When the disaster of the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the SCOTUS was burgeoning, this guy in Indiana wrote a scenario that might have been a key to sidetracking her appointment. It went viral. It was brilliant.
I wanted to do a brief theatre version of his proposed questions by the Committee... Never happened, but that idea introduced me to Bill Svelmoe. His take on the way the world is slip sliding one way and another is, at once cogent .. biased!.. and rightly so.. er.. leftly so.. and matter of fact. I tend to eschew pejoratives, but Bill slips them in sometimes. I won't edit his writing.
Bill has given me permission to share his current thoughts on the "interregnum" we are now well past the middle of (look it up.. it's good for your vocabulary). His credentials (he's a college professor, published author and theatre guy) are impressive to me. And, he sails a level course, even in the rough waters that are splashing left and right just now.
This from
Bill Svelmoe in South Bend:
So, I've been pondering this endless interregnum.
Lots of folks commenting how they can't wait till January 20. Seems like it will never arrive.
Let me make an argument for why this particular interregnum may be the most important in our history. And why we should not rush it.
Now part of the argument might simply be how entertaining it is to watch Trump and his band of buffoons lose over and over and over again. We wouldn't have melting Rudy, parking lot news conferences, drunk Michigan lady, etc. without this period. But let's not emphasize that. Such amusements are just a bit of whipped cream on the pie.
The pie itself is the challenge being posed to our democracy. And to the future of the Republican party.
First, the challenge posed to our democracy. That challenge is here. It is no longer hypothetical.Trump has forced the issue. Will we survive as a democracy or will we crumble into authoritarianism? As the enemy is on the doorstep, we may as well have it out now.
This extended period between Biden’s victory and his inauguration provides an opportunity to stress test any number of our systems. So far the states have held. The courts have held. Next week we’ll see what Congress is capable of. What a losing vice president is capable of. We may well see what law enforcement is capable of. If Trumpers can think of any other of our systems to pressure, I hope they do it. Let’s see if we’re worthy of what the founders bequeathed us.
What is already eminently evident is that current Republicans are most unworthy of what their party’s founders bequeathed them. This extended interregnum provides an opportunity for Republicans to destroy themselves. And one thing we can say for certain is that the Republican party must implode and rebuild itself if our democracy has any chance of future health.
And here we mention Josh Hawley’s little stunt. And, although I will likely have something to say about that slick little weasel at a future date, at this point I will register only approval. Democrats should be grateful for Hawley.
As I’ve said before, we have long known the character of House Republicans. There is a reason the founders created the House. They wanted somewhere for regular folk, the great unwashed, to let off steam. They expected the House to be a bit of a disaster.
Hence, the Senate. [And hence the presidential veto for that matter.] The founders needed a lid on that steam. The Senate would be the counter to the excesses of the House. A finger in the dike of disaster.
The founders expected the Senate to be filled with elites. That’s why they didn’t let common folk have any say in who represented them there. [Look it up. It’s true. We didn’t vote for our senators for the first century of our existence.] They expected senators to be educated. Stable. Responsible. Yes, wealthy. Therefore, independent. Sober in judgment.
The Republicans in the Senate ought to be the elites of the party. The best minds of their generation. The heart and soul of conservatism.
Our current Republican senators have managed to keep Trump and his clownish minions at bay for four years. They have bobbed and weaved. Dodged reporters. Refused comment. Tried to manage their ridiculous president. Tried to steer him toward their own ends. Every insider report has noted that they despise Trump. But they are afraid to challenge him.
Well now, thanks to Hawley, they have to play their cards for all the world to see. Stand up for everything conservatism used to represent! Put country over party! Or roll over for the worst president in our history. Put ambition over the health of the nation. Cast a vote against democracy. Your choice Senator Cruz. Your choice Mike Braun. Your choice Little Marco. Your choice Lindsey.
As important as this moment is for the world to see, it is perhaps even more important for Republicans themselves to see. Who will be left to build a genuine conservative party? And who will follow Trump into the dustbin of history?
We need the Republican party to devour itself. For the good of conservatism. For the good of the nation. And this extended interregnum is providing that opportunity.
One more interregnum bonus. Trump is melting down. Fabulously. His twitter feed is an endless fiction. A fantasy. The emotional intelligence of a five-year old pounding out his juvenile frustrations.
Every hour in which he is forced to twist in the wind, dreaming of redemptive victory, while knowing the moment, the moment in which he will be revealed as the biggest loser in presidential history, that dreaded moment is absolutely inevitable. No amount of lunatic raving can forestall that moment.
And that pressure is proving too much for an immature mind to handle. One more thing not to be rushed. One more thing to savor.
And one more thing, I am convinced, that just may peel a few more Trumpers off around the edges. There must be some Trumpers who are mature adults. There must be some who grow weary of the embarrassment. The embarrassment to the office. To the nation. To the human race. To themselves as his supporters. We need to give them all the time they need to turn away. Some of them may help rebuild an honorable conservative party.
I don’t think we should be in any rush to get to January 20. Stress tests take time. If we’re patient, this one will teach us a great deal …
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