Thanks for the Rec list. I tried to read every comment, but I may have inadvertently skipped over a few, especially the ones made in the last two hours or so of yesterday.
The vast majority of the comments are about the challenges of holding Trump accountable for at least one of his many crimes. I believe it can be done, but I also believe it’s going to be excruciatingly difficult, and the comments mull some of the difficulties involved.
There was only one comment that I saw that touched upon the news media being too polite with Trump, even after how much he’s insulted them.
Today, as I look over the coverage of Trump’s reaction to Benson’s decision, I see more reason to be disappointed in the news media. At least the MLive headline was “Trump attacks Michigan Secretary of State with false claim; Benson quickly responds.” Most of the other headlines seized on that Benson described herself as “dumbfounded” by Trump’s comments.
The Detroit News editorial board took the opportunity to accuse Benson, along with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Michigan) and Attorney General Dana Nessel (D-Michigan) of authoritarianism, of using the coronavirus pandemic as a way to bypass the Legislature (which, by the way, is under a Republican stranglehold, thanks to Republican gerrymandering).
I’d be very surprised if the News board acknowledged why Trump is so concerned about this particular development: without Michigan, Trump has fewer realistic paths to re-election. And without the presidency, he loses many of the special protections he wouldn’t have as an ordinary criminal.