Did we elect a benevolent dictator? Hardly!

By Donald A. Collins | 15 November 2024
Church and State

Now that the Trump transition begins, some voters especially Democrats may have been wondering how quickly they would see Trump begin to install his benevolent dictatorship government.

His initial nominations for key government rules are highly questionable as to their qualifications as well as to their morality, but that is of no surprise, considering the morality of the nominator.

"It took Donald Trump scarcely a week to demonstrate his utter contempt for the government he is about to lead."

Welcome to the Donald Trump Amateur Hour. Can democracy survive it? https://t.co/FrLBb43Ext

— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) November 15, 2024

One of my college classmates quickly perceived the rushing torrent of horror. He wrote:

What’s on my mind! The fox among the chickens. Trump’s nominations.

The most dangerous of his ideas is to politicize the Justice Department, the Judiciary, the Civil Service and even the Armed Forces. There is no question that these ideas come from the totalitarian regimes of the past, Communism, Fascism, Nazism. If enforced these will be the most difficult to reverse and bring back the more non-partisan governance of the country which has served us so well in the past.”

Just so my classmate can’t possibly suffer any Trump retribution, I have omitted his name assuming he wrote on the condition that he was writing anonymously!!

But my tongue in cheek suggestion about Trump retribution against my classmate forces me to note that many who were critical of Trump are now seriously planning ways to avoid prosecution, some by leaving the US.

Read here the 11/14/ Washington Post story entitled “Go bags, passports, foreign assets: Preparing to be a target of Trump’s revenge” which notes “Some prominent critics of Donald Trump, and those he has vilified as “deep state” saboteurs, are taking seriously his vow of retribution.”

Some prominent critics of Donald Trump, and those he has vilified as “deep state” saboteurs, are taking seriously his vow of retribution. https://t.co/4RVLP91TsS

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 15, 2024

Now, everyone, here is some good news! That’s the fact that Trump is immediately moving strongly ahead to forward his dictatorship administration. Democrats now can line up and call him on his every dangerous move.

Everything he does NOW belongs to him. Of course, he will claim the dandy economy was his doing and suddenly the vast crime waves he alleged under Biden (UTTERLY FALSE) won’t be mentioned again.

Trump’s initial actions stressing loyalty first are clearly in keeping with his intent to fashion his authoritarian regime.

The first certain strenuous objection to his list of questionable candidates should arise with the appointment of Matt Gaetz to be US Attorney General something apparently cooked up on his visit to Mar-a-Lago and his ride with Trump on his plane to Washington.

Gaetz has immediately resigned from Congress, which effectively ends the investigation into his previous misbehaviors and could be the real cynical reason for Trump’s appointment offer. It saves Trump the need to pardon this long-time sycophant which would normally be regarded as reprehensively corruptly using his high office for misbehaving but no longer!

However, this nomination is clearly Trump making early his attempt to co-op the authority of the Senate’s power to “advise and consent”. This will test the moral fiber of Senator John Thune of South Dakota who has just become Majority Leader. Others already have recoiled in horror including Senators Susan Collins and Barbara Makowski of Maine and Alaska along with others not yet identified have expressed their concern.

Even members of Trump’s inner circle have expressed concern and suggested there will be considerable opposition to confirmation of Gaetz when the nomination is up for review in the Senate.

You can read of this Washington Post story here.

Analysis by Aaron Blake: Anybody hoping that Trump’s top administration picks might provide any sense of normalcy has had that notion slapped out of them over the last 24 hours. Here is what Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard bring with them. https://t.co/3fevHCalPE

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 14, 2024

Some of these other dangerous nominees strongly need to be blocked as well, but not allowing Gaetz to assume this office will be a critical accomplishment if the Senate refuses to confirm the nomination.

Other questionable choices are discussed in the 11/14/24 Post piece.

For Trump, dubious nominees come in threes https://t.co/q103i72vd5

— Fernando Oliver, Esq. (@Fernand46357857) November 14, 2024

The Democratic Party will not speedily recover from Biden’s decision to run again in 2024. What a sad end to a meaningful public career, particularly his excellent record of accomplishments in his term as President. His failure to step aside and allow the many qualified Democratic alternatives the chance to establish their relevancies does not cause me to dun Harris who conducted a superb campaign.

Some analysts claim that the continuing effects of the COVID epidemic on Biden’s unpopularity made the chance of any Democratic candidate winning in 2024 highly questionable. Certainly, Biden’s failure to stem the immigrant crisis lay at the heart of voter concern and the abortion issue failed to move many women to vote for Harris as hoped.

However, with the Trump threat back, the next 2 years will see if his term will or will not be a successful fulfilment of his goal of destroying our democracy. Is the best we can hope for a stalemate?

For many of us terrified at Trump’s utter disregard of environmental threats to Planet Earth and his attacks on women’s health these remain key issues for gaining voter support for change. Getting his successor focused on retaining faith and observance of our Constitution and the rule of law must be a primary starting point for a recovery of our democracy!

Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC, has spent over 50 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”, “Trump Becoming Macbeth: Will our democracy survive?”, “We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”, “What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”, “Vote”, “Can Homo Sapiens Survive?”, “Will Choice and Democracy Win?”, “Can Our U.S. Survive 8 Plus Billion of Us”, “Economic Growth: A Cancer on all Earthly Life”, “On the Precipice of Political Disaster in 2024”, “Democracy at Red State Risk”, “Does Trump Go to Jail or to The Oval Office?” and “Trump: Pardon or Punish?: The Nixon Precedence Was Not A Trump Coup Denied!”.

“What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”: https://t.co/fHuh0CG6JD
“We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”: https://t.co/TA4j7cp1tE
“From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”: https://t.co/lkC2t3E1A9 pic.twitter.com/bQsL2mLBcO

— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) November 1, 2021