Wednesday 25 September 2024

The US election. Trump must lose

Thanks to Kamala Harris, Trump’s chance of winning the presidency for a second time has fallen, but it remains a distinct possibility. The polls have the VP narrowly ahead and we should all pray that she trounces him and the Republicans in November so the party can rebuild and shake free from the grip that Putin and the Russians have on it. America needs to look at itself seriously and begin to investigate how it got where it is. One important area they need to check is the Supreme Court (SC) and the whole issue of the politicisation of the legal system.

The SC has ruled that the president has immunity from prosecution for ‘official acts’ which a lot of legal scholars think gives him virtually carte blanche to do whatever he wants. Smart lawyers will find every reason to conclude anything and everything he does is official business. This ruling was drafted by Chief Justice Roberts who told senators at his confirmation hearing in 2005 that nobody, including the president, was above the law. Well, now he is.

Six of the nine judges are openly Republicans and the others openly Democrat. Trump himself appointed three of them. Another, Clarence Thomas, was appointed in 1991 by George W Bush despite allegations of inappropriate behaviour and has sat ever since, nearly 34 years.  He is said to have "contributed significantly to the conservative character of the nation’s highest court in the 1990s and after the turn of the century."

Thomas is openly corrupt, taking $2.4 million at least in declared gifts, far more than any of the others. The next highest is Justice Allito, a George H Bush appointee in 2006, who has received $750,000, but all have taken something. Note that the previous liberal chief justice, William Rehnquist, received nothing during his 19 years on the SC.  Thomas's wife Ginni is a known Republican activist and Trump devotee.

All of which has resulted in this immunity ruling designed to give Donald Trump almost unlimited powers to do as he likes unrestrained by the courts.

Listen to Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democratic senator and lawyer, on the issue: 

Biden or Trump or Harris could commit treason and be above the law. Think about that. And think about who is likely to commit treason.  If you aren't sure, listen to some of Trump's recent speeches like the one below:

This is apart from overwhelming evidence that Russia interfered in Trump's 2016 victory and is still meddling in the 2024 election to ensure Trump wins again.

If that isn't worrying enough for us in Europe, what about Project 2025, the 920-page plan prepared by a right-wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation, to reimagine government in America, assuming Trump is in power after January 2025? 

Every American ought to be absolutely horrified by Project 2025, summarised in this 2-minute video by Mehdi Hassan:

With 45% of Americans seemingly supporting Trump and everything he represents, we are as close to the total destruction of the United States as we have ever been in my lifetime.

We can only pray that Harris wins on November 5th and that the Democrats also win the Senate and the House of Representatives, although only 33 senators are up for election this time around, all 425 representatives in the House must face the voters. 

Some states are already trying to change the rules allowing them to block certification of the presidential election result, which would leave the system in limbo. And if the winner can't be certified officially on the election and the ballot, it will be up to the House of Representatives to choose the president, while senators will choose the vice president.

And nobody knows what might happen then.

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