LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor:
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes,” were words of Shakespeare’s that went through my mind as I watched a new president’s inauguration nearly four years ago today. A pathological liar and sociopath took an oath that he had no understanding of, no respect for, and no intention of honoring. He followed his “oath” with an address – or harangue – that was so full of lies and hate that George W. Bush assessed it thusly: “That was some weird s***.” After that, it’s been all downhill.
Since then our huckster in chief has frequently been the topic of discussions about using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office by way of the vice president and the cabinet deeming him to be unfit to perform his duties. His obstruction of justice and flaunting of the emoluments clause has been corrupting the office since Day One. Don’t forget his administrative chaos and his obsession with personal loyalty and praise from his underlings
He lacked the class, temperament, intellect, or historical knowledge to formally concede after the recent election was resolved on November 6. He won’t attend the 2021 inaugural ceremony in a gesture of unity and peaceful transfer of power. Instead, we’ve experienced a succession of attempted coups based on lies about voter fraud.
Recently, our divider in chief incited his fanatically loyal MAGA mob to storm the Capitol to prevent the ceremonial acceptance of the Electoral College’s vote that declared Joseph Biden to be the next president.
The five deaths and the looting were too much even for many of his staunchest and most shameless enablers like Mitch McConnell, Tom Cotton, and Mike Pence who finally accepted the will of the voters.
Mike Pence stood up to the president only once to explain to him that he had no power to reject the official electoral vote on January 6. That led to our megalomaniac in chief’s inciting the domestic terrorist insurrection on the Capitol, which included chants of “Hang Mike Pence.” The pathetic VP’s blind loyalty for four years meant nothing to the defeated president at the end.
With its second impeachment, the House of Representatives has again reasserted the Constitution’s separation of powers and implemented its system of checks and balances. Whether enough “Republicans” in the Senate have the moral will and political courage to convict is again doubtful.
I still hope Mr. Trump will seek asylum in Russia so that we’ll be rid of him. I am reminded of Shapur the Great, the second Susanian King of Kings of Iran (Persia), who captured Roman Emperor Valerian at the Battle of Edessa (ca. 260 AD). Shapur held him captive, using him as a human footstool on which to mount his horse. Surely Vladimir Putin can think of some similar use for our rotund and seemingly mad soon-to-be-former president.
What will the white-nationalist Trumpista base do to embarrass or degrade our democratic-republic and disrupt the inaugurations of Biden and Kamala Harris on January 20? That is the question. David Offutt El Dorado