Reports of Checks and Balances Have Been Grossly Exaggerated

May 30, 2017

It’s getting a little crazy out there. After only two-hundred-three days of post-election Trump saturation, some of us have become aroused to violence. So far, this unpleasant Trump poison side effect has been largely confined to either the clinically insane or the criminally narcissistic – mostly Nazis and Texas Republicans.

Like any toxin, it starts with the weakest among us; in this case, those predisposed to violent anti-social behavior. The Nazi in Portland comes as no real surprise – disconnected, in and out of institutions, a card-carrying member of our angriest sub-culture – he was on his way to a dark place. Religious hate was the path of least resistance. The Donald just contributed some guidance.

The Montana millionaire who attacked the reporter, while a little surprising, is understandable. He’s a rich guy, used to getting his way and that reporter was mean to him. Millionaires have little experience with criticism. So, when confronted he looked to party leadership – and saw the Donald suggesting followers “take care of” pesky reporters. Who can blame the guy, he was just following leadership?

The Texas rep who threatened a fellow representative with violence, of course, is in an early stage of the Trump poisoning – as is the governor who offered coaching on how to best shoot reporters. But, given enough time without aggressive treatment they will fall to the next stage and start acting on their inclination. A sane society would quarantine them. (But then, a sane society would jail Trump!)

Ironically, the people most likely to be infected with Trump poisoning are the people responsible for containing him. The few remaining mainstream Republicans continue to ignore Trump’s toxic effect on the country because they think he’s the quickest way to fulfill their agenda. Each day they ignore their responsibility to check and balance the Donald they become less capable of performing that duty. By the 2018 elections they’ll be too weak to do that, or any other, job.

The republic requires replacement of all violence prone Trump tainted congresspeople. We can’t expect the republic to function with only two branches of government. It was designed for three, with a noisy irritating, unmolested press.

In Peace and Justice,
osv

PS-
One real concern is what happens when people get fed up with the attacks from above and start fighting/shooting back? And they will. Expect saccharine outrage from the Trump violent when answered in kind. This has happened before, and it sucked.