But for the ego of one man.
The daily news would not be polluted with the incessant repetition of the lie that Joe Biden won the 2020 election because of fraud.
But for the ego of one man.
There would have been no January 6, 2021 insurrection that led to the deaths of 5 people and 174 police officers injured.
But for the ego of one man.
There would be no federal charges filed against a former president for the first time in our history for interfering with the certification of the presidential election results.
But for the ego of one man.
A former president would not be charged with obstruction of justice for lying to the FBI about having classified documents in his possession.
But for the ego of one man.
There would be no pending trial of a former president for having an affair with a porn star while his wife was having a baby and then when he became a presidential candidate paid hush money to keep it quiet before the 2016 election.
But for the ego of one man.
There would have been no public conviction of a former president for sexual assaulting a woman in a department store dressing room.
But for the ego of one man.
There would have been no conviction of a former president for business fraud that resulted in a half billion-dollar penalty and a three year suspension of his license to do business in New York state.
But for the ego of one man.
There would be no bogus Republican impeachment inquiry of President Biden and his son, Hunter, based on the testimony of an informant now charged with lying to the FBI about the Bidens with information given to him by Russian Intelligence he then fed to House Republicans.
But for the ego of one man.
The Congress would have passed an historic immigration reform bill along with vital aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
But for the ego of one man.
Our country would be celebrating the amazing economic progress we have made in coming out of a world-wide pandemic, the strengthening of the bonds of friendship with our European allies who also believe in democracy, and the sense of pride in being a nation whose values build bridges of understanding and mutual respect with others.
But for the ego of one man.
Republicans would still believe in telling the truth.
But for the ego of one man.
We would not be witnessing the emergence of “the Putin wing” of the Republican Party.
But for the ego of one man.
Our nation would still be an example of people striving to become a more perfect union by working together rather than turning one another into enemies.
And so we come to the obvious conclusion that our nation and the entire world would be a better place to live.
But for the ego of one man.
linnposts.com 
Hard to overstate the chaos and negative influence that that one man has had on the US and world. But of course at this point it’s not just ego but his best hope of staying out of jail.
I think ego lies behind it all. Moreover, it is easy for the nation to understate how much damage one person can do on a large scale, as Trump has done and is doing. Thanks, Wilbur.
Well said, Jan. As always.
Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS
Many thanks for saying so.
Thank you, Jan. I always appreciate your wisdom.
Thank you, Kay. Hope you are doing well.
The Republican investigation into the Biden family corruption was not dependent on Alexander Smirnov, despite what the MSM is attempting to say. Kimberley Strassel in the WSJ explained that Mr Smirnov has been a confidential FBI source since 2010, paid over $ 200,000 and, “deemed highly credible”. The FBI continued to use Smirnov up until June 2023, when the bribery claims went public.
So, ‘for 13 years the FBI relied on a man who prosecutors now worry has troubling and extensive ties to Russian intelligence.’ This is the same FBI that used a dossier compiled by Christopher Steele while he worked for the Clinton campaign to go in front of a FISA court to obtain a warrant to spy on the Trump campaign. This latter morphed into the Russian collusion hoax of the Mueller investigation. The same FBI that claimed in December 2020 that Hunter’s laptop was Russian misinformation, when they knew in October 2019 that it was real.
So we are at the point now, ‘whether FBI sources are rightly beginning to worry that their worth depends solely on how politically useful the FBI views them on any given day’.
Your response is why the Republican Party is beyond hope. Trump is behind the entire Biden investigation that got starting back in 2019 for which he was impeached. Jordan and Comer have been carrying his water since Republicans gained control of the House. There is absolutely no evidence of Biden doing anything wrong. Republicans were told Smirnov’s claims were unsubstantiated. They chose not to listen because they didn’t care about evidence, they cared about trying to smear Biden. As long as Republican voters like you continue to support his kind of dishonesty and dysfunction, your party will continue down this rabbit hole until you no longer have a party. It’s a disservice to the country for people like you to refuse to admit the truth. Kimberly Strassell is a conservative reporter for a conservative newspaper. Now there’s a reliable source for critically evaluating unethical Republican behavior. For God’s sake. Jordan, Comer, Grassley and others are on tape talking about Smirnov’s testimony being so vital to their “investigation.” It’s revisionist history to say now that he wasn’t all that important. I have reached the conclusion no Republican can be believed on anything unless they have publicly disavowed Trump and admitted what has happened to the party. You seem unwilling to do either one.
