Legally besieged Republicans led by former President and Senator Mitch MCConnell blatantly demonstrate the GOP’s support for authoritarianism. MCConnell urges total opposition to any policies that Democrats support now and in the future. It declares that the Republican Party is the only party that should have a voice in our democracy, contrary to the Declaration of the Constitution that democracy is based on a mixture of the ideologies of both parties. MCConnell wants to suppress access to the vote because he knows that the majority of Americans oppose the Republican movement toward a racist and authoritarian America.
Trump’s kleptocratic and autocratic tendencies are accompanied by McConnell’s destruction of democratic norms. Both are an existential threat. (The New Republic, June 25, 2017)
Donald Trump, the one-term and two-time president, has freed and legitimized the corrupt, white supremacist, authoritarian, greed-driven, power-hungry and corrupt wing of the Republican Party. At both the state and federal levels, Republican leaders support voter suppression legislation, gerrymandering that opposes minorities, and conspiracy theories, including denial of the results of a free and fair presidential election. Trump is too dumb and emotionally deranged to realize that he is being used as a puppet by the Republican party, which according to Washington sources see it as an incompetent joke. Other puppeteers who have shamefully used Trump to advance their anti-American agendas include Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un, and most recently the Taliban.
The New Republic article summarized Trump’s most blatant authoritarian abuses of democracy as;
- Breaking the rules on nepotism and conflicts of interest.
- Challenge judges in cases involving him, his administration, and his criminal friends
- Fired FBI Director James Comey for refusing to agree to pledge allegiance to him
- Fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and many other officials for opposing him on any issue
- Limit free press access by replacing daily White House briefings with off-camera meetings with banned recordings.
- Hold dictator-style demonstrations that incite crowds to frenzied levels of aggression and physical violence.
- Inadequate deployment of the military to support their political agendas.
- Aligning with foreign dictators and enemies over US intelligence.
- Involved in Russian-style propaganda about telling the truth
Trump ruled to satisfy his narcissistic need for power, attention, and worship. However, what drives MCConnell is different. His “degradation of democratic norms in the Senate” (The New Republic, 2017) has made him a dangerous and hoarding detriment to our democracy. He does not seek media coverage or the adoration of his followers. Unlike Trump, MCConnell worries about policies, especially those that suppress voting, cut funding for programs to help the poor, disabled and minorities, and exclude bipartisanship as a target.
Examples of MCConnell actions that lead the United States toward authoritarianism are:
- He blocked a Democratic proposal that would increase voter turnout by declaring Election Day a federal holiday and allowing same-day voter registration.
- He refused to allow hearings for President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court, but set aside obstructionism for Trump’s appointee Neil Gorsuch to enter the Court.
- While in the majority, he hypocritically rushed Amy Coney-Barrett’s nomination for the Supreme Court, even though the presidential election was months away. He denied Obama’s nomination for the Court and declared that he was too close to the next election.
- When Obama and Biden assumed the presidency, McConnell declared a total lockdown on their administrative agenda even before they took office and also pledged to make them one-term presidents.
- He wrote the Obamacare repeal bill in secret, hidden not only from the public and Democrats, but even from his Republican colleagues.
- He rejected the right to public participation in policymaking.
- Ruled without transparency, as modeled by foreign dictators
The big question remains;
WILL ATTORNEY GENERAL MERRICK GARLAND HAVE THE THORN TO OPEN FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS ON TRUMP AND ITS ACCOMPLICES RELATED TO INTERFERENCE IN CRIMINAL ELECTIONS, STARTING AN INSURRECTION, EMOLUMENT VIOLATIONS, LIE UNDER OATH TO THE OFFICE OF THE JURISDICTION ATTENTION TO HIS JUDGMENT AMERICANTS? AND FEDERAL TAX EVASION?
If not, he should be fired. Allowing Trump to accumulate a violent following of voters who favor authoritarian rule over the traditions of a two-party democratic system should disqualify Garland from remaining the chief law enforcement officer of the United States.
