OK, you may not like Donald Trump. I didn’t like Joe Biden. Many still think the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Biden. Many also think President Trump attempted a coup d’état to stay in office. Some think Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to call for the D.C. National Guard on Jan. 6, 2021, was due to her planning a Capitol riot and blaming it on Trump. In testimony to Congress, former FBI Director Christopher Wray deflected questions about FBI agents being in the crowd. Current FBI Director Kash Patel says there were 274 plainclothes agents in the crowd, sent to help stop the riot.
But that’s not an FBI task; Wray knew that and was covering his butt. “This was the failure of a corrupt leadership that lied to Congress and to the American people about what really happened,” Patel told Fox News.
President Biden’s use of the autopen has come into question. Did he really know what was being signed by the autopen? Did he authorize his staff to use it or did they act on their own? President Biden’s declining mental capacity was denied by his staff and Democrats in Congress. Most of us know better. Who was our president?
The Russia dossier was hyped as truth by FBI investigators.
The legacy media supported the anti-Trump-Steele dossier (June 2016), now known to be opposition research by Fusion GPS and paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democrat National Committee.
The “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation (July 31, 2016) into alleged collusion between Trump’s campaign staff and the Russian government all were designed to discredit Trump and elect Hillary Clinton and began during the Obama administration. Results from special counsels Robert Mueller and John Durham as well as the Inspector General found no evidence that Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russians.
How about outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas telling NPR, “The border is more secure than ever”? The legacy media has spun all this and President Trump has won lawsuits against YouTube and ABC totaling $40 million. In a fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, trial Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump last year to pay $355 million – more than $500 million with accumulated interest – in penalties for misrepresenting his wealth.
A five-judge appellate panel dismissed the penalty as excessive but did leave room for the state to appeal. Add the two impeachments during Trump’s first term, both ending in acquittal, and it should be obvious to all that Democrats were and are attempting to end the MAGA movement by destroying its leader.
I could go on, but space is limited. Distrust? More than a little distrust – and on both sides. There is distrust of individuals and government institutions as well as political agendas. Nancy Pelosi has called President Trump “the worst thing on the face of the Earth,” a “vile creature,” “evil,” and “dangerous.” Hardly words of respect or compassion. Trump responded, calling Pelosi an “evil woman.” Got to get even.
Where has the respect gone for those elected to office?
The word “Honorable” appears on the name plates of senators, congressmen and others elected to office, including judges. The recent government shutdown further destroyed collegial civility among members of Congress. The judicial system has become a venue of retribution. Courts are supposed to be free of political sway. No way.
This disrespect of law permeates society and we lose respect for our judicial system – and our politicians are responsible.
Now, with the shutdown over, the hard work begins. Will negotiations over the Affordable Care Act subsidies become impossible with blatantly partisan politicians, or will reasonable and affordable solutions be negotiated? Will the solution be rejected by the loser and find its way to the legal system? We need to tell our representatives this shutdown was an unnecessary political stunt and good faith negotiations should have been completed beforehand. Fifty-seven percent of the voters in New Mexico are independents or Republicans but every member of the state’s congressional delegation is a Democrat.
Not one represents the majority of New Mexicans.
Tom Wright is a Santa Fe columnist and an El Rito investor.