By GREG SARBER
I’ve taken a few days to think about the Donald Trump conviction and what it means. My initial reaction was one of surprise that the jury in New York could arrive at such a biased decision with such weak evidence. After some time for consideration, I think it is possible to draw some conclusions about what just happened. The essence of Donald Trump’s conviction is that the Democrat party has taken an action that will change politics in this country forever.
Our country functions because of the social compact between the governed and those who govern over us. Citizens lend politicians power and authority with the understanding that it is the public who is in control, and we can use elections to revoke that power from our elected leaders should they disobey the will of the people.
The Democrats don’t realize it, but in their haste to get Trump, no matter how, they have destroyed the social compact. With election cheating in 2020 and the weaponization of the justice system today, they have shown us the rule of law no longer matters to them. They don’t care about the opinions of the public; they will act in their self-interest, going outside the law if necessary to do so.
This isn’t just an opinion, Joe Biden said so himself last Wednesday. When asked about his student loan forgiveness program and how he was continuing with it despite a ruling from the US Supreme Court that it was unconstitutional, Biden posted on X (Twitter) that he knew he was defying the Supreme Court and didn’t care. He planned to continue with his debt forgiveness program despite their ruling.
It is clear from Biden’s statement and the actions of the judge in the Trump trial that the rule of law no longer matters to our President and the Democrats who hold positions of authority in this country.
The public is starting to realize this. After the weaponized verdict against Donald Trump, the public has responded with an overwhelming show of support in the form of campaign contributions. Trump set a record for the largest amount of political campaign contributions in 24 hours, receiving over 34 million dollars on the first day after his conviction. This is more than double the previous record. Those donations continued at a record pace over the weekend. As reported on Maria Bartiromo’s show on Fox News yesterday, more than $200 million have been donated to Trump’s reelection campaign since the conviction. Most of these donations were from small donors, and 30% were from people who had never contributed to a political campaign before.
The magnitude of these donations dwarfs anything ever seen in this country in a similar period. It is a sign that the public is registering their defiance of the Democrats by donating to the Trump campaign.
After the Trump conviction was announced, there was celebration among the partisan liberals on television and in the Hollywood movie industry. Still, some Democrat politicians have started to recognize a huge public backlash against this conviction and that it will hurt Democrats this fall. Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minn) is so worried about the impact of Trump’s conviction, that he has encouraged New York Gov. Hochul to pardon Donald Trump, stating that it would be good for the country, which is a very insincere statement. What Phillips means is that it would be good for all of the Democrats seeking reelection if Trump was pardoned.
The Dems got their conviction, they can call Trump a convicted felon in campaign commercials, it is time to stop the persecution before they turn Trump into a martyr like Nelson Mandela.
Here in Alaska, the reactions of our local politicians were predictable. Those who hate Trump said nothing. Those who will benefit from a Trump reelection in the fall were quick to come out in support of him.
This includes Gov. Mike Dunleavy who might be eyeing a potential spot in a future Trump administration. Secretary of the Interior Dunleavy has a nice ring to it. Dunleavy’s statements hit the right tone and will resonate with the Trump election campaign.
The same can be said for Sen. Dan Sullivan. Dan is no John Wayne who will lead the charge to political victory, or even outspoken like Marjorie Taylor Greene for that matter, but every army needs reliable soldiers, and Dan is one of those guys. He positioned himself on the right side of this issue and will be in Trump’s good graces without ticking off the RINOs like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The predictable Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who despises Donald Trump, waited for a day before issuing a mealy-mouthed “defending the rule of law” statement that sounded very insincere and gave a minimal amount of support to the former President. She took the opportunity to take a shot at Trump with the comment that a candidate with less baggage would do better than Trump in the election this November. Everyone knows this comment was in support of Nikki Haley, the darling of the Bush neo-conservative wing of the Republican party.
Weak Republicans like Lisa Murkowski cling to hopes that somehow Nikki Haley will pull out a miracle and win the nomination at the Republican convention in July. This idea would be helped if Judge Merchan puts Trump in jail at his sentencing hearing on July 11, so Trump is unable to attend the Convention. You will see great big old crocodile tears from Lisa if this should come to pass.
