It’s actually quite incredible that the Republican Party may actually
nominate Donald Trump for their 2024 presidential candidate.
If they do, I have no doubt it will go down as the most consequential
decision a major political party has made in U.S. history.
Let’s put it in perspective.
Donald Trump is the first and only president in our history to try to block
the peaceful transfer of power. The only one.
The facts of what he did are not in dispute. Not even Trump disputes them.
His defense is not to deny he did what he did. It is, instead, that whatever he
did was part of his official presidential duties. In addition, based on
that claim, he also insists he has complete immunity from criminal prosecution.
He then goes further and argues that everything he did (which he says he had
a right to do) was because the election was rigged and stolen from
him. That is what led him to engage in acts that make him guilty of
treason, defined as a betrayal of one’s country, especially in trying to
overthrow the government. Here’s why.
The Constitution provides only one way to contest an election, and only one.
In court. That’s it. No other way. None.
Trump’s lawyers followed the Constitution and tried to prove 60 different
times that there was widespread voter fraud. They lost every case,
including at the Supreme Court.
Refusing to accept all the court rulings, Trump then stepped over the line,
something he planned to do all along, if necessary, and began committing acts
of treason.
The details of how, how many times, in what ways, and who helped him is
explained in great detail by Liz Cheney in her book, Oath and Honor.
It is a first-hand account in chronological order of what Trump did. She
names names, recounts numerous conversations none of us knew were going on
behind the scenes with many different people, and explains in detail why the
Constitution does not give Congress the power to challenge or change the
outcome of a presidential election.
Cheney underscores the fact that every member of the House who refused to
certify Biden’s election did not hesitate to accept the certification of their
own that was on the same ballot, making their claims of fraud even more
ludicrous.
Since the book’s publication, no one has disputed her account of the facts,
conversations, and actions people took or were advocating. Some of them
hate her for telling the truth, but not one of them has been able to contradict
anything she says about what happened.
Cheney’s Oath and Honor is, put simply, the end of the
discussion about Donald Trump and MAGA Republican politicians. Not one of
them, not even one, cares about their oath to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution and not one of them has a shred of honor.
That is why not one of them should ever be elected to office again.
Should Republicans nominate Donald Trump as their candidate for president
this year, it will be the moment they publicly acknowledge that as a political
party they have no loyalty to the Constitution on which our nation was
founded. That will be a truly historic moment.
Traditional Republicans wonder out loud if their party will be able to
survive such a fateful decision.
That is hardly my worry. I am much more concerned about the survival of the
nation.
linnposts.com 
Jan,
Living just miles from the Capitol and moving closer to our national elections keeps me up at night. The hateful division among Americans believing two separate realities often leaves me hopeless. We all must take risks and keep voicing truth. It is the only way our democracy will survive. It is worth it.
Couldn’t agree more, Dixcy. I’m sure living in D.C. gives you a very unique perspective. Thanks for the comment.
Absolutely agree, Jan. One of the many things about Republicans that I find so baffling is how they just dismiss the words of Liz Cheney, Cassidy Hutchinson and many other strong conservative voices. No reason other than loyalty to their Supreme Leader.
Baffling. Incredible. Historic. Also absurd. All words that apply, as do many others.
Thanks Jan- this is THE best article I’ve seen about this issue! It’s so insightful & clearly lays out the realities for us to digest. Joe Grubbs
Thank you for this comment, Joe. Gives me encouragement to keep writing.
Jan,
Your post is spot on as to what the threat is if Trump should be elected president again! He is a disgusting man who can be rightly called “evil”!!
Sadly, I think he will be the Republican nominee, given the MAGA idiots who believe our nation needs a dictatorial “leader” who can make our country great again — when in fact we are now the greatest country in the world!!
Keep up the good work my friend,
Bill
As always, Bill, thank you for the comment.
If Trump is guilty of treason, why has he not been charged with treason?
If he started an insurrection, why hasn’t he been charged with insurrection?
The people who know Liz Cheney best, the voters of Wyoming, expressed their opinion of her at the polls. Harriet Hageman beat her by almost 40 points.
