The opinion of this writer is not the opinion of the Ridgeview News
Since Richard Nixon, the Republican party has been the party of law and order. Asked what he meant by “law and order,” Nixon, facing the huge Vietnam protests said this:
“I have often said that you cannot have order unless you have justice, because if you stifle dissent, if you just stifle progress, you’re going to have an explosion and you’re going to have disorder.
“On the other hand, you can’t have progress without order, because when you have disorder, and revolution, you destroy all of the progress you have.”
The tables are turned now. The call for revolution comes from the Trumpian Republican right, which seeks disorder, and is therefore ignoring Nixon’s conservative Republican principle: “you cannot have order unless you have justice.”
American justice still holds everyone equal before the law – for the moment. The verdict in Trump’s New York hush money case showed that the criminal justice system still works without special favor to any defendant.
The right cries “This case should never have been brought” because they believe their presidential candidate should not be prosecuted for the kind of “minor crimes” that more than 10,000 business people have been prosecuted for in New York since 2015. Because Trump is a politician, any prosecution would be called political – simply another explanation of why some believe Trump should be above the law.
Now that Trump has been found guilty on 34 counts of altering business records to hide election interference, he will be sentenced on July 11. There’s one crucial question in sentencing for every defendant – whether the defendant has shown remorseor accepted responsibility for his criminal behavior. That won’t take long.
Here, it’s a laughable inquiry. Throughout the trial, Trump attacked the judge, witnesses, jurors, and prosecutors, requiring a gag order that he repeatedly and vociferously violated. Trump responded to the guilty verdict by urging violence on the innocent jurors and the criminal justice system as a whole. Trump should serve prison time for this reason alone.
Based on no evidence and giving no examples, Trump claimed the verdict was rigged: “If they can do this to me, they can do it to anyone.”
Yes, if you alter business records to hide your hush-money payments to keep your porn star sex interlude from voters (election interference) – or for any other felonious reason – you too could be found guilty in a court of law and face a possible prison term.
Alexandra Petri captured the irony perfectly in her satirical column. “Some say Democrats did this to Donald Trump, but that misses the point. As long as we exist in a system where laws are binding and anyone can face trial for breaking them, Donald Trump is not safe! That’s why we have to END THE TYRANNY OF THE RULE OF LAW NOW!”
To be a Trump Republican already requires saying you don’t believe in American elections. One must swear that the 2020 election was stolen, although 60 court cases found no evidence of fraud. Donald Trump says it and so must you. You must also say that you will not trust the results of the 2024 election.
What if Republicans win? In 2020, Republicans who won their races were still required to say the elections were rigged – and they did.
Former Maryland governor and Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan urged Americans to “respect the verdict and the legal process.” Trump’s campaign manager told Hogan, “You just ended your campaign.” Trump Republicans are no longer allowed to respect the verdict or the legal process.
Contempt for democratic institutions, elections, the rule of law, and impartial justice is the prelude to autocracy, rule by a single man with no election required and no laws restraining him. When a conviction by a criminal court means nothing, law and order and justice are thrown overboard.
Trump’s ugliest complaint, echoed endlessly by his followers, is that President Biden has weaponized the justice system against him. Thus, the logic runs, Trump can use the Justice Department to attack his political enemies and “Lock them up.”
If you believe Biden is controlling the justice system, then why hasn’t he interfered to stop Hunter Biden’s federal trial on gun charges? The charges were brought by a federal prosecutor appointed by Trump, after Trump directed the Department of Justice to go after the Bidens. Nevertheless, President Biden did not dismiss the prosecutor and has let the courts do their job.
None of the Bidens have attacked the judge, the jury, the prosecutor or our system of justice. President Biden is keeping hands off the justice system as presidents are supposed to do –respecting the legal process and ultimately the verdict.
If elected, Trump promises to personally take hold of the justice system, pardon all the January 6 defendants, use the Department of Justice to go after his political enemies beginning with President Biden, and shut down media outlets that do not promote Trump’s message.
No party that rejects the legal process, jury verdicts, impartial justice, or the rule of law can also stand for law and order. Trump has forfeited the claim to lead a law-and-order party. No justice, no order, no peace (as Richard Nixon said).
If you support instead respect for elections, the legal process, impartial justice, and equality of all before the law, vote Biden/Harris and give them a Democratic Congress.
