Bit by bit, the United States is becoming like some Central American banana republic, where presidents who lose office expect to be jailed by their successors.
Already a subscriber?The American republic is decaying in front of us. The precepts on which it was founded – that votes should be respected, that the law must apply evenly, that no one is bigger than the Constitution – are giving way one by one.p and the reaction to it reveal a country where two sides start with their preferred result then reason backwards. Process is subordinated to outcome – an attitude that, in the end, is incompatible with liberal democracy.
They had themselves been taught that their nation, born out of a revolt against arbitrary rule, was designed to prevent the concentration of power; that it was, in John Adams’ handsome phrase, “a government of laws and not of men”.Laws on their own, though, are not enough. A free society rests also on conventions, precedents, unwritten rules. Losers are expected to accept the result, winners to exercise restraint. Supporters of other parties should be treated as opponents, not enemies.
What is Trump’s superpower? He is no orator. He never served in uniform. He is toddler-like in his neediness, his self-centredness, his whiny insistence that he actually won. The stories he tells are best described by Shakespeare’s Prince Hal: “These lies are like their father that begets them – gross as a mountain, open, palpable.”No, what sets him apart is his readiness to go low.
Three times, Republican primary voters have opted for such a man as the Founding Fathers had in mind when they designed their checks and balances, a man they would have clocked for a two-bit Caesarist who subordinates his public office to his private interests. It was up to voters to defend the most basic republican principle of all, namely that their national institutions are bigger than the man passing through them. They failed.Which brings us to the present crisis.
Trump himself is now not just under indictment, but a convicted felon, and it has, if anything, slightly boosted his opinion poll standing. Far from being chastened, Trump continues to demand that people who cross him be locked up.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
iPad Pro review 2024: Will 2024 be the year the iPad Pro finally becomes useful?Apple’s latest tablet is undoubtedly one the greatest feats of computer hardware engineering ever. But what about its software?
Read more »
Democrats push Biden to make Trump’s felonies a top 2024 issueDemocrats are hungry to tell voters that Donald Trump’s conviction makes him unfit for office; Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue. Follow updates here.
Read more »
Democrats push Biden to make Trump’s felonies a top 2024 issueDemocrats are hungry to tell voters that Donald Trump’s conviction makes him unfit for office; Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue. Follow updates here.
Read more »
Democrats push Biden to make Trump’s felonies a top 2024 issueDemocrats are hungry to tell voters that Donald Trump’s conviction makes him unfit for office; Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue. Follow updates here.
Read more »
Democrats push Biden to make Trump’s felonies a top 2024 issueDemocrats are hungry to tell voters that Donald Trump’s conviction makes him unfit for office; Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue. Follow updates here.
Read more »
USA v Canada: T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 openerOver-by-over report: Will the co-hosts get their campaign off to a winning start against their northern neighbours? Join Rob Smyth
Read more »