* Erik’s Editorial: The Guilty Parties Who Put American Democracy At Risk In The Name Of Donald Trump

US White House upside down (public domain).

I do not fault stupid people for making the stupid decision to elect Donald Trump in 2016.

I do fault smart people for making stupid decisions. These include:

1. Senators who voted to acquit Donald Trump in his no-witnesses-allowed impeachment trial, including primarily Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:

* Impeachment of Donald Trump (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Donald_Trump#Acquittal

* Mitch McConnell (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell#Impeachment_trial

2. Members of the GOP who voted to disenfranchise voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – before, during, and AFTER the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol – including Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jody Hice (R–GA-10), Mo Brooks (R–AL-05), Scott Perry (R–PA-10), Josh Hawley (R–MO), and Louie Gohmert (R–TX-01).

* 2021 Storming Of The United States Capitol (2021-01-06)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol

* 2020 United States Presidential Election Electoral College Count (2021-01-06 – 2021-01-07)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_Electoral_College_count

3. Donald Trump’s cabinet, who could have invoked the 25th Amendment to remove POTUS at any time:

* Cabinet Of Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Donald_Trump

4. Social media, including especially Facebook and Twitter, for allowing their social networks to be used as platforms for hate speech.

* Donald Trump On Social Media (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_on_social_media#2021

5. Mainstream media, including especially CNN (on the left) and Fox News (on the right) for not doing their jobs – asking questions until they get answers – and allowing POTUS to lie unchecked.

* Veracity Of Statements By Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump

6. Lawmakers at all levels, for failing to fix bad laws and for failing to enact good laws. Changes that must be made going forward include:

Limiting POTUS power:

  • Executive order power must be limited.
  • All cabinet members (acting/interim/actual) must be confirmed by Senate.
  • Treaties and tariffs must be the role of Congress so that POTUS cannot engage in trade wars.
  • War Powers Act must be updated to limit POTUS power to deploy the military.
  • Special Counsel Act must be updated to make clear that POTUS cannot fire special counsel.

Writing better and new laws:

  • Impeachment Act of 2021, to define how impeachment is conducted, including the requirement to have witnesses.
  • Follow the lead of The Restatements Of The Law project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restatements_of_the_Law) and codify major SCOTUS cases, including especially Roe v. Wade.
  • Fix the Census.
  • Fix immigration.
  • Fix SCOTUS processes, such as limiting appointments to 2 per POTUS with the number of SCOTUS justices fixed at the number of Federal Circuits (currently 13).
  • Election reform, including who is qualified to run for POTUS and that tax forms must be disclosed to do so.

Just to name a few.

Stupid people, bad laws, and lies got us into this mess.

Smart people, good laws, and the truth can get us out of this mess.

LAW >> MAN.

#FailedPols
https://www.failblog.com/

Scott Pruitt Resigns from “Transformative Work”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned on July 5, 2018, keeping Team Trump in the lead for the number of White House staff departures. Though Pruitt is resigning amid numerous scandals in which he figures, some who know Pruitt hold him up as a “man of God.” Scott Pruitt, a Southern Baptist evangelical Christian, himself claims to believe that God put him in the position to serve Donald Trump. His resignation letter, full of references to “blessing” Trump, says as much. Below is a portion of the letter.

“My desire in service to you has always been to bless you as you make important decisions for the. American people. I believe you are serving as president today because of God’s providence. I believe the same providence brought me into your service. I pray as I have served you that I have blessed you and enabled you to effectively lead the American people.”

Scott Pruitt’s career has focused largely on faith-based issues. As a young attorney, he worked for the Rutherford Institute, a non-profit conservative organization. His first legal case was a lawsuit against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for alleged infringement on the religious freedoms of his client.

Citing the “transformative work” taking place under Trump’s leadership, and with himself as head of the EPA, Scott Pruitt went on to say, “However, the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my family, are unprecedented and have taken a sizable toll on all of us.”

It has been a theme of late, especially during the advent of the Trump administration, for evangelicals to say that they are misunderstood, discriminated against for their beliefs, and even persecuted. No doubt, in the days to come, there will be a faction of evangelicals who rush to Pruitt’s defense, citing “persecution.”

Sometimes, allegations of “attacks” on one’s beliefs, or of the denial of religious freedom, are warranted. And yet, when one is associated with as much corruption as is Scott Pruitt, can anyone really say that the pressure on him to resign, and the subsequent widespread relief at his doing so, is “religious persecution”?

Scott Pruitt is the subject of over a dozen ethics investigations, which will continue despite his stepping down. Below are just a few examples of recent allegations against Scott Pruitt:

  • Pruitt used taxpayer money for personal items, including using $3,230 to purchase personalized journals and pens at $130 each from a luxury jewelry store.
  • Pruitt accepted gifts and favors from, and hobnobbed with, people in industries he was supposed to regulate, including the coal industry, the National Mining Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
  • An EPA whistleblower reported that Scott Pruitt and some of his staff kept a secret calendar for meetings that were possibly controversial, such as those with industry officials. This violates federal laws against hiding or falsifying public records.

It would be interesting to know what goes on in the mind of anyone who considers himself to be a “servant of God,” yet knowingly commits not one or two, but an ongoing series of plainly unethical acts. What does Scott Pruitt tell himself, and how does he reconcile “godly servanthood” with his corruptness?

Key Trump ally Scott Pruitt forced to resign | Al Jazeera English [2018-07-06]

Scott Pruitt resigns from the White House amid negative allegations: report | Fox Business [2018-07-05]