MAGA’s Single Party Dream

“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!” - Donald Trump

“The Nazi Party … was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism … The party aimed to unite ‘racially desirable’ Germans as national comrades while excluding those deemed to be either political dissidents, physically or intellectually inferior, or of a foreign race … “Adolf Hitler, the party's leader since 1921, was appointed Chancellor of Germany … on 30 January 1933, and quickly seized power afterwards. Hitler established a totalitarian regime known as the Third Reich and became dictator with absolute power.” - Wikipedia on Nazi Party 

 

“The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Constitution.” - Wikipedia on the Soviet Union

The Russian Federation has a de jure multi-party system, however it operates as a de facto one-party system. As of 2020, six parties have members in the federal parliament, the State Duma, with one dominant party (United Russia) … Russian politics are now dominated by President Putin, his United Russia party, and Prime minister Mikhail Mishustin. At the 2003 legislative elections, United Russia reduced all other parties to minority status. Other parties retaining seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the legislature, are the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and A Just Russia.” - Wikipedia on the Russian Federation

“Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government in Beijing officially asserts to be the sole legitimate government of all of China, which it defines as including mainland China and Taiwan … In China, politics functions within a communist state framework based on the system of people's congress under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the National People's Congress (NPC) functioning as the highest organ of state power and only branch of government per the principle of unified power. The CCP leads state activities by holding two-thirds of the seats in the NPC, and these party members are, in accordance with democratic centralism, responsible for implementing the policies adopted by the CCP Central Committee and the National Congress. The NPC has unlimited state power … The nature of the elections is highly constrained by the CCP's monopoly on power in China, censorship, and party control over elections.” - Wikipedia on the People's Republic of China 

“Cuba [Republic of Cuba] has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the ‘one state – one party’ principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state … Cuba is a one-party state, with the Communist Party of Cuba being described as the ‘superior driving force of the society and the state’ in the Constitution of Cuba, and the communist party is the only official political party. Elections in Cuba are not considered democratic because the government does not allow free and fair voting …” - Wikipedia on the Republic of Cuba 

“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is supervised by a supreme leader and an appointed & unelected Guardian Council which is made up of Islamic clerics … The Supreme Leader is the head of state (above the president), and he either has direct or indirect control of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as the military and the media … Iran's president, a parliament, an Assembly of Experts, and local councils are all elected, but all candidates who run for these positions must be vetted by the Guardian Council (which disqualifies the overwhelming majority of the candidates) for their loyalty to the Islamic Republic's system of government.” - Wikipedia on the Islamic Republic of Iran 

MAGA and Single Party Government 

While observing MAGA since before January 6, 2021, I wondered why the members of MAGA continued to support its leader, Donald Trump, who despises the United States Constitution and would like nothing more than to terminate it. For a few years, I thought it was because they were blind to what that Trump was hoping to do to the Constitution. Recently, however, it has become quite apparent to me that the members of MAGA continue to support Trump because they actually desire his vision of a single-party government under the complete control of Trump and his MAGA party. 

Under the Constitution, the United States has thrived for more than 235 years. If you look at the more well-known, single party governments mentioned above, the longest lasting of those governments, and the only one that some might consider to be thriving, is the People’s Republic of China from 1949 to present. That is a whopping 75 years in existence. 

If MAGA truly wanted to make America great again (I still have no idea what period of American history they are considering as great), they’d look at the history of single-party governments and realize it is a formula for disaster rather than a formula for success. 

Issues of succession are one of the biggest problems with single-party governments. Trump is 77 years old. Unless he is the Second Coming as some MAGA would like to believe, he is unlikely to be around to govern for more than a decade or two. Who does MAGA think will have the ability to take over the MAGA Party after its one and only leader is no longer here? Trump isn’t grooming anyone to take over and the person he is will never allow him to groom anyone to take over. How can the MAGA vision of a great America keep it great after their Supreme Leader is gone?

Government Shutdowns, Good for We the People?

Yes, I am worried!

QUESTION ASKED BY CNN:  Are you concerned about a potential shutdown of the federal government? Tell us about it.

The federal government could shut down on October 1 if Congress can’t come to an agreement to fund federal agencies for fiscal year 2024. A shutdown could have wide-ranging impacts on everything from air travel to national parks and museums to food safety inspections. Are you worried that a federal government shutdown will disrupt your life or business?

MY ANSWER:  I am more worried about continuing to have a completely dysfunctional House of Representatives.  They all claim they want to do what's best for We the People of the USA (WtP), but do they really?  A shutdown is not in the best interest of any of WtP.  A dysfunctional House is not in the best interest of any of WtP.  Allowing extremists (either Left or Right) to have any say in Government whatsoever is not in the best interest of any of WtP.  The Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats have shown an ability to work together for the benefit of WtP.  It's time the more moderate House Republicans start working with the more moderate House Democrats and bring this country back toward its much more stable center.  THAT is what is in the best interest of WtP, the collective of all the people from the right, left, and center.  Anything less is an indication that the GOP is not working for WtP.

Presidential Disqualification by 14th Amendment

As of 9 September 2023, should Donald Trump be disqualified from running for President of the United States of America (U.S.) in 2024 based on the 14th Amendment, Section 3, which is written as follows:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Let’s focus this discussion on the part that says, “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”  Who determines whether someone has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” for the purposes of Section 3?  I, like many other registered voters that make up We the People (WtP), believe his actions following the election of 2020 should disqualify him, but should my personal belief or say so be enough to disqualify someone from running for public office?  Or, should the disqualification be determined by individual States, the State or Federal Judiciary, WtP in a referendum, or some other way?

Regardless of personal opinions, what about the principle commonly used in the U.S. where a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a Court of Law?  Should Trump be disqualified from running when he has not yet been convicted of a crime related to insurrection?  If he gets convicted of any crime in any of his four indictments, should any conviction disqualify him based on Section 3?  Section 3 does not specify any crime to be a disqualifier.  It specifically refers to being “engaged in insurrection or rebellion”.  Does “engaged” in the context of Section 3 require a conviction, or can some other criteria be considered?  This seems more and more to me like a question that the Judiciary would have to answer for WtP.

Trump has been charged in four separate, criminal cases.  In New York, he is charged with crimes associated with paying hush money in violation of election laws.  Is that insurrection or rebellion?  I don’t believe so.

In Florida, he is charged with crimes related to mishandling classified documents and obstructing justice in the investigations around the mishandling.  Is that insurrection or rebellion?  I don’t believe so, even though I believe mishandling classified documents should be its own disqualifier.  That is for a separate discussion outside of the 14th Amendment.

In Washington, DC, he is charged with many counts related to unlawful acts associated with criminal attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election which culminated in a violent attack against Congress at the U.S. Capitol while Congress was in the process of performing a Constitutionally mandated function.  Is that insurrection or rebellion?  I believe it absolutely is.

In Georgia, he is charged with using the power of the Office of the President of the U.S. to attempt to overturn an electoral function reserved for the State of Georgia relative to the 2020 election.  Is that insurrection or rebellion?  I believe it absolutely is.

So, by my estimation, Trump is charged in two cases where Section 3 of the 14th Amendment should disqualify him from running for President and two cases where the 14th Amendment should not apply.  However, should there be a conviction by a Court of Law before Section 3 could be applied?  If we don’t require conviction, then what should be the alternate threshold and who should make that determination?