As was so in the days of yore, Washington, D.C., largely appears to have closed down for the month of August. Like psychiatrists and most Europeans, no one is around in the cities in August. August weather in Washington—especially before air-conditioning and global warming—is barely tolerable. Even during wartime, much of D.C. was shut down except for military operations.
In theory this is a healthy phenomenon. People need to get away, recharge their personal batteries, and prepare for the forthcoming school and business year. So, when Congress left before July was even over, it felt very much like the old days. There was one branch of Government which was operating in high gear: the federal courts, specifically the District Court for the District of Columbia. It continued to operate at full throttle, cognizant of the fact that it needed to proceed as quickly as possible with the January 6th case indictments because political maneuvering and machinations in preparation for the 2024 elections already were in full swing.
As if on cue, on August 1, special counsel Jack Smith unsealed the indictment that was brought down by the special Federal Grand Jury. This indictment charged former President Donald Trump for four major felony charges related to his conduct in office following his defeat in the November 2020 election. The indictment spelled out activities committed by the former president as well as additional actions in which he was a participating conspirator seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith, Trump, the Justice Department, and politicians thus have something to rant about in August, breaking up their reading of the beach novels.
What is most troubling is not only the damning indictments, but the reaction of many of the people—mainly Republicans—to the explicit charges contained in these indictments. The time has come for Republicans, those on the campaign hustings as well as those on family vacations, to accept the fact that the time has come to stop groveling to the former President. Republicans need to step up and admit the harm that Trump has done to this democracy, the Republican Party, and, potentially, how much more damage he could do should he be elected in 2024. It is not acceptable to give these Republican leaders a pass or to suggest that they are waiting to see how the wind is blowing when the return to Washington in September. Can it truly be possible that Senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins are afraid to step forward and tell the Trump Republican base that it is wrong to continue to march to Trump’s drumbeat?
No one is seeking to deny Donald Trump his day in Court. As all defendants, Trump is presumed innocent until proven guilty; but the problem that is developing is that the former President is engaging in a frontal attack on the Courts and the American legal system. This is what Republicans are sanctioning when they whistle Trump’s tune. Trump’s minions are following their pied piper. Republican leaders are watching the Republican Party become a tool for anti-democratic principles.
Republicans recognize that approximately 30% of the American people are ready to follow Trump to the perceived promised land. It is shocking, however, that there are no business leaders, former politicians, or retired military brass who are prepared to step forward and demand more from their historic Republican Party. How could the January 6 indictment not have shaken Republican leaders to exclaim “enough”? Do they really believe that his re-election would be good for the country? Even more shocking is that the overt efforts being made by Trump attacking the integrity of the judicial system and the American democratic tradition have failed to alarm enough conservative thinkers and media to wake up and demand “stop.”
In the current climate, even if Donald Trump is not elected in Novembers 2024, America and especially the Republican Party will face challenges that even a Biden second term will not erase. Trump followers need to be convinced that he cannot be their flag bearer, not after he has continued to damage this Republic for two more years. Unless there is a major turnaround among Republicans, it is quite likely that Donald Trump—even if he is not re-elected--might well take the United States, from being a beacon of democracy into the dustbin of history.
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