By Donald A. Collins | 4 January 2021
Church and State
Far better writers than I have already stated the case proposed in my title, but without stating it, as with only 16 days to go perhaps some feel why bother?
Trying to kill our constitutional democracy with an attempt at an authoritarian coupe is behavior worth the bother!
Let’s see what kind of reaction comes this week from both parties and the media.
In my view Trump’s call to Raffensperger should cause his immediate impeachment and conviction even though Trump is only 16 days from his exit!
The hourlong tape obtained by the Washington Post, run endlessly on tv yesterday was page one on its 1/4/21 front page today as follows:
President Trump urged fellow Republican Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat in an extraordinary one-hour phone call Saturday that legal scholars described as a flagrant abuse of power and a potential criminal act.
The Washington Post obtained a recording of the conversation in which Trump alternately berated Raffensperger, tried to flatter him, begged him to act and threatened him with vague criminal consequences if the secretary of state refused to pursue his false claims, at one point warning that Raffensperger was taking “a big risk.”
Throughout the call, Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel rejected Trump’s assertions, explaining that the president is relying on debunked conspiracy theories and that President-elect Joe Biden’s 11,779-vote victory in Georgia was fair and accurate.
The full story is here.
Exclusive | "I just want to find 11,780 votes": In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor https://t.co/NTT3hTvcrR
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 3, 2021
Then veteran columnist, WP’s Dan Balz, wrote right under the WP story a piece which I can’t improve on, except to hope for immediate efforts to implement the suggestion, in my title.
There are but 16 days left in President Trump’s term, but there is no doubt that he will use all of his remaining time in office to inflict as much damage as he can on democracy — with members of a now-divided Republican Party acting as enablers.
That there are no limits to the lengths to which he will go in this ruinous effort was made clear from a phone call he made Saturday to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In the call, Trump repeatedly urged Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to allow the secretary to recalculate the election results to show that the president, rather than President-elect Joe Biden, won the state.
The call, an audio recording of which was obtained by The Washington Post’s Amy Gardner, was as outrageous as it was chilling. Legal experts can debate how close to the line Trump was with the telephone call. Others can speculate about the president’s current state of mind. The content of the call speaks for itself, and the audio excerpts should be heard by anyone who cares about the integrity of elections in America.
Here was a desperate president alternately begging, pleading, cajoling and, yes, seeming to threaten a state official — and fellow Republican — by asking for a change in the outcome of an election that already had been recounted and then certified.
Again you can read the entire piece here.
Analysis: Trump knows no limits as he tries to overturn the election https://t.co/Ogr95KSDWL
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 4, 2021
Then conservative columnist Michael Gerson weighs in with the same message and others call for strong action against those Republican Senators and House members who failed to stop the spread of these outrageous allegations, but in fact are still standing up for them.
Here’s one you can read which sharply admonishes those who took Trump’s false allegations: It’s impeachable. It’s likely illegal. It’s a coup.
Opinion: The Senate’s coup-staging "Dirty Dozen" shouldn’t be allowed to hold office https://t.co/iTwe4sDDDK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 4, 2021
The deep split in the GOP is evident and now we can determine who its good guys and gals are (e.g. Romney and Cheney on the issue of Trump’s culpability) when we move into the election in Georgia this week.
At least Richard Nixon had enough sense of honor to resign. Trump has no sense honor. As I predicted in my earlier op ed, many will now see this fact and perhaps want to retrieve the GOP or even find a new political party with some sense of honor.
Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC., has spent over 40 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013.
From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013
By Donald A. Collins
Publisher: Church and State Press (July 30, 2014)
ASIN: B00MA40TVE
Kindle Store
Audio: Trump berates Ga. secretary of state, urges him to ‘find’ votes
Analysis of President Trump’s phone call to Georgia’s secretary of state
Trump’s Georgia Call Is Impeachable and an Abuse of Power, Democrats Say
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