By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Fifteen years ago, I was the head of the Jasper County Republican Party. Never did I attack the local Democratic Party. Although we differed on which roads to pave, fiscal matters and so on, I tried to work with the Democrats on the County Commission to get things done. Never did I attack the local Democratic Party.
In other words, when I was a GOP elected official in Georgia, I felt relatively good about both parties. We just differed on policy issues.
No longer do I feel that way. Along with many prominent GOP figures (Romney, Ryan, Cheney and more), I have given up on the Republican Party. And it is primarily because of Donald Trump and his cult-like following in the GOP… locally, statewide and nationally.
A comment by Rep. Mike Collins on June 13, who represents part of Gwinnett, is typical of the Trump cult members in Congress. He is quoted as saying: “The American justice system has become little more than a weapon the left uses to bludgeon its political opponents into submission.”
Collins is complaining that the “left” (i.e., Democrats) control our court system. If it were not for the fact that the GOP base believes him, his statement would be amusing.
Clearly, Collins just wants to curry favor with the cult leader. So, regardless of the facts, he made a declaration that Trump would approve. Strangely, he makes this statement about progressives controlling the court system, even though the son of the Democratic Party leader (President Biden), was just convicted in a federal court on gun charges and faces significant jail time.
The truth is exactly the opposite of what Collins asserts. It is the GOP that has totally rebuilt our nation’s judiciary in its own image. For example, there are nine justices of the Supreme Court. Six are very conservative, with three being Trump appointees. Per research conducted by Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Michigan, nearly two-thirds of the Supreme Court’s decisions now favor conservatives-not the “Left.”
Just think about recent far-right SCOTUS decisions which overturned long established precedents regarding abortion, affirmative action, voting rights, gun control, and the separation of church and state.
Since the start of Reagan’s term, Republican presidents have appointed 1,184 federal judges. Democrats only appointed 721 prior to Biden. Even with Biden’s appointees, Democrats still have appointed fewer judges versus Republicans (922 versus 1,184).
The complaints about the justice system from Collins and other Congressional cult members are being voiced after Trump was recently convicted of felonies in New York. Because of various reasons (including political bias by a Trump-appointed Florida federal judge), Trump’s other legal woes will not result in any convictions before the election. He is currently awaiting trial on federal election interference (District U.S. District Court); classified documents (southern Florida U.S. District Court) and Georgia election interference (Georgia Court).
Even if he is ultimately convicted in every case, Trump knows that he will be able to pardon himself if he is re-elected. That’s what he did for his supporters when they were convicted of crimes. This rogue’s gallery includes Roger Stone; Steve Bannon: Paul Manafort; Charles Kushner (his son-in-law’s dad); and disgraced former General Michael Flynn. Plus, dozens of others, including major GOP donors.
Rep. Mike Collins may not realize it is obvious which side is abusing the justice system. And it is not the Democrats.
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