Thanks to Heather Cox Richardson, whose reflections are found at the link below, we can recollect the Constitutional CRISIS as presented by the GOP Candidate in 2016, as he thundered about the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton:
If she were to win, Trump then said, “it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis. In that situation, we could very well have a sitting president under felony indictment and, ultimately, a criminal trial. It would grind government to a halt.”
Remember the 2016 Republican Political Convention:
Lock her up!
Lock her up!
Lock her up!
Remember former Governor Chris Christie, eloquently speaking from his experience as a prosecutor, recounting the multiple “felonies” of the Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, where he would rouse up the mob, “Lock her up!”
(As I ask, “Remember this,” “Remember that,” I am reminded of the 2016 “Member Berries” of South Park (we watch through Amazon Prime):
https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/Member_Berries
One of the most exquisitely perverse ones to watch was General Michael Flynn, as he ranted, “Lock her up! General Flynn was infamously involved — at least through his son— with the creepy, slanderous “Pizzagate”, which resulted in a crazed gunman storming an unsuspecting . . . pizza joint (that is ALL it was!! it was only a popular Pizza joint for goodness sake!), so he could stop Hillary’s child-trafficking — a wild, really out-there, conspiracy theory, even among those with conspiracy theories — this one was crazed and really out there.
Panic. Conspiracies! Constitutional Crisis of 2016!
That, of course, was with the 2016 Presidential race. All diversions, by the way, from the sexual scandals of Donald J. Trump, the Russian interference. Paul Manafort.
Now, of course, the shoe is on the other foot.
Trump is a convicted felon — 34 times over!
Eight — count them — eight U.S. Senators have vowed . . . well, let’s quote them:
Thank you, Joyce Vance, “We are in this together.”
Source:
As a career military man (Judge Advocate, Lieutenant Colonel, Retired, USAF Reserves; Civilian, GS-905-15, Associate Counsel, NAVY Office of General Counsel), I have a particular beef against Senator Tommy Tuberville. And of course, the Republicans lost a good man, a solid Conservative, a responsible voice, when the Honorable Bob Corker retired, to be succeeded (not replaced!) by the Honorable Marsha Blackburn.
One of the Gang of Eight deserves to be quoted in full. The Honorable Tommy Tuberville, whose official, U.S. Senate site features not “The Honorable” or “Senator” but, “COACH” Tommy Tuberville. Yes, here is the enlightenment we get from the “Coach’s” Corner:
VERDICT IN NEW YORK V. TRUMP TRIAL
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) issued the below statement on the verdict in the New York v. Trump trial:
“It’s a very dark day in American history. This ‘trial’ was a political witch hunt from the start. The fact that the Biden campaign staged a press conference outside the court tells you everything you need to know.
Liberal activist Alvin Bragg and Biden-donor Judge Merchan had a shared goal: to put President Trump behind bars. Whether you consider the lopsided jury, the gag order issued to silence only President Trump, the prosecution’s failure to outline the alleged underlying crimes, or the lack of a unanimous verdict required for conviction, this trial was a complete joke and a massive misuse of taxpayer dollars.
This is pure election interference and the American people will see through it. We can’t have a two-tier justice system. If we don’t return to our Constitution, which guarantees every U.S. citizen the right to free speech and the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury, we are no better than Venezuela or communist China.”
Hmm, makes you wonder what Senator Tuberville would say about January 6th, 2021?
NEXT:
Often, political life in America reminds me of a loosely quoted thought about physics from the inimitable Sir Isaac Newton:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
As a career counsel with the Navy Office of General Counsel (Navy OGC), I was at lunch circa May 1998 in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia, with some good friends from my headquarters.
This friend, who outdressed my sportscoat, tie and dress trousers with his own pinstriped suit and elegant, perfectly combed, handsome silver hair, would outnumber me with likeminded, solid, traditional Conservative Republicans. These were highly moral people, pillars of their communities. They would shake their heads and pontificate on the moral outrages of one William Jefferson Clinton. My own dear friend, a devout Catholic and an elegant, well-coifed man, would say with his own soft voice whose kindly resonance reflected deep moral conviction,
Where is the o-u-t-r-a-g-e-?!
He was quoting William Bennett, a man even I (liberal minded) had some sympathies for, because William Bennett supported the Humanities, and had served from 1981 to 1985 as Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities.
Aside, is it fair to note, that William Bennett, who had so delicately exalted us with moral and ethical reflections upon the Presidency of one William Jefferson Clinton, through a CNN broadcast of 1 October 2005 was revealed to have reflected the following thoughts about crime reduction in America:
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
WILLIAM BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY: I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that was your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/smn/date/2005-10-01/segment/03
Now, William Bennett of the “moral outrage” swears that CNN took him out of context and that he, the honorable William Bennett, is not racist, no indeed. As a matter of fact,
[TONY] HARRIS: OK. In a statement issued yesterday Bennett said, "a thought experiment about public policy, on national radio, should not have received the condemnations it has. Anyone paying attention to this debate should be offended by those who have selectively quoted me, distorted my meaning and taken out of context the dialogue I engaged in this week. Such distortions from 'leaders' or organizations and parties is a disgrace not only to the organizations and the institutions they serve, but to the First Amendment."
