ASPartOfMe to Biden and Cuomo, No Trump Pardon Please

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Rant:
In the '74 while most of the country was angered by President Ford's pardon of Nixon I favored it because I was sick of "Watergate, Watergate, Watergate" and just felt after 11 years of national fissures starting with the JFK assassination enough was enough. Besides, the man was physically sick with painful phlebitis, going after him seemed cruel. I was about to turn 17 that September and screw the past look towered the future is how people at that age naturally think.

Over the decades it has become conventional wisdom that the decision was the right with even people that hated the pardon at the time saying in retrospect it was the right thing to do. I guess this is another example of my different autistic thinking but as I saw scandal after scandal in the ensuing years with the "slippery slope" seemingly correct I changed my mind the other way.

On the surface, the pro pardon people seem correct. Right after the pardon in the hedonistic inward-looking disco years, the country could not forget Watergate and Vietnam and the race riots fast enough. The 80s saw a revival of patriotism, which at the time was needed to win the cold war. But by the 90s it has become apparent to me is that we did not move forward at all, the divisions and problems laid bubbling just beneath the surface all along and it took "draft dodger" ex-hippie Clinton to bring it out. And since we have been in the "slippery slope" of divisions seemingly proving Devo's "devolution" theory correct.

So here we are in 2021 I am much sicker of Trump and desire to move on more than I ever was of Watergate almost a 1/2 a century ago. I am not a lawyer and do not know if Trump committed convictable crimes(although I have my strong suspicions). I have the feeling that Biden with his move forward language will pardon him because he does not want his administration dominated by the guy he defeated. That would be wishful thinking. Sure out of pure exhaustion the media and many of us will ignore the guy once he out of office but the MAGA's won't. Let's face it, the guy is a master triggerer and in time he will be dominating the political scene again. If Trump can get away with pardoning himself the decision would be taken out of Biden's hands. Then it will be up to Cuomo. That would be fitting we in New York unleashed him on the world we should put him away for the remainder of his existence.

An argument will be made a prosecution would be perceived by enough people as persecution making things worse. Well maybe. He is perceived as a persecuted martyr to the MAGA's now. Is there such a thing as being more of a martyr? Maybe him going to jail or being forced to flee the country in fear of prosecution will make a statement and make his successors think twice, maybe not. At the end of the day, it comes down to two things. The guy deserves what has been so long coming to him. I have seen a lot of evil corrupt politicians in my life come and go but I have never seen one that is pure malice. He needs to be punished for the damage he has done to the yes flawed but beautiful American experiment. It may not make a difference, the damage may be irreparable the more reason why he should be punished for his major part in it.

Cuomo is NOT going to pardon him. He wants the man in jail even more than you want him in jail.

Place your bets...

I want Trump to pardon himself, so we can see if he has Constitutional authority to do that.

Legal scholars are uncertain.

I hope he DOESN'T pardon himself. That would set a really bad precedent.

We don't need Presidents to believe that they are above the law.

There's absolutely NO reason why Cuomo would EVER pardon Trump.

Cuomo is many things----but I do believe he has a respect for the judicial process.

And....dammit....he just doesn't LIKE Trump.

True No Worse Precedent
Than A Truly Evil President

Biblical

In Proportions

Indeed Oldest

Revelation of

Demagogue

Despicable

Leader

Minions in Tow

EnablinG iT ALL

A Father of Most

Assessed Lies in Broad

Band Day Light For All to

See Cleary in 2020 Ease Now

Even More in 2021 Oh my

God 'Trump Devil'

Not Shy

At

All Not

Even A Fifth Avenue Surprise

He's Falling He's Melting

The Wicked Witch

Of the West

SoaKinG

In Water

Of Loser Failure Most Now

As What Usually Happens

When Malignant Demagogue 'Narcissism'

Implodes Trump's Going Somewhere

InDeed Not Good Now or Next Either...

For Where Does LoWesT of Low Falling

Have to Rise Truly in This Way the Ground is His Sky..

Y'know...one good thing I've observed about the orange idiot's time in power is that he's really called attention to just how long overdue it is for the US government to look over various rules and regulations regarding its checks and balances. Heck, while they're at it, they can look over the constitution as whole. Don't tell me it has been centuries since they've so much as did a read-through of certain clauses, as no matter how busy a government is, there's no way they haven't had time in...all that time.

Apparently, much of what the President can do relies heavily on some kind of honor system, as it's expected that every President would respect certain things. Well, we've just seen what happens when there's a President who doesn't adhere to social convention, and will do anything and everything to get away with as much as he can.

Up here in Canada, the Prime Minister couldn't just go on a power trip, because there are checks and balances in place to limit his capacity to do so. Why isn't that the case in the supposed pillar of Western society? It makes zero sense to me that a country like the US would rely on an "honor system" when it comes to governance. You'd think if any country has everything together, it's the US. WTF?

I think most reasoned thinkers are running with the established legal principle that no-one can be a judge in their own case, not even a president, and that the presidential pardoning powers are wide but not entirely unbounded. Unfortunately with the Republican Trump Party being a spine-free zone (apart from one or two), anything's possible now.

Yes, it's much the same with the UK political system - all participants are assumed to be "good eggs" and "people of honor" - but in practice that doesn't work out so well.
I think The Incredible Sulk has to qualify as the worst of the worst possible examples, though.

Yeah, he's an outlier among outliers, but there shouldn't be an assumption that no outliers will ever make it to office, no matter how unusual that may be. In general, it's a good idea to learn from the past. Whether we like it or not, the Trump presidency happened, and that's a fact that cannot be changed. However, the future can be. The US needs checks and balances so that a President cannot just do whatever. Establishing them would at least ensure that no matter what may happen down the road, no President will get away with half of what Donald did.

The moderates in the GOP will have to split into their own party. They still have my respect, but having an R next to their names will permanently associate them with Trump, regardless of whether or not they supported him.

i pray to the lord that no bad people get ahold of our constitution or else it may well be illegal to be pofolk.

In any case, the GOP likely cannot continue in its current form. Even if they all accepted Biden’s victory, there are still the issues of:

Hardline anti-abortion stances
Opposition to expanded LGBT rights
Refusal to consider at least some gun laws

Though, I will give them credit for being more open to marijuana legalization.