Our Own Banana Republic is at Hand
At eighteen I took my oath of enlistment.
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military justice. So help me God.”
It’s a weighty oath. I felt it at eighteen. I felt it even more every time I raised my hand in front of my commanding officer every other time I swore it, the entire twenty years I served in the Air Force. I feel the weight of that oath today — more than twenty years after I left the active duty force.
I am still oath bound.
In my lifetime I have seen the impeachment of two presidents. The first, Richard Nixon, at exactly eighteen. I’m not going to try and write that history here. The takeaway was that the president was about to be impeached, properly, for obstruction of justice and abuse of power. He was trying to use the power of the presidency to influence the course of the presidential elections.
The second was Willian Clinton. The actual charge was obstruction of justice but really, let’s be clear, he was impeached for improper behavior with an intern. I agree. Persons in seniority shouldn’t be pressuring young people into improper relationships.
We now come to the current administration. I’m not going to go into all of the arguments of his party supporters about why we should ignore the egregious criminal behavior of this administration. They’d like to say that the administration is beyond reproach for various dubious beneficial economic factors.
I call bullshit. I waited after February 5th, before posting here, to see what the GOP’s and the Presidents reactions would be to the Senate acquittal. Every single day since the 5th has brought a new low in the Republic we love. Most recently, the leader of the Judicial Branch of our Republic has pretty much declared that he wishes the President would stop tweeting. It’s making his job too hard. What job you may ask? Why, putting pressure on every venue that has the President himself or his friends and cronies, under indictment, about to be sentenced, or under investigation. So after setting up sentencing guidelines more strict than ever, Attorney General Barr is doing his best to make sure the judges in the cases against Roger Stone and Michael Flynn give them the most lenient sentence possible. Perhaps even no prison time.
The fact of the matter is that this president has continuously used the power of the United States government for his own personal benefit. Let’s keep it simple and in near time. He’s used the power of the government to intimidate witnesses to his quid pro quo call to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate a potential presidential election candidate to the detriment of that candidate and to boost the administration’s candidate. The president also has ordered, by his own admission, the intimidation of witnesses in his impeachment. He went so far as to forbid administration personnel to ignore legal Congressional subpoenas to appear before Congressional investigative committees to testify to the president’s actions. While the Congressional House was investigating, the President intimidated the witnesses that did come forth. After the actual impeachment, he bribed Senate members acting as jurors. After acquittal, he retaliated against the witnesses that had the spine to come forth, firing them from their government jobs if they hadn’t already stepped down and continues to pursue them politically and economically in a vindictive child tantrum.
All of these actions are federal criminal or constitutional offenses. I am appalled. These aren’t the behaviors of a President. They are the actions of a mob boss, an oligarch, a despot, a tyrant. He’s building an authoritarian government. A banana republic of the worst sort. Really? You want a dictatorship?
On Wednesday, February 12th, 2020, the President went so far as to try and force the judiciary to lighten the sentence of Roger Stone. Talk about abuse of power. After three and a half years of stacking the judiciary, the legislative branch, as well as the executive branch of the government with his own toadies, we have come to a crossroads. These people drink the kool-aid. They do whatever he wants regardless of the impact on the citizens of the United States or its constitution. This cancer needs to be cut out.
Many in the government have tried to awaken the citizenry of the United States to the terror consuming us by resigning at the interference in justice. Wednesday four U.S. Attorneys resigned in protest — in the same day, because the interference was so egregious. I’m terrified. If you aren’t, you’re not paying attention.
We are at a crossroads. The United States, the country we love and grew up in is undergoing a significant and horrifying change right in front of our eyes. I’ve heard rumors that the Republican Party supported the president in his impeachment acquittal because they were afraid of him. I call on all of them, in the House and Senate, to grow a spine.
I know the difference between right and wrong. I understand what my oath means, and I mean to hold to that oath no matter what. I support the Constitution of the United States. Against all enemies. Even the domestic ones.