When Trump is convicted, and he will be, call it what you what legally, but that conviction will amount to treason. The same with insurrection, but in that regard the Colorado Supreme Court said he WAS guilty of insurrection. Not even the judges who dissented disputed that conclusion. That you would defend Trump is astounding to me. I suppose the only way Republicans like you would ever admit the man is a traitor is if he got elected again and took the actions he threatens to take against his enemies and the other two branches of government. Then, again, if it didn’t affect you directly, you would probably still defend him. To defend him, as Chris Christie says, is to be like him. That is why the Republican Party is also guilty if treason for supporting him. Somehow you must believe only Democrats will lose their democracy, while Republicans won’t. How utterly naive and just plain foolish can you be?
I simply asked the question of why Trump has not been charged with either treason or insurrection. The 5th and 14th amendments of the Constitution guarantee a person due process. In the dissent brief by Chief Justice Boatwright of the Colorado Supreme Court, he said, “barring Trump from the ballot under Section 3 is inappropriate in absence of insurrection related conviction “.
This country’s constitution guaranties certain indelible rights to everyone, not just to those on the far left. Voters have a say in this country, even those whose opinions are different from yours. Voters in Maine shouldn’t have the right to vote for the person they choose removed by a partisan, unelected individual. Our constitution, our democratic republic is under attack now and not in some foreseeable future
One last effort. The Colorado judge you quote is giving his interpretation of the Constitution. Others disagree, arguing the Constitution says nothing about conviction. For you to call that different interpretation an attack on the Constitution shows how totally oblivious you are to the real problem. Trump’s attack on the Constitution was his attempt to block the peaceful transfer of power. That is what he did, undisputed. Republican attack on the Constitution is supporting him. The idea that Trump is not getting due process is absurd. He is in fact getting it in spades because of all his delaying tactics with meritless arguments. What apparently doesn’t bother you is that the man tried to overthrow the government. Your views confirm exactly why people like me believe Republicans are a threat to our democracy. You simply will not condemn what he did as a criminal act to stay in power. You refuse to admit the truth about who he is, what he has done, and what he continues to try to do. And one more thing. Regarding letting the people decide his fate, the fact is, we already did in 2020. We said NO to Trump. Th crisis we have now is because he has continued to refuse to accept that verdict. Had he done so, none of this would be going on.
Once again, you avoided answering my question. Why has Trump not been charged with treason or insurrection? According to you, he nearly toppled our government, so why is he just facing these lesser charges?
The charges in D. C. against Trump are: (1) Conspiracy to defraud the United States, (2) Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding,
(3) Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, (4) Conspiracy against rights (meaning depriving voters of their rights). The definition of treason is betrayal of one’s country, especially in attempting to overthrow the government. If Trump is convicted, he will be de facto guilty of treason. A rose by any other name is still a rose. I am tempted to ask what your point is, but in truth I don’t want to know because I don’t care. Enough said.
My point is obvious and shared by most republicans & many independents. In the aftermath of Jan 6th, not a single person has been charged with insurrection. Yet, that doesn’t stop you and members of the far left continually referring to them as insurrectionist . Jack Smith doesn’t have to twist RICO laws or financial laws that evolved after the Enron debacle. Charge Trump with insurrection, charge them all with insurrection. If they are convicted, then, when you vilify Republicans, you at least have something to point to that was upheld by the laws of this country as ample reason for your vilification.
Just so you know. This is my blog and I get the last word. I’m not vilifying real Republicans, only MAGA cult members who clall themselves Republican. It sounds as if you are one of them. There are some Republican voters and prominent politicians (Cheney, Kinsinger, Romney, Christie, the Bush family, Hutchinson, even McConnell, to name a few) who know he is and are willing to say so. They don’y believe people like you are Republicans and would tell you to stop calling yourself one unless and until you admit Trump is guilty of trying to destroy our democracy. Naming the charges against Trump as “insurrection” isn’t requisite to understanding that that is exactly his crime. That is what matters. Nothing you can say can change that.
Jan,
Thanks for this excellent piece.
That there is still any doubt that Trump will be on the ballot indicates a deep, concerning flaw in the American psyche/
Gene
Gene, I’m afraid that flaw is real in more Americans than either of us could have ever thought possible. That’s what makes this situation unpredictable and dangerous.