“Biden is ruining the country and we have to use force to take the country back.” That is the chant of unfortunately too many these days.
From where I sit, I do not see the ruination of the country coming from the White House. Instead, the people who are hell-bent on ruining the country are the ones advocating the use of force if an election does not go their way.
Why are these people who are saying that violence is justified to take back the country coming out of the woodwork now when they were muffled during the previous 30 years? Who let the cork out of the bottle so that those who advocate, commit, and plan for violence are now so vociferous? It is Donald Trump, and more importantly, those who refuse to denounce him.
From 1993 to 2001, the nation survived the presidency of Bill Clinton. When he was elected and re-elected, there were no serious calls to overturn the votes. George Bush and Bob Dole accepted the results of the elections. When the nation elected its first Black president in 2008, and re-elected him in 2016, there were no serious allegations of widespread fraud that stole either election.
John McCain and Mitt Romney did not foment an insurrection and continue to propagate falsehoods about the vote. What changed? Only one thing, the emergence of Donald Trump. Recall in 2016, before the election went his way, candidate Trump said the election was rigged. Even after he was elected, Trump’s ego demanded that he say he would have won the popular vote but for voter fraud. What Trump did was lay the groundwork for the January 6 insurrection.
The cork needs to go back in the bottle. Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican, is correct. One cannot support and defend the Constitution and support and defend Trump. One thing is for certain, however; Donald Trump will never change. He will go to his grave whining about the 2020 election results. The sycophants who continue to kowtow to him will not change either. Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Chris Stewart and Burgess Owens have yet to disavow Trump the way Sen. Mitt Romney, Rep. Adam Kinzinger and other Republicans with courage and without myopia have.
So, who puts the cork back? You do.
I am not writing to the percentage of people who will blindly support Trump simply because he is Republican, white, anti-abortion and pro-gun, those whose thinking cannot go beyond one or even more of those issues. I am asking those who may align with Trump on one or more issue, but who are perceptive enough to realize that at this time each of those factors takes a back seat to the preservation of our Constitution, to act.
There are so many reasons that Trump is not a worthy candidate for president, but 70 million voters ignored those and voted for him. But that was before January 6 of last year. Now there is the compelling reason that he demonstrated then, and continues to double down on now, that he is nothing more than a power-hungry egotist who puts his pride before the country’s welfare.
So how do we put the cork back, if Trump will not change? Exercise your right to vote and remove Lee, Stewart and Owens from office. Without them, and those like them, Trump is nothing more than a disgraced ex-president. With them, he is a danger to our country.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Stewart Walz, Feb. 27, 2018.
Stewart Walz practiced law for over 41 years and is committed to the rule of law.