- Speculation as to whether Russian intelligence holds blackmail level / type information on Trump & cohort …
- Considering Trump’s high-moral standards and record, might it be possible that Putin has film of a threesome (or more) with 14-year old girls?
- Expert opinion has been raising questions about Trump for an extended period.
- The GOP has been reacting in a(n anti-)Patriotic manner, attacking U.S. intelligence services rather than addressing seriously the potential of foreign interference in U.S. domestic affairs.
- Briefed on this, key Republicans (notably Senate Majority Leader McConnell) evidently vociferously objected to discussing this publicly prior to the election and against directly retaliating against Russia.
- The Trump transition team’s three sentence release is notable in its truthiness — all three sentences are false:
- It was Dick Cheney, not the CIA, that falsified evidence re nuclear weapons.
- Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, not Donald Trump, and the electoral college margin is relatively small by historical standards.
- And, well, until Donald Trump (falsely) takes the Oath of Office — to the Constitution of the United States of America — it is not ‘over’.
- Etc … Etc … Etc ...
We are in a situation with a Constitutional crisis that, legitimately, is in the range of what the Republic faced in 1860.
- We have a foreign power intervening to swing the election (not just Presidential, but for the House/Senate) to
- someone who is showing — every day — that he has zero respect for the basic norms of American Democracy.
- with our ‘traditional’ checks and balances not being in position to act to stop a foreign takeover.
Having Donald Trump take control in the Oval Office in six weeks could well be the death knell for American democracy, led to serious international instability, devastate the economy, and, oh by the way, undermine prospects for any hope to mitigate our way out of catastrophic climate chaos.
Now is not the time for measured and calm blogging —
What should occur …?
The U.S. Constitution has checks and balances that should step in, that in theory can step in …
- The media/1st Amendment
- Has served us so well in 2016 … ‘nuff said …
- Facebook (et al) have failed to place ‘truth’/’fact’ filters to inhibit propaganda ("FakeNews”) dominating the discussion.
- Electoral College
- Intended to provide a check on the rise of a demagogue, playing the popular sentiment through deceit and manipulation
- Tis is the ‘last circuit breaker … reading the Federalist pages this is clear, it is a last barrier to that demagogue …
- It is almost impossible to conceive that this will happen … the chosen elector are the most committed party loyalists with rare exception.
- These are people — on the right — who have been living and embrace/share the lies (#FakeNews) pervading Facebook (courtesy of Russia and Breitbart ...).
- Imagine, how many death threats any Republican elector would receive if they flipped from Trump.
- Supreme Court
- The Supreme Court is deadlocked 4-4, with actual serious political deadlock inhibiting movement forward.
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- Congress
- The Congress could commit to impeachment before Trump even swears the Oath of Office.
- Draft the articles.
- Hearings prior to swearing in.
- And, even a vote prior to the swearing such that he would be President for a minute …
- And, with such a vote, he might never ask to be sworn in …
- Okay …
- Who expects enough members of the GOP to stand up for the nation?
Our system is broken ...
So … what should happen?
Our situation is bleak and difficult to conceive of viable paths forward.
Here are a few thoughts that would meet a key criteria: remaining within, at least a fig leaf, the boundaries (even if stretched boundaries) of the U.S. Constitution.
Attack on Propaganda/”FakeNews”
A good share of America lives in an alternate (un)reality where job growth didn’t occur under Obama, Hillary Clinton run pedophile rings, and Donald Trump won the popular vote. This is due to decades and decades of propaganda — from Faux News to Facebook, from Breitbart to Alex Jones. The fight against these falsehoods must ramp up an order of magnitude.
This can include every individual — choosing to aggressively ‘share’ truthful discussion in as many media as possible — working to push back against the propaganda. (By the way, Russian trolls and #FakeNews escalated tremendously with the publication Friday of The Washington Post article on the CIA report.
On a larger scale, President Obama should call the head of significant ‘media’ outlets — from CBS and NBC to Facebook and Twitter — to an open meeting at the White House. Layout the case for Russian propaganda working contrary to U.S. interests in the U.S. political discussion and seek commitments that these outlets will work to stand up to these falsehoods.
Electoral College
While the Electoral College is incredibly unlikely to act, President Obama should have the intelligence community brief every member of the Electoral College the day before the vote … bring them all to Langley Virginia into the bowels of the Central Intelligence Agency and make extremely clear how extensive foreign interference was in our election.
The target could jokingly be: move from the KKK to KK, a compromise for a Unity Government with Kasich as President and Kaine as Vice President, both avowing not to run for office in 2020 with agreement that election integrity is the top priority for this unity government.
This is worth a try … even if unlikely (at the 99.9% level) to play out this way.
Emergency Task Force to investigate the vote
Was there election fraud? Do a massive, nation-wide (okay, in any state with less than several percent margin) recount. In essence, #AuditTheVote. Note: there does not seem to be an easy path to doing this …
Criminal Charges … with treason on the table
The intelligence activity can (should) be linked to legal entities with a look to expedited movement toward indictments — if they are merited. Could the nation see someone indicted for treason standing there swearing to uphold the Constitution?
Note that it is hard to see this expedited process occurring. (And, very sadly, there are reasons to be uncertain as to where the FBI’s loyalties lie at the moment.)
Supreme Court
The top option, it seems, is pursuit of a multi-track process to have the Supreme Court act prior to the inauguration:
- Prepare a legal case that makes the appeal that assigning the electoral college, in each state, as winner takes all is unconstitutional.
- Seat Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court on 3 January.
If these two occurred, the Supreme Court took the case, and made a decision about the electoral college, Hillary Clinton would end up with a (slim) majority of the electoral college.
There are no pretty options …
To be clear, even in the best of cases, the U.S. political system has been undermined and weakened.
The choice before us is bleak:
- Mildly accept that a foreign coup has occurred,
- meekly watching as Donald Trump (falsely) takes the Oath of Office, swearing to defend the Constitution, and sets us
- down the path of Kakistocracy (rule by the worst of society) and Kleptocracy toward despotism and the end of American democracy.
- Push the Constitution to its limits and
- have the Russian-impacted Electoral College result rejected …
- recognizing the potential for serious violence (potentially to point of Civil War) from those remaining outside fact-based discussion and have
- someone other than Donald Trump taking the Oath of Office as the 45th President of the United States.
This is a Time of Consequence … and it is time to act accordingly.