written 7 July, 2024
published 14 July 2024
On September 11th, 2001, watching the Twin Towers fall, I felt gut punched, realizing the whole world had changed that day. That attack by foreign terrorists used planes. This July 1st, I felt the same way, but this time, domestic terrorists used their position of trust. The Supreme Court decided to grant immunity to the president, destroying the foundation of our society: equal application of the law. This clarifies the election. The GOP has dropped its mask, and stands revealed as a party that prioritizes profits over principles, party over country, driven by self-righteous religious fervor.
The GOP was forced to tip its hand in order to keep their felonious, morally compromised candidate out of court before the election, giving a modest window for effective response. Because Biden is president, he is now immune, and can never be prosecuted. Further, Biden is now "King Joe", with previously unrealized executive powers, should he choose to act.
Floods of suggestions have been offered, ranging from expanding the Supreme Court to arresting Trump as a "national threat", and sequestering him in Guantanamo. The Republicans on the Supreme Court could be removed from the bench, as allowed in the Constitution, for failing to act with "good behavior" while in office, and then arrested for treasonous acts and perjury during their Senate confirmations. Simple assassination has been suggested as the most expeditious remedy, now "legal" when declared "official acts". But just because corrupt GOP judges have given "King Joe" these sweeping powers, actually having moral values precludes such acts, so a more refined response is needed.
The goal is restoration of the rule of law, and the first step should be a resounding electoral defeat of the GOP authoritarian power grab. With control of Congress and the White House, Supreme Court reform could proceed, with term limits and mandatory ethical standards, previously unnecessary until this MAGA Court.
Towards this end, "King Joe" can declare that presidential election be decided by popular vote, eliminating the structurally skewed Electoral College and the swing state drama, which has allowed minority rule for decades. The President and Vice President are the only people selected by all voters, so applying popular voting to them is reasonable, and doesn't affect any other part of the electoral system. Five of the six renegade members of the Supreme Court were selected by Bush the younger, and Trump, both losers of the popular vote, so their judges don't represent the will of the people.
The National Popular Vote bill is an existing agreement between states that vow to cast all their electoral votes for the national winner of the popular vote, to take effect when states totaling more than 270 votes agree. So far, 18 states, with a total of 209 votes, are on board. Another 7 states, with Democratic governors, have 87 more votes, and most have already had hearings on this bill, so are possibly open to supporting immediate federal action.
"King Joe" can decree election day to be a national holiday, mandating that no one wait in line for more than 1/2 an hour to vote. Further, harassing poll workers could be made a Class A felony, with strong fines and jail time. The National Guard could be assigned to secure every polling station to deter voter intimidation.
Strategically, the Democratic campaign should shift the focus away from the personality conflict between Trump and Biden, onto the stark policy differences between the parties. Whatever Biden's actual limitations, he is an ethical man, with ethical people advising him, unlike his opponent. The GOP has made it clear: ethics have no place in their drive for absolute power. This election is between representational democracy, with law applied equally to all, versus theocratic autocracy, where the powerful few are "special", operating under different rules that advantage themselves.
Trump's personality is a tar baby distraction, sucking attention away from the complete lack of publicized GOP policy goals. The real GOP action has proceeded in secret, planning a "shock and awe" project to gut the government, and rapidly install an autocratic alternative to dominate every aspect of American life, as outlined in the massive Project 2025 document, available online.
A unified Democratic campaign should completely ignore Trump (further infuriating him), and pound on the policy differences between the two parties, to make sure every voter knows exactly what the GOP Project 2025 plans for them. We win on policy, not personality.
