THE AMERICAN POSEIDON ADVENTURE

Well, what did I tell you Old Bone Spurs would say? I told you so.

We are long past stipulating that Trump is a liar, a grifter, a convicted felon, and, in my view, a leader whose primary concern is himself. Last night’s Orwellian speech reinforced a familiar principle: Don’t believe what you see or read, believe only what I tell you. It is a distortion of reality designed to support a world in which the leader’s will becomes unquestionable truth. If you still suffer from the ostrich syndrome, your head buried in the sand, or metaphorically, somewhere else, and still do not understand who and what Trump is, then you probably never will. You have my pity.

Old Bone Spurs is a lost cause. Trump’s only concern is maintaining control over a government he has weakened and demoralized to the point where it has become an object of ridicule. Under Republican control, Congress too often resembles Edgar Bergen’s dummy, Mortimer Snerd, echoing the wishes of its master rather than serving as an independent coequal branch of government.

Take just a few moments to listen to the testimony of Mortimer Snerd, oh excuse me, I mean the current Attorney General nominee. During his confirmation hearing, he was asked by a Democratic senator whether he would meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. He responded that he was precluded from doing so. Yet after Senator Thom Tillis, whose vote he needed for confirmation, asked essentially the same question, he reversed course and met with some of the survivors. Whether one agrees with his explanation or not, the inconsistency illustrates legitimate questions about his independence, credibility and judgment. In my view, someone who is so willing to change positions for political convenience lacks the ethical foundation and fortitude necessary to lead the Department of Justice, an institution historically entrusted with protecting the rule of law. Instead, he embraces a philosophy in which power determines what is right and consistency becomes irrelevant. Whatever advances the Trump objective, whether protecting those accused of misconduct or shielding political allies, becomes, in effect, the new “rule of lawlessness.”

We know who and what Trump is. We see who and what many of his Cabinet members are. Under our Constitution, the president serves a fixed four-year term, but our system also provides safeguards against executive overreach. The Framers created a system of checks and balances precisely because they understood that voters and leaders are fallible.

The current Republican congressional majority has failed to fulfill that constitutional responsibility. Rather than exercising independent oversight, it has too often abandoned its institutional duty, allowing loyalty to Trump to supersede loyalty to the Constitution. That is a breach of their oath of office and a dereliction of their duty.

As Trump continues to repeat false claims about election security, Congress should understand the danger posed by undermining public confidence in free and fair elections. Repeated delusional and unsubstantiated attacks on the integrity of elections and efforts that suppress or discourage lawful voting risk inflaming public anger and division. History teaches that democracies become vulnerable when citizens lose confidence in their electoral institutions. Congress is playing with fire.

Today, many elected officials, constitutional scholars, retired military leaders, and other public figures continue to sound the alarm. They view Trump’s seditious conduct and the willingness of many around him to support it as a direct challenge to constitutional government and individual rights. While the courts remain an important safeguard, the ultimate responsibility in a democracy rests with its citizens.

The answer is participation. Americans should vote in large numbers, not simply as Republicans or Democrats, but as citizens committed to preserving constitutional democracy. Every eligible voter should carefully evaluate the candidates, their records, and their commitment to the Constitution, and then cast a ballot consistent with those judgments.

VOTE!!!

RESIST!!! & EDUCATE!!!