4654 Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid

 

 Let’s start the week with two quotations. 

1.                  “The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.” -- The United States Constitution, Amendment 20, ratified in 1933.

2.                  “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” -- attributed to Asa Yoelson 

 

There’s a third quotation that might also work here.  “The players tried to take the field, but the marching band refused to yield.” -- Don McLean from his song “American Pie.”

 

Do you see where this is going?  What happens if trump loses the election and refuses to concede, won’t leave the White House and shows up on inauguration day ready for Chief Justice John Rubberstamp to administer it.

 

The worry at first was that trump wouldn’t concede if he lost.  But he really doesn’t have to. Concession is not a constitutional or otherwise law-driven requirement.  You lose, you’re out whether you say so or not.  It turns out, though, he may be looking at court action that he thinks could keep him in power.  We’ve been toying with that idea for a while.

 

Be a strange scenario.  Inauguration day and Chief Justice Rubberstamp is flanked by trump on one side and Biden on the other.  You can hear him thinking “Okay, boys, raise your right hands.”  Thinking, maybe?  Doing? Nah.

 

“Oh,” you may say “that can’t happen.  The Secret Service or some soldiers would grab trump from under the arms and march him to the waiting cuckoo wagon, idling beneath the “No Idling” sign, at the Employees Only door to the White House.  its cargo door open and standing ready.

 

The court battle would last into the middle of trump’s fourth term.

 

Maybe you’re thinking it can’t happen here? 

 

Really. Think about the things you’ve thought couldn’t happen over the past four or five years, but that happened anyway.

 

I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®

Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com

© WJR 2020