Now at the mercy of an unbridled bully
I know no one naïve enough to think that the U.S. Senate would impeach Donald Trump, given the GOP’s blind loyalty. The best Dems could hope for was 52 yes votes, needing 67. However, you’d expect enough Senators to stand up for a “fair” trial, needing only a majority. But no witnesses? No seeking of evidence? That’s a farce, not a trial.
My childhood neighborhood had its share of bullies. I know for a fact that the more you let a bully have control, the more control he will need and want to demonstrate that power. The need for power can be insatiable, especially so in those who depend on that evidence of power and position (over others) to celebrate who they are. Voila! Enter Donald Trump.
Here’s where naïveté enters. Those legislators (and voters) who expect that the GOP now has it made are in for a rude awakening – and not at the hands of the Democrats or Independents or any political body. No, we are all now at the mercy of an unbridled bully. Trump knows that the GOP — if it won’t even allow testimony from stalwart Republicans like John Bolton — will not stand in his way.
We hope that he won’t stand in 5th Avenue, pull out his gun and shoot someone. But metaphorically, there is an unlimited number of 5th Avenue scenarios he has been given implicit permission to do. War with Iran? China? Korea? Brazil? Limit (or even destroy) Medicare, Social Security? More tax breaks for the wealthy (like him)? Privatized education? Corporate interest over environmental protection? War against women? Trump has hinted at (or already started?) doing all of these. Any semblance of shackles is off. If my experience with bullies holds true, we are all in for a boatload of ___ .
D’Wayne Hodgin
Moscow
