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You are completely wrong. Why focus on idiots who won't change their mind no matter what? The important voter base are moderates and independents. If you are staunchly Democrat your vote does not matter. If you're Republican no matter what your vote does not matter. Sad but true. The people you're so worried about simply don't matter. If televising the trial convinces people who are on the fence then it's the right choice. They're just a small number of people.
If you read what I wrote and thought I was worried about how this would affect votes then you've missed the point completely. They do not care about votes or elections, their figurehead is literally on trial for trying to overturn the last one.
It's not his die-hard magats that need to see this. They are only a majority of Republican voters. Independents are the largest block with Dems and GOP both smaller. It's people like my dad that have never been forced to look at the details without fox, newsmax etc reframing. This is hard to look at, for anyone. I understand your pessimism.
It's not pessimism. Fascists are already banning books, criminalizing trans people, reversing environmental protections, outlawing abortion and criminalizing those that seek them, rewriting school curricula with historical revisionism and fascist propaganda to suit their needs, perpetrating hate crimes, discriminating against minorities and political opponents, and their media is cranking out fuel for stochastic terrorism day after day. Hell, on the primary debate stage the other day, the candidates were talking about how they would each approach executing people at the border. Of course there was a layer of euphemism, it was about "lethal force in border security", but a whole hell of a lot of the people on the receiving end of that are migrants and refugees fleeing the conditions american foreign and economic policy has subjected them to.
I have clearly touched a nerve here because there are a lot of upset people downvoting what I'm saying, but I am not being a cynic or a defeatist, I am begging people to reckon with the reality of what is already happening. As I've said repeatedly, this trial is literally about how he incited his supporters to attempt overthrowing an election, and people are in here acting as if all that matters is how this might sway voters.
Fascists do not care about democracy, why do you think the GOP spends as much time as it does gerrymandering and messing with voter eligibility, closing polling stations, and purging rolls? They are not going to be voted away, and they are not going to give a fuck about whatever ethics people are just hoping they will abide by. Rules are seen as an obstacle to be overcome, not a boundary which cannot be crossed.
I said this in another reply but I'm going to repeat it here: ask yourself how much of his base are cops and soldiers, and then think about who it is that you're expecting to step in when his base takes another swing.
Speaking solely for myself, I completely agree with everything you've said; I too believe we're already there. But for me, regardless of how people talk about it, or are taking it, or how it affects their vote (if at all), the bottom line is that this trial MUST happen as long as we still have the democracy left to do it, because the administration of justice is exactly what democracy itself calls for in the face of an attempted coup.
Which makes the trial itself a test of just how much functional democracy we have left: how many successful efforts will be made to subvert it, rig it, or stop it outright? Will the unsteady barriers against corruption and diversion of power still hold?
So while I appreciate your points, I don't think we have a choice. This trial has to take place, if there is anything left of us as a country; there's no regulating personal reaction anymore; and there is always the possibility that we will be surprised. Who knows, maybe the Trump diehards will tune in because they want to see their god, and unscripted he ends up losing his deity before their very eyes.
We live in strange days. Don't call it done until it's done.
Again, you're not wrong, IMO. But the course is set, and a democratic society -- even if all we have left is a pretense thereto -- has to see it out. Even if it's for the very last time.
To be clear, my issue was never about whether or not Trump should be put on trial, but rather the terrible idea of televising it and turning it into an opportunity for him to promote himself. I do think he should face consequences for his actions, but people keep putting this sack of shit on TV, doing his publicity for him, and then being shocked when it turns out in his favor every single time. No matter the verdict, because of how much of an event this will be, he will most likely come out the other end with greater and stronger support.
He will probably be found guilty, but what I am trying to illustrate is that he could not ask for a better stage to sell himself as the embattled, targeted, brave leader in the war against the deep state. Think of how often he speaks to his base about the nebulous "they" that are against him, "they" want to silence him, "they" want to put him in jail because he's telling it like it is and threatening the woke agenda or whatever the fuck. People here are convinced this will be the ultimate comeuppance, but his supporters are going to see their saint being persecuted by his adversaries.
So many in here are treating this like a victory lap, but it's a fucking campaign ad. If he's somehow barred from running, you know who I think will win the republican nomination? Whoever pledges to pardon him as soon as they enter office.
Your problem is that you're seeing things as they really are whereas the people down voting you and telling you that you're a pessimist are in denial and you're ruining their vibes