National Report
With the onset of the Civil War, in 1861, General Ulysses S Grant said, “There are but two parties now: traitors and patriots. And I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter and, I trust, the stronger party.” When you listen to the phone call from Donald J Trump (R) to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) it is reminiscent to an episode from the Sopranos.
As Trump wallows in mischaracterizations, Internet conspiracies and outright lies he seeks loyalty not to the system of democracy, but to him. He seeks an autocracy not democracy, a strong man system, reflective of Russia and third world countries.
He outright asks for Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes, one more than the number he lost by in Georgia. He also, says to him, as a Republican, as if his integrity as an elected official, one swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the one of his state, he should choose, party over country, or state. One would think having been impeached for a “perfect call” once would have given him some pause about such future exchanges, but clearly it did not.
One interesting facet of this new calls, of which there maybe more to other states, is that he may have opened himself up to another potential impeachment after he leaves office. This is intended to prevent people from seeking office again if they are convicted in this instance.
The entirety of the transcript can be found here https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/03/politics/trump-brad-raffensperger-phone-call-transcript/index.html and excerpts can be heard on news sources except the rightwing affiliates. This connection followed 18 calls Trump had made trying to reach Raffensperger. When he did the call included Raffensperger’s lawyer and was obviously recorded.
This sets an interesting situation for the “Sedition Caucus” of 11 Republican Senators( Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR) stepped back after the call) and 140 House members who intend to challenge the legitimacy of former Vice-President Joe Biden’s election. Clearly, those who fall in line with Trump after this will be impinging their own credibility from that point forward.
The sycophants that fawn for Trump’s approval in order to not get primaried are purely pathetic. The recognition that Trump hijacked the Republican party now are starting calls for a new party to rid the stink of Trump from their ranks, but the problem is he still invokes fear and cowardice.
Trump is disgusting and his followers pitiful.