Absolute power

As bad as the outlook appears to be right now with Donald Trump running for the Presidency of the USA, things can get much worse if he actually gets his goal fulfilled due to a simple fact that has been overlooked by many analysts: both Houses of Congress, the House of Representativs and the Senate Chamber, have a majority of Republicans. In principle, whatever legislative proposal Donald Trump may wish to have enacted into law, however crazy, will have the de facto prior approval of both Houses of Congress. After all, will there be a Republican Senator or a Republican Representative in the US Congress willing to vote against a Republican President? In the past, it was easy to blame gridlock in Congress to a divided US Congress where at least one or both Houses was controlled by a party different from the party to which the ruling President belongs. This is precisely what happened to Barack Obama. But with everything (literally!) controlled in Congress by a Republican majority, it is beyond the purview of Democrats trying to stop Donald Trump in whatever actions he wants to take as President, like his intention of building a gigantic dividing wall between the US and Mexico and making Mexico pay for it.

Take Obamacare, for instance. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly vowed to kill Obamacare, but have been stymied by the veto roadblock imposed upon them by a President who is a Democrat. But with Donald Trump as President, it may take just a matter of weeks if not days, to completely do away with Obamacare. The shock wave would be felt (or will be felt) almost immediately by many Americans who were previously unable to afford heath insurance and once again will be unable to afford health insurance, ironically many of them belonging to the same working class Republicans who are right now propelling Trump towards the Presidency. The end of Obamacare will not be felt at all by wealthy moguls such as Donald Trump himself and his kids, but right now who cares among the throngs of supporters who pack Trump’s rallies? They will most certainly feel the hit when reality sinks in, at which time they will remember the old adage “be careful with what you wish for, you may just get it”.

Even worse, with the demise of Justice Antonin Scalia leaving the US Supreme Court with only eight Justices, an even number that can result in many stalemates when the number of votes are equally split (this was the fundamental reason to have a Supreme Court composed of an odd number of Justices, in this case nine, avoiding the possibility of cases ending up in limbo with a Supreme Court equally divided), a certainty looms in the horizon that the next Justice who will take the place of Antonin Scalia will inevitably end being one of Trump’s radicals who will end up voting “yes” on any case where President Trump wants his wish fulfilled. After all, it is the President who nominates candidates to the US Supreme Court, and with both Houses of Congress being controlled by Republicans it is extremely hard to envision how the Democrats will be able to block the confirmation of Trump radicals. Furthermore, it is very likely that Justice Anthony Kennedy (who is nearing 80) and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who is nearing 83) may well end up giving up the ghost while Donald Trump remains as President. This could ensure more Justices a la Trump in the US Supreme Court (in times of yore, this practice was known as “packing the courts”). It stands to reasons that if President Trump nominates young Trump radicals as Justices to the US Supreme Court, with a rubber stamp seal of approval given by a docile US Congress controlled by Republicans, the judicial legacy of Donald Trump has the potential of extending many years into the future, lasting a full generation, long after Donald Trump has left the Presidency and even if he does not get re-elected. The consequences can be far reaching and profound. Considering that Trump has stated very explicitly that he will outlaw abortion in all cases except rape and incest, the pro-choice movements would have no chance whatsoever of stopping the reversal of Roe versus Wade. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. A return to some kinds of racial segregation validated by a US Supreme Court with Donald Trump appointed Justices could loom in the horizon. A reduction of civil liberties giving the government a much bigger capacity of infringement on the private lives of everyone under the guise of protecting national interest would most likely be unavoidable, with the USA ending up with something even worse than the Patriot Act turned into law by another Republican President, George W. Bush. And all these things would be just for starters. Imagine a federal government running amok with no one to stop it. Almost all of the other warnings that Messr. Trump has issued of what he will do when he becomes President will become a reality. With a Republican Congress backing him all the way and with a Trump-dominated US Supreme Court making it almost impossible (or even impossible) to overturn any of his actions, if there are those who think he is unstoppable now, just wait until he becomes President. Then all Americans, including those who voted for him, will truly now the meaning of the word unstoppable! And once President, he can’t be removed from power, unless he is declared mentally incompetent to exercise, something that a US controlled Congress will be unwilling to do.

Republican Congressmen and Senators, wielding the power they now have with a majority in both Houses of Congress, have already made it clear that they will stall the nomination of whomever President Obama wants to take the place of Antonin Scalia or any other replacements sure to come in due time, not until the new US President is elected. And if that President turns out to be Donald Trump, then it is understood that they will approve whomever Donald Trump want appointed as Justice.