Op. cit.
Now, CNN, BEING what CNN is, brought two persons on opposite sides, to debate or agonize: Was CNN unfair in broadcasting the video we had just seen?! Was William Bennett quoted here out of context?! Hem here, haw there, no way, such an outstanding pillar of society, who had, after all, pointed to society to the lack of moral outrage over the President, William Jefferson Clinton — how could he POSSIBLY be a racist?! Certes, the gentleman was quoted out of context. No proper gentleman is a racist. Maybe he hadn’t had his morning cup of coffee? And of course, the equal and opposite reaction from Bennett’s appointed adversary on CNN.
There is kind of a symmetric humor to watching plain truth on CNN and then having two authorities — appointed by whom?! — debate with fine grains whether we can believe our own eyes. Or ears. Advocate FOR Bennett: No, those weren’t racist words! Where could you possibly find racism in this?! Advocate CONTRA: ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BENNETT, killing . . . BABIES . . . HOW COULD YOU EVEN . . .? People, Don’t you even believe your own ears?! Do you realize the moral degradation of what you had just heard? (ARMANDO: The thought was clearly genocidal in expression! Clearly!) And the host, Well, we are remaining objective, we are the news, after all. Now you have heard from an advocate — (who appointed these?!) — from each side . . .
Well, you can read the transcript from my link, if you have the appetite to sift through pro and contra of the obvious. There are so many layers of racism in the remark, so very many layers, that Bennett in a very perverse way was concise. In few, very few words, he managed to layer many, many strata of hatred and racism. Rarely is so much expressed in so few words.
The pattern is quite clear, and history rhymes. The other side is even full of the Bible in their virtue. Of course, no abortions, no exceptions. These are killings. But remember Bennett and his babies!
Or the comical about-face on felony convictions.
In 2016, with ironic justice, Trump foresaw the Constitutional Crisis he himself creates today.
Trump’s own words convict and damn him.
And from 2016, a whole political party migrates from “Lock her up” to “Free the hostages” (the insurrectionists of January 6th 2021!) and “witch trials — we are no better than Venezuela or China.”
Relativity and quantum theory have relegated Newtonian physics to the realm of the classics.
But Sir Isaac Newton had great thought. From him — and the equally ingenious Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz — we have the calculus.
And the principle of physics that seems to stand in well in history:
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
We are living in “interesting” times of the Chinese proverb.
But I was born shortly after monstrous times, because I was born only a few years after WWII, and my Walloon (i.e., French speaking) Belgian Mom from Charleroi experienced the horror of the Third Reich occupation and war crimes in our country. I was five years old before the mass-murderer Joseph Stalin died with his monstrous Lavrenti Beria.
So, my perspective on today’s times is moderated by the horrors and ashes from which my own lifetime has blossomed and emerged.
Kind of like the life of the great Anselm Kiefer, whom I shall cover in a future work.
Stay strong. A very good woman is Gloria Horton-Young, whose moniker I love: “She who stirs the storm.” You may find her here:
https://gloriahortonyoung.substack.com/
So let us join Gloria Horton-Young “who stirs the Storm” and with Joyce Vance remember, “We are in this together.”
Armando is indebted to so many people. I speak for NOBODY. My beautiful, Nancy, the LOVE-OF-MY-LIFE for 53 years (51 of them honest) will tell you: I don’t listen to him. Armando doesn’t speak for me!! My two Daughters DEFINITELY do not listen to me. My beautiful, miraculous 16-year-old Granddaughter knows full well not to listen to her loving Paw-Paw. And my granddaughter’s two cats walk away when I talk. And don’t EVER think I speak for the Navy or Air Force: “We are capable of speaking for ourselves, thank you. We have Public Affairs Officers.” And my own thoughts are derived from so very many written sources, mainly translated Greek classics, and the later classics: Vergil, Ovid, Livy, Polybius, Tacitus, and all of Dostoevsky, and much, much modern German literature (being bilingual).
The future consists of uncertain and contingent events. Whatever the confusing times will bring, we will stay strong together and feed each other spiritually and intellectually.
More later.
Oh wow, I didn't realize this was your bio, amazing Armand! I always learn so much from you.
"As a career military man (Judge Advocate, Lieutenant Colonel, Retired, USAF Reserves; Civilian, GS-905-15, Associate Counsel, NAVY Office of General Counsel), I have a particular beef against Senator Tommy Tuberville. And of course, the Republicans lost a good man, a solid Conservative, a responsible voice, when the Honorable Bob Corker retired, to be succeeded (not replaced!) by the Honorable Marsha Blackburn."
And that quote by Bennett is breathtakingly abhorrent.💔 But that's exactly who they are on the right.
Thank you for an excellent summary and reminders of the past. 👏👏👏