And your response is why I’m not responding to anymore of your delusional nonsense. I don’t believe Biden will even be the Democratic nominee. The MSM is starting to turn on him.
Don’t you ever wonder why so few people share your views of Biden? He has the lowest approval ratings of any sitting president going into an election since polling started. Only the far left is blind to this and it is pointless to argue with them.
Again, Smirnov was an FBI informant, not a Republican informant.
To think it is ok to go after your party’s chief political opponent in both criminal & civil courts is a further example of the preposterous belief that it is necessary to destroy democracy in order to save it
You support a lying cheat who has not one ounce of moral decency for your presidential candidate and then call my writing delusional. Here’s a little more of my delusional thinking. The one who may not be a candidate is Trump whose primary performance has even Fix News speculating about the ominous signs of his pending defeat if he is the nominee. Joe Biden WILL be the Democratic candidate and, if Trump runs, Biden will win in a landslide. The vast majority of Americans are not Republicans, and certainly not extreme MAGA Republicans. I guess we’ll see whether you or I am right in our prediction, but I like my odds a lot better than yours.
but for the ego of one man we would not likely have the likes of Greene, Gaetz, Boehbert, and some of the idiocy that invade your comment section. I like the way you structured this blog
Thanks, bro!
Jan, I too like the way you have structured this blog. I think that opeds like this one and your last two posts need to be articulated to the American public in ways that will get “our attention” in ways that are not now being as effectively pursued as your writings. With respect to the constant “intruder” of your blog, this is the second time he has decided to “give up”. He now is just another foolish “victim” of the truth.
There are also many more follow on lines to “But for the ego of one man …” You certainly have identified many of the most important ones.
But, I will add one more. And to me it is the one more that has me the most worried about where we find ourselves today, a result of the ego of one man.
But for the ego of one man, America would not be faced with most historic challenge to American Democracy since the Civil War. But for one man, The Constitution, Our Political System, The Concept of the Rule of Law, the effectiveness of our Judicial System, the concepts of Good vs. Evil and Truth vs. Lies, and the Right to Vote would not be the most important issues that America will decide in the next November election. We now face these crucial issues as a direct result of the “ego of one man”.
Having said that, he has created a “power structure” that is almost impossible to comprehend as he is leading many in this ecountry down the path of destruction.
On the one hand, I am beginning to allow my emotions to agree with you in your optimism that American voters will put the beginning of the end to this “pipe dream” of fascist, authoritarian, revolutionary type of challenge to our democracy. We are beginning to see signs that grass roots level strategies are being put in place to see that we do not fail at the polls in November.
On the other hand, the pipe dream that I just described above is not in fact a pipe dream. It is a “face slapping reality”. Just today the Supreme Court has decided to take on the issue of “Presidential Immunity”, which clearly will delay Trump’s major legal fight to beyond the election, unless certain judicial officials suddenly “get a conscience”.
As we get closer to next November, I can envision a set of circumstances that will be created by Trump and his his MAGA cronies that actually could succeed in their efforts of destruction.
As we have said many times, there is still a lot of work to be done.
John Hamerski
That work, John, includes doing what you and I and many others are doing, speaking up and speaking out. Silence is complicity, which is why I have no respect for most Republicans. They’re choosing party over country, and many of them know exactly what they’re doing. They pretend they don’t believe Trump is the threat he is, but they know better. We can’t wait for them to face reality. That’s why the work is never done.
Yes.
Wow… really reduced it to a powerful truth for all to understand, if but for the ego of one man, they would
Thank, Dixcy. It’s stunning the impact this terrible man is having.