The thought of Donald Trump once more taking the oath for the office of The Presidency in Jan. 2025 should be absolutely terrifying to any right thinking citizen of our beleaguered democracy… under any circumstances. The diapered Don has already demonstrated, on January 6th of 2021, his willingness to dismantle our democratic institutions, even if it means he must incite a mob to murder his own Vice President and leaders of the opposition party in Congress to facilitate the process.
Progressive radio talk show host and Air America alumnus Thom Hartmann has written a piece for Raw Story that makes that prospect even more horrifying, if possible, in which he speculates that much like Mitch McConnell held open, unconstitutionally, the SCOTUS seat vacated late in the Obama administration by the death of Antonin Scalia so that Trump if elected could fill it, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville (who, as Hartmann documents, was eyeballs deep in the planning for Trump’s first attempt at insurrection) is blocking senior military promotions not to influence Pentagon abortion policy, but to insure Trump can fill them with his loyalists in the event he wins the Presidency next year.
Hartmann begins his essay with a history lesson, recounting that Germany’s pre-war industrialists and conservative allies thought to use Adolph Hitler, and his party’s electoral strength, to consolidate the power of their reigning champion, German President Paul von Hindenburg, and enjoy the tax cuts and oligarch-friendly fiscal parties that they perceived Germany’s left leaning parties threatened.
Hitler, of course, like his modern day disciple Trump, had as his goal only self aggrandizement and absolute power. To that end Hitler burned the Reichstag – a feat Trump tried to replicate when he loosed his mob on the U.S. Capitol – and set in motion the destruction of Germany’s democracy… as his student Trump would try to do here decades later.
Hartmann cites Trump’s executive order put in place on December 16th, 2020 as evidence of his nefarious intent:
“By the authority vested in me as President of the United States pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, … I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, find that the forensic report of the Antrim County, Michigan voting machines, released December 13, 2020, and other evidence submitted to me in support of this order, provide probable cause sufficient to require action under the authorities cited above because of evidence of international and foreign interference in the November 3, 2020, election.”…
“Accordingly, I hereby order: (1) Effective immediately, the Secretary of Defense shall seize, collect, retain and analyze all machines, equipment, electronically stored information, and material records required for retention under United States Code Title 42, Sections 1974-1974(e), including but not limited to those identified in footnote 1. The Secretary of Defense has discretion to determine the interdiction of national critical infrastructure supporting federal elections.”
Hartmann goes on to point out that the senior military leadership that Trump had the power to appoint, his “acting” Secretary of Defense Chris Miller and his Chief of staff Kash Patel were fully onboard with Trump’s coup attempt.
“Just three weeks later, on January 4th, Acting Defense Secretary Miller, in the effective role of commander of our entire military just one step below Commander-in-Chief Trump (on whose behalf he acted), issued a memo (attached at the end of this article) specifically directing Army Secretary McCarthy and the National Guard that for January 6th and just for January 6th they were:
—Not authorized to be issued weapons, ammunition, bayonets, batons, or ballistic protection equipment such as helmets and body armor.
—Not to interact physically with protestors, except when necessary in self-defense or defense of others.
—Not to employ any riot control agents.
—Not to share equipment with law enforcement agencies.
—Not authorized to use Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets or to conduct ISR or Incident, Awareness, and Assessment activities in assistance to Capitol Police.”
In a story that has not fully been told as of yet, it was most likely the intervention of Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, after consultation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, that prevented Trump from fully implementing Trumps executive order to end our democracy.
Which is why, if Hartmann’s conjecture is correct, that Trump is using his lapdog Tuberville to hold up senior military promotions in anticipation of filling them with officers whose loyalties lie with him instead of with our nation.
Hartmann finishes by laying out the stakes for the 2024 election:
“The 2024 election will determine the direction this country takes, perhaps for another century.
Will we turn to fascism and authoritarianism with a military takeover, as a handful of activist rightwing billionaires and their wholly-owned Republican politicians want? Or will we turn back toward democracy and rebuild America’s middle class that has been so battered and gutted by 42 years of neoliberal Reaganomics?“
If you subscribe to Raw Story or have free articles remaining I strongly recommend you read Hartmann’s piece, which is much more detailed than I can present here.
If I could reproduce it here in its entirety I certainly would.
Then go to work getting out the vote!!!
Makes sense and if Tuberville was and is deeply involved in the coup attempt, I hope he is on the Jan 6 indictment list. They’re all traitors.
