Drinking Fascist Whine

It is March 31, which marks the one day anniversary of the news that a Manhattan, New York Grand Jury has voted to indict former President Donald John Trump for upwards of thirty felony charges relating to fraud committed in the furtherance of his political career. The crimes took place when he arranged for payment of money to silence a porn star named Stormy Daniels who had sex with Trump while his wife was wither pregnant or recovering from having Trump’s son Barron. Daniels had planned to go public with the information when Trump was running for President in 2016, which Trump felt could damage his political ambitions.

In this case, Trump recorded the payoff as a legal retainer for his then lawyer Michael Cohen, who has already been convicted for that crime. In that case, Trump was identified as co-conspirator number one, though not named directly. Cohen, for his part, saw the error of his ways and made a full confession accepting his wrongdoing, and has since fully cooperated with law enforcement.

Yesterday’s indictment is under seal, and we expect Trump to be arraigned in Manhattan in the coming days, and we’ll get to know the details of the charges, as well as some idea of the steps going forward.

This is a sober moment for our country, as no President, former or current, has ever been indicted on criminal charges. (Former Vice-President Spiro Agnew was charged and convicted of income tax evasion, and his boss, Richard Nixon, would likely have been charged after his resignation had his successor Gerald Ford not issued him a full pardon “for the good of the nation.”)

But this is also a day of celebration, as we can finally put muscle behind the claim that in America, no one is above the law.

Of course not everyone is happy about this. I spent a couple of hours this morning (while waiting for bread to rise) watching the right-wing media pundits and Trump acolytes go into conniptions over this news. Their responses were predictable, though pathetic. They have taken up the torch of desperation and moved from pearl-clutching to accusations of politically motivated bias. To them, the Manhattan District Attorney, as well as the grand jury are all corrupt leftists, funding by George Soros. (This last is a dog whistle to antisemitism, as Soros is an internationally known Jew of European birth.)

All of this whining both angered and amused me. It angered me because each of their screeds were nothing but gaslighting and lies, but likely to inflame the base they inform. And it is likely that we will see violence perpetrated against Americans by these fascist supporting dupes. While it amused me to see them sweat and squirm.

Their words claimed that this will drive support for Trump, and guarantee his election to President next year, though their eyes told a different story. A story of fear, for some of these people can see themselves facing similar legal jeopardy in the future, and others the demise of their careers.

This is especially outlandish coming from the talking heads on Fox network, who have already been outed for knowingly lying about Trump and his culpability between themselves in private emails – which have come to light as part of lawsuits by Dominion Voting Systems, who is suing Fox for 1.6 Billion dollars over that networks false and malicious claims of fraud by Dominion during the 2020 Presidential election. Yes, Fox knew Trump lost and that Dominion did nothing wrong, but they claimed it anyway.

And I sit here with my spirits lifted by this news, and not a small amount concerned about what might befall our country for this action. Hopefully the MAGA base will confine themselves to kvetching and weeping, and refrain from violent acts. Though here I may be the one who is naive.

And no, I don’t think this will catapult Trump to the Presidential victory in 2024, but I do believe it will inspire and encourage his faithful. What will happen in the next election is unknowable. Trump lost by over seven million votes in the last election (though five million of these were in California alone), and it is unlikely he has gained popularity since then. But the political left isn’t a unified mass. The Democratic party is somewhat fractured, and a substantial portion prone to apathy in elections. On top of that, we have the current President already the oldest man to be elected to the office, and this in the face of a call for more a more youthful Presidential candidate. It remains to be seen if Biden will run for reelection (though he said he would, he hasn’t declared his candidacy yet). And which Democrat might step into that role should he decide not to, or should age and health catch up with him and end his career in Politics, is not apparent.

We may face troubles here at home, and we may yet face troubles internationally, but today we can take a breath and smile. Finally.

Finally, after all these years of watching the bloviating mobster of an ex-President (from before, during, and after his term) get away with crimes, we are seeing justice come home. This has just begun, and conviction isn’t guaranteed. But it has begun just the same, and this gives hope that the State of Georgia and the US Department Of Justice will follow up with their own charges. Charges for more serious crimes. Crimes which weren’t conducted to get elected, but done to stop the transfer of power after he lost an election.

Breathe. Smile. Take comfort that we have laws and independent prosecutors and juries of the people.

Juries made up of We The People.