D

D

By

Leonard Zwelling

The election of 2020 tested our democracy like little else has. We passed. With a D. We will not make the honor roll of democratic countries with a performance like that.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/us/politics/trump-election.html

This article in The New York Times on November 19 lists the many obstructions attempted by Republican forces from the canvassing board of Wayne County, Michigan where the certification of the Detroit vote was temporarily blocked, to the office of the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham and Mr. Graham’s insistence that the election is not over. This is utter nonsense and begs the issue of who is operating in reality. Certainly not many Republicans.

Up until this blog I have tried to honor those who voted for Mr. Trump by acquiescing to the fact that they were entitled to their opinions even if they were not ones to which I adhered. I also tried to understand their point of view and acceded to the fact that Mr. Trump had done some good things, especially in the area of foreign policy and certainly gets credit for the booming pre-covid economy. But enough is enough. Go away! Bye, Don!

The actions by these Republicans to delay the transition from the Trump to the Biden Administration is damaging to the country. It undermines our faith in the voting process which, by all accounts, was the best ever this year. It will inhibit the hand-off at the State Department and at the CIA to the new teams and will adversely affect the ability of the Biden team to get the coronavirus vaccine out to all who need it. This is simply unconscionable and I blame the Republican leaders for all of it, especially Mitch McConnell who could end it all by saying, “President-elect Biden.” I don’t expect anything else from Trump who is a big baby and a sore loser, but from the GOP leaders in the Senate, only of few of whom have spoken up (e.g., Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey of all people), I expected more. I don’t know why. They have knuckled under to Trump for four years. Why stop now?

The United States is looking like a Third World country to our allies and as bait to our enemies. Surely men like Graham know better than to go on with this lunacy. Trump lost—even more than Biden won. The GOP, on the other hand, did very well in congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative elections. Celebrate that and help Biden move into the White House. The result clearly indicates that Trump, not the GOP, was the unpopular item on the ballot.

The United States barely passed the test the Founding Fathers knew was coming of what to do about an autocrat trying to secure the reins of power in perpetuity. If Trump had his way he would have served two terms, then Don, Jr., two, then Ivanka, two more. Now the whole family can go to New York, or Florida or wherever. Maybe to jail. They may try to stage a comeback, but I think the rest of the GOP will be moving on from Trumpism to assume its normal role of a responsible conservative party in a right of center country. These people trying to deny reality are to be ignored. Biden is doing a good job of doing just that.

Just say for me, we have had enough Clintons, Bushes, and Trumps for the rest of American history. The Founders never assumed that leading would be a family matter. They had had enough of that with King George. There’s a reason that there have been few father-son presidential teams. It’s a bad idea. The presidency is not the family business that you leave to your kids. It’s Mr. Biden’s turn. Mr. Trump and allies—get out of the way and take your kids with you.