No
one believes for a minute that Trump understands how Constitutional Democracy
works. This is evident in his questioning of elections and his obvious suggestions
that he might not vacate the office should he lose the election, or worse that
he might not allow the election to take place.
The
constant hope is that if push comes to shove, Republicans will push back. Unfortunately,
Republicans have been silent in the wake of so many Trump atrocities that one
has to question their own understanding of Constitutional Democracy, including
the role of Congress.
I’ve
been reading John Bolton’s book, The Room
Where It Happened. My takeaway so far has been there was enough ego in that
room to embarrass and de-feather the most self-respecting peacock.
Just
as the peaceful succession of the presidency is key to our democracy, so too is
the idea that one administration builds on the work of the previous one, and in
the process, the country will move forward—always toward a more perfect union.
Making
things better is what good governments do.
A
perfect example of this, coming in a crisis no less, was the efforts of Bush, Obama
and McCain, along with Republicans and Democrats in the closing days of the
2008 election when the country was falling into a recession. That may have been
the last time our nation worked as one.
On
the night that Obama won that election, Republicans in Congress essentially
declared, “We’re out of here. Anything you do, you’ll have to do without us. Furthermore,
we’re going to make doing anything as difficult as possible.
So
Obama moved ahead on his own—not because he was a dictator as Republicans
claimed, but because they had relinquished their responsibility to do anything
except obstruct. They claimed he was an illegitimate president, not quietly in
back rooms but as loudly as they could, not because the election was rigged,
but because they didn’t think he was a naturalized citizen.
First
was the Affordable Health Care Act, which made health care available to
millions of Americans.
Then
came the Paris Accords, which enabled the world to speak with one voice against
a global problem of climate change that will spare no one.
This
was followed by the nuclear pact with Iran, signed by every industrial country
in the world, but never approved by the Republican Congress.
DACA
was an attempt to ease the pain of millions of young immigrants, who everyone
agreed, at least publicly, deserved a break because they had done no wrong. Again
Republicans passed.
President
Obama was continually forced to go it alone, and then roundly condemned for
going it alone.
The
thing is, none of these actions resulted in perfect fixes. They were initial
steps toward solving big problems. As our forefathers noted, we only strive for
perfection, nothing more, and nothing less.
Republicans
however, who tend to treat the founding fathers as if they founded the Republican
Party, see things differently. More and more, they seem to strive for something
less.
Trump,
with the support of Republicans has killed one Obama initiative after another
rather than try to build on them. Treaties, regulations, programs, even his
strategy for dealing with a pandemic have been abandoned.
The
only time they even pretended to make something better was their “repeal and
replace” approach to Obamacare, which failed miserably because Republicans at
their core, and Trump despite his boorish bragging, are not builders.
Democracy
is dependent on builders if it is to succeed.
Anarchy—something
Trump seems obsessed with—centers on destruction.
If
there is one thing we can expect from anarchists, it’s that they will deny they
are anarchist.
Four
years of Trump and the last ten years of Republican control have demonstrated a
complete lack of understanding of what America stands for.
To
think Republicans will protect us from a destructive Trump is foolish thinking.
We have repeatedly seen that they are not up to the task. Why would they be? He
is only walking along the path of destruction they have laid out.
