Will, it seems we agree on the objective(s), but not necessarily on strategy or tactics.
I think there is no higher value in our less-than-perfect democracy than the rule of law and the revolutionary notion that it should be applied evenly to all law breakers based on the crime(s) they may have committed, not on their station in life, pol…
Will, it seems we agree on the objective(s), but not necessarily on strategy or tactics.
I think there is no higher value in our less-than-perfect democracy than the rule of law and the revolutionary notion that it should be applied evenly to all law breakers based on the crime(s) they may have committed, not on their station in life, political beliefs or the friends/enemies they may have. If running for president could get crooks off the hook, then they would be counseled to do so by their attorneys. Perhaps Trump will be remembered as a pioneer in this sense, but it will be the end of everything most of us hold dear.
There is no mention in the Constitution of special privileges for anyone suspected of committing a crime, with the sole exception of a sitting President, and there is no reason to think that crimes committed while in office should be forgotten, forgiven or glossed over in any way once the suspected criminal is out of office and subject to prosecution. Period.
The most overtly political thing Garland could do at this point is to fail to indict.
House arrest -- instead of prison time -- with no phone calls would be an invitation to subsequent leaders to commit further criminal acts and would set a democracy-cancelling precedent.
Does this mean that Ronald Reagan, Dubya Bush and a slew of their enablers ought to have gone to jail for a variety of illegal (often secret) activities, admittedly carried out with some sort of highish-minded intention to further national security? My instinct is to say yes and that we are in this situation with Trump because some of his predecessors were held to an inadequately high standard, but as they were never impeached or seriously investigated by the FBI or DOJ, enough time has passed that it becomes a moot point.
As important as Biden's good governance is, it is second on my list of urgent necessities.
Will, it seems we agree on the objective(s), but not necessarily on strategy or tactics.
I think there is no higher value in our less-than-perfect democracy than the rule of law and the revolutionary notion that it should be applied evenly to all law breakers based on the crime(s) they may have committed, not on their station in life, political beliefs or the friends/enemies they may have. If running for president could get crooks off the hook, then they would be counseled to do so by their attorneys. Perhaps Trump will be remembered as a pioneer in this sense, but it will be the end of everything most of us hold dear.
There is no mention in the Constitution of special privileges for anyone suspected of committing a crime, with the sole exception of a sitting President, and there is no reason to think that crimes committed while in office should be forgotten, forgiven or glossed over in any way once the suspected criminal is out of office and subject to prosecution. Period.
The most overtly political thing Garland could do at this point is to fail to indict.
House arrest -- instead of prison time -- with no phone calls would be an invitation to subsequent leaders to commit further criminal acts and would set a democracy-cancelling precedent.
Does this mean that Ronald Reagan, Dubya Bush and a slew of their enablers ought to have gone to jail for a variety of illegal (often secret) activities, admittedly carried out with some sort of highish-minded intention to further national security? My instinct is to say yes and that we are in this situation with Trump because some of his predecessors were held to an inadequately high standard, but as they were never impeached or seriously investigated by the FBI or DOJ, enough time has passed that it becomes a moot point.
As important as Biden's good governance is, it is second on my list of urgent necessities.