Darrell Castle talks about the state of presidential politics and what that state means for the nation.

Transcription / Notes

HARD TIMES FOR THE REPUBLIC

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 15th day of September in the year of our Lord 2023. I will be talking about the state of presidential politics and what that state means for the nation. Who can and who should lead this nation in either the death throes of corruption or back to the days when the country was a moral leader and respected for its strict adherence to the rule of law.

In the world of presidential politics, we face many dilemmas today, most, or all of which have been faced before. For example, what if Donald Trump is convicted of at least some of the 100 or so felonies for which he has been indicted. Don’t get me wrong because I’m not saying he is guilty of any of the charges, most of which don’t even make sense as criminal charges. The trials, however, will all be conducted in heavily Democrat cities and courts where the prosecutors, judges, and juries have one thing in mind and that is destroy Donald Trump.

Whether I supported Donald Trump as president or whether I still might be a supporter is irrelevant to me in his current struggle. I am a lawyer and I have a respect for the law and I am very opposed to how it is being abused in the cases against Trump. Most of the election interference charges appear to be just examples of free speech woven into racketeering by a very biased prosecutor. In the January 6 case he urged peaceful protests but evidence or lack thereof is irrelevant in New York.

What if he is convicted on at least some charges as seems likely, but is out pending appeal which also seems likely. He would then be a convicted felon and the presidential candidate of a major political party. The election could then turn on whether the voters thought him guilty or whether they would prefer his election whereby he could pardon himself. In that case he might be the only convicted felon elected president but he would not be the only felonious president and that’s for sure.

That situation has happened before as a matter of fact. In the presidential election of 1920, Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs ran from a jail cell and got 3,4% of the vote. Mr. Debs was a five-time presidential candidate, as a Democrat at first, then as an open, rather than a closet Socialist. In 1920 he had been sent to prison for stating what turned out to be the truth about financial reasons being at least somewhat to blame for the U.S. entry into World War One. My point is that he was a third-party candidate and still got 3.4% of the voters to choose him while he was in prison.

The likely Democrat candidate in 2024 is not without problems of his own. Accused of corruption with foreign governments, bribery, extortion, possibly even treason the speaker of the house of representatives announced this week that an inquiry into impeachment would be filed against President Joe Biden. Quoting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy:

“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption. They warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives. That’s why today I am directing our House (committees) to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.”

These things take months, of course, sometimes even years so the House is not expected to vote on whether to impeach until February 2024 at the earliest. If the Republican House votes to impeach, which seems likely, then the Democrat Senate would try him and most likely vote to acquit. The process I just described is accurate, but the results I predicted are obviously speculation on my part. Nevertheless, it is possible that we could have a Democrat candidate awaiting trial in the Senate, or one who has been convicted and removed from office leaving the nation to be led by Kamala Harris running against a convicted felon.