This Just In – A steady diet of corruption and chicanery isn’t good for you. Too much salt and fat accumulates in the blood and, over time, you’ll get sick and lethargic.
I’m not going to focus on the many times I’ve predicted that the orange man-baby would face criminal charges for his lawlessness. My friends shook their heads and said: “Wake me up when he’s convicted” and “he gets away with everything” and so on.
My attention has shifted to the rest of the GOP. In the Senate, it’s clear that those quiet footsteps tracking backward and away from the microphones are those of Republican Senators who can see where this train is headed – right to the city dump. Just stay off the tracks.
Some do better than others. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave the standard “I’m not commenting on the presidential race or any individual candidates” dodge when asked about candidate Trump. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said “I’m not a legal analyst and can’t comment on the charges.”
Senator Grassley, you may recall, used to be the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In the House of Representatives … well … the extremists are running things over there and their performance art explanations extend to the security of the box-filled bathroom at Mar-A-Lago, or as I like to call it, the “Trump Presidential Library.”
“There are locks on bathroom doors” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He’s the guy who is second in line for the presidency, by the way. It’s important to keep an eye on him.
Now, Kevin knows better than these silly distracting (What about Hillary?!) arguments that he’s given to reporters. He has very high-level security clearance. He sees classified material regularly. This is the most shameful thing about what he and others are doing … they are well aware that he says these things to satisfy their political base. These are the folks who wanted to hang Mike Pence and busted into the Capitol to poop on the walls and ransack offices.
The House Republicans are afraid of the people who voted for them. They want to sound like they’re ready to crack down on the Biden Administration, but they’re putting on a show and raising money. That’s what they do.
Back to the orange man for just a moment, I say let him talk. Every time he steps to a microphone he makes a clear statement that he did the very things he is accused of doing. All of this is admissible in court, according to Andrew Weissman, former U.S. Attorney and lead Counsel for the Mueller investigation. Trump need not take the stand in his criminal trial. The prosecution can just go to the videotape.
The best solution for the Republicans’ hostage-taking is found at the ballot box (and to a lesser extent in the polls). When the primaries begin next year, it’s nearly certain that the 45th president will be facing many more than just the 71 felony charges on the record so far.
So, what’s next?
Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to charge Trump in August for the gob-smacking election interference that she has on audio recordings and Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to charge Trump in Washington D.C. for Sedition, Interference with government business and riot incitement.
GOP primary voters will likely be (as we all are) sick of this … stuff. Donors will probably keep the Chris Christie campaign alive to bash Trump for as long as it’s necessary, until the actual voting starts pointing toward a replacement.
This will be an ugly struggle for the Republicans driven almost entirely not by the corruption of one man, but because they have exploited racism and white supremacy for many decades, talking about law & order, silent majorities, state’s rights, Willie Horton and urban crime. Now it’s kneeling during the national anthem, critical race theory and gender identity in school sports. It’s all culture war built on fear and heavy on distraction.
The game is out in the open now and the days of Jesse Helms’ quiet entries in church newsletters and thinly veiled television ads are over. Those who describe themselves as Republicans would gladly rescind the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and consider it “a good start.”
It’s going to be a hot summer. Hydrate. Wear your sunscreen and be sure — be very sure — to turn all this stuff off periodically to rest and restore yourself.
(featured image: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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