ANOTHER VIEW: Can we remain as a nation of laws, not ruled by a king?

“We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.” – Gov. Kathy Hochul (NY) 

 By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  |  Gov. Kathy Hochol of New York made the above statement after Trump had posted “He who saves his country does not violate any law.” That statement is taken from the French dictator Napoleon, a small of stature man who wanted to rule the world by force.

My father was French, but I do not view Trump like a Napoleon. My maternal grandparents were Italian. And I see Trump as more of a Mussolini than a Napoleon. In fact, there are numerous similarities with Mussolini, who came to power a century ago.

Trump encouraged insurrectionists to overturn a free and fair election. As then Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) stated on the Senate floor in January of 2021: “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government.”

A century ago, Mussolini’s fascist followers marched on the elected government in Rome, stating that he would make Italy great again.  Italian government was weak, led by unpopular men. Mussolini bluffed them into thinking that his Blackshirt Militia, funded by wealthy Italians, would attack if they did not abdicate. Thus, Mussolini took power. On January 6, 2021, Trump attempted to do the same thing. He was prevented from leading the insurrectionists by the Secret Service. But his MAGA base followed his demand to march on our Capitol to overthrow an election. If not for a few good men, like Vice President Mike Pence, he would have succeeded.

Since that time, Trump has strengthened his support in the MAGA group which originally put him into office. Because the Democrats had a feeble, unpopular president, Trump was able to add disaffected independents who were concerned with Biden’s inaction on inflation and immigration. But Trump  won no mandate, getting less than a majority of voters. 

The truth is that Trump has never been interested in uniting the nation behind a common set of lofty values. Trump obtained office via inciting his base, promoting bigotry and tribalism, pitting white working-class voters against people of color and the LBGTQ community. His support is still very weak, especially among educated Americans and independents.

The libertarian Cato Institute discusses various aspects of a fascist state. It lists how this is done, including- appealing to “capitalist cronies”; appointing these cronies (“If a constitution makes it difficult for a strong man to appoint his cronies to high positions, he should disregard the constitution and appoint them anyway”); and subverting human rights to further “national greatness.” Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, ignored by the MAGA Congress, is just the start.

We are well on our way to losing our republic. Maybe we have already arrived without realizing it.

Time only will tell if we can continue, as Governor Hochul said, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.” 

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