We Had a Whole Revolution About This

There is no American royalty and we need to make sure it stays that way

King’s really aren’t our jam

On April 19^th, 1775, the “shot heard around the world” rang out in Concord as British troops from Boston marched out to seize a rumored cache of weapons being stockpiled by those rebellious Colonists. The Lexington Alarm made famous by Paul Revere’s ride went out across Massachusetts summoning ‘Minute Man’ militias to answer the call to arms.

Thirty-seven miles to the south in Mansfield, a 28-year-old single farmer named Joseph Wellman got the word. He grabbed his .72-caliber smoothbore flintlock and joined Col. John Daggett’s 4^th Regiment and marched north. He would eventually join the 13^th Continental Infantry Regiment and rise to the rank of Sergeant in the United States Army fighting under George Washington. His regiment was part of the legendary battle of Trenton, crossing the ice filled Delaware River to assault the Hessians occupying the small town on Christmas morning 1776.

Joseph died as an innkeeper in Bremen, Maine in 1831 at the remarkable age of 84-years-old. He fought to rid our nation of a despotic king and his ruthless and unlimited power. His own son fought in the War of 1812 as Britain took us on again. He was my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. Fighting royal overreach sort of runs in my blood I suppose.

Men and women like him won our freedom and after trials and tribulations we enacted a Constitution built to provide checks and balances on the unlimited power of any of the three branches of government and ensure that no individual would have the despotic power of King George. The Founding Fathers built our vaulted system of ‘checks and balances’ giving each branch of government a role in oversight of the other two so that none of the three coequal pillars could rule with impunity.

The last seven years have shown us clearly how ridiculously weak those vaunted systems are when those charged with leading them are bent on authoritarian goals and not the best interests of the American people.

Today’s Republican Party is working feverishly to undue our ancestors sacrifices and install a new royalty.

America’s Royalty: The Duke and Duchess of Thomas

Today began with an explosive story from ProPublica on the outrageous corruption of Justice Clarence Thomas and his relationship with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow. For over two decades Crow has been providing the Supreme Court Justice with incredible vacations, free rides on his private jet, tours on his super yacht, stays at his exclusive Adirondak resort, work for his wife Ginni, and much more.

He hasn’t reported nearly any of the largesse. Why? Because he essentially doesn’t even have to. His failure to report these gifts appears to violate a law passed in the fallout from Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress, and federal officials to disclose nearly all gifts they receive. But we already know Chief Justice Roberts thinks those rules are just really guidelines after all.

From the story, “A code of conduct for federal judges below the Supreme Court requires them to avoid even the “appearance of impropriety.” Members of the high court, Chief Justice John Roberts has written, “consult” that code for guidance. The Supreme Court is left almost entirely to police itself.” They are for all intents and purposes immune from any ethics rules or regulations that the entire United States government applies to everyone else below their exalted seats.

The amount of money involved is simply staggering and has gone on for decades from providing donations to fund a job for Ginni Thomas to regular use of his private jet and massive yacht to tool the waters of the world from Indonesia to Greece. None of it has been reported and Clarence doesn’t even have to answer a single question to anyone about it.

George III must be green with envy in his grave.

America’s Royalty: Orange King Donald

Donald Trump has never pretended to not be American royalty in his own narcissistic bubble. Any of us who served in Iraq and walked the halls of Saddam’s tacky, gold adorned palaces recognize Trump’s tacky apartment and moldy golf club in Florida in every picture. Vanity Fair literally did an entire article comparing them in 2016

So, it’s no surprise that his behavior in office was always aimed at giving him unlimited and unchecked power. He surrounded himself with courtiers who eagerly did his bidding and told him how manly and powerful he was from the Prince of Darkness Stephen Miller, to America’s Rasputin Steve Bannon and the weird Court Jester Lindsey Graham. Thousands have lined up to jostle for prime real estate for their lips on his globulous orange ass for years now.

