Friday, August 04, 2023

Deal or No Deal?

It seems fair to say that so far as the American system of democracy is based on the rule of law, that system is under fierce attack in the matter of the Trump indictments.

In fact, the situation is unprecedented and may easily devolve into a terrible crisis.

The country is split roughly in two. One side believes he must be held accountable for inciting an insurrection and attempting to steal the 2020 election.

The other side believes his unsupported assertions that the election was stolen from him and that he is the victim of political persecution.

Given the messy way both democracy and the criminal justice system actually work, it may turn out that neither side will ever gain complete satisfaction.

The court cases now under way are occurring under the cloud of the 2024 election cycle. They’ve taken prosecutors years to prepare and now time is growing short for them to conclude before reaching the point they truly would interfere with those elections.

That would be an unacceptable breach of the norms that help preserve the legitimacy of our democracy.

As for those who buy Trump’s argument that he the victim here, they eventually are going to have to accept the truth that he is his own worst enemy when it comes to what got him into legal trouble. This all could have been avoided but for his actions as a sore loser.

I can’t help thinking that this entire messy chapter in our history could be solved at least in the short term by a deal. Trump pleads guilty to some charge, and is barred permanently from ever again holding public office.

That’s pipe dream, I know, but wouldn’t it be nice? The whole psychodrama could go away and we might be able to getting down to addressing the real problems facing us collectively, like climate change, wealth disparity, the rise of authoritarianism, and the existential threats that face our children and grandchildren

LINKS:

 

No comments: