In my last post I gave even more EVIDENCE as to why I’ve been calling Trump a FASCIST since before he was “elected.” (You can visit the archive if you want) Since I started the post several things have happened to make me even MORE sure that my “diagnosis” is correct. The saddest part, to me, of what I’ve seen, occurred when I watched several Trump supporters interviewed after he finished LYING to them in a campaign style speech somewhere in Tennessee. The people in the audience – everyone who was interviewed – believe Trump is telling the truth and that the “mainstream media” is LYING about the “Russia thing,” obstruction, and anything else Trump might end up being charged with. One guy said, “the only way I trust our government is with Trump at the head of it.” Yikes!
And, the “anything else,” in my view, is going to include ILLEGAL financial “stuff” in Trump’s former “orbit” as the head of the “Trump organization.” As I’ve stated, I believe Trump will be exposed as the head of what amounts to a “crime syndicate.” There’s going to be issues of money laundering (some of that is obvious, if you’ve been watching this whole investigation unfold), likely bribery, extortion, and intimidation – to name a few ideas I, a non lawyer, have had come to mind. It grieves me when I listen to hard working Americans who’ve “drank the cool-aid” of the right wing message machine that’s ultimately responsible for Trump. At the same time, I don’t let them off the “hook” for NOT fact checking stuff they hear and allowing themselves to be BRAINWASHED. If you disagree with these people, you can’t even have a conversation with them.
Today, Trump went a bit further in his ARROGANT attempt to claim his RULE over our constitution and the laws that have emanated from it. He’s using his “pardon power” to send messages to all those people who might be tempted to “tell the truth” to Robert Mueller that he’ll simply pardon them should they choose to protect their fuhrer by LYING. There’s a long list of people who’ve worked in the “White House” who are grappling with that dilemma – as Hope Hicks once admitted, she was “expected to tell ‘little white lies’ while working for Trump.” Well, LYING to the FBI constitutes a crime with a penalty of jail, I believe, up to five years. While I was watching this flurry of pardons explained today, many of the pundits were referring to Michael Flynn as maybe one of Trump’s targets. However, in my mind, they’re forgetting some important “stuff.”
Of course, even Trump understands it’s a bit late to pardon Flynn because he’s been “cooperating” for over half a year now. There’s probably not much else for him to tell Mueller. I believe Mueller is delaying Flynn’s sentencing until he’s more clear on any charges that might be aimed at Trump himself. What people need to remember about someone being pardoned. First of all, when you accept a pardon you are admitting guilt, usually for a felony. Secondly, once you’ve been pardoned, you can still be questioned regarding any investigation you might be involved in or have information which may be pertinent AND you CAN’T plead the “fifth.”
In Flynn’s case, I believe people need to remember that Flynn got a very “sweet deal” from Mueller in return for his cooperation. Flynn was likely facing MULTIPLE felony charges relating to his ILLEGAL activity resulting in his representation of interests from Turkey and Russia. He was clearly an unregistered foreign agent which is a felony AND, more importantly, his SON was right in the middle of all his controversial activities. By agreeing to cooperate, Flynn, famous for leading the “lock her up” chant at the republican convention while saying, “If I’d done one tenth of what Mrs. Clinton did I’d be locked up for years,” got his SON off “Scott free.” If Flynn is pardoned, he no longer would have firth amendment rights, which is another reason he won’t be pardoned, at least, until Trump is totally vindicated – if that ever happens. AND, if Flynn chooses to renege on his “arrangement” with Mueller, his SON could be facing multiple charges. I have to wonder how many outrageous pardons would the republicans in Congress allow Trump before they “intervene?”
Michael Cohen may have been the MAJOR target of the message Trump was sending with his flurry of pardons today. One of the people pardoned had pleaded guilty to virtually the same charges many “pundits” are predicting Cohen soon will be facing. Here’s the “kicker” for Cohen’s situation – and, why I believe Robert Mueller will be considered brilliant when all is said and done – especially if Trump is uncovered as the menace to this nation I believe he is – Cohen can be charged, from what I understand, with state crimes (and, very well, that may be the “plan”), and state crimes can’t be pardoned by the president – only federal crimes! (Here’s an article that explains Trump’s possible dilemma.)
