 1854 and a few other places and drew up a platform and presented it to like-minded Americans. The following year, they recruited individuals who would be interested in running for congressional seats. One such was a stately lawyer from Salem, Ill., who had a reputation for being honest.
Today, the Republican Party is no longer the party of Lincoln (if ever). Since the 1880s, it has been the party of big business. Now, it is the party of Donald J. Trump, but acts more like a personality cult. His base thinks he can do no wrong and hangs on his every word, even though his words are mostly exaggerations and outright lies. I would not be surprised, if he asked them to kiss his backside, by their lining up willingly and eagerly to do the honors.
I’d like to elaborate here on the paragraph in August 29, 2019 article concerning arrests and trials of anyone who dared to speak against president-for-life Trump. Those who weren’t summarily executed would be sent to America’s gulag for an indefinite period of time and subjected to indoctrination and/or torture until they got their minds “straight.” Yes, dear reader, America has a gulag, similar to the one run by Soviet Russia; it hasn’t been used, however, since World War II when thousands of Japanese-Americans were rounded up and placed in concentration camps just for being who they were. Those camps still exist, ready to be used should the occasion arise.
Prominently among the “disappeared” would be journalists and opinion writers and anyone else who dares to speak truth to power. The regime will send out agents provocateur to ferret out the “subversives” and denounce them to the authorities. (Among them will be a certain writer who has been extraordinarily disdainful of our accidental president.) Many will not survive the experience. George Orwell will at last be vindicated.
Do you still think it won’t happen here? Think again.
Just a thought.