We are on the verge of ugly chaos. The cause, unsurprisingly, is Donald Trump.
Let’s be clear about what set him off. Six Democrats, all with backgrounds in the military or intelligence, made a short PSA reminding service members of the oldest rule of the armed services in a constitutional republic: you don’t follow illegal orders.
It’s the law; black letter law. Moral law.
You follow the Constitution. They did not call for mutiny. They did not ask for a coup. They didn’t tell troops to pick a party. They said, in essence, “Your oath is to the country, not to a man.” That is civics. That is literally the job.
Trump’s response was not an argument. It was the howl of a bitchy autocrat who thinks the government is his property.
Donald Trump on Thursday did what autocrats do when the mob gets restless, the propaganda stops working, and the lights start flickering in their palace: he is pointing at elected members of Congress and screaming “traitor,” and then hinting, nudging, reposting, and cheerleading the idea they should be executed.
Not metaphorically. Not “politically.” Literally.
