Despite what some have advised in the interest of restoring unity to America, Democrats should not play Mr. Nice Guy with Donald John Trump.
A recent opinion article written by Michael Conway, the former counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, suggests that President-elect Joe Biden should consider pardoning Trump for that very purpose -- to bring unity to this country.
Conway explains that Gerald Ford’s reasoning for pardoning Richard Nixon in 1974 was to heal the country. But he also points out that Ford lost to Jimmy Carter in 1976 and that the pardon likely played a part in that loss.
While America needs healing, and we have heard the phrase echoed by Michelle Obama “When they go low, we go high”, what this current president has done and continues to do post - election, does not warrant any reprieves.
“Don’t boo, vote” was another phrase coined by President Obama. So, the people voted, and they have spoken.
Now, the carnival barking family of Trump and its ringleader, Rudy Guiliani, are out there unsuccessfully trying to overturn the election results, and that will soon end, with Guiliani thoroughly discredited and Biden's election upheld.
But Democrats must not allow Trump to continue his lies and deceptions when all that is over and the dust settles. There is a special election in January to fill two Senate seats in Georgia, and it would be huge for Democrats to win those and control the Senate, as that would certainly make governing much easier for President Biden.
Nevertheless, prosecutors at the Southern District of New York (SDNY) are waiting for Trump to leave office. Charges most likely will be filed and it won't be pretty. The Democrat-controlled House has asked the Supreme Court for a delay in obtaining the un-redacted version of the Mueller report, hoping a new Justice Department will cooperate.
There were 74 million votes for the liar-in-chief. Yet, news outlets like Fox and Newsmax are contributing to the current unsettled conditions and support Trump's refusal to concede and allow an orderly transition to the Biden presidency.
Republicans continue to pander to this poor excuse of a president, churning out lies and conspiracy theories, and will be lining up to persecute Biden, Harris and any Democrat for the next four years.
Democrats, who will need to govern confronting all this opposition, need to take the gloves off as well.
Whether it’s the Department of Justice, SDNY, Congress or personal lawsuits piled up against Trump, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Doing this will expose the con man for what he is, a fraud, rapist, tax cheat, and crooked businessman. Democrats will not win back 74 million voters, but they wouldn't anyway, not even if Trump was let off scot free.
But, if Trump is allowed to escape and pitch his tent somewhere else, he will start selling that magic elixir again. Democrats must send this snake oil salesman and his family and their cronies back under a rock -- and, if the cards fall into place, every Republican who followed this fake president will be history, too.
Yes, it's time to heal, but not roll over and play dead.