Published

2 years ago

December 24, 2023

Alice Rush

From his home in Buckinghamshire, England, my colleague Gary Tulie (pictured) writes:

Dear Craig,

I have been watching with interest the unfolding legal drama concerning whether or not Donald Trump did or did not engage in insurrection, and if he did, whether such disqualifies him from seeking the office of presidency.

The Supreme Court of Colorado has now ruled that he did engage in insurrection and so is disqualified, however said decision will now almost certainly result in an appeal to the federal Supreme Court whose ruling might in some way differ!

The sad thing is that whichever side the court rules on, there will be a substantial proportion of the population which considers the ruling an illegitimate use of the court’s powers and therefore considers whoever is eventually voted into the role to not be legitimately elected as president.

It seems to me that there is huge potential for civil disobedience, violence, filibustering, blocking the process of governing and decision making, and even a likelihood of assassination attempts, further attempts at insurrection and the nation potentially all but ungovernable with national guard units widely on the streets supporting the police and trying to keep a lid on the trouble so arising. US democracy (flawed as it is) deserves better, and the people deserve to have a system which is broadly considered legitimate with candidates who are broadly respected by those across the aisle. At present, a consensus on the legitimacy of the forthcoming election does not exist leaving government in the US deeply distrusted and in disrepute.

I see little chance of this situation getting better any time soon and am concerned that unless a new generation of politicians emerges to high office who are held in wide cross-party respect, and prepared to work together to heal that US, democracy might devolve into a deeply sectarian mess in which no one respects the other side, and government and democracy become increasingly fragile.

You bring up a matter of great concern to most Americans. Whether civil unrest / violence erupts as a result of this particular set of rulings (associated with disqualifying Trump via the 14th Amendment) remains to be seen. I would think the more obvious precipitating events would be Trump’s upcoming criminal trials, conviction, and the handing down of prison sentences. I suppose your response would be that it really doesn’t matter which match we use to light the bomb, and I, of course, would agree.

Sadly, I don’t see a mechanism by which we can elect candidates respect one another across the aisle, and a U.S. government that is anything other than the “deeply sectarian mess” you describe. I’m sure there are many reasons for this, but a significant one is the fantastic amounts of money that are at stake.

Our media is going wild covering all this. Donors are emptying their pockets, both billionaires and the working-class Trump supporters who are contributing their meager savings to the former president’s legal defense fund.

It’s pathetic. Wish I had something more constructive and uplifting to say at this holiday season.

Thanks for writing. Best wishes.

Fomenting of U.S. Civil Unrest

Related Topics:Buckinghamshire colleague England

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