The same situation that applies to Cohen in the Southern District of New York could be applied to Paul Manafort who is facing some of his charges in Virginia – and, that means if Trump is planning to pardon Manafort the Attorney General of Virginia could prosecute him there – even after he’s been pardoned by Trump. Trump is attempting to use his pardon power, it appears, in a way to circumvent the laws and to undercut Mr. Mueller’s investigation – which is even supported by MOST republicans. Investigations like Mueller’s, traditionally, have taken years to complete and the FACT that NOTHING is leaking from Mueller’s “team,” is causing anxiety on “both sides of the isle.” I believe the American people want to know the TRUTH about whether or not members of Trump’s campaign were in cahoots with Russians, or other foreigners, in order to help them “win” the election. I believe it’s the other “stuff” Mueller is finding as he “follows the money” that has Trump on “pins and needles.”
Trump clearly did not think he was going to “win,” so I’m sure he felt none of this would ever come out. And, the reason he refused to show his tax returns was, I’m convinced, to keep the other stuff Mueller is finding – regarding his financial misdeeds – from ever seeing the light of day. Why would anyone think his “it’s all about me” attitude as our so-called president would have been any different in his business dealings. It’s public knowledge that Trump’s dishonest business practices, his failure to pay debts – including debts to lawyers, workers, and banks, and, essentially, his lack of connection to the truth, put him in a position where NO American banks wanted anything to do with him and his organization. (And, he can’t even get a respectable attorney to represent him in all his problems) His son’s have publicly admitted they used money from Russia to keep their business a float -that’s GOING to become a problem. “Following the money” is going to get ugly for Trump – so, he’s attempting to find ways to protect what he knows is coming from Mueller via his LYING and, today, his reckless use of the power to pardon.
All of this furthers my contention Trump is a Fascist. (And, who knows to what extent? Read “The Hitler Virus” and “Fascism, a waning” if you want to get a sobering look at reality regarding the Neo-Nazi movements around the globe.) Just that he views his pardon power as his “play thing” is alarming. This just adds to the, what many are referring to as “scary,” DAMAGE I’ve talked over and over about which Trump is doing to America. My optimistic side is telling me Trump is FORCING “we the people” to FINALLY deal with our demons. I mean, this nation was founded on slavery and it’s the “white nationalists” who make up the bulk of Trump’s base. Getting back to that rally in Tennessee – every one of the people interviewed espoused racial bigotry in their views – and, I’m guessing most of them would genuinely claim to NOT be racists if you asked them direct. I don’t blame them – MOST of them have likely been watching Fox “news” (Trump TV) and listening to the likes of Limbaugh and the other right win bloviators on the radio airwaves for years – except that, like I said above, they SHOULD know enough to FACT check the information they’re putting in their heads. They’ve been BRAINWASHED!
Which tells me, this FASCIST “thing” likely runs much deeper than just Trump. The republican party will ultimately self-destroy over what’s been happening since Bush/Cheney left Washington DC “with their tails between their legs.” Republicans, in my lifetime, have been great at LYING in their messaging without compulsion. There’s a scandal, and, soon, both them and our “liberal media” have forgotten. If you’ve forgotten, Bush/Cheney left Washington with an economy SHEDDING about a MILLION jobs per month, the stock market was in free fall – had dropped OVER 50% of its value in about a year, there were two ILLEGAL wars ongoing, they had stained America by publicly authorizing TORTURE, America’s institutions had been under assault, and MILLIONS of Americans were losing their houses on a regular basis. The annual deficit was at $1.5 TRILLION (with a “T”) and our image around the world was in “tatters.”
