Donald J. Trump and the Peaceful Transfer of Power

Donald J. Trump and the Peaceful Transfer of Power

As I am watching C-SPAN (Jan. 20, 2017), I’m  hearing a lot of people saying what a joyous day this is  (the first 5 callers at 7am- it was like I was listening to talk radio-lol) and also there was glee about how our peaceful transfer of power is envied around the world- the latter point I agreed with for the more than 2 decades (closer to 3 decades to be honest) that I’ve been following politics.  But we cannot embrace a peaceful transfer of power and ignore a presidential candidate inviting a foreign entity to get involved in our elections (especially when it appears that they did). We cannot embrace a peaceful transfer of power and ignore the suppression of the vote that has taken place since the Shelby v. Holder U.S. Supreme Court ruling, but was stoked following the election of President Obama (if you go back and read some of the headlines and comments by politicians and others following the 15^th Amendment extending the right to vote to Blacks (males) you will see some of the same types of measures to limit the vote.  Our democracy should be expanded not limited simply because you have the power to do so, or are upset because you don’t like the outcome of an election. Win the next on ideals, not on interference and suppression.  A peaceful transfer of power must be accompanied by the continued protection of the right to vote, not attempting to remove it with surgical precision, as a federal judge said of actions by the North Carolina Legislative Body to enact voting reforms.

I turned down an opportunity to talk to a reporter about Trump’s Inauguration speech because, while I will read it later, I am not sure that I can watch him deliver it. I am not sure that I can see Senate Majority Mitch McConnell and not think about how hard he worked to ensure that Obama was a one-term president and when that didn’t work, to continue to obstruct his policies- he may have attended Obama’s inauguration, but he led an 8 year anti-Obama agenda- which was not in pursuit of what was best for the U.S.  He stole, yes, stole, an U.S. Supreme Court justice from Obama and, as Obama said in his 60 Minutes interview, received no political backlash as a result. In fact he emerges as a more powerful person than before and his wife gets to serve in another administration.  I can’t watch that smirk on McConnell’s face.  We can’t embrace a peaceful transfer of power while knowing how the person who is being sworn in got there.  He ran a campaign that appealed to our worst instincts, he called President Obama stupid, and was actually the founder of ISIS- like he was an uncover member of ISIS and, by extension, using the presidency to help them grow intentionally, his mission, is what we can read into his comments, he said our generals were rubble, he attacked first responders because they would not allow for more people in an already packed room, he mocked a disabled reporter, he got into a fight with a Gold Star Family, and his Make America Great line is as unifying as a Milli Vanilli reunion.  And during his first debate, he was asked this question by then Fox News host Megan Kelley: “You’ve called women you don’t like “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.” (http://time.com/3988276/republican-debate-primetime-transcript-full-text/) Trump’s short response was “only Rosie O’Donnell” (ibid), but after the debate concluded he accused Megan Kelly of being aggressive in her questioning of him because “blood was coming out of her whatever” (http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/08/politics/donald-trump-cnn-megyn-kelly-comment/).  There were consistent themes of misogyny and sexism throughout his campaign. And this doesn’t include the Billy Bush tapes. I suppose it is fitting that Justice Clarence Thomas is swearing him in as they may have a lot to talk about when the women folk aren’t around, you, know, comparing stories of how one can sexually harass women- Trump would put a tic tac in his mouth and go on it when he sees a beautiful woman, Thomas prefers the more subtle use of coke can.  

Donald Trump spent years and a lot of money attempting to make President Obama to not look like the legitimate office holder by questioning his origin of birth.  Article II of the United States Constitution has only three requirements to run for the Office of the Presidency- an age requirement (at least 35), a residency requirement (14 year residency in US), and that one is a natural born citizen.  When you question whether a president met that requirement, you question their legitimacy.  Trump, being the thin-skinned person that he is, has the audacity to pick a twitter fight with Rep. John Lewis, who put his life on the line so that the right to vote (and equality) can be expanded to all Americans.   When we are embracing a peaceful transfer of power, we have to also embrace elections where candidates aren’t inviting foreign interference and the crass pursuit of power doesn’t result in weakening access to the ballot box.  And you can’t have FBI Directors to share information that is inconsequential about one political candidate, but remain silent when you have information about Russian involvement in an effort to promote one candidate over another. This isn’t right. Donald Trump may prove to be a great president, he may prove to bring jobs to rural and inner cities, but he hasn’t proven that he has the temperate, the humility, the unifying nature to be the president that will continue to move the U.S. forward on so many levels.  And I won’t even talk about his Cabinet choices right now.

As much as I support our democracy (republic), the good, the bad and the ugly, and as much as I will continue to encourage young people to pursue their dreams, to believe in the system, to stay engaged, and to be the change they want to see, today at noon, I just don’t think I can watch the swearing in of Donald J. Trump. 

Peace,

Artemesia Stanberry


Note: With regard to Justice Clarence Thomas, he administered the oath of office to VP Mike Pence, I thought I'd read that instead of the Chief Justice administering the oath of office to Trump, that it would be Thomas instead. My comments still stand, nevertheless:).