I wish that all the congress critters and senators that had a part in Jan 6 would be indicted and held accountable. I really don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet, unless the DOJ just hasn’t had the time or resources to investigate them.
Any DOJ investigation of members of Congress would need to be highly secretive, given that Republicans on both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have access to classified information. This Trump-era crisis we are living through has exposed many weaknesses in our system of checks and balances. If, God willing, our democracy survives, a thorough reform effort will be necessary to prevent future would-be fascists from gaining power. That, along with saving our planet from burning up.
Thom is on freespeech TV daily at 1pm. Everyone should tune in when possible if you really want to know history. If Trump gains the power again…phuck the vote…time for patriots to pick up a gun…it’s EXACTLY what we had to do 1941-1945. FACT. If not, stand back and watch the extinction of not only democracy, but our very lives and the lives of our children. Five of my daughters/adopted and legal are either mixed or black. I’ll fight to the death to keep them safe from evil fascists. No one wants war but what’s the Latin phrase which says Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum…if you want peace prepare for war. We have one shot left with the vote. When that’s gone, AND IT WILL BE IF THE FASCISTS STEAL THE POWER, then I’ll honor the vow I took as a veteran TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION. We will cease to be a nation of laws, which are corrupt in practice, but occasionally finds justice. That will be the end of that experiment. If this sounds harsh, then accept you have no idea how this country came into existence or has survived fascists to date. Most will fall in line just like the Germans did in the late 30s despite the evil all around them. Jews were stripped of all rights, dragged into the street to be beaten, raped, and killed. FACT. As the Foo Fighters say in a song…either resist or be abused. Be a warrior or be a victim. Be a wolf not a sheep. Decisions will have to be made. So let’s get this done by the vote no matter what bullsh*t barriers are put up to stop us. Better than a bullet. My five uncles went to WW2 not because they wanted to…Hitler, Japan, and Italy gave us no choice. We may find ourselves there again, but it is worse on our own soil…much much worse. Time to stop these phuckers and confront anyone who supports them for any phucking reason.
Agree. Let’s hope our vote is enough.
Tuberville is an unqualified moron who has no business in the senate. I believe and fervently hope that there are ways to end this idiotic roadblock he has constructed. Sen Schumer is the majority leader and must whip his caucus and all sane republicans to quash this insanity now.
I still find it absolutely incredulous that enough Republican supporters of the University of Alabama actually pulled the levers or filled in the oval/box beside Tuberville’s name in November of 2020 to put Tuberville in the US Senate.
When they first wrote/said “Politics makes for strange bedfellows,” they had no idea how much of an understatement that would prove to be in the State of Alabama in November of 2020. (Or earlier that summer when Tuberville finally won the nomination.)
“and all sane republicans”
There’s your problem.
Ira…let’s hope, but people raised in privilege and exist in privilege are not built for war. The democrats need to wake the phuck up. Given all the horseshit the gop has pulled to date…just ask yourself…have the democrats been willing to be zealots for democracy? Nazis are zealots. If we aren’t willing to match their evil with fighting for the truth then they’ll run over the people who want to play nice and by the rules. When I was railroaded into the penitentiary & threatened daily, I had to match the threats with fearlessness and a willingness to die defending myself. That went on daily for months until respect was earned and the wolves realized I was not going to cower in fear. They looked elsewhere for sheep. Sure I could have been killed, raped, or worse…but whoever threatened me knew it was gonna cost them. There’s no man as dangerous as those willing to die without fear. These nice upper middle class pampered bureaucrats are NOT prepared to really sacrifice themselves for freedom from fascism. They try to uphold the decorum while dealing with murderous stupid nazis. IT WONT WORK. That’s why this pampered fascist is still loose when you or I would be under the jailhouse. When the parole board met on my case, I was told I should not have been arrested. Never had handcuffs on and was sentenced to years first offense on a law that is unjustified. I was in grad school and although sentenced in January was left free until May when my friends drove me to the gates of the penitentiary to be let in. The guard in the tower with a rifle had to be convinced to let me in. I have a letter from 1979 from the parole board supporting me for a pardon I never have asked for. I was sent there by a corrupt DA and judge. All facts. Yet, it didn’t matter to the wolves how it went down. It was up to me to survive the ordeal. I know how corrupt the law ACTUALLY is verses these folks who draw conclusions from books and movies. If the system wasn’t corrupt, please explain how an ignorant ahole like Trump gained the highest office in the land??????