Trump is craftily stirring up the passions of those who lend him an ear with a dangerous combination: anger and nationalism. It is not the first time in world history that this has happened, and already some interesting comparisons are being made, and his growing penchant for white supremacist groups is becoming more and more obvious. It is also not the first time that outlandish expectations have been raised on millions of gullible people who sincerely believe in utopias promised to them by the false prophets who deceive them. Wise men such as George Santayana have previously pointed out that those who are not willing to learn the lessons from the past are doomed to repeat it. The difference this time is that Trump as President will have his finger all the time on the nuclear trigger, and neither Russia nor China will be doing away with their own nuclear arsenals any time soon, wary of the possibility however remote that an authoritarian businessman with no experience whatsoever in foreign affairs will end up being Commander in Chief of the world’s mightiest military power.

Though Trump describes himself as a self-made millionaire, nothing could be farther from the truth. He got his kickstart with an inheritance of 200 million dollars from his Daddy. This wealth was further increased not by investing in industry that can create manufacturing jobs, but by resorting to questionable deals and hostile takeovers for those things where he does best: hotels and casinos. He has grown up as a gambler, and he now aims to gamble with the biggest gamble of them all: the destiny and fate of 319 million Americans. But what if he loses? Again, we must resort to history. There have been many Donald Trumps in the past (far too many) who have let their own people down and whose reign ended up as a catastrophe. But when these men were enthroned under great praises and acclamations as well as great expectations on the promises they had made, nobody knew for sure of the final results. Had they known, instead of crowning him (or her) it is most likely that even his own family relatives would have stopped him.

If Donald Trump errs in one of his famous fits of  anger (we have grown used to them thanks to his recent appearances on the debates as well as his rallies), it is not just him who stands to lose. All America would end up losing, and may very well end up losing big.

Complementing the warning given by George Santayana is another important observation made by Lord Acton: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. And herein lies the greatest danger. If the mind of Donald Trump, further derailed by his tight grip on the cheering crowds that sway under his spell and the snapping of his fingers, becomes conviced that somehow he is some kind of god, further buttressed by a docile US Congress dominated in both Houses by a Republican majority and a US Supreme Court willing to go his way, then not just America but the entire world as well may be in store for a very big surprise. And in this case, considering what’s at stake, it may be a one-way ticket.

The Roman emperor Caligula enjoyed absolute power; and his reign is presumed by many historians to have been one of debauchery and terror. The Red Czar Stalin enjoyed absolute power; see what happened. The Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein enjoyed absolute power; see what happened. And a Military Junta in Argentina enjoyed absolute power with which it flexed its muscle committing countless atrocities; see what happened. All too often, the perils of acquiring absolute power seem to be unavoidable. Even the Devil himself was done in by his thirst of absolute power! Is there any human on planet Earth who really believes he is more intelligent than the Devil? Well, perhaps there is, and it is one of the Republican candidates who are seeking the nomination of the party to run for the Presidency.

In a manner of speaking, Donald Trump is already used to exerting absolute power. He is described by most who work around him as a ruthless manager who expects his orders to be obeyed and carried out down to the letter by his subordinates, or else they can be fired on a whim right on the spot, The ill-tempered boss of The Apprentice is not acting, that’s the way he really is; and while it is amusing to watch on TV how he fires one subordinate after another, lashing out at the little people, it is hard to see just how a man with this kind of attitude will create and protect the jobs of millions of US workers who dread a pink slip while at the same time handing out his own pink slips without mercy to those he deems have outlived their usefulness to him. This is precisely the type of man that wants to rule from the Oval Office with an iron fist; he is someone with whom once he makes up his own mind the doors of reason are shut down. He is a Caesar, and expects to be treated as such, with obedience and respect. Caesars owe explanations to no one. If someone stands up to him, if he or she refuses to kneel before him, he/she will be promptly fired (in the distant past, those who had the guts to say no to Caesar were sent to the Roman Coliseum to be eaten up by the lions). But as President of the USA, he will not just hire and fire. He is not –and will never be- the kind of man who restrains himself resisting the temptations of abusing his might.

A growing number of people are already viewing Donald Trump for what he really is, they are aware of the true nature of the man behind the façade and the glamour and his angry rhetoric. The question remains whether in the end there will be enough people to make a difference in the final outcome.

For those who at one time or another have read the Bible, a swift comparison of some quotations and images may end up striking some eerie similarities. Let’s carry out such an exercise. Here goes:

He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes.
(Daniel 8:25)
Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

And I saw one of his heads as it were slain to death: and his death’s wound was healed. And all the earth was in admiration after the beast.
(Apocalypse 13-3)
And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: Who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him?
(Apocalypse 13-4)

And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies: and power was given to him to do two and forty months.
(Apocalypse 13-5)

Absolute power. It is all about absolute power. And Donald Trump is working very hard at getting it. Before giving it to him, Americans should at the very least read the fine print of the contract he is offering as well as the promises he is making. Of course, his true intentions will only be revealed once he gets absolute power delivered unto his hands, once it is too late to take it away from him. And perhaps only then will some of the fine print in his contract become crystal clear.