Friday, October 25, 2024

Why Not?: Rules for Thee But Not for Me

This is the eighth in a series of posts on the reasons I will not be voting to return the former president to the White House. My focus here is not to support his opponent but instead to explain why I believe that Donald Trump is manifestly unqualified for the role.

My dad didn't read much growing up - at least not willingly. (I've come to believe he had undiagnosed dyslexia, which made reading a chore rather than a joy.) But there was one book he read in school that he mentioned enjoying - George Orwell's Animal Farm. I distinctly remember him quoting from it to justify his role as the key decision-maker in my life as a kid:
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
It was a good-natured joke in our family...

...but unfortunately it is the painful reality of the former president's view of crime, policing, and taking responsibility for his own actions.

Rules for Thee...
"When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just seen them thrown in, rough. I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ When you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head you know, the way you put their hand over [their head]. Like, 'Don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody, don’t hit their head.' I said, 'You can take the hand away, OK?'"
"If you had one day, like one real rough, nasty day... One rough hour and I mean real rough. The word will get out and it will end immediately. End immediately. It’ll end immediately."
In the decades since his newspaper ads calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five, Trump has repeatedly endorsed harsher penalties for a wide range of crimes, including threatening 10-year prison terms for anyone vandalizing a statue or other federal monument, suggesting that people who sell illegal drugs should be executed, and praising the president of the Philippines for his approach to drugs, which included the extrajudicial killings of thousands of suspected drug dealers by both police and vigilantes. Trump publicly suggested that soldiers could shoot at people at US borders who throw rocks at them, reportedly suggested in private in 2019 that soldiers shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down, and reportedly made a similar comment about shooting protesters in the legs during the height of the social justice demonstrations prompted by a Minneapolis police officer’s murder of George Floyd in 2020.
For an overwhelming look at who the former president has threatened with prosecution, this NPR story includes an infographic that sorts out Mr. Trump's over 100 threats by the various categories of people that he has proclaimed should be arrested, jailed, punished, subjected to military tribunals, court-martialed, etc. .  
“I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”
“Well, revenge does take time. I will say that... And sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil, I have to be honest. You know, sometimes it can.”
"When this election is over, based on what they've done, I would have every right to go after them.”
...But Not For Me
"As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts — The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a decades old photo in a line with her then husband does not count), and the Georgia “Perfect” Phone Call charges. The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!"
(Donald Trump on Truth Social, July 2024)
"The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration weaponized department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country." 
The former president has every right to have his day in court - but the outright dismissal of charges because he screams "It's all political!" is not justice. 

And whining about abuses of power (his words) when you are obsessed about revenge and retribution (also his words) is really quite something. Especially when you managed to get through your trial in New York, violate the judge's gag order at least ten (10!) times, be found in contempt of court, and still not manage to end up spending a night in jail. 

I'm not expecting most of my readers to follow these links - but in case you want more detail about the actual charges that the former president so blithely dismisses, you can read the superseding indictments in the January 6 case and the classified documents case. You can also read the brief on immunity determination for the January 6 case.

Yes, I realize that Judge Cannon dismissed the documents case based on [checks notes] the special prosecutor being illegally appointed... but that decision is currently being appealed and is unlikely to withstand the scrutiny of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. I'm also aware that Judge Cannon has been listed by the Trump campaign as a possible candidate for attorney general [insert raised eyebrow here].

One final link: the Legal Eagle YouTube channel has posted a video that lays out many of my concerns about the former president from a legal perspective. You may well not agree with their choice to endorse the other candidate - but I appreciated the clear way they made the argument similar to the one I'm trying to make.

Real Justice
When a judge says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
    he will be cursed by all people; he will be hated by nations.
But those who reprimand evildoers will be celebrated,
    and good fortune will come their way.
(Proverbs 24:24-25 VOICE)
Never take vengeance into your own hands, my dear friends: stand back and let God punish if he will. For it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repay’.
(Romans 12:19 PHILLIPS)

Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips; how much worse are lies for a ruler. (Proverbs 17:7 HCSB)

Don’t pervert justice. Don’t show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right.
(Leviticus 19:15 MSG)
But let justice run down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream [flowing abundantly]. 
(Amos 5:24 AMP)

Important reminder: I am not attempting to defend the Biden administration or the Harris candidacy. I am simply pointing out that Donald Trump's view of "justice" is skewed by anger & a desire for vengeance and that behavior does not deserve and will not receive my support.

The first post in this series focuses on tariff policy - at this point, Mr. Trump's belief that tariffs are a "magic wand" that can cure all sorts of problems - child care, grocery prices, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., etc. They're not.

The second post in this series focuses on immigration policy - the dehumanizing language, the abject lies, and the unbelievably foolish promises of mass deportation.

The third post in this series focuses on Mr. Trump's narcissism and potential cognitive decline.

The fourth post in this series focuses on the unbelievable record of lying by Mr. Trump.


The sixth post in this series focuses on the extraordinarily odd decisions on the part of so many voters to support Mr. Trump despite his obvious disdain for their opinions and needs.

The seventh post in this series focuses on the opposition of many of his former staff to his re-election as well as his possible choices for government positions of unqualified (at best) individuals. (This post was written prior to the release of more extensive reporting of John Kelly's rejection of Mr. Trump.)
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