Trump's legal team of Dull and Duller woke up a few napping viewers of the former president's impeachment proceedings today by waving around a copy of Mao Zedong's Little Red Book. That's right, in the middle of his rushed-of-pace, yet meandering-of-logic speech, David Schoen spoke of others around the world who reject due process in their governments.
"Some of them have chosen their own handbooks, which direct their citizens' conduct, on penalty of death. This is one of them," he said, holding up the infamous book of Mao's quotations. "There can be no room for due process in such a system as this, or the system would be lost," he lamented.
Okay, and? Is this an argument FOR Trump or AGAINST him?
Schoen continued, "Snap decisions are required in a system like this to maintain power for one political philosophy over all others in those kinds of systems. But we as a nation have rejected those systems, and the kind of snap decisions they demand to maintain control for one party, for one point of view, and for an imposed way of life."
Right, so we're agreeing Mao was BAD, correct? We don't want to be like that! Imposing your viewpoint on others, like, say, on restricting abortion access, or insisting upon prayer in school, or staging a coup over false claims an election was rigged despite the rulings of over sixty separate court cases, that's all BAD, right?
Again, I ask, is this attorney arguing FOR Trump or AGAINST him?
Schoen put the book down, and said, "We choose to live freely under a constitution that guarantees our freedom. Other countries fear those freedoms and seek to ensure adherence to a party line in all civic, political, spiritual, and other affairs, and to ensure that the party line is toed, and those systems have no place for due process."
Well, yay! I'm glad to live freely! Those other places sound bad.
And, wait, was he even giving permission to Republicans to vote their conscience? Encouraging them not to toe the party line?
Actually, nope. Schoen was talking about the DEMOCRATS. He was comparing the Democrats to scary scary Communist China, suggesting that Speaker Pelosi and the Impeachment Managers were depriving Donald John Trump of due process by making a "snap decision" to impeach him for incitement of insurrection. That, somehow, Democrats were the ones imposing their beliefs on a meek and vulnerable nation, threatening DEATH if people don't toe the party line.
Thanks, Rick Perlstein, for setting me straight.
I had to rewind twice. Dude just pulled out Mao's "Little Red Book" to characterize the Democrats.
— Rick Perlstein (@rickperlstein) February 9, 2021
Always with the projection, with these Republicans. Which party caused the death of seven people on January 6? Which party erected a gallows and literally hunted members of their own party to hang because they followed the law instead of betraying the Constitution?
Which party is filled with people who claimed, after hearing both sets of arguments, that the Impeachment lawyers made a much stronger case than Trump's, but they still voted for Trump's side anyway?
I rest my case.
