Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020 | 2 a.m.
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I wanted to discuss President Donald Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan with his vision for a peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. But, alas, there is other pressing business to consider, so any thoughts about the plan and its chances for success will have to wait.
I can sum up my initial thoughts by saying what I have seen looks very much like the last peace plan that didn’t happen, way back at the end of the Clinton administration — more or less.
More land and settlements for Israel, less land and sovereignty for the Palestinians. Sounds good to me, but I am not the audience. The folks who live in that part of the world and who have to live with whatever is agreed to constitute the audience. The difference is the array of other Arab countries that seem ready to impose an agreement on their Palestinian colleagues. So, time will tell.
I remain focused, at least at the time of this writing, on the impeachment hearings of Donald John Trump, president of the United States. After a key vote Friday, the outcome of the trial is all but sealed. Senators will return Monday for closing arguments, and Wednesday it appears the trial will be over, with at least 51 senators voting for acquittal. Key witnesses like John Bolton will not have been called.
And the public may remain forever in the dark about the dark days of the president’s abuse of power, the absolute power conferred upon him as president — according to the man with the big brain and his lawyers who all appear to have lost their minds. Actually, forever will only last a short time.
My experience tells me that a book “banned in Boston” can become an instant bestseller. I can’t imagine that a book banned by the Trump White House won’t break all sales records.
I am reminded of King Louis XIV who ruled France four centuries ago and is remembered as declaring “L’etat c’est moi.” That means “I am the State,” which makes some sense if it is uttered by the king. There is nothing and no one above him, and everyone below him must do his bidding. Yes, it is good to be king!
That appears to be the defense argued by Trump and his lawyers and willingly accepted by Republican senators who are charged with an oath to the Constitution but who give allegiance only to a political party. With an acquittal, Trump will no longer be just the president of the United States, he will be on his way to a kingdom! According to the lawyers and his Senate lapdogs, if he thinks an action is good for him then it is good for the country and it matters not what the people or the Constitution think!
If memory serves, that kind of attitude didn’t work out so well for King George III. (Look up American Revolution for more details).
As we approach a post-impeachment period, the question remains for the voters to ultimately decide whether we want to move toward a monarchy, or a dictatorship, or some other kind of authoritarian government. This assumes, of course, that a newly emboldened Trump will actually allow the voters to make that decision free from any more interference.
Maybe a miracle will occur between now and Wednesday, and there will be some witnesses called who will shed light and truth on this sordid affair — not that it will change the ultimate outcome but at least it will present some semblance of a fair trial for which the overwhelming majority of Americans have expressed their preference.
All of this has left me scratching my head trying to figure out how we have managed as a country to find ourselves so far down this rabbit hole of make believe and why some Americans have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by at least 51 United States senators.
I can understand how a few dozen senators can act so immorally as to forget why they went to Washington in the first place. Power corrupts and fear of a Twitter feed and Fox News can drive a senator to distraction and the destruction of any legacy built upon doing what is right. But, in the face of overwhelming public support for an impeachment trial with witnesses and documents, how is it that these corrupted senators can expect to convince the voters — those who voted for and against the president — that their decision to abuse their own oaths to follow the Constitution will be tolerated?
The answer to that question may have been revealed in the mid-19th century by the incomparable Phineas Taylor Barnum, also know as P.T. That great impresario — he brought us the circus, complete with the Bearded Lady and General Tom Thumb — was a master at separating the public from its hard-earned money. There were few of his time who did it any better.
He claimed without contradiction that “there is a sucker born every minute.” And he built a considerable business upon that belief.
So, I used my “very big brain” and my considerable math skills to determine if, perhaps, Barnum was right.
Since there were about 25 million Americans in the middle 1800s, if we extrapolate the almost 15-fold increase in our population, multiply it by the number of seconds that have ticked by since those times, divide by the percentage of senators who inhabit the GOP ranks of the Senate, it is clear that at least 51 Republican senators could have easily come to life during those minutes in our past that have been set aside for suckers to be born.
That could explain why a bunch of scared, power-hungry senators have allowed themselves to be duped by President Trump and his lawyers. But it doesn’t explain why the people they want to sucker — a large number of Americans who voted for Trump — have refused to take the bait.
Even though a great number of those voters were also born “every minute,” I believe at some point that most people, no matter their political persuasion, are moral and ethical. And they know what’s fair when they see it being denied to them.
But these senators are different. They have failed their test of decency and fealty to the Constitution. They have fallen, hook, line and sinker, for Trump’s declaration that he is the state. They have become part of his chorus. All that remains is a coronation.
The president and his courtesans think January 2021 would be a good time.
With due respect to P.T. Barnum and King Louis XIV, I do hope the American people disagree.
Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun
