Our Founders didn't count on Trump or today's GOP

Bill Maher is very hit-or-miss with me, but he definitely hit the mark this weekend with his "New Rule" explaining that the our Founders never thought that a crook like Donald Trump who used the office to enrich himself, openly ignored the law of the land and abused the powers of his position would ever be allowed to take office.

When our Founders drew up the Constitution, they never imagined that someone who combined "morally corrupt" and "ignorant" like Donald Trump would ever become president. Even if enough voters were stupid enough to choose such a tyrannical fool, the Electoral College existed as a failsafe, as the wise electors were supposed to veto the bad choice for the good of the country. Instead, 54% of the electorate didn't vote for Trump, but he still won because the outdated Electoral College splits up votes by states, and the electors have "evolved" into being party hacks that care more about guaranteeing their team's "win" than in doing their job to prevent an unfit president from taking office.

Our Founders thought that presidents would ultimately serve the people, and that they wouldn't abuse their power to enrich themselves or avoid accountability to the voters or the law. And even if a rouge president were to act inappropriately, then Congress and the Courts would step in and take action to stop the president. But there's a flaw in that thinking. What if the president and Congress don't care about violating the laws, and don't do anything resembling ethics or public accountability? That's what we're seeing now, and that's the danger this country is in.

We've seen how this plays out in Wisconsin, where Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce got enough Supreme Court justices elected to claim that Scott Walker's money-laundering operation in John Doe was"free speech," and Walker and the GOP Legislature passed voter suppression measures that likely played a role in giving the state to Trump in 2016.

Likewise, Walker appoints hacks like Cathy Stepp to give the DNR a "Chamber of Commerce" mentality which handcuffs its workers from protecting the environment. Combine that reality with oil industry puppet Scott Pruitt running Trump's EPA, and it shows the bullshit behind the Walker Admin's claim that the environmental carve-outs in the Fox-con are fine "because the DNR and the EPA still will oversee it." That's the point, THEY WON'T OVERSEE IT. And these GOP hacks were appointed not to carry out the law.

So we have a modern-day GOP that refuses to provide for the common welfare, and a Legislative branch that is either too bought or too scared to do its job of oversight, and a court system that has been infected by right-wingers who believe their job is to work for the GOP and their benefactors instead of the Constitution and the good of the people. In 2017, the system of checks and balances and public accountability imagined by our Founders is in serious danger of breaking down for good, leading to a Banana Republic(an) situation where a handful of insiders control all governmental functions and policy, and the rest of the people can piss up a rope.

I'm not sure we can wait another 15 months for the November 2018 elections to start to correct this lawlessness and damage to our democracy. This is especially true if you buy into the theory that Trump pardoning racist civil rights violator Joe Arpaio may be a test run for pardoning his associates that are wrapped up in the investigation into Russian intereference in our elections, Here's how our Founders thought such a situation would go.

Now that Trump has pardoned Arpaio, here's @NoahRFeldman on why this is an impeachable offense:https://t.co/LXsrzIXNzs pic.twitter.com/JqG9gaSqLF

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) August 26, 2017

If Trump isn't immediately blown out of power for trying to pre-emptively keep people from being prosecuted for crimes in the Russia investigation, then what? Here was Thomas Jefferson's response on July 4, 1776.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

I hope it doesn't get to that point. But show me a better option to correct this evil rigging of our democracy if Congress and the Courts fail.