If Adolf Hitler had been captured and tried, he would certainly have been hanged at Nuremberg with the rest of the Nazis. The crazy thing is, he would have died knowing in his mind that he was right. The secret Jewish cabal had indeed come for him, just as he had been predicting for much of his adult life.
Paranoia is an article of faith, not reason. You can't disprove conspiracy theories because they don't require proof in the first place, only suspicion. Believers just believe and that's the end of it. Demagogues, aware of this, agitate these passions like strippers giving a giant collective lap dance to their followers. Never a climax, only the promise of one. Hitler was a demagogue but also a true believer. Donald Trump is just a demagogue.
I'm reminded of Luigi Garlaschelli, who conducted a radio carbon dating experiment on the Shroud of Turin to prove that it was a fake. Thanks for the news flash, Luigi. Perhaps his next experiment can prove to the faithful that science dictates the church would have run out of Jesus to eat a good 2,000 years ago. Reason does not work here, it is beside the point of faith.
For the leaders who are entrusted with the object of that faith, there are few crimes worse than exploiting it. Trump's latest efforts to steal the 2020 election approach treason. He is a modern day Catiline, who plotted to burn down the Roman Republic and cancel all debt because he failed in public life. Like a drunken college student trashing his rental house on the way out of town, Trump is doing what he always does - wasting someone else's money in a fit of narcissistic outrage. "I keep whining and whining until I win," he once remarked. There is no article in the Constitution for that, not even Article XII. That he sits in the chair Washington relinquished in the face of almost unanimous adulation, whining like a toddler, is a betrayal of everything this Republic stands for.
I voted for President Trump and I have defended him often. I have also maligned him when he deserves it, and he certainly deserves it here. Even Al Gore abided the decision of the courts. Even Hillary Clinton - despite her flaccid attempts to cast blame - conceded defeat. When will Donald Trump do the same?
The grave crime here is not Donald Trump contesting the election. He represents some 71 million people, of course he should contest any fraud that he believes exists. To that end, his efforts are good for the Republic in that they deter future fraud, ostensibly expose existing fraud and uphold the Rule of Law.
Conservatives generally understand this distinction. Every black man who suffers at the hands of police brutality is familiar with the "wait for the courts" mentality of conservatism. When Judge Kavanaugh was absurdly abused by delinquents who call themselves Senators, conservatives appropriately declared: "Let's see the evidence." They should say the same now.
Rudy Giuliani, standing at a podium, waving around alleged "proof" the way Marc Antony waved around Julius Caesar's blood stained toga, is not the same thing. Alleging widespread and improbable fraud and agitating the passions of the angry masses is distinct from challenging the results in court. That the people doing this have the nerve to call themselves patriots is galling.
I couldn't give a rat's ass what Chris Cuomo or Stephen Colbert think of Trump's claims either, since they have spent the past 4 years absurdly maligning the legitimacy of Donald Trump's presidency. Colonel Frank Slade succinctly expresses my sentiments towards Democrats and members of the media (often one in the same) who have suddenly discovered concern for the integrity of our electoral process.
The thing is, sinking into the muck with Alinksyan relish because the other side does it too is so contemptible, I would need to travel to Mars and mine contempt for a century just to have enough to express how much I have for this ridiculous argument. In Joseph Addison's Cato, a Tragedy, (George Washington's favorite play) Cato literally tore his guts out of his belly rather than succumb to Julius Caesar's clemency:
"Would he save Cato? Bid him spare his Country.
Tell your Dictator this, and tell him Cato
Disdain's a Life, which he has Power to offer."
I disdain a presidency earned through the force of might and treachery, even if I voted for the man perpetrating the treachery. Perhaps there will yet be proof of voter fraud widespread enough to give Donald Trump the White House. If it exists, let's have it. Don't tickle my neck and excite me with the promises of proof. Get your ass into court and prove it. Otherwise, go back to your golden toilets and reality television and leave me to deal with the ridiculous leadership of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
https://thebelltower.org/blog/f/disdain