A comforting thought came to me the other day: The conspiracy theories and lies of former President Trump and his followers may win a few battles and elections, but they aren’t sustainable over the long term.
Falsehoods won’t last. Not in a democracy based on the rule of law.
Democracy rules
Many Americans worry that a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021, is not only possible, but could succeed.
I don’t think so. Our 200-plus-year-old democracy is stronger than that. We already proved this once.
Trump lost the 2020 election. That is documented fact that will never be overturned. Trump supporters cannot provide evidence to prove otherwise.
Indeed, if there was election fraud, it was (and is) from Republicans – trying to strong-arm elections officials into illegally changing votes.
That won’t work, either.
Crossing the legal line
Trump stole documents from the White House – boxes and boxes of them. While we argue whether they were de-classified or not, the fact remains: He took documents that didn’t belong to him.
He wouldn’t give most of them back without a search warrant.
Trump wants a “special master” to go through those documents to see if some of them should be returned to him.
He doesn’t have the authority to make that request, because those documents aren’t his.
I can’t predict the outcome of the documents seizure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump will eventually face criminal charges over it.
Jail time? He deserves it, because the rule-of-law president believes that laws don’t apply to him. He needs to be taught that lesson.
My way, or …
If he’s willing to learn anything.
Which he’s not. He played by his own rules before he became president, ignored his own advisers while serving as president, and continues to burn through lawyers and advisers who won’t defend him staunchly enough.
His method of leadership is not sustainable.
It might work in Russia. Vladimir Putin leads that nation in a similar fashion, but he’s a dictator. And look at the death and destruction he’s causing, especially in the Ukraine.
Control freak
Given the same opportunity, Trump would cause similar death and destruction.
Don’t believe me? Look at his COVID-19 response.
Because he could not control the virus, he blew it off – and by doing so, politicized a purely medical and health issue.
Trump could have united this country over COVID. He could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and prevented untold suffering.
His ego wouldn’t let him do it. That would require him to accept help from others – ie, scientists, researchers and medical professionals on the front lines of the COVID battle.
Trump refused all that.
He preferred death and destruction, because he thought he remained in control.
He didn’t.
COVID didn’t care. It killed and caused suffering anyway, because Trump wouldn’t support steps to prevent it or even slow it down.
The vaccines, produced in record time, worked.
COVID is still very much out there, but the current strain isn’t nearly as deadly as the first few strains were.
The nation (and world) got through the deadly strains, no thanks to Trump.
His foundation will crumble
Perhaps Trump’s greatest achievement as president, from the viewpoint of conservatives, was the hundreds of judges he appointed at all levels of the judiciary across the United States.
Yet, even those Trump-appointed judges aren’t accepting his legal filings and motions over elections and the Mar-a-Lago documents seizure.
Legally, Trump has lost his immunity because he is no longer president. He still thinks he is above the law.
He’s not.
His residence was entered with a search warrant.
As time marches on, Trump’s influence over this nation will wane. It has no foundation.
The followers who support him will become irrelevant, too.
We need a strong GOP
Will the Republican Party still be around when that happens? I hope so. I think so.
We need at least two political parties. I wish we had three.
Democracy is based on options. Choices.
There are more than two parties on our general election ballots, of course, but the Libertarian, Green and other parties don’t have the influence the Big Two do.
If the GOP implodes, that might leave a Big One. Which would be too close to a dictatorship.
The sooner the GOP divests itself of Trump, the better off the GOP will be – and the better off our nation will be.
A nation of laws and choices
Because Trump sustains himself on conspiracy theories and lies.
Despite what he thinks, the United States does not revolve around him. It doesn’t revolve around any individual. It never has.
That’s the genius of our Founding Fathers.
When John Adams was elected our second president in 1796, the first president, George Washington, peacefully stepped down from his role as the most powerful man in the country. This transition has taken place nearly four dozen times in our nation’s history.
Only once was the transition not peaceful: Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump lost, and could not force his way back in.
That’s not the way our democracy works.
And it never will.
Because we are a nation of laws. Of choices.
Don’t like the current president? Elections come every four years. Vote him out.
A word of advice to the Republican Party: In the 2024 election, give us an electable candidate.