Republican Congressional candidates Begich and Dahlstrom were quick to support Trump, trying to out-MAGA each other. Both are vying for a possible Trump endorsement that would likely secure the election for them in November.
Rep. Mary Peltola toed the Democrat party line as expected and said nothing. Peltola is in a tight spot with this issue. She is forced to support the Democrat position which is essentially that Trump is the devil and must be put in prison for the safety of the Democrat Party, our Democracy, but like Representative Phillips, she has to be concerned about how keeping quiet
will impact her reelection chances. In a normal year, with no Democrat opponent, the solid support from people in Bush Alaska,
and two Republican opponents to split the conservative vote in the RCV voting system used in Alaska, Peltola would be a shoo-in to win reelection. That is how she won in 2020 and she is running the same playbook this year. Peltola is planning to run her campaign using the same old “Nice Girl from the Bush” tactic and would have a good chance for reelection, even for a liberal Democrat in a Red state like Alaska.
That plan has gone out the window with the Trump conviction. If Trump is on the ballot in November, he will win Alaska by a large margin and his coattails will help down-ballot Republicans. Sometime between now and November, you can expect Trump to express support for one of the Republican candidates running for Alaska’s congressional seat which should secure their victory. This action would devastate the Peltola reelection campaign. The only hope Peltola has at getting reelected is if the Republicans split the vote as they did in 2020 so that the convoluted RCV voting system can give her the victory. Ironically, Peltola could be the last politician to benefit from RCV before it is removed. The unpopular issue is on the same ballot she is this fall.
While the Democrat politicians in Alaska and nationally are starting to wake up and realize the magnitude of the possible backlash from the Trump conviction, political pundit Megyn Kelly had the best take on this issue in a video she posted on X /Twitter:
In this video, Kelly says that the Democrats celebrating Trump’s conviction are like wolves that have just eaten a sheep. They were successful with this tactic and will keep using it against other political opponents. Kelly says the only way they will be stopped is when Democrat politicians suffer the same fate as Donald Trump. Democrats must be charged for crimes, real or fabricated, and then imprisoned. It will only be after they suffer terrible retribution that will there be calls for everyone to return to the rule of law.
So, what comes next? The sentencing date for Donald Trump is on July 11 th , just a few days before the Republican Convention. Judge Merchan seems like an evil vindictive man with an agenda to hurt Donald Trump’s reelection campaign as much as possible. Do not expect mercy from this judge. He could sentence Donald Trump to a long prison term and require him to immediately surrender pending an appeal. This is what happened to Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who is in prison awaiting the appeal of his sentence. Don’t be surprised if the same thing happens to Donald Trump. Should this happen, the ghouls on the liberal left would cackle in glee at the optics of Trump walking out of the courtroom in handcuffs. This is something that Judge Juan Merchan must relish thinking about.
It could happen, but it doesn’t matter at thispoint.
Just as Julius Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon, the die is cast, there is no turning back. The reality of this situation is now clear to everyone. The Democrats have ended the American social compact which has lasted for 236 years since the adoption of our Constitution and our formation as a country. The Democrats now want to rule over us permanently like the elites in some feudal aristocracy. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to fight back against their tyranny and fascism. We find ourselves today in a unique situation. We are just like patriots who stood up against the British on Lexington Common in 1776, like those brave young men who stormed a beach in Normandy in 1944, and individuals who struggled against Soviet Communists in the Cold War.
Today conservative Americans have the opportunity to defend our country against tyrants who wish to take it from us. The Democrats have destroyed the social compact with the people, and we must make them understand that it is not they who rule over us, it is We the People who rule over them. To deliver this message, every Democrat must lose every race they are in this fall, even if they are just running for dog catcher or the local school board. The November election must be a referendum on the behavior of the Democrat party and become the Red Wave of all Red Waves. Tell all your liberal friends that any citizen who votes for a Democrat is supporting tyranny. Tell all your conservative friends to get out and vote.
These are trying times that could signify the end of our Republic. Vote accordingly.
Greg Sarber is a board member of Alaska Gold Communications, the parent company to Must Read Alaska.
