August 30, 2024
Catching up

    I haven’t written anything since May 30, largely because I haven’t been able to read or listen to anything about politics or even think about the subject since the Biden-Trump debate.  Biden’s debate performance and its aftermath were the triggers, directly and indirectly, of my emotional funk. He froze answering one question, which justified concerns about his mental sharpness, but his all-over performance wasn’t as bad as the critical reports would have it and didn’t, in my view, justify all the panic among his supporters.
    I have difficulty understanding or respecting Trump’s supporters among ordinary folk, but one thing must be said for them: when their man is in trouble they rally around.  Democrats head for the exits.
    Now that Biden has withdrawn and Harris has been nominated there is enthusiasm again.  It had better last, and not fade if she runs into trouble, because the result could be the re-election of Trump, which would be a disaster.
    Trump’s admiration for authoritarian leaders is well known. His statement In July to a Christian group seemed to suggest that he has similar ambitions:

Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.. . . I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote.[28].

Meanwhile, The Heritage Foundation has issued its Project 2025 proposal, which also seems to lean toward an authoritarian presidency.[29]

    The Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States only increased the risk.  As summarized in the syllabus, the Court held:

    Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.  And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts.  There is no immunity for unofficial acts.

Given the ambiguity of the official-unofficial distinction, this goes a long way toward removing any restraints.
    A number of Republicans have seen the danger and have endorsed Harris.  Former Representative Adam Kinzinger spoke at the Democratic Convention.  He summed up Trump thus: “Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong. He is a small man pretending to be big. He’s a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He’s a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim. He puts on—listen—he puts on quite a show, but there is no real strength there.” [30]  
    Former Trump Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told the Convention that Trump “has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth. . . .He used to tell me, ‘It doesn’t matter what you say, Stephanie. Say it enough, and people will believe you.’ ’” [31]
    An open letter signed by 238 former associates of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney declared this:

    At home, another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.
    Abroad, democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardized as Trump and his acolyte JD Vance kowtow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their backs on our allies.
    We can’t let that happen.[32]

    Also. Fox News reported: “A dozen Republican White House lawyers who served in the administrations of then-Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in her race against GOP nominee former President Donald Trump.”  The lawyers wrote: “We endorse Kamala Harris and support her election as President because we believe that returning former President Trump to office would threaten American democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country," [33]
    Let’s hope that voters inclined to support Trump will take heed.
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28. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-christians-they-wont-have-vote-after- this-election-2024-07-27/
29. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/01/project-2025-key-proposals
30. https://time.com/7014257/adam-kinzinger-2024-dnc-speech-full-transcript/
31. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/20/stephanie-grisham-dnc-trump/
32. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/26/republicans-endorse-harris- bush-romney-mccain/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3ed776c%2F66cdf9aa13573876a761e8f7%2F5b65de00ade4e2779564ed94%2F11%2F54%2F66cdf9aa13573876a761e8f7
33. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-lawyers-who-advised-reagan-bush-endorse- harris-over-trump-2024-showdown