We are in the middle of a Constitutional crisis.
Charles M. Blow writes in the New York Times the day before Independence Day on “The Hijacked American Presidency.” I cannot recall in my lifetime reading such forceful language aimed at those in power in our nation, and the level of corruption and lack of adherence to our supposed Constitutional system of law and checks and balances.
Every now and then we are going to have to do this: Step back from the daily onslaughts of insanity emanating from Donald Trump’s parasitic presidency and remind ourselves of the obscenity of it all, registering its magnitude in its full, devastating truth.
There is something insidious and corrosive about trying to evaluate the severity of every offense, trying to give each an individual grade on the scale of absurdity. Trump himself is the offense. Everything that springs from him, every person who supports him, every staffer who shields him, every legislator who defends him, is an offense. Every partisan who uses him — against all he or she has ever claimed to champion — to advance a political agenda and, in so doing, places party over country, is an offense.
We must remind ourselves that Trump’s very presence in the White House defiles it and the institution of the presidency. Rather than rising to the honor of the office, Trump has lowered the office with his whiny, fragile, vindictive pettiness.
The presidency has been hijacked.
The Russians colluded with members of Trump’s campaign to subvert our presidential election. The result is a certifiable mad man in the office of the presidency. What we have is an election that was clearly interfered with and the results of which are simply illegitimate, and which should be nullified.
But worse than that, the members of the GOP have decided they prefer holding onto their power and using this moment to destroy everything they have ever hated: the safety net, access to health insurance and services, regulations, environmental laws, taxes, you name it. The GOP fought Medicare and Medicaid when introduced tooth and nail, and have lusted after their destruction for years.
We are so beyond any meaningful adherence to balance of powers, and respect for the rule of law under the Constitution, that all those concepts really have no force or meaning anymore. The concept of ethics rules has become a laughing matter. The emoluments clause is being totally ignored.
We are a lawless state, subject to the whim and actions of our overlords and masters.
Chris Christie sitting like a beached whale on a holiday weekend for which the people have been denied access to their parks and beaches because he closed them down in a stupid budget dispute is the perfect example.
The plane truth: How we caught Chris Christie sunbathing on a closed beach
This incident encapsulates the deep contempt that the current political leadership of this nation display to their constituents, the American people. They really and truly do not care about the 99 percent of Americans. What we see is the triumph of the plutocratic oligarchy. Only the very rich and their money and power matter anymore.
Those in positions of power to invoke the 25th amendment and remove Trump from office, and who refuse to do so, will bear the weight of their refusal to do so as a moral failure that history will never forgive or forget.