Interesting roundtable:
AND another long-ass chunk of comment. Sorry, y’all
Muster the support of the old-line ‘classic conservative’ Republican Party for what?
To vote against Trump *and* those he’s endorsed at every level - and to VOTE FOR the removal of his judicial and agency appointees (yes, SCOTUS, too) - AND to vote for the legislative steps necessary to make repeat attempts illegal and (as much as possible) impossible. We’ve learned that reliance on the norms and standards of 250 years ago can’t be enough, we’ve learned that treason has other meanings besides a foreign-sourced war against the US.
Evidence is accumulating that Trump may well be guilty under the existing statutory definition (depending on the collated output of the various investigations, particularly with regard to the Russia connection); whether or not a clear chain of connection between TrumpCo & Putinia can be established, we now know that there’s real weakness in the idea that the calls *CAN’T* come from “inside the house”. Simply, if we can’t fix this (and other similar) then all that’s required for the US to fall *to an identical effort* is to eliminate the offshore component.
The reason for singling out war is that war by its nature is an existential threat to the survival/continuance of any nation; Trump & MAGA, the ‘overthrow party’, the white rebellion that kicked off in 1956 following the Brown v BoE decision, ALL have sought to become existential threats to the governance, the operations , the proper continuity of the US government whit the intent of forcing onto the people conditions they would never certify by election. Which puts these successive waves of ‘resurgent Confederate sympathies’ directly in opposition to the principles of self-government US-style, accountability of judges and representatives and corporations to the citizens through their representatives, and the illusion of freedom.
In what way is this - any of this - NOT the functional equivalent to war? ESPECIALLY when people reach office who value control of the mob to the voice of the citizens?
The functional equivalent to war deserves the function equivalent in punishment. It IS the most serious sort of crime against the nation: seeking to destroy it and replace it with a different foundation and structure, or to corrupt the existing laws and structure and foundations to the point where “America” becomes just a job of branding, replacing principles with slogans like “We the People“ and “America First!” and symbols like eagles and flags while rolling right over the actual framework of the nation.
There can be no excuses for such a thing: no mitigating circumstances, no “honest mistakes”, no “originalist” workover of the constitution, no ‘alternate interpretations‘ clear text and plain facts.
NO forgiveness. Either we take this shit seriously or we’re done - as a people, as a nation, as a functional society.