Republicans could have withdrawn from Trump

One of the "good guys," Fani Willis of Georgia

A very simple question on this Tuesday morning. Very simple and reasonable. First of all, if I even type Trump's name again, I have friends who would want to make a face. They will entertain no serious discussion of Trump if that discussion were to entail any negative suggestions. 

So this morning we are being hit over the head as if with a sledgehammer with another batch of serious legal accusations concerning Trump. 

The accusations cast a wide net that includes no small number of his cultists. That circle might be said to include our congressperson out here in western Minnesota, Michelle Fischbach. She voted against certifying the 2020 election results, and apparently does not want to answer any questions about that now. 

Big question on this Tuesday morning is this: Why couldn't the whole Trump crowd have begun recognizing his real criminal qualities long ago, begun distancing themselves from him? They would not have had to make a "big deal" out of this. (Us Upper Midwest Scandinavians like to talk in terms of "big deal" or "not a big deal.") 

Really, those of us outside of the cult would be empathetic, realizing that it is human nature to be overly consumed by zeal. We are all affected by this human failing at times, n'est-ce pas? 

Perhaps the second impeachment attempt should have succeeded. In the long run this would have helped the interests of the GOP. My oh my, we could be completely past Trump now, focused on more genuine and honest people in the political arena. We might be talking seriously about Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson and others. Instead we have the enormous elephant in the room of Donald Trump, still. 

So we awoke to headlines that are all about him. This criminal monster. He continues to loom because he is a presidential candidate again. Were that off the table, all of this would not be commanding such huge headlines. Trump is a threat to the whole world. He pulled us out of the Paris Climate Accords and the Iran Nuclear Deal. He arranged for the assassination of an Iran scientist. 

He considers such things in order to please his base of "Christian evangelicals" who view Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Such considerations have no place in our government which is secular. 

Trump just manipulates people. He orchestrated this big web of election deniers who ended up willing to cross lines into illegality that could get many of them in serious trouble. The facts are out there clear as day. Many of the more gullible folks have been taken in by "conservative media" that manipulates people as well. Remember that it is a business. Many of the people in conservative media don't even believe what they are saying. They have created a "grievance culture" that feels it needs support from a compliant media. Mark Levin et al. Levin practically explodes with anger sometimes. 

Naturally we ought to be angry now at the MAGA elements who felt they needed to turn to criminal behavior. To accomplish what? I mean, to accomplish what in terms of their own lives, their quality of life? Many of the older people in MAGA benefit from government entitlements that only exist because of the Democratic Party. Remember how Republicans originally spoke about Medicare? And we definitely need to keep our eye on entitlements. 

 

Believe in His word

Alienated by Christ (seriously)?

But what kind of world is MAGA really promoting? What really are their grand ideals? It gets worse. Recent reports indicate that church pastors are becoming shocked by parishioners who complain about quotes from Jesus Christ Himself, spoken from the pulpit. Objecting to the words of Our Savior? It is happening and I am reading about it. 

For pastors to survive in their churches, they might have to be careful about quoting Christ, because Our Savior often made statements that had inflections of "liberalism." Or to use another term that gets bandied about, "wokeness." 

My own church of First Lutheran in Morris looks to be literally dying because we have avoided the MAGA Kool-Aid. We are ELCA. The synod is under constant siege because of its image of not being intimidated by MAGA. Our pastors would quote Jesus Christ freely, unapologetically. 

If the entire purpose of Christian churches now has become political instead of spiritual, it will be a death knell for this country. I have been trying to warn you all for a long time. 

Some of my friends would read this with amusement. They might say I have "Trump derangement syndrome." I cannot persuade them. What lies ahead for us all?

 

Addendum: Maybe we'll start seeing "rats on a sinking ship." The accused people will turn on each other. That's what happens with "the bad guys." You saw it in the old TV westerns. With any modicum of intelligence, the people on the defensive will not be willing to "take the fall for Trump." They increasingly will offer information. They won't want to take the fall while Trump himself remains free and unfettered as a national political figure, free still to shop around to have sex with his favorite porn stars. 

Oh, this is the "Christian" symbol in our politics now? Well, not for me. 

I hope the walls are not closing in on yours truly. That could happen if Trump and his sycophants perform the Houdini-like miracle of extricating themselves from their legal dilemma. That can be done with really sharp lawyers. They will attack process issues. They will suggest that certain prosecutors acted improperly here and there. They will do everything but assert innocence. 

I know, a defense attorney does not have to profess "innocence." But I thought the American people would want some simple assurance that the accused people did in fact act properly. The chance of that is the same as for the moon falling out of the sky. 

Can't we just move on? Well, I guess "no."

 

Addendum #2: I posted the comment below with a Yahoo news article on how the public is getting numb to all the accusations with Trump and his people. The article had the headline "Trump Indictment, Part IV: A Spectacle That Has Become Surreally Routine." 

My thoughts on this August 15:

 

People need to feel as though Trump's misconduct is having an effect on their own lives. But you could argue it already has. Trump's three extreme nominees to the Supreme Court erased Roe vs. Wade protections. Look how women in Ohio reacted to that. Other less obvious examples could be cited too. So it's counter-intuitive how Trump maintains such a grip - we may have to hear from psychologists who plumb this in-depth, seriously. Shall we blame Mitch McConnell for the continuing spectacle that in the long run will demoralize America? McConnell as the GOP Senate leader could have set the tone on the second impeachment for moving on from Trump. And we really truly could have. Surely the GOP has other luminaries who could have stepped forward. The GOP is supposed to be a party of ideas anyway, unless maybe they realize they aren't cutting it there. So it devolves into a cult. Trump made his Supreme Court nominees on advice from McConnell. And now we learn sadly that McConnell might be a candidate not for assisted living but for a nursing home. A national leader with consequence.

"Continental Divide" liked my comment. Thanks so much.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com