Blanket Pardons: Go, Biden. Go
White House Discussing Preemptive Pardons for Humans
There is a long list of people Donald Trump has said he would love to see in jail. I know it’s rich coming from a man who is a convicted felon protected by the presidency. But there is every reason to believe he might actually follow through on his promise. It ticks all the boxes for him: it generates a lot of media attention, encourages loyalty, and discourages dissent. It’s what dictators do, and Trump loves dictators.
Trump posted on social media that Liz Cheney must be sent to jail.
The GOP loves to put on a show, and what better reality show than having the DOJ and FBI, headed by Donald Trump’s loyalists, go after Trump’s political opponents? He has spent years vilifying these institutions, corroding American trust in the system. Now, he will misuse these institutions and claim that it is the right way to use them.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated in an interview that former U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to undermine democratic institutions:
“The way he spoke about Putin, the way he spoke about the North Korean leader…there was always a kind of fascination with the sheer power of what these people could do…My impression always was that he dreamt of actually overriding maybe all those parliamentary bodies that he felt were in a way an encumbrance upon him”.
Whatever he does, Fox News will find a way to spin it in his favor. All it took was for him to joke to the Canadian Prime Minister that Canada could become the 51st state of America, and Fox News ran a full segment on how great that idea could be.
So, it’s not far-fetched to assume that a Trump administration would try to silence its critics by targeting anyone who criticized them in the past: Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Fauci, Republicans who spoke out against his corruption, lies, and other crimes.
The list is unfairly long and the current admin is thinking about premptive pardons for Trump critics.
According to Politico, “President Joe Biden’s senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue preemptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to senior Democrats familiar with the discussions.”
As I wrote a few days ago, the blanket pardon for President Biden’s son was the right decision and should only be the beginning. There must be more pardons on the way. This is the time for Democrats to tell the country they will do everything in their power to protect citizens from an administration with authoritarian tendencies.
Attached below is the list of people Kash Patel said he would target in his book.
If this man can be appointed as FBI director, then everyone on his list can be granted a blanket pardon.
The ability to protest and the right to criticize are core pillars of democracy. These freedoms empower citizens to hold their leaders accountable, challenge injustices, and demand change when necessary. Without the right to dissent, democracy risks becoming stagnant, unresponsive, or even oppressive. Protecting these rights ensures that power remains with the people. MAGA is inherently an anti-democratic movement, as are most right-wing movements around the world.
If Democrats continue playing by the rules and norms with such opponents, one day there will be no rules left worth talking about. Democrats must understand that rules and norms exist to serve the people, not hurt them. When the other side is actively exploiting loopholes to harm people, Democrats must use the same loopholes to protect them.
That is their job.
So, Democrats, quit complaining about Biden’s decision to pardon his son. Instead, focus on compiling a list of people who must be protected at all costs from the incoming Trump administration. In fact, go one step further: make a public promise to the media. Say that no matter what the Trump administration does, if they target journalists, the entire Democratic machinery, with all its resources, will step in to protect them. Commit to fighting for them side by side.
Say it and issue preemptive pardons to as many individuals as possible.
The time to fight back is here. So, fight.
Show trials The doctors’ plot. Stalin anyone?
Joyce Vance has an article on preemptive pardons in which she posits that trump may use this as evidence to his base that there was indeed a “deep state” out to get him. Frankly I don’t see much validity to that argument as it gives too much credit to the MAGA base, most of which with their “5th grade reading levels” were mostly motivated to vote for him by irrational fear of illegal migrants, trans people and “woke” ideology ( which they can’t seem to explain) and their own pocketbooks . Biden should offer immunity to all those specifically mentioned who have prosecuted and investigated trump .. the named “enemies from within”. They can then individually consider whether to accept. The time has passed on the whole idea of “when they go low we go high” in the Democratic Party . Now is the time to protect and fight back!