A Poisoned Chalice

For John, BLUF:  Of course the other side is overtly evil, but we have sustained our Republic for over two hundred years by giving space to those we oppose, space to hold and express different opinions.  Going forward it isn't obvious it will be OK to hold different opinions, let alone express them.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Political Reprisals and the Death of the Republic.

From The Writer in Black by Writer David L Burkhead, 9 January 2021.

Here is the lede plus one:

One thing I have argued in the past, long and hard, is that one thing the Republic cannot survive is the use of lawfare to “punish” political opposition, or even the appearance of doing so That’s not original with me. I got it originally from the late Jerry Pournelle (and I expect it wasn’t original with him).  That’s why Ford pardoning Nixon was the right thing to do even if we were to grant him being guilty of everything he was accused of (and let’s just say I’m more than a little dubious about that).  That’s why I argued to let it go when Clinton left the White House, and again when Obama left–they were out of office.  Better for the nation to let it go than to give even the appearance of political reprisal through the courts.

You see, one of the cornerstones of the Republic is the peaceful transition of power from one Congress to another, from one Administration to another, from one Party to another. But allow even the appearance that those losing power will be punished by law and that goes away.  The party in power then cannot afford to lose power and will, therefore, do anything they must to retain it.  After all, if people think that “criminally punish your predecessors” is on the table, they can expect that to be turned around against them should they be the ones losing power.

There it is, short and to the point.

In the meantime, The New Yorker has an article, by Ms Jeannie Suk Gersen, on 4 January 2021, "A Test for Congress’s Commitment to Democracy".  The article is about Congress and the Electoral College, but this paragraph address the issue of going forward with Impeaching or prosecuting Donald J Trump.

. . . the brazenness and timing of the phone call [President to Georgia Secretary of State], at a moment when some Democrats are eager to prosecute Trump, present a dare for Biden’s Justice Department to go ahead and do just that.  It’s really a poisoned chalice. If there is a federal indictment of Trump, we know that the Biden Administration will be mired in years of distracting and polarizing conflict over the former President, which will keep his election-fraud claims alive. Calls for Trump’s resignation or for a second impeachment based on the new tape are unrealistic, given the short time that remains in his Presidency.

Hat tip to Writer Sarah Hoyt, at the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff