Do you believe in the rule of law? That’s the notion that ours is a nation of laws, not of men, and that no one, not even the President, is above the law. The framers of our Constitution made this the explicit focus of their efforts to define a relationship between government and the law.
From the earliest days of the arrival of European immigrants on these shores (yes, we were all seeking asylum at the time!), the future citizens of the United States of America no longer wanted to be ruled at the whim of a monarch.
There is absolutely no doubt about this fact, and it explains why the Constitution was constructed with so many guardrails against the assumption of absolute power by an individual man or men.
Despite the back and forth swinging of political parties and their ability to control the agenda of our nation, our system of democracy has worked very well over the two hundred and fifty years we’ve been using it. In fact, that backing and forthing is a natural part of the process.
The ability of all citizens to vote for those who will represent them continues to be a cornerstone of our expectations of a fair and orderly system of government. And the ability of our courts to decide about the fairness of elections must remain independent of those running for election.
Therefore, it is very unsettling that we are currently engaged in discussions about the “end of democracy” that many believe possible based on the explicit promises being made by Republican candidate Donald Trump and several right-wing groups such as the Heritage Foundation, in its Project 2025 blueprint.
The intention is to expand Presidential powers while limiting the effectiveness of the courts and the Legislature, two of the guardrails designed to prevent a return of monarchical power via an “imperial Presidency.”
Yet that is exactly what Donald Trump and his extremist supporters are promising. They aren’t even being sneaky about it. It’s all written down, and was discussed just last week in a Time magazine extended interview with Trump himself.
The interview is free, available at time.com under the title “How Far Trump Would Go,” and is well worth the time to read his ideas and plans in his own words (spoiler alert: they do not match up very well with the Constitution).
The Founding Fathers were wise men. Perhaps because of how recently they had experienced the soul-crushing rule of an absolute monarchy, and how aware they seemed to be of the pitfalls of human nature, they included the idea of “checks and balances” in the Constitution to prevent any single branch of the Federal government from overriding the other two.
Trump’s plan for a second term describes exactly how he will proceed to dismantle the checks and balances and replace everyone from federal prosecutors, to civil servants, to judges, with people who are loyal to him above all else.
Don’t dictators usually keep that stuff secret until they are in power? He seems supremely confident that the majority of American voters are fine with electing him to be our King.
Please try to understand that this issue goes way beyond a left-right or Republican-Democrat conflict. I honestly don’t think Joe Biden would be running if Trump had slipped into oblivion as he should have after his election defeat.
If you are a Republican, try to consider that our nation needs to buy some time so that a viable, and more “normal,” conservative Republican can emerge from among the weeds of the MAGA movement and present a plan for our country to move forward with conservative values that operate within the rule of law. It won’t take that long, once Trump and his puppet-masters are shown to the door.
I guarantee you will not enjoy King Donald once his actions get around to impacting you or your family. When the rule of law no longer prevails in our government and our society, what will you do when you are unfairly harmed? Nobody in power will listen if you were harmed by someone more powerful than you; complain too loudly or too often and you just might lose your job. Or worse.
“Owning the libs” won’t save you when you become owned as well. This man will not take care of you, me, or our country.
Susan Hull is a retired psychologist, a horse trainer, and an Independent voter. She knows many conservative Republicans who do not want Donald Trump to be our President.
