Democracy or Dictatorship? – It’s time for a civics lesson

The Mueller Report is finally in. Now what?

The report reminded me when of former U.S. General Attorney Eric Holder tempered the expectations of Ferguson protesters towards the Department of Justice’s investigation into the murder of Mike Brown. During the Ferguson Uprising and demands for the hide of killer cop Darren Wilson. Holder let us know the bar was too high for a criminal indictment. There’d be plenty in the investigative report that could be used for other purposes. In short, a gift to the movement for racial justice.

The 400+ page Mueller Report found no direct evidence that trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election. Ditto on evidence that trump obstructed justice. Once the public gets the un-redacted copy of the report, I’m sure it will contain a treasure trove of evidence that proves trump is a liar, a thief, an obstructionist of justice and a colluder with a foreign power. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a damn duck!

The report by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team stopped short of determining that trump colluded with the Russians or obstructed justice. Let’s not forget the investigation led to the indictment of 34 individuals and 3 Russian enterprises. Those indictments resulted in seven guilty pleas of trump cronies and four people looking at or doing prison time. A lot of lying is going on by a lot of people in high places to hide what’s going on.

There are also ongoing investigations into a myriad of trump mis-dealings from his foundation to his taxes. The U.S. House of Reps is going hard against the prez and the bulldogs at the South District of New York intend to prove that their bite is worse than its bark.

Progressives need to step up our organizing game. While all this is going on, it’s time for a mass civic lesson to educate people about the checks and balances in a democracy. There are three branches of government and there’s The People. This is not just a national hatin’ on trump campaign. If he gets his way, trump would love to crown himself King of the U.S.

The abuses of power and corruption in the trump administration have been relentless. Many constitutional scholars believe that some fall under the impeachment scope of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” I agree.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats have been reluctant to go down the impeachment road fearing political backlash at the 2020 ballot box. This cannot be about political expediency. We cannot make this about convenience or financial costs or partisan retaliation.

This country is at a serious crossroads, democracy is hanging in the balance. Most of us don’t know much about this country’s history or how government functions. It’s time to learn. It’s time to stop the advancement of a dictator.