A candidate based on conspiracies and lies will not be electable.
A vote for conspiracies and lies is a vote for death and destruction.
Literally.
That’s what we’ve learned over the past six years.
(photo credit: thedailybeast.com)
the liberal conservative 
I agree completely with your assessment of Trump as president and a person. Something to think about: will you vote for a Democrat if he’s the Republican candidate for President?
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That’s a great question. I hope it doesn’t come to that. But we will see.
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vague reply as usual. but trump’s numbers in opinion polls have gone up since the raid. you need to think and pray about it, about the republican primaries. I haven’t seen any viable contenders to him yet. my question is: you made your opinion on trump clear. are you willing to stand by it?
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Why wouldn’t I?
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because you’re a republican and when first asked the question whether you’d vote for him you said “we will see” and “I hope it doesn’t come to that”. what if it does?
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I’m not going to say how I will vote in two years. A lot can happen. My point is that if the GOP doesn’t get over Trump, it could be irrelevant by then.
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“if the GOP doesn’t get over Trump”, then he WILL be presidential candidate and very relevant. Also, you still haven’t answered my original question. I respect your opinions, but they’re worthless if you can’t stand by them. You claim to follow God, point out when something is wrong, but won’t say you will definitely stand up againt the wrongdoing person if a situation demands it. Doesn’t sound like Jesus to me. Sounds like situation ethics
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I’ll say one thing for you, Bill. You’re consistent. Whenever you post anything controversial in a blog and someone challenges you, you respond with a vague answer, and if challenged, you run away without answering a direct question. You call yourself a Christian? Try followinng Jesus’ example! He never refused to answer a question or backed down from a challenge.
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I won’t let you pigeon-hole me. I call this blog the “liberal conservative” for a reason. If I don’t fit into your neat little box, well, Jesus didn’t either. Jesus asked more questions than He answered, actually. And His answers frequently shocked people. Far more people walked away from Him than followed Him.
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you’re right about people being shocked at Jesus’ answers and walking away from Him. but you still didn’t answer my question! Jesus never flat out refused to answer an honest question. Try acting like Jesus. I’m not putting you in a box – I’m asking a simple question that you haven’t answered yet. This discussion has gone beyond politics. When you bring God or Jesus in any blog you should be prepared to defend your facts or why you believe what you do. You don’t need to get defensive – just answer the question!
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Hello, Bill. I haven’t forgotten our discussion. Your last comment actually challenged me; I thank you for that. You said “Jesus asked more questions than He answered, actually. ” I decided to research that statement – being a journalist, I know you understand the value of research and being able to back up written statements. I’m compiling a spreadsheet of all questions asked of Jesus (not including requests for healing) and questions Jesus asked others. I’m not finished yet, but it is an interesting study. Since I still work full time, it’s taken me awhile. I’ll inform you of the results when I have them.
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Hello, Bill. I want to thank you again for your challenge statement: “Jesus asked more questions than he answered, actually.” This led me to an intensive study of questions in the Gospels, during Jesus’ adult time on earth.
I compiled a spreadsheet of questions: those asked of Jesus, and those Jesus asked someone. I did not include requests for healing, because those responses mandated a physical, not verbal response. I counted an entry as one if the same question occurred in the same context in multiple Gospels. I found not one entry in all 4 gospels; John’s questions differed from the other 3. I also counted as one multiple questions in a single discussion.
I retract my comment “Jesus never flat out refused to answer a question”. During His trial, 3 times he remained silent when asked a question. Also, once when the Pharisees asked Him for a sign, He answered that no sign will be given except Jonah; He didn’t perform a miracle/sign as requested. Additionally, when asked a question, He once replied answer my question and I will answer yours. They said we don’t know, so since they didn’t answer His question He didn’t answer theirs. I put this entry in questions asked of Jesus; if you want to put it in questions He asked I’m fine with that; it technically could go in both.
In summary, someone (either single person or a group of people) asked Jesus a question 71 times. Jesus asked a question to someone 41 times. I firmly believe in sharing knowledge, so if you want me to send you my spreadsheet I will.
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Thanks for doing this. Wonderful research! I stand corrected as well; Jesus did ask a lot of questions, but not more than he was asked. A learning experience for both of us.
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