Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Legitimate or Not, Trump Needs to be Stopped

Congressman and National Civil Rights Icon John Lewis (D-SC) sparked a media dust-up when he told NBC's Chuck Todd, "I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president. I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected and they have destroyed the candidacy of Hillary Clinton." Donald Trump, who must always have the last word, responded by tweeting "Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to..... mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!" The proper view, however, is not whether Mr. Trump's election was legitimate, but rather what can be done to ensure he is ineffective?

On Friday at noon Eastern Standard Time, Donald Trump will take the oath of office as president, barring an act of God. This journal is certain that the Russian government worked on his behalf during the recent election. Russian meddling in American politics is in its tenth decade (the Communist Party of the USA was funded from Moscow starting in the 1920s). This journal is also certain that Mrs. Clinton ran a bad campaign amateurishly (no positive message to America's underclass), and there were 16 Republicans who could have defeated Mr. Trump had they done a decent job of organizing and campaigning against him. Simply put, while Mr. Putin helped elected Mr. Trump, so did a great many American politicians, as well as 62 million American voters (a sizeable minority).

Whether a man legitimately holds power is not important so long as he wields power effectively. If his orders are followed, if his policies are implemented, it is irrelevant to the bottom line whether he came to office legitimately. Latin American history is littered with leaders who became president of their countries through extra-constitutional means. It didn't diminish their power one iota.

Legitimately elected or not, Mr. Trump is going to sign bills that change American law. He will pursue foreign objectives that are different from those others might follow. He will make speeches on topics that set the national agenda in ways others cannot. He will be the president for the next four years, unless impeached, forced to resign or taken to the great Reality TV show in the sky by a merciful Providence.

Arguing over whether he does this because of a fair and traditional process is ridiculous. What needs to happen is for his opponents to mount as much defense against his plans as they can. The Democrats in the US Senate must make certain nothing happens, just as Mitch McConnell ensured that the US Senate did nothing to aid Barack Obama in his efforts to change the country. The states where anti-Trump politicians hold sway must begin erecting roadblocks to his policies. In smaller jurisdictions, the same must happen.

This journal believes that Donald Trump will, if he can, destroy the NATO alliance, undermine the United Nations, scuttle other international organizations and agreements, and as a result, he will destabilize the world order (which is fragile enough). At home, he will pit people against one another rather than unite them because hate won him votes. He will wreck the economy because he is a businessman with a record of failure, suggesting he doesn't understand the economy. He will make America poorer, weaker and dumber than it would otherwise be. Whether he does so because he was unfairly elected is beside the point.

The non-Trump forces in the US failed, and now, rather than moving America forward, the next four years must be devoted to prevent it moving backwards. Playing defense is never fun, and it doesn't put points on the board. But stopping something bad from happening is doing something good.

© Copyright 2017 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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