This is going to be short and to the point. Let’s consider just some of the worst things Trump, his administration, his cronies, and his hate-maddened cult followers have done. Consider every one of them before moving on.
They tore immigrant families apart for the sheer, cruel pleasure of doing so. This is unforgivable on every level, from political to human. This alone should have Trump and dozens of his officials found guilty of crimes against humanity and punished accordingly.
Trump unilaterally pulled us out of the Paris Climate Accords. Also unforgivable, and on a much vaster scale. We are on the very brink of global climate disaster, and we need to have begun drastic action years ago (decades ago, really). Instead, Trump fucked us over for four years that we cannot get back. I can’t even begin to estimate the cost to humanity and to the global biosphere.
Trump is a racist. His top officials are racists. His followers are racists. He has empowered the worst of America’s bigots, from the Proud Boys to the various “militias” (read: terrorist groups). I’m not even going to bother with a link because there are just so many goddamn instances of this from his pisshole administration.
Trump reached out to Russia to help overturn American democracy in return for letting him squat in the White House for four long, miserable years. Where do I start with this? “Russia, if you’re listening…” Giving Putin every single thing he wanted over the four years of his tenure. Putting a foreign agent in charge of the NSA. Giving Russian officials highly classified intel and then destroying the records of him doing so. Donald Trump committed sedition and should be treated as such. So have Republicans like Rudy Giuliani, Josh Hawley, Louis Gohmert, and so many others — and they’re still doing it as I write this.
Trump, his family, and his officials stole — just flat out fucking stole — billions from the American taxpayers and distributed them among themselves. I dearly hope President Biden will put a pit bull (I cite the breed in a strictly metaphorical sense) in the Office of the Attorney General, someone who will go after the financial and political crimes of Trump and his goons with the stern, almost fanatical drive of Cotton Mather.
Trump led the Republicans’ charge to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. The loudmouths among the progressive left, shut up. Everyone knows the ACA is far, far from perfect. But we had to fight like tigers to get that much past the obstructionist GOP, and it needs to be expanded and repaired. But again, we had not a goddamn whit of progress. Instead, we had to fight a rearguard action to protect what we have against the relentless attacks from the right. Medicare For All? Absolutely, but we won’t get it if progressives like Bernie Sanders and his cadre of assclowns hinder everything we do to move forward towards that.
His handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The US death toll stands at some 350,000 as I write this. Yes, it would have torn through the country even if someone sane and committed to keeping our citizens alive were in the White House. Yes, many would have died. I don’t care about parsing fucking numbers. Every single one of those deaths, from Dawn Wells and Herman Cain to so many families’ grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, children, and grandchildren, was caused by Donald Trump and his savagely hateful “handling” of the US response. Every goddamned one of them.
There are so many other things we could consider. I won’t even bother writing them. Please add them in the comments.
Now. Let’s consider the year stretching forth in front of us.
This year we fight together to balance the scales. We will fight for progress. Enact justice. Exact retribution. (The photo accompanying this article is from the Nuremberg Trials that followed World War II. I chose it for a reason.)
The scales are tipped so far out of whack that they are all but broken. I want you to think about how much energy, how much righteous outrage, how much downright ferocity we’re going to need to get them back in line. (Then we push them leftward, but that’s another discussion for another time.)
We join together. If the MAGAts fight us, we fight back ten times as hard. If the small but loud and toxic contingent on the left try to sabotage us, treat them the same way we treat a Trump cult member — in the end, their effect is exactly the same. If you want to stick with the WWII metaphor of the picture above, stop thinking in terms of the Maginot Line and start thinking about the US storming the beaches of Normandy.
Now we start to balance the scales.
Happy New Year, everyone. This year we fight back. Americans, assemble.
Er, the US did not take Berlin.
You are correct, sir. That would have been the Russians. I’ll correct the error.
I know it will NEVER happen, but can you imagine if Uncle Joe were to tap Hillary Clinton as Attorney General???
I can just picture her reviewing the mounds of damning evidence of Trump’s crimes…..
“Lock ME up will you you son of a b!tch.”
No doubt there are alternatives that are just as good…like, say, one Sally Yates who got shoved out of her temporary post as AG because she refused to play ball with Trump.
When I think at all about Biden’s choice for AG, I think of Sally Yates. She’d make a great one.
Sure, she would, but Biden must avoid the appearance of taking political retribution. We don’t need to invite bothsiderism.
Bothsiderism is inbound regardless, Dana. Kid yourself not on that. Another thing to avoid kidding ourselves: this notion that Uncle Joe isn’t more than prepared for what is waiting for him.
I am not talking about trivial bothsiderism. I am talking about the fundamental American value that in America, we do not take political revenge. The idea that Biden should appoint someone with an axe to grind against Trump for the very reason that they have that axe to grind is abhorrent.
