The greastest irony of the fall of the Soviet Union is that it all started because of a clerical error – a misunderstanding. On Nov. 9, 1989, a live broadcast in East Berlin held by Gunther Schabowski, an official with the Socialist Unity of Germany in East Berlin, was speaking about how they would allow East German and West Germans to emigrate across the wall. But there would be a process that would take some time. The broadcast was around 6 p.m. local time within an hour West Germany was reporting it would be happening “immediately” because of how Schabowski mispoke and how it was misinterpreted.
Within hours, people were at the borders crossing over. The guards had every opportunity to stop them even by force. But they didn’t. Why? Because enough was enough. Times were a-changing. And this signified the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. It took about two more years. But it was ending.
On Tuesday, Dec. 6, Herschel Walker, a Republican, lost to incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, in the U.S. Senate run-off for Georgia. This win solidified that Warnock would remain in office for the next six years. Also, Jon Ossoff, another Democrat, is in office for the next four years. And more importantly, the U.S. Senate has a 51-49 Democrat advantage. It’s a slim win but a win none the less.
It also came on the same day the Trump Organization was found guilty of all counts in a tax-fraud scheme. While the Organization will be fined $1.61 million which isn’t much toward Donald Trump, it could and should open the gates for others going after him. This verdict was from a Manhattan jury. Trump and his family also face a $250 million civil lawsuit in New York in a separate case involving other accusations of fraud. There’s still the issue involving the Georgia 2020 election and if Trump try to obstruct the ballot counts. And the Jan. 6 Committee is expected to submit a report any day now.
The Republicans stood behind Trump in 2016 when it appeared he was going to be the front-runner despite many people openly blasting him before. But people are growing tired of the Republican Party. Also on Dec. 6, Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medals to the police who risked their lives during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection coup attempt. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, both Republicans, felt they were going to turn this into a photo op for them. Yet, family of fallen officer Brian Sicknick refused to shake hands with either McConnell or McCarthy. One even shook his head signifying he wasn’t going to do it.
Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6 incidents. Hopefully, this is a sign for many people that this has to stop. And the only way that sign will be more evident is if Trump is indicted for criminal offenses. He keeps bringing up the 2020 election and now says that we should just terminate the U.S. Constitution and put him back in office.
Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and his recent dinner guest, has argued the same thing, stating that Trump should be re-instated as President. Then, we should just do away with elections.Ever since the TEA Party rose following the election of President Barack Obama, it was apparent that a lot of Americans didn’t know much about the U.S. Constitution. This type of ignorance may have been forgiven in the latter part of the 20th Century as people actually had to find a copy of the Constitution in a book.
But even the least computer savvy people have access to some technology as smart phones became more common in the 2010s. All you had to do was just do a simple Google search of the Constitution and read it over. But even then, that was too hard for these people who seemed to want to rewrite and reword the Constitution to fit their beliefs, such as they have with the Bible.
So, when someone like Trump talks about the termination of the Constitution so he can be reinstated as President, it’s a dangerous thing to say. If you think Trump is ignorant, then his followers are twice as ignorant. The election deniers have sprung up in the past two years with a vengeance. They don’t know or don’t care about what is written on sheepskin. Most of these people spent high school not even focusing on their studies. If they studied political science in college, it was part of a common core requirement that they probably passed with just a C grade in a class where the test were multiple choice.
Well, only getting 70 percent of how the government works is very, very dangerous. Trump has announced his third Presential bid. He’s still got followers. And part of the reason the Republicans in Congress are remaining quiet is that they need him if his popularity increases between now and 2024. Only when it looks like the water is above his head, they’ll know he’s sunk and abandon him. Republicans have proven more and more that they are really about control. And the recent mid-term election was like a pie in the face that they’re still trying to wipe off.
Are we witnessing the Berlin Wall moment? And will this take the next two years or longer. McConnell will remain Minority Leader of the Senate while McCarthy wants to be Speaker of the House. But the GOP isn’t sold on giving him the duties just yet. They were expecting a red wave of people voting Republican but that hasn’t happened.
Even Lauren Boebert, a Congressional delegate from Colorado, was expecting a landslide. But that didn’t happened. A recount has been ordered because Boebert only got about 0.34 more of the vote. It goes to show that people want a change. While 1,719,481 people voted for Walker in Georgia, they did so just to put a Republican in office (and more imporant a puppet). Warnock got less than 100,000 more votes but it was enough.
The one thing many people didn’t anticipate was the wave of younger voters in the last election. Walker even criticized them saying anyone born before 1990 doesn’t really have the right to vote. The Republican Party wants to keep the same people in office. Nancy Pelosi stepped down as Hakeem Jeffries was selected as Democrat Party leader. He’s 52 but it’s a start to get a Gen Xer to lead the party. By 2024, more Gen Zers will be eligble to vote and it’s likely they won’t vote by tradition.
Not only is the era of Trumpism ending, but the Republican Party is seeing that their final days are ahead of them. Will they continue to fight dirty to stay in power or realize that it’s best to bow out gracefully?
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 
Very disappointed in Hershel’s loss. #1 his incumbent opponent is a questionable politically, He stated his mentor as Dr James Cone, a marxist and had him at his church. He said quite a few “good” things about Castro. He is pro abortion; ppl in his area are known to call him “Evil Warlock”; His wife said he is a “great actor” after he ran over her foot with his car. I just felt Hershel was the real deal, compassionate, his way of obviously wanting to help his constituents; I just saw him as a better fit for office.
LikeLike