So, the courts have brought in a guilty verdict about Trump playing fast and loose with the law, especially regarding “business transactions”. That is not anything particularly surprising for most people although it provides some vindication for those who have been opposed to him and his dealings, those who wanted hard, legal proof of his misdeeds.
However, a couple of rather important questions still remain unanswered. First, is there any way that he will serve any jail time for any of his misdeeds? I would guess, not very likely. If it ends up being a fine, there may well be those who will provide the necessary funding, no matter how expensive. In that case, the final result will be simply the cost of doing business, the business equivalent of a slap on the wrist, almost a “no harm, no foul” kind of situation, all of which will pretty much dampen any celebration for those who saw this vindication as a cause for joy, or any sense of moral victory. Will any of that be an incentive for him to change? I think not. He is more likely to double down on his behavior.
Secondly, what will happen on appeal, since that process is very likely to continue well into the election season, if not beyond? And if any of it gets to a Supreme Court all bets are off with that court’s recent, very dubious connection to impartial fairness and justice.
And then, of course, there is the upcoming presidential election in November, with a very hot and emotional divide across this nation with all of the issues of the last election still unresolved, although some people are in prison for their participation in the January 6th insurrection at the Capital in 2021. But the basic issues are still very much up in the air. There is no real clarity, and so we are left with mush and chaos as our guides.
In addition, to add to the prevailing mess, Biden continues to risk the support of what would ordinarily be his base, with his very personal, single-minded support of Netanyahu’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, making it very hard for people with conscience to support his continued presidency. This is not to mention his apparent dalliance with a potential nuclear holocaust in the war in Ukraine.
If Trump wins, all of this becomes a moot point, the legal slate will be wiped clean, and retribution will begin. Trump will become a near dictatorial leader in his new role of the CEO of USA, Inc, almost a “mini-me “version of Netanyahu. The purge will begin, and the nation will be remade according to the Trump vision of winners and losers.
Were any minds really changed by that verdict? Those who disliked Trump feel vindicated, and those who support him see a way back to power for a Republican Party, possibly becoming the “forever power” of American politics. For others he simply becomes a martyr and hero for the cause. That cause being vengeance against, and punishment of the prevailing system that has turned its back on too many of the ordinary people for too long.
For many, democracy, as practiced in the US, has lost its luster since it no longer seems to serve the ordinary people. What has happened to “the democratic wing of the democratic party” as Paul Wellstone referred to it? Both parties, over the last several decades have colluded to kill that progressive wing of politics and then proceeded to attack what is left of the social programs of the New Deal. All of this in service to a new economics, under the heading of neoliberal economics. For a democracy to work, it must be supported by the prevailing economic system. But, in America, instead of capitalism supporting the goals of democracy, we have a system in which the pretense of democracy is used to support rampant capitalism.
In 2004, lobbyist Grover Norquist was a well-known proponent of the tax cuts and has famously said, “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” To understand this in more modern terms we have developed a large government now in service to capitalism. As for any social programs, or programs that serve a larger populace, they have been defunded or underfunded until they become small enough now to drown in that proverbial bathtub.
In the long run, Trump’s guilt in the recent court case will in all likelihood, have little impact on how this all plays out. This is, and will continue to be, a very emotional election season, and it is not clear which side the big money will opt for, and we all know that money, ultimately, is what makes all the difference. All we really know is that both parties seem to desperately want to please that economic elite.
With both sides in competition to serve the gods of capitalism, what consolation is left for the ordinary citizens? Seemingly, they are left only with anger, growing frustration and more chaos. In such a position the lure of demagoguery may look very tempting.
So, Trump is found guilty…now what?
Now what, indeed! This is not very likely to turn out well for ordinary folks, or for the planet.
