February 8, 2021
This morning came the news that George P. Shultz had died at age 100. It is funny that he should pass just before the death knell of the party he represented so valiantly. George Shultz is one of the last of the Republican lions, men who served the country, not themselves. Men who believed in the ideals of the country and who felt duty bound to do their best for it out of love for America, not personal profit.
George Shultz was a Captain in the Marine Corps and served in World War II. He earned a PHD in economics when he returned home. He was only one of two men who held four different cabinet positions under various presidents. Shultz worked for Eisenhower, Nixon and Reagan in one capacity or another. But his greatest accomplishments came as Reagan's Secretary of State. It was then that he convinced Reagan that the United States could work with the new leader of Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev. That was the beginning of the end of the cold war.
Shultz wasn't a great orator, but when he did speak people listened, unlike the empty vessels who make the rounds of the Sunday talk shows today. He had the ear of every president he worked with, and he spoke truth to power. Compare that to the politicians of today.
Tomorrow the Congress is going to begin the impeachment trial, for the second time in a year, of ex-president Trump. There was in recent memory, another Republican president who was going to be impeached, and for wrong doing no where near as as odious as the Trump presidency. The difference, the Republican members of Congress knew their duty to the country and the Constitution and they were willing to find Richard M. Nixon guilty. Three prominent Republican leaders, Hugh Scott, Barry Goldwater, and John Rhodes, went to the White House and told Nixon he had lost the support of his party. In the end, Nixon did what was right for the country and he resigned.
Donald J. Trump ran a campaign based on the premise that his re-election was going to be stolen from him and was illegal and corrupt if he did not win. During the debates he signaled to those followers on the far right, including The Proud Boys, "to stand down and stand by". That was the beginning, in speech after speech he told the crowd that the far-left was going to steal the election from them. On the night of the election he proclaimed victory, and everyday after that. Trump refused to admit he lost the election, he filed court case after court case - sixty-four of them - losing all but one. He demanded recounts and then recounts of the recounts. And when all the states had certified the election results, he called the Secretary of State in Georgia and cajoled and threatened him to change the vote tally.
Faced with certain loss if the Electoral College met and counted the votes, Trump rallied his supporters by saying come to Washington DC "it will be wild". The day before the count Trump threatened the Vice-President, Mike Pence, to throw out the ballots and declare him the winner. Pence refused. Trump did all of this out in the open, so certain was he that the Republicans would back him, and he was right.
On the day of the counting of the ballots, Trump addressed a mob of thousands of his minions, he told them that Pence was a traitor, he said Pelosi had to go, he whipped them up into a frenzy saying he would lead them, and then he directed them down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol, while he slunk away, to much a coward to actually lead them.
Yes, the mob attacked the Capitol, searching for Mike Pence, shouting, "hang Pence" and looking for Nancy Pelosi to 'put a bullet in her brain'. Congressmen hid in their offices, barricaded against the invaders, cowered on the floor of the House chamber, called their families to say good-bye. After the insurrectionists had been beaten back, many Republican denounced the President for his speech. But of course, cooler heads now prevail.
With the threat of imminent danger behind them, the Republicans now say that it wasn't Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, but maybe it was antifa. Trumps speech had no bearing on the crowd. It was no more fiery than any other political speech. It's over, it's time to move on, nothing to see here.
The Democrats and ten Republicans signed onto an impeachment document charging Donald Trump with 'inciting an insurrection', and the trial begins tomorrow. The defense will say first that it is unconstitutional to impeach a man who is no longer in office, when in fact he was impeached while he was president, this is just the trial, the impeachment is a done deal. Failing that, the defense will say that Trump actually believed that he won the election and was only saying what he believed to be true. Failing that, the defense will say that the crowd acted on its own and not at the urging of the president.
So, the first argument is this trial is a sham, and if it isn't a sham then he didn't do it, and if he did do it, it isn't his fault. Wow, that's a stretch, millions of people saw, on live television what was occurring, in fact half the world saw it also. And make no mistake the world will be watching tomorrow also. Our allies and our enemies are already saying that America has given up the moral high ground. We cannot dictate to others what is democratic when we cannot uphold our own democracy.
The Republicans will acquit Donald Trump, and not because he didn't commit the crime of inciting insurrection, but because they are spineless cowards who are afraid to stand up to a dictator. And when they do acquit, they will have put an end to the Republican Party. Shame on them! I believe George Shultz would rather have died then to watch what he gave his live effort to, turn to dust.
I'm just sayin'
