Two astute conservative political commentators show how far we have deviated from normal in America
Before I get to Steyn’s words, it’s never redundant to remind people that John Adams came to fame in colonial America because of his principled decision to represent the British soldiers charged in the Boston massacre. Public opinion had already convicted the men, but Adams understood that denying the men a legal defense was the essence of tyranny. We’ve traveled a long way in the subsequent 250 years, with a prominent lawyer happily representing those who literally tried to bomb America to smithereens while cheering for the imprisonment of lawyers with whom he disagrees:
Steyn writes that we’re not in a new normal; we are, instead, in a completely abnormal world, unrelated to American constitutionalism and norms, made infinitely worse by the fact that the Republican political class happily embraces what’s happening. He describes our “dirty stinking rotten corrupt U.S. justice system [that is] criminalizing political opposition,” concluding with this question: “[T]here’s no point pretending this is a normal situation, right?” He continues,
And yet at least three-quarters of the candidates in that Republican debate insisted on doing just that: This is just a normal quadrennial election in the greatest country in the history of countries where we’re renowned around the planet for our uniquely peaceful “peaceful transfer of power”, etc, etc.
While the political class may be comfortable with tyrannical governance, the people are not:
Sorry, I don’t buy that - and evidently nor does the GOP base. Which is why Trump has a forty-point lead over his nearest rival, and Nikki Haley’s alleged triumph on stage in that debate has seen her numbers soar to - stand well back! - 6.1 per cent. The avowedly normal vice-president, senator and three governors nipping at her heels can barely muster ten per cent between them. There don’t seem to be a lot of takers for “pretending this is normal”.
That’s just the opener. You absolutely must read the whole thing, for it discusses the grotesque spectacle of our criminal “justice” system bent upon political tyranny.
And that takes us to Don Surber’s article, which explains in its subtitle “Trump or death.” (The title, also good, is “America doesn’t need an election; it needs an exorcism.”) Don goes beyond the criminal justice system and looks at an entire federal government that’s run completely amok:
We now say Trump or death, and that is no joke. Organizing opposition can get you 22 years in prison. The Republican Party goes along with this evil to get along.
The anti-Federalists secured the Bill of Rights and protected free speech, peaceful protest and the right to a fair trial. Just under 250 years later, the Biden administration seeks to complete Obama’s plan to destroy those protections of rights. President Trump delayed this plan and now Obama — through Biden — seeks vengeance.
The ability to persecute a duly elected president shows central government is too large, too powerful and too out-of-touch to lead us. Trump is our last hope of regaining control.
And yes, I know that we’ve written about this many times at American Thinker, but Don is such a graceful writer that his summation is just…well, you have to read it.
Don’s point is incredibly important, and it explains Trump’s extraordinary support. NeverTrump voters insist that Trump is so corrupt that they cannot in good conscience vote for him. Somehow, though, their consciences seem comfortable with the whole idea of voting for Biden (aka “Pedo Pete”), or perhaps some other Democrat. Go figure…
Trump supporters, though, while they recognize that Trump erred during his presidency, whether it was bad hiring practices, not pushing back against lockdowns, promoting vaccines, or failing to pardon every person associated with January 6, understand that something bigger is at stake. As Don argues, the American people know that, if Trump is not sworn into office in January 2025, as he should have been in January 2021, America is over. The Democrat party and its apparatchiks in the Deep State will have gambled big and won it all.
Moving forward, we’ll be like the Soviet Union, where 100% of the citizens voted (at gunpoint) and, coincidentally, they always cast their votes for the communist party’s pre-approved candidates. Our constitutional democratic republic will be trotted out on paper for propaganda purposes, but it will effectively be dead.
Image: Donald Trump