How about Fiona Hill for DOJ? I don’t think she is a US citizen. Or Alexander Vindeman. He’s even an immigrant. That would tighten tRump’s slack jaw!
I like Vindeman for something military related.
He does have a twin brother…. 🙂
I think Hill is – naturalized.
It will have to be someone Trump has not harmed in some way.
That list is limited to his sycophants at this point.
Not to be rude, but why? So the Republicans and the bleating shits in the media won’t squeal? Fuck them.
Because in America we do not take political revenge. We objected to “lock her up” because it violated fundamental American values. Picking an AG because they have an axe to grind against Trump is just wrong. I am not sure why you are bringing the media into it.
But … who would be left. Nah, Joe should choose his folks… and damn the torpedoes. Trump took out the counter Russian folks… then we can’t use? Ah, no… need the talent… and then can write a nice memo to judge… and detail actions that the idiot took against one and all.
No, won’t let that ass dictate every damn thing. If things come about… and he gets slammed… then it was his actions.
It is true enough that there is hardly an American who has not been harmed in some way by Trump. I am talking about particular a specific harm that Trump intended to be taken personally. Surely there are highly qualified AG candidates without a personal axe to grind. For example, Glenn Kirschner, with his thirty years of prosecution experience during the terms of several presidents, comes to mind.
He can’t because the implication of political retribution would be too strong.
As laudatory as the above sentiment is, Max, I find a line from one of my favorite comics, Return To Big Nothing written by Steven Grant, echoing in my head: “What’s even? All the money you stole, all the lives you ruined…your death doesn’t even begin to balance all that.” So it will be with whatever punishment we ultimately mete out to the guilty.
I find Nuremberg an imperfect example to cite. While those war criminals were on trial, more useful ones were being given jobs. For instance, Werner Von Braun killed who knows how many civilians with his V-1 and V-2 buzz bombs, yet his designs were too good for NASA to pass up.
I truly apologize if this seems cynical. But we need to be clear-eyed on how we are going to fall short in many instances to come. We can–and likely will–build back better under Uncle Joe. We also will see things slip through the cracks that will ignite our sense of outrage anew. Much like with the losing endgame Trump’s sycophants have chosen, it will still be useful in revealing character.
Actually Sturmbannfuehrer von Braun was only responsible for the V2 – not the V1 (that was developed by the Fieseler company in Kassel)
It didn’t stop the US from smuggling him into the country and fast tracking his ‘citizenship’
Ah, thank you for the correction, Daithi!
Many nazis escaped justice with the help of the US government & the Vatican. Problem is when you have a country built on genocide & slavery, u never get back on track when it evolves into consumerism, hypocrisy, & willful ignorance. Are the democrats willing to go to the same level of extremes FOR THE GOOD as trump & the Gop did for evil? Doubt it. The continued problem is good folks are never capable of an opposite & equal reaction as occurs in newton’s law concerning motion. We’re not going anywhere. The rich on both sides dont REALLY want to change the system. Give up ur wealth? No phucking way.
Too much of anything is always a bad idea. That absolutely includes the kind of extremes you’re talking about.
U r really lucky. Never had too much love, freedom, health, & well being. What planet has had such good extremes u know it’s a bad thing? Here on earth never seen it or experienced it.
Spoken like someone who never had enough of the above, Scott…which is why he is proposing the kind of scorched earth tactics that are more about retribution than public good. You want to go that road, the least you can do is be honest about why. And when I hear that kind of rage-fueled vengeance talk, the why is typically because “I want to make them pay, even if it makes me the same kind of monster.” Nobody ever built a world worth the having on that mentality. Nothing deadly ever dies…and nothing great ever came from imitating the people who hurt you.
I’m not proposing scorched-earth tactics. Bareshark. Read my words, and stop telling people what I meant.
Oh no, Max, that scorched earth tactics comment was aimed at Scott, who seems to be begging for a lynch mob to be raised. Sorry if that was unclear. While I have a few issues with your take, that wasn’t one of them.
Readiing comprehension isn’t ur strong suit. Advocating for a strong response for SOCIAL JUSTICE isn’t “a scorched earth” policy. Just recognizing the Truth that the gop turmed into a CULT will never cooperate with democracy in any way, is a recognition of reality. U come across as the great & powerful oz, commenting on the love in my personal life. Ego is the origin of most selfishness in the world,& of all kinds of dark results, including arrogance.