After the shocking rejection of his malevolent rule he incited a mob to attack the seat of our government to hold on to power. Many foolishly thought that would be the end of his rule but within weeks the courtiers returned with simpering future Speaker of the House leading the caravan to kiss Trump’s tiny hands and genuflect before his lifted shoes.

This week the slow wheels of justice finally began to turn as Trump faced arraignment on 34 felony counts before the New York courts. It was the news of the week and his loyal servants are kicking in to protect his desperate attempts to avoid facing actual consequences for years of criminal behavior. He is a man who has never once been charged with a criminal accounting after bragging about his disdain for the rules that govern the little people.

The pathetic Duke of Not Seeing Shit Jim Jordan is working overtime to influence and undermine New York Attorney General Alvin Bragg’s criminal investigation breaking two hundred years of precedence in federal oversight to prevent Donald Trump from being prosecuted for any of his many crimes.

The Republicans are willing to do anything to protect Trump from even the slightest retribution for his many abuses of power exactly as the princelings and courtiers of old would for their king. None of them are saying he didn’t commit crimes. They are simply arguing that as a former President and candidate he should be immune from any criminal charges.

Louis XIV would have kept his head had he such loyal courtiers willing to do his bidding and protect his power.

America’s Royalty: The Prince of Ill Fitting Suits Ron DeSantis

For centuries the favored followers of the royal family were gifted with lands and power to rule over the people within them. Nations were carved up to be handed to the most loyal followers of the king. Stories abound of the outrageous excesses of these princes and dukes as they ruled with iron hands taking whatever they wanted.

In Florida Ron DeSantis sees himself as the rightful heir to the throne of Donald and has been working feverishly for four years to prove that he is more thirsty for unlimited power than the man who blessed his rule and endorsed his candidacy when he needed it most. Who can forget the cringeworthy ad with his infant building a wall and calling himself a “pitbull Trump defender?”

Once in office he has cowed his rubber stamp legislature into subservience passing any outrageous law he proposed from unlimited concealed carry weapons, the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, and a battle with the state’s largest employer Walt Disney. All done while pathetically calling it a war on ‘wokeness.’

Now he is openly preparing a run for President in every way with the most ruthless and rotten Republican advisors and consultants joining his ‘not-a-campaign-campaign’ to shape his national reputation. Unfortunately for the prince, Florida has a law that requires those seeking federal office to resign their state position to ensure that the people of the state have elected officials working on their behalf and not using them to springboard to more power.

The bill, passed in 2008 requires candidates to submit a resignation no later than 10 days before the qualifying deadline to run for federal office. It was strengthened in 2018 to close a loophole that allowed then Republican Governor Charlie Crist run for the Senate.

But like any true royal, Ron isn’t going to let a law made by the little people keep him from doing as he pleases and right on cue the spineless and complicit Florida Republican party has already announced they are ready to drop a law on cue to waive that requirement so their prince can move forward with his quest for more power.

Tsar Nicholas would have loved having such a compliant parliament to do his bidding.

Bad checks and broken balances

For years now we have seen the continuous erosion of what were meant to be checks and balances on the power of our government. It’s almost cute how Republicans once accused Obama of ruling with an iron fist for using Executive Orders to bypass the Congress. Today they have completely abdicated any pretense of offering true oversight of the Executive or Judicial branches.

We found how weak the laws that have been passed truly are as the Trump White House completely demolished the Hatch Act meant to stop federal officials from using their official offices and positions for partisan or commercial purposes. From Goya product placements in the Oval Office to hosting the Republican National Convention at the White House itself they proved that common norms of shame and respect for the office only work on people who can feel shame and respect. Donald Trump and his many courtiers are not those people.

We must demand a return to norms. Once a precedent is shattered the line of what is “normal” moves with it. It’s not enough to simply behave in the old way. There must be rules and punishments set for those that violate them to set the bar again. We have seen none of that to date.

So many dreamed that once Trump was out of office we could magically return to “normal” again. I said then, and I still do today, that normal went out the window when that menace came down the golden escalator. This week proves how correct I was.

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