By Dan McCrory
On January 6, 2021 we were shocked/not shocked to see Trump supporters attack government buildings in an attempted coup. Framing the event as an effort to overthrow our government may seem hyperbole, but at the very least it was an intimidation tactic to forestall the certification of Biden as president-elect, the act of a desperate mob.
Some ask how Trump could have considered the election results as stolen. Was it just the rantings of an unhinged paranoid schizophrenic? Did he really think the results changed drastically overnight because Democrats had dumped thousands, maybe millions of illegal ballots to change the outcome of the election? Didn’t anyone explain to him the consequences of ordering his followers to show up at the polls and vote in person while Covid-19 wary Dems mailed in their ballots?
The “live” ballots were counted first and reflected the fervent wishes of his cult for a second term. After midnight, however, is when the mail-in ballots poured in. Trump’s cult of 75 million was soon overwhelmed as Biden’s numbers continued to climb, signifying a desire for a return to normalcy.
Trump’s indignation and cries of foul play seemed to indicate he wasn’t aware how ballots would be counted during the voting process. He had insinuated for months that the election would likely be rigged in his opponent’s favor. Why would he even consider that scenario?
Senator Bernie Sanders could, but didn’t, feed his paranoia, but what happened to Sanders could explain why to Trump and his followers a rigged election was conceivable. In 2016 and 2020, machinations by the Democratic Party political machine did rob Sanders of any hope of being elected president.
In 2016, it was Hillary Clinton and her supporters who blocked Bernie at every juncture. Clinton had been declared the heir apparent and the Party anointed her and rolled out the red carpet. “Hail to the Chief” was heard throughout the land. Obstacles thrown in Sanders’ path, not a “real” Democrat, focused so much on the Bernie threat they ignored the rise of Donald Trump to their own detriment.
In 2020, the Democratic Party took a scattered shot approach to burning the Bern. Suddenly, there were more Democrats running for president than ever at one time. Meanwhile, Bernie was winning primaries in New Hampshire and Nevada, and narrowly beat by Pete Buttigieg in Iowa in a disputed victory. Sanders won the popular vote in both New Hampshire and Iowa. Buttigieg dropped out of the race after a dismal showing in the South Carolina primary. Before Biden’s win in South Carolina, his campaign had been unremarkable, turnout at his events much lower than Bernie’s love fests. Biden’s numbers in the three prior primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada had been sub-par. He came in fourth place in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire and second in the Nevada primary. The Washington Post said in February 2020: “If history is any guide, either Sen. Bernie Sanders or former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be the Democratic Party’s choice to face President Donald Trump.” The New York Times called it on April 1 when phone interviews with older Democrats in Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan and Florida indicated they wanted somebody other than Bernie as their candidate.
Biden came in with a solid win in South Carolina; he had shown a respectable result in a primary that finally pointed to a candidate that could give Bernie some competition and avoid that socialism conversation that turned off middle of the road voters of all parties. The decoys were called in to prop up Joe and clear the playing field.
In the mind of Donald Trump, the Democrats were clearly able to rig an election as he saw what happened to Bernie Sanders in 2016. “The Democrats have treated Bernie very badly and frankly he should run independent.” In 2020, Trump also saw the cards stacked against Sanders. “It’s rigged against Bernie. There’s no question about it.” Trump was not the only one convinced of rigged elections by the Democrats. There were accusations from members both parties.
So, to the paranoid schizophrenic that is Donald Trump, a major, nationwide fix by the Democratic Party was not only possible or probable, it was obvious. Now both parties stare into the abyss and consider their course of action.
After the events of January 6, in order to evoke the 25th amendment that would remove Trump from office, Vice President Mike Pence, who has suffered the wrath of Trump for following his Constitutional duties, could receive some political cover from his GOP colleagues by declaring Donald Trump as a RINO, a Republican in name only. After all, Trump turned the platform of the Republican Party on its head, running up the federal deficit by over 6 trillion dollars, flagrantly availing himself of the executive order, ignoring states’ rights in favor of White House control, all of these antitheses to his Party.
If Pence would frame the crimes Trump has committed as the actions of a rogue who has wandered far afield from his mandate, he could save the Republican Party further embarrassment and bring justice where justice is due. “This is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue,” he could say. “These are the crimes dictated by a man outside our political spectrum very much like the actions of Charles Manson operated outside accepted social norms. We disavow the call to revolution and disavow this criminal.”
This action, coupled with an impeachment – and removal - by the legislative branch, could remove Trump from office and deny him the perks of his retirement package: a lifetime pension of approximately $200,000 a year, travel expenses up to $1 million a year, and Secret Service protection. He could, but it’s not guaranteed, be barred, too, from running for federal office ever again. With more protests in all 50 state capitols planned by his followers, are these really punishment enough?