I want to target my favorite, “BIGGEST money out there team”, the Koch Brothers … very few Citizens of the US have accelerated past the Koch Brothers, who, in the last two years had a joint corporate income of $40 billion each, both brothers have been alike in one respect … they don’t give a flying crap about pollution problems, health of the general population or accidental death of teenagers from a scam of using old unrated pipelines to send their cargo through Texas countryside … the old pipeline blew up and the teens with it … oh, by the way they have publicly mentioned they are tired of those annoying regulations and fines they continue to pay, cheaper to pay fines when you only get docked for small change against HUGE incomes …
They have been blatantly killing thousands of migrating birds in Canada, they have bought rights to 65 square miles of forest land in Canada to dump incredibly toxic and dangerous throw-offs from the shale oil wells they operate … the birds don’t know the light grey color crap witch kills every living thing it touches, the trees themselves the fish in adjacent streams and rivers is not the cool water they want to stop and rest at …
These criminals have been given a boost by our own J. Ernst here in Iowa, she ran on the destruction of all regulations, and main departments in our government … so parroting the Koch brothers got her millions of dark money, all those kind of people out there just helped her stay in office over a well qualified Dem opponent …
The stacking of the deck has ALWAYS leaned in favor of those that already have more money than they can spend, and don’t give a shit about anybody else, just their own agendas and personal criminal level incomes … and their, “RIGHTS”, to continue nefarious projects … like contamination in a bunch of fresh water streams in MN … just swing there dump out drain lines into a different stream after all the fish die, in the current stream they just go out and, “BUY”, another permit for their huge paper industry …
There were four Koch brothers. Only two, Charles and David, were commonly thought of as “the Koch Brothers”, being intimately associated with Koch Industries and right-wing politics. David died in 2019. Of the other two, Frederick died in 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_family
Umm, you might have missed it, Darrel, but the older Koch Brother has been dead and gone for about a year and a half.
Bankrupt the whole clan. Forever. Make their name synonymous with scum. All of them should do time then spend the rest of their lives in penury. Confiscate every dime they have now or will ever have, for restitution. When they wake up every morning wishing they were dead, some measure of justice will have been, and seen to be, done. When you and yours are responsible for the lessening of the human condition and untold suffering of millions, IMO you deserve whatever we, collectively, can dream up to make sure no one ever tries this shit again. Looking at you Repukelicans.
Removed the first comment because I totally misread your post. No amount of political degradation is too much for the Republicans. They gave us Trump, and they’re fighting to destroy democracy to do it again.
I agree the GOP needs to be eliminated from America. the question is how to do it while remaining faithful to our fundamental core American values and the Constitution. I am beyond appalled that 74,000,000 Americans voted for Trump and half of those back his desire to overturn the election.
Very well stated, Michael.
I made the comment, some time ago, that Trump should be brought up on charges of crimes against humanity. Mark Sumner also wrote a post about that recently. He did go on to say that the US is not a member of the International Court, but it seems like something should be done on that level.
I expect Biden to have the US join (rejoin?) the International Court. I would absolutely love to see the entire crew of them stand before the justices in The Hague.
You missed the worst Trumpian act committed against ordinary Americans: The 2018 #TrumpTaxScam passed By Trump, McConnell and Ryan during the lame duck Congress in Dec. 2018). This helped skyrocket our US National debt from 19.9 trillion dollars to 27.6 trillion dollars during King Trump’s 4 year looting of the US Treasury. This 7.7 trillion $ increase in the US Debt is the largest ever in percentage increase and gross increase during any 4 year term of any President. The #TrumpTaxScam resulted in the largest socialist transfer of money from working Americans to the wealthiest and largest corporations in the history of any civilization on the planet.
For example, the richest 0.00006% of Americans increased their personal wealth increase by 1 trillion $ since Trump came into office. That’s 1 followed by 12 zeros – $1,000,000,000,000. Another example: 44 brand new US billionaires – the most ever in a single year – were “created” during 2020.
And who will be paying this back? Future generations of hard working Americans who did not receive any of these tax subsidies, credits, exemptions & loopholes carved out just for the largest corporations and the wealthiest business owners. Worst of all, other laws have been set up since the Bush administration that encourage large corporations to effectively remove trillions of US money out of the US economy. This is through taking tax windfall $ out of the US to other countries banks in the Caribbean, Europe, Central America and Asia to take advantage of overseas tax havens, and by utilizing offshore deferrals, profit shifting, and earnings stripping of money placed in shell corporations and trusts.
These tax codes and offshoring laws will need to be reversed/eliminated by the Biden/Harris Administration or else this massive looting will continue to drain the US economy and weaken everyone in the US in the years to come – except for the billionaires and trillionaires.
I’m with you..we have to bring the crimes to justice. I don’t think this is similar to Nixon…in that case I think one could make the case that his wrongdoing involved trying to win the presidency, so taking the position away was justice enough. (I’m sure the case for prosecution can be made too…I’m just saying I get why some felt it was time to just end the chaos).
But Trump and his cronies are different. The crimes are against democracy itself, and for the good of the nation I think we have to prosecute all wrongdoing to the full extent of the law.
Oh yeah… hey it’s 2021 YEAR TO Be AMERICAN Strong..