So, it’s been about two weeks since Donald Trump promised a group of conservative Christians at a Turning Point Action “Believers Summit” that if he wins, they’ll never have to vote again.
He would fix everything. Why bother with messy democracy?
OK, OK, let’s hear him out.
“Get out and vote just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years it will be fixed. It’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,” Trump told the group.
“You’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote,” Trump said.
It wasn’t all that long ago in America that such a declaration would have been big news. A presidential nominee running on hopes that his victory will cancel subsequent elections. Heads would have been vigorously scratched, eyebrows raised, and jaws dropped. Francisco Franco-style has not been a winning model in presidential politics.
If Iowa Republican leaders have an opinion on Trump’s promise to his beautiful Christians, to my knowledge, they haven’t shared it. The only thing necessary for the triumph of Trump is good people remaining silent.
Other Republicans blew it off. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu swore Trump was just making a “hyperbolic point.” U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said on CNN Trump was “obviously making a joke.” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Trump meant that for Christians “the nightmare that we’re experiencing will soon be over.”
Cue up the next nightmare, courtesy of Generalissimo Trump.
It’s understandable you may not have heard about all this. After all, it was mixed in with Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance’s insistence that “childless cat ladies” have no stake in America. And Trump explained to a group of Black journalists how Democratic nominee Kamala Harris used to be Indian but then became Black. The cringes had cringes.
in a subsequent interview, Fox News’ Laura Ingrahm tried to give Trump several chance to embrace voting in 2028 and democracy , but he stuck to his guns.
So, if Trump is serious, it certainly raises many questions. Would this be all elections or just the presidential vote? Are we talking about Congress, statehouses, how far would he go? Mary Smith will make drainage districts great again.
Will the courts go along with this reckless, unconstitutional ploy for absolute power? Well, we were once ruled by a monarch, so it is part of our deep American history, unlike legal abortion. So it’s no sure thing.
Trump admires dictators who give orders obeyed with the click of shiny black boots. Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have been lavished with praise. And some Americans agree that we need a strongman leader.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey in March found only 21% of 1,282 Americans want a president who can act without Congress or the courts. But 30% think it’s neither good nor bad. In February, a Pew Research poll found 32% favoring a military or authoritarian leader. Not a majority, but not insignificant.
But surely the free press, America’s truth troops, can save us. Right? But if the right to vote is thrown out, freedom of the press can’t be far behind. We’re already an “enemy of the people.” All Trump must consider who would Franco put in jail?
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
He would fix everything. Why bother with messy democracy?
OK, OK, let’s hear him out.
“Get out and vote just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years it will be fixed. It’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians,” Trump told the group.
“You’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote,” Trump said.
It wasn’t all that long ago in America that such a declaration would have been big news. A presidential nominee running on hopes that his victory will cancel subsequent elections. Heads would have been vigorously scratched, eyebrows raised, and jaws dropped. Francisco Franco-style has not been a winning model in presidential politics.
If Iowa Republican leaders have an opinion on Trump’s promise to his beautiful Christians, to my knowledge, they haven’t shared it. The only thing necessary for the triumph of Trump is good people remaining silent.
Other Republicans blew it off. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu swore Trump was just making a “hyperbolic point.” U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said on CNN Trump was “obviously making a joke.” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Trump meant that for Christians “the nightmare that we’re experiencing will soon be over.”
Cue up the next nightmare, courtesy of Generalissimo Trump.
It’s understandable you may not have heard about all this. After all, it was mixed in with Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance’s insistence that “childless cat ladies” have no stake in America. And Trump explained to a group of Black journalists how Democratic nominee Kamala Harris used to be Indian but then became Black. The cringes had cringes.
in a subsequent interview, Fox News’ Laura Ingrahm tried to give Trump several chance to embrace voting in 2028 and democracy , but he stuck to his guns.
So, if Trump is serious, it certainly raises many questions. Would this be all elections or just the presidential vote? Are we talking about Congress, statehouses, how far would he go? Mary Smith will make drainage districts great again.
Will the courts go along with this reckless, unconstitutional ploy for absolute power? Well, we were once ruled by a monarch, so it is part of our deep American history, unlike legal abortion. So it’s no sure thing.
Trump admires dictators who give orders obeyed with the click of shiny black boots. Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have been lavished with praise. And some Americans agree that we need a strongman leader.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey in March found only 21% of 1,282 Americans want a president who can act without Congress or the courts. But 30% think it’s neither good nor bad. In February, a Pew Research poll found 32% favoring a military or authoritarian leader. Not a majority, but not insignificant.
But surely the free press, America’s truth troops, can save us. Right? But if the right to vote is thrown out, freedom of the press can’t be far behind. We’re already an “enemy of the people.” All Trump must consider who would Franco put in jail?
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Loving Trump means never having to vote again
Iowa Republicans are silent
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