HEARINGS OF THE CENTURY — The Weekly Opine

Finally, the heat of accountability encircles Trump. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Crunch time

It could not be more sober. During public hearings, set to begin tonight, American democracy is pitted against the most despicable, criminal presidential administration in United States history.

We don’t need Johnny Nash to sing how clear this all is. Fundamentally, at stake are the U.S. Constitution and majority-rule voting rights. Our unalienable right to life, liberty and lawful pursuit of happiness are on the line.

In other words, if you are sleeplessly anxious about any of the myriad issues bedeviling America – racism, misogynism, homophobia, immigration, gun violence, the pandemic, climate change, rigged financial markets, a rigged Supreme Court – the power to force change lies at the ballot box. Only by voting out do-nothing bums, like Mitch McConnell, will America be able to gaze forward at progressive possibilities, rather than staring backwards at life-ruining isms foisted on us by angry white supremacist losers.

At its core, that’s what the January 6 hearings are about...the people’s right to vote in free and fair elections. On one side as ‘plaintiffs’ are those of us who still value our 246-year-old, work-in-progress democracy. On the other side as ‘defendants’ are Trump and his ignorant lickspittles.

Clearly, there is a distinct connection between what happened on January 6 and Republican attempts to fix elections through gerrymandering, interfering with election outcomes, voter intimidation, and inserting fake, fraudulent election officials.

Attempts to alter voting laws and maps predates Trump. But Trump turbocharged these efforts by blatantly trying to overthrow our government to remain in power as a Putin-like authoritarian leader. Then mix in blatant efforts by the not-so-Grand, very white Old Party to promote white supremacy and gun violence. What you get is toxicity visible to satellites circling high above the planet.

God bless America? Better to say “God save America.” (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Pay attention

Nothing else matters as much right now. Disregard inflation and high gas prices and the price of eggs. Set aside the NBA Finals and your favorite Netflix show. Ignore your irritating boss or neurotic neighbor.

Our collective, undivided attention should be on saving our democracy. To do so means everyone must take this opportunity to witness the facts presented by the January 6 Committee.

The United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack is under intense pressure. The committee is under at least as much pressure, maybe more, than Allied soldiers who landed at Normandy on D-Day. They are under at least as much pressure, if not more, than Union soldiers who fought at Gettysburg. To save America, the January 6 Committee must do what the Mueller Report and Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment managers failed to do; pave the way for Trump to finally be charged with crimes that lead to conviction and lifetime incarceration.

(You remember the Mueller Report. Author Robert Mueller, in exhaustive detail, laid out obvious criminal activity by Trump. But shucks, Mueller omitted actually stating that Trump committed crimes. Mueller’s inconclusive summary opened the door for Trump’s hack attorney general, Bill Barr, to interpret the report as exonerating Trump. All that remained was for Nancy Pelosi to reluctantly wobble her way into passively impeaching Trump, without any chance the Senate would remove him from office.)

Getting rid of Trump will give wimps like McConnell and other gutless Republicans, currently afraid to stand up for their country, an off-ramp pathway to reject what they surely know is wrong. Initially, GOP leaders squarely blamed Trump for inciting the angry mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol. McConnell, Kevin McCarthy and Co. knew, in their heart of hearts, that Trump’s actions were seditious, treasonous and criminal.

Turns out Trump and many modern day Republicans are who we think they are. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Make no mistake, the public hearings are about nailing Trump. The House Select Committee must provide the Department of Justice overwhelming, irrefutable evidence to indict and convict Trump. And then other dominoes will fall. But the unparalleled focus right now should be finally holding Trump accountable.

Merrick Garland, so far, a barely mediocre attorney general, must deliver on his job description as the nation’s top cop. (Until proven otherwise, President Joe Biden’s biggest, most foolish blunder was naming a Republican to the post of attorney general.)

Garland’s DOJ has mostly gone easy on seditious thugs who violated the U.S. Capitol Building. For example, consider Jenna Ryan, the realtor from Texas. Ryan bragged that, because she’s a white woman, she would never go to prison for participating in Trump’s attempt to overthrow the government.

Ryan was almost correct, receiving a tap-on-the-wrist sentence of 60 days. (I’ve said all along that anyone who entered the U.S. Capitol – regardless of if they did no damage – should get 15 years in the Big House for partaking in the attempted coup.)

But I digress. The ironclad focus of the hearings should be on Trump and his role orchestrating sedition, conspiracy and treason. The proof is all there. January 6 was a Trump-led conspiracy, planned well in advance by desperate Trump and unlawful Republican hoodlums.

Beyond reasonable doubt

The non-partisan, public policy organization, the Brookings Institution, opines that Trump is guilty of at least two crimes; conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and obstruction of a government function. Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C., told MSNBC the intent of both crimes has been proven. Therefore, at the conclusion of public hearings, the House Select Committee should refer Trump to the DOJ for criminal prosecution.

Trump’s lawyer, John Eastman, played a central role in developing the plan to overthrow our government. Lackey Jeff Clark, unqualified for but nonetheless placed in a prominent Justice Department position by Trump, was also a key figure. Without question, the Trump-fueled conspiracy began well before the violence that took place on January 6, 2021.

Watch. Learn. Vote. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Responsible media should be all hands on deck. Sports-focused media, like ESPN and the Golf Channel, should reduce coverage of the NBA Finals and U.S. Open golf and cover the hearings. QVC Shopping Network, HGTV and Turner Classic Movies should also show the hearings, as should HBO, Netflix, and any other self-respecting media outlets. College sports networks, such as the SEC and Big Ten networks, should go all-in broadcasting the hearings.

Details of Trump’s conspiracy to overthrow our government, presented by the House Select Committee, should be unavoidable. Facebook and Twitter news feeds should exclusively report facts coming out of the hearings. Americans should get a heavy dose of the inescapable truth of Trump’s guilt because our democracy and way of life are at stake!

House Select Committee members should perform as objective moderators and mostly stay out of the way. Allow video, text messages, audio recordings and first-person testimony to speak powerful truth. No grandstanding speeches by committee members. Be concise and pound home a central theme: Trump and his administration acted criminally trying to take away our constitutional right to fair and free elections.

Like a warm-up act before the main show, several members of white supremacist groups the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have already been indicted on charges of seditious conspiracy. This includes Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio. (Btw, haven’t white supremacist Proud Boys and their immigrant-hating supporters noticed that Proud Boys leader Tarrio is Afro-Cuban, i.e. Latino? Just sayin’.)

Golf afficionados are familiar with the phrase “moving day.” It references Saturday during a four-day golf tournament. Golfers aim to make the cut after the first two days of play, on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, golfers play to move up the leaderboard, so they are in contention for the win come Sunday.

In my view, the January 6 hearings are tantamount to moving day. The Jan. 6 Committee must move the needle so the American people pressure Merrick Garland and the DOJ to indict, convict and send Donald J. Trump to prison for the rest of his life. And then we can all watch dominoes named Eastman, Clark, Giuliani, Bannon, Navarro, Jordan, Meadows, McCarthy, and many more, receive their comeuppance.

Only then will our democracy, and freedom to vote and have it count, be saved.