Authoritarians want to write their own rules, but we can’t let them

By Svante Myrick

So here we go again. Once more, the country is in the grip of a Donald Trump drama, when there are so many other important issues we need to address.

As the world now knows, Trump has been indicted in New York on charges related to paying hush money to an adult film performer.

The charges are felonies because prosecutors intend to show that Trump hid the payouts in phony business records to commit yet another crime—possibly a violation of campaign finance law, or even a tax law violation.

It’s all a sad and disgusting mess. And this, like the other charges that could soon be made against Trump, reflects a fundamental truth about him: a belief that rules can be bent, broken or rewritten to accommodate his personal agenda. But Trump is not alone in this; it’s common to authoritarian types.

Take another Florida man— Gov. Ron DeSantis.

While the focus has been on Trump, machinations have been underway in Florida to change the state’s resign-to-run law. That law says an elected official cannot run for another elected position if its term overlaps with the term they’re currently serving.

Republican legislators have come out in favor of repealing this law, which appears to be the one thing delaying DeSantis’s plunge into the presidential race.

DeSantis is certainly not in a hurry to resign as governor. The job gives him way too many opportunities for his culture-war theatrics. Rewriting the law would suit him just fine, though, and I am sure he has made that clear to the GOP leaders advocating for this in the state

House and Senate. While DeSantis appears likely to get election laws tailored for his benefit, a Florida elections bill just introduced in the state Senate does plenty to make it harder for people in his state to vote.

One especially disturbing provision is an obvious response to the embarrassing fallout for DeSantis after he trumpeted a crackdown on returning citizens who tried to vote. DeSantis had egg on his face when these folks is real and dangerous.

This is a party that doesn’t want to share power or play by the rules, that doesn’t want to investigate January 6 or Trump’s multiple offenses. It’s a party that openly worships strongmen here and abroad.

Lately, the adulation has gone off the rails; Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, in New York for Trump’s arraignment, compared his arrest to that of Jesus.

We can’t accept this as the new normal. We have a right to demand accountability, honesty and ethical behavior from leaders ranging from your local school board member to president of the United States.

The Tennessee House of Representatives, dominated by a Republican supermajority, voted to expel two Black Democratic legislators who had participated in a peaceful public demonstration on behalf of gun control. A third representative, White and female, was one vote shy of also being expelled. It was a powerful illustration of in-your-face racism and of how absolute power morphs into absolute corruption.

Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, the two expelled members, have a history of community activism. They are outspoken and extremely popular in their districts, one of which is Nashville where the school shooting that killed six people brought out hundreds of people, including many schoolchildren, in an ultimately futile attempt to get the legislature to do some -

By Thomas L. Knapp

thing about gun violence.

The White establishment in the legislature seemed to think it needed to teach these upstarts a lesson, so it accused the Democrats of “disorderly and disruptive conduct.” Ignoring precedent and its own procedures, the Tennessee House of Representatives’ leader proceeded to call for a vote.

Republican in the Tennessee House who was truly offended by the protest could have called for censure or a reprimand as an alternative to the extraordinary step of expulsion. But these Republicans wanted to disenfranchise Black voters.

The times are different now, however. The Republicans have made heroes of Jones, Pearson, and Gloria Johnson, and they will reap what they sow when Jones and Pearson return to the House, are reappointed by local councils and eventually reelected by their constituents.

Once again, though we hardly need reminding, the Tennessee House leaders have shown us why racial justice and gun violence must remain central political issues in American politics.

As Justin Jones said, “We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy.”

Any sensible, moderate

Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is professor emeritus of political science at Portland State University.