Generally speaking, getting emotional about politics is a dangerous and stupid thing. We have seen what the hatred of Donald Trump did to a lot of otherwise normal and rational people. They conjured up fantasies about Trump that took them into some very dark places, and inspired them to become very bad people who lied, created hoaxes, and turned our justice system upside-down. 

I can name any number of good people who have endorsed very bad things in their desperate desire to destroy Donald Trump. For many, the reaction was based as much on aesthetics as policy or actions. Trump is crude, offensive, hyperbolic, unlawyerly. He is certainly not what people think of when they say "Presidential."

Ok. Whatever. I had that reaction. So much so that in 2016 I refrained from voting for him--a luxury I had because, living in Minnesota, my vote in the presidential election meant as much as my vote against Ilhan Omar, my congresswoman--not at all. 

We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

Benjamin Franklin

In 2024, though, every Republican and Independent should get very emotional about politics, just as every American got emotional about Pearly Harbor or September 11th. Some things are unforgivable and need to be avenged. Justice should never be solely about vengeance--ultimately the natural order must be restored or you get the Hatfields and the McCoys--but justice must always include some measure of vengeance, or the natural order will remain unbalanced. 

The conviction of Donald Trump cries out for vengeance. Not because we love Donald Trump--personally, I do not love him and did not support him to become the nominee--but because we love our country. 

Perusing Twitter I see countless liberals and Trump haters piously declaring that justice was done. I do not, for a moment, believe that they think this. 

They KNOW exactly what they are applauding here, and it has nothing to do with the rule of law. This was about "getting" Trump, just as the Steele Dossier was, and lying to the FISA court, countless illegal acts during his administration designed to slander him, and all the various hoaxes perpetrated by the Democrats over the years. 

The Democrats turned Michael Avanatti into a hero. Stormy Daniels. Michael Cohen. Adam Schiff. A rogues' gallery of liars, porn stars, felons, and perjurers. They have hitched their wagons to the absolute scum of the earth and are celebrating their "victory" over Trump in a case that experienced lawyers can't even explain. 

TURLEY: We still don't even know what he was found guilty of — a sad day for this country. pic.twitter.com/jGUot0f8FV

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) May 30, 2024

This is not a time for taking a deep breath, calming the waters, or reminding ourselves of "norms." I am all for respecting norms, but the norms have been thrown out the window, stomped on, shredded, burned, and the ashes strewn into a desert by the Democrats. 

Now is the time to hang together--which means we must demand every Republican elected official to denounce this show trial as the farce and assault on justice that it is. 

The Democrats will not stop here. It is not about Trump. It is about power. Rejecting this sham of a trial is not about defending Trump the man, his character, or even his candidacy in the abstract. It is about defending the America we inherited. We either live in a country where the law is bent to "get" your political opponent, or we do not. 

I simply do not care what you think about Donald Trump. I care what you think about the rule of law, the Constitution, and the weaponization of government. 

If you are fine with using the power of the state to steal power, you are a tyrant. You are Hugo Chavez, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong Un. You may think otherwise, but each of them thought they were right. 

If you aren't OK with that style of politics, then I expect you to fight. And that means YOU, Republican candidates, and elected officials. You can't sit this one out. You can't keep your head down. If you do, you are pathetic and should be replaced. They punched first. Punch back twice as hard, as Obama's advisor Jim Messina said. 

The Rubicon has been crossed. The Boston Massacre has occurred. The bombs have dropped on Pearl Harbor. And the planes have flown into the towers. 

You and I must demand that our officials stand up and denounce this. One and all. They can do it in sadness, anger, or whatever emotion they choose to project. 

But they must denounce it. The choice must be made clear. 

If they can do this to Trump, they will do this again and again and again. We are done as a country if we just sit back and take it.