“We the people” chose a person of African descent to pull us out of the greatest “mess” since the Great Depression and, thus, was born the “Tea party” in a clear backlash to the audacity of having an African American president. Republicans were quickly on the ATTACK (especially after President Obama BLUNDERED by BLOCKING investigations into Bush/Cheney wrongdoing – seriously, compare that to Trump) and, with the Tea Party, the Trump presidency was “born.” He led the RACIST “birther movement” and, if you were aware – AT ALL – of the underpinnings of the Tea Party movement, you KNOW it was built on RACISM – clear and simple. The signs at their rallies were disgusting – and, present, were many leading republicans saying NOTHING about all the RACIST banter at the Tea Party’s inception, instead, encouraging it. People like the Koch Brothers were funding it, and the republican party embraced it – to the point where, today, the so-called “freedom caucus” rules the day in republican politics. Their leaders are the main Trump enablers in Congress.
Trump, and all his Tea Party enablers, appear to find the Russian interference “just fine” because it was aimed to help them. (I’ve said many times, today’s republican party believes “the end justifies the means”) You have to wonder how they’d be reacting if it was aimed at and succeeded in getting Hillary Clinton elected president. Of course, that would have been impossible because, say what you want about Mrs. Clinton, she was no sycophant for Vladimir Putin. All of this, including the abuse of the pardon power, is just further proof that Trump wants NO boundaries in his ability to RULE America – just like Putin in Russia, Erdogan in Turkey, Duterte in the Philippines, and countless other fascist despots emerging around the globe. It really is up to “we the people” to put a STOP to all this – and, we CAN do it this November at the ballot box. However, as I’ve said before, it “aint gonna be easy!” Trump and his minions are doing everything in their power to keep their GRIP on POWER.
The republicans, since the days of Karl Rove, have been lamenting the time when they will achieve their “permanent republican majority.” The “joke” in that plan is they know they’ll NEVER actually have a “majority.” The way they accomplish this is to disenfranchise as many progressive voters as they can. They’ve already “stacked the deck” via their classic gerrymandering – which they accomplished in 2010, and the “tax scam” has infused OVER a TRILLION dollars into the hands of republican “donors” who’ll be funneling HUGE amounts of their windfall back into republican “coffers.” This was EXACTLY the purpose of the tax scam. (You won’t hear a “peep” from republicans this year about a deficit now back over a TRILLION dollars per year) They’ve been scheming as to how to circumvent the “checks and balances” in our constitution for decades – and, Trump’s ARROGANCE toward the laws makes him the perfect “standard bearer” for the stealth puppeteers who are directing the republican party from the shadows. So, what I’m saying is the issue of Fascism goes way deeper than just Trump. These republican “enablers” apparently have the same disease. I’ll say it again, it’s up to “we the people” to put a STOP to all this.
Final Thought: It appears that something in the neighborhood of 30+ percent of Americans have been BRAINWASHED to believe Trump is telling the truth while he’s LYING. The sad reality, to me, is that racism is a much more serious issue in “the home of the brave, the land of the free” than I had imagined. My amazement that “we the people” would elect a person of color to be president has turned to anxiety that we would elect an out and out racist to the “White House” who willingly BRAINWASHES his supporters via the Nazi’s “Big Lie Theory.” There’s more than one historical precedent for all this – but, one in particular – and, I must remind you, Trump is of German descent. And, probably Trump’s most brilliant skill is LYING to and manipulating the media. I can only hope he’s “met his match” in Robert Mueller! Wouldn’t it be ironic if it was James Comey who was responsible for his “election” and Robert Mueller responsible for his downfall? And, personally, I believe the “downfall” could be a serious “fall.” White Collar criminal like!
Every day I listen to pundits who want to “tip toe” around the issue here. Either they are unaware of what is “Fascism,” or they are just too tepid to say it. The ones I’ve heard refer to it, suggest those of us calling it what it is are just too “liberal.” To me, that’s nonsense. The EVIDENCE continues to mount, as does the DAMAGE. The DAMAGE to America SHOULD be something even republicans care about – but, it’s becoming clearer and clearer their grip on POWER is more important to them than their oath to our constitution. To me, President Obama was a pragmatist – but, even the so-called “liberal commentators” allow his detractors to suggest he was a “flaming liberal.” This all while Trump is and has been taking credit for the booming economy Trump inherited from Obama. Trump is doing everything he can to undermine that economy and, I believe, he will succeed – and, soon we’ll be back where we were with Bush/Cheney. And, Fox will continue blaming it all on “liberals.”