And if Trump Wins, What?

And if Trump Wins, What?

A Mere Viktor Orbán-like “Illiberal Democracy” or…. What Trump Tells You He Will Do? Retribution

“In British and American law, a posse comitatus is a group of people who are mobilized by the sheriff to suppress lawlessness in the county. In any classic Western film, when a lawman gathers a ‘posse’ to pursue the outlaws, they are forming a posse comitatus. The [US] Posse Comitatus Act is so named because one of the things it prohibits is using soldiers rather than civilians as a posse comitatus.” 

Brennan Center (10/14/21)

“We have the outside enemy and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within is, in my opinion, more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries… I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military.”

October 13th Trump interview by Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, referencing Democratic “radical-leftists” like Adam Schiff & Nancy Pelosi

“We have safeguards in our system against lunatic things… Look, I’m not going to defend every single thing [Trump has] ever said in his lifetime. ... There’s a lot of things people say in overstatement. ... Overstatement is the mother’s milk of politics.” 

Ken Khachigian, Trump-supporter and former trusted speechwriter and strategist to Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, LA Times, 10/17

I already have dealt with obvious economic realities that would of necessity make Donald Trump’s economic pledges a total disaster for the United States, far, far worse that the cost of implementing Kamala Harris’ platform – see my recent How to Screw Up a Solid Economy – Politics blog – so today I will focus on the main plank of his political agenda: retribution. Make no mistake about what many of his followers believe; a quarter of MAGA Republicans surveyed say that Trump should do “whatever it takes” to take the presidency on inauguration day. His own words speak of bloodshed and violence should he lose, militia are preparing to back him, election officials in too many states make it clear that they will not certify a Harris victory, phalanxes of lawyers across the land are ready to file immediate lawsuits in states where Trump may lose by a narrow vote, and while there was no measurable fraud in 2020, Trump has prepared for the “rigged” November, without mentioning that he and his followers are doing all of the rigging.

But for all that prospective violence, perhaps a full-on civil war, that horrible reality is not my major concern; my greatest fear is retribution he is committed to do, repeatedly, if elected. Indeed, neither the Posse Comitatus Act nor the Constitution are even mild deterrents to his coopting the Department of Justice to arrest, convict and incarcerate (or execute) his political opponents, and the military plus armed MAGA followers to arrest them. Trump has gone so far as to name high-ranking individual Democrats who will be targeted, news media whom he believes are biased against him to be shut down or lose their broadcast licenses and how he would otherwise treat anyone who has opposed him.

All the GOP apologists for Trump, those who dismiss his rhetoric as merely “political” posturing, have created a monster, a political candidate who literally is following the fascist playbook, even to use exactly the same verbiage of demonization (“lunatics,” Marxists,” “vermin,” “radical leftists/communists,” “perverts,” etc.) that Hitler used to gain and sustain power in WWII-era Germany. It’s no wonder that, excluding the existing autocrats in Europe, there is general concern and consternation on that continent if the once-hailed “capital of the democratic world” should truly succumb to fascism, if elected. Yes, like so many in the United States, including some of our recent military commanders at the highest levels, they call Trump’s agenda “fascist.”

Many in Trump’s inner circle when he was President, including his attorney general, defense secretary, and chairman of the joint chiefs, former congressional Republicans and even his Vice President, warn of the dangers if he is reelected. Yes Republicans who want to preserve their electability – the same people who called Trump dangerous and unhinged in 2021 or earlier – are willing to back Trump saying, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and JD Vance (among Trump’s most vitriolic critics, even in recent times) have noted. “we’re on the same team now.” And when you realize that Trump faces criminal trials and probable conviction if he lacks the power to shut down those efforts, it just might be time to consider exactly how such a desperate president would wield his power. For those who think his threats as just “words,” they are living in an imaginary world.

As NY Times journalist Peter Baker said in an October 16th interview on Puck.com, using a “moderate” Virginia governor as an example of why he backs Trump: “Glenn Youngkin wanting to have a future in the Republican Party, I presume. He felt he was in that box and couldn’t avoid the question, so he had to reframe the question and give a different answer to the question that was actually asked… There’s been this long-standing argument on the part of a lot of folks, including Republicans, saying, Well, you know, Trump says stuff, he doesn’t really follow through, he doesn’t really mean it. And on some things, that’s true, if you go back and look at his four years. But there are quite a number of things he did follow through on, or at least tried to, and that he was talked out of or restrained by the people around him—who will not be around him in a second term. And I think for anybody who wonders whether Trump would go as far as his most provocative language, well, I think January 6 answered that question.” Trump has repeatedly stated he would “terminate” the Constitution if he deemed it necessary.

Trump’s retribution will even extend to entire “blue” states. As LA Times columnist, Mark Barabak noted on October 17th, “If elected, he vowed to punish [California] — which is to say its more than 39 million residents — by withholding federal disaster aid should California’s leaders refuse to give more water to farmers and cities. (That would come at the expense of the environment and others denied their share.)… ‘If [Governor Newsom] doesn’t sign those papers,’ Trump told reporters, ‘we won’t give him money to put out all his fires.’ It was unclear what papers Trump referred to, but there was no mistaking his strong-arm sentiment.” In blaming California for those fires, he fails to mention that the California forests under federal control are the biggest hazard.

Trump twists the 1782 Insurrection Act as justification for his massive use of force against his “enemies.” The Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, also a clear distortion of the Constitution, has energized Trump into a belief that if reelected President, he has been handed an autocratic blank check by the highest court in the land. “‘It’s absolutely essential that Democrats have majorities and that we continue to do vigorous oversight and if necessary, hold him accountable again, because the Supreme Court has decided that he is unbound, unshackled by criminal law,” [California Congressman Adam] Schiff said… He can be whatever kind of criminal he wants as president and he is practically untouchable. So Congress’ role as the essential guardrail has only become more and more important.’

“Schiff said a Trump win would no doubt ‘elevate the personal risk’ for [the congressman] and Trump’s other critics, but they aren’t backing down… Schiff helped investigate Trump’s campaign ties to Russia at the start of Trump’s presidency, helped lead Trump’s impeachment for soliciting political favors while withholding military aid from Ukraine and helped investigate Trump’s incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by supporters intent on blocking the certification of President Biden’s election — for which Trump was impeached a second time… For that work, Trump has called Schiff a ‘traitor’ who should be ousted from office and severely punished. He also accused Pelosi of treason.” Kevin Rector for the October 19th LA Times.

In that same edition, LZ Granderson, looks at how the Trump family looks at the world from the perspective of real estate developers: “Jared Kushner, a former White House advisor and son-in-law to Donald Trump, said, ‘It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there… Gaza’s waterfront property, it could be very valuable, if people would focus on building up livelihoods’… Whose livelihoods? It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the livelihood of Palestinians is a priority for Netanyahu or Trump, who reportedly is exploring real estate opportunities in the region. For nearly 20 years, Gaza has been an open-air prison, according to the U.N.”

I did not even look at how Trump go is willing to go beyond ICE and (unlawfully) use National Guard, the US military and local law enforcement to round-up suspected immigrants to be sent to detention camps pending deportation with little or no review… by deputizing MAGA militia to join the quest for those “blood poisoning” illegals… by the millions. Fascism is ugly, and even uglier where the US Supreme Court itself has provided a ruling in favor a declared autocrat to be a brutal dictator. Brown shirts, anyone?

I’m Peter Dekom, and while many Americans do not believe Trump will actually be as extreme as he says, while others hope he is, I think voters should listen to Trump’s own words, repeated often, and BELIEVE HIM.