We had a functioning republic until March 16, 2016. A date you probably don’t think mattered. That date Barack Obama nominated highly qualified Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court and Sen. Mitch McConnell; the Senate Majority Leader effectively vetoed it. He promptly refused to hold a hearing or vote on the nomination, as he had threatened.
That was the first big crack in converting our republic to a theocracy. Majority Leader is not a Constitutionally prescribed position like Speaker of the House. It gives one man (so far, man) dictatorial power in the U.S. Senate. The Majority Leader can block almost any proposal from reaching the Senate floor. Garland was considered one of the most qualified nominees ever. McConnell alone created a new principle. A president with less than a year to an election shall not make such appointments. A principle he then overthrew to approve the next president’s appointment of Judge Amy Comey Barret Oct. 22, 2020, with less than a month to the election. So much for principles. It calls to mind the Nixon administration policy that a sitting president (himself) cannot be indicted.
If you are still thinking everything is OK you might want to stop right here.
The second critical blow was the 2016 presidential election of a man with a history of cheating everyone he came in contact with except his parents, they taught him how. You might at this point think I don’t approve of him, and you are right. In some ways, I pity him because he will never be satisfied. My early impression was of a Hitler emulator. His behavior since has confirmed that impression. His life has been a series of grifts, taking what isn’t his or breaking what isn’t to make what is his worth more. The best insight to him is in “Too Much and Never Enough,” by his own niece, I strongly recommend it. A dozen other books about him describe the same fundamentals, even though the other authors hardly know one another. Everyone close to him, other than his accomplices has the same impression, including my son-in-law.
The credibility of the Supreme Court has been compromised by cramming it with sycophant pseudo conservatives that act more like revolutionaries, overturning principles they said and everyone else believed were established.
His bombastic style on the campaign trail and as president has created havoc. The horrendous number of mass shootings in America, never acceptable, has increased substantially since he started campaigning, in 2015, praising the unrestrained use of force. The problem is not just here. Allies are alienated. His style has been copied worldwide. In Great Britain, deceptive slogans were used to encourage people to vote to secede from the European Union. So called Brexit has wreaked havoc on their economy and weakened the EU when it needs to be strong to stand up to Putin. His embrace of dictators all over the world makes it harder for other republics to stand up to intimidation.
Americans have become so accustomed to bombastic politics that competence looks boring. The anti-Biden GOP campaign has not let up yet, nearly two years after he was elected. Biden seems boring. Competent government should be boring. Streets get paved, garbage is collected, airplanes fly on time, schools are open and international troubles leave us alone.
The January 6 Committee investigated thoroughly, conducting hundreds of depositions and studying countless documents. Now their public committee hearings indict individuals who colluded to overthrow our government. Clearly an attempt to install what could turn into a President for Life; a concept he praised when President Xi Jinping created the possibility in China. “Maybe we should try it here?” History shows that when heads of state, regardless of title or ideology serve too long, corruption becomes routine and coercion becomes policy. Rights become privileges and secret police govern lawlessly. Eventually there is a revolution, but rarely a return to democracy, just a different dictator: Russia, Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela, China, Libya, Congo, Vietnam and many more.
The events of January 6 were an attempt to replace a duly elected republican government with a one-man rule. There must be consequences for all the perpetrators and conspirators, all.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Send feedback to obenskik@gmail.com
