Thread by @l78lancer

What's the point of institutions if they don't save and protect their own system?

I believe most rational people would agree that there are three things at stake:

1. governing and meeting the people's needs particularly in times of crisis,
2. justice and accountability, and

3. saving democracy.

Does that sound about right?

There is tremendous obstruction, sabotage, and outright maliciousness from an entire dysfunctional political party, along with some self-loathing, self-destruction from some egomaniacs within the governing party itself.

It's deliberately intended to make governance impossible while extracting benefits for personal agendas. But at least a competent administration is in place to fight the battle to govern. They're trying to meet the needs of the people the previous administration sorely neglected.

Now the governing party and administration must not get so caught up in the steps and minutiae of good governance that they neglect to prepare for the things that will make governance in the future impossible, specifically voter nullification and interposition.

But I read a few tweets yesterday by some pretty topflight lawyers explaining why DoJ may not be pursuing Trump. They go to the heart of justice and saving democracy. After you cut through the technical discussions and legal jargon, it all sounded more like excuses than reasons.

Here's what we do know:

1. There were crimes committed over illegal donations and hush money. How do we know? Michel Cohen went to prison despite being instructed by Trump, yet Trump wasn't charged. Why not? Nevertheless, the statute of limitations was permitted to expire.

2. There was a spate of crimes committed, and laws broken during the course of the Ukraine shakedown. How do we know? The record of the first impeachment clearly states that, and Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman went to prison on charges related to it.

They worked on behalf of Rudy and the administration, yet no one else was charged. Why not?

3. There were volumes of crimes committed documented in the Mueller report. How do we know? Dozens of people were indicted including foreign nationals, numerous people were tried and convicted of crimes associated with those identified in the report, and...

...obstruction of justice occurred during the investigation and the report's preparation. No one in the administration was charged. Why not?

4. There were crimes on and leading up 1/6/2021. The crimes were obvious, overt, public, and outrageous. People died. People were injured. Property was damaged. The democratic process was threatened. Laws were broken in numerous states involving individuals in the administration.

And even individuals in congress are implicated for involvement. At least one criminal investigation is occurring at the state level for crimes committed by the administration. And there was an entire impeachment that identified laws that were broken.

The bottom line is many, many, many crimes were committed. To that there is no question. And clearly the American people are the victims of those crimes. So how is it there can be so much crime so much damage, and there is no one responsible or accountable for it?

We're not even talking about the dozens of other very egregious crimes of opportunity, pilfering, graft, and outright theft that were committed quietly behind closed doors for years. Just the brazen, overt, public, often loudly announced, and committed before our eyes.

At no point during the previous administration was accountability considered, because the principals at DoJ were every bit as corrupt and complicit as the individuals in the administration. That is becoming infinitely clearer as the architects of the insurrection are identified.

The problem really isn't that no one is being charged or convicted for committing crimes. The problem is the people who really matter aren't. Therein lies the problem and danger. If there is no accountability for the people responsible for running the system, there is no system.

So, what's the point of accountability and justice?

I do fully understand that there have been enough crimes committed over the past 5 years to require two or three Justice Departments generations to unravel. I do understand that they will have to pick and choose their fights.

I do understand that DoJ has a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers, and to preserve individual rights. But sometimes, you actually do have to fight. And when you fight, you don't always have a 100% chance of winning. Therefore, you can't just pick fights you're assured to win.

But if our system of government is of, for and by the people, but the people we charge with the responsibility of running and protecting the system fail to hold to account those who break the law and attempt to dismantle the system, what is the purpose of the system?

I'm no genius, not even a scholar, but it's pretty easy to see and understand the fear, dismay, disillusionment of the people at what's seen to be a lack of urgency, understanding or care that our entire way of life is at stake, but nothing appears to be being done to save it.

Institutions and norms are important components of our system of government and our way of life. But too often it appears that the institution and norms get confused with the system itself. The norms and institutions are not inert constructs.

They aren't separate and apart from the government itself for the purpose of their own existence. They aren't intended to insulate themselves or the people who exist within or benefit from them. Their intended purpose is to move the levers and gears of government...

...so that things get done for the people. One of those this is justice, the other is defending the constitution. So, what's the point of protecting institutions if they're preserved at the cost of democracy, the system, itself?

As long as there is no accountability, there will be no justice. As long as there is no justice, there will be no peace, calm or normalcy. And, as long as those who need to fight are not willing to fight, Democracy will be in peril, always.

And as long as the people assigned the responsibility of protecting the system continue to swim in circles in insular and cloistered bubbles more concerned with agendas, pristine reputations, and self-preservation, the system of which they are a part will spiral into an abyss.

By the time they respond there will be no system, and they will have no authority to fix it. So, from a layman's or average Joe's perspective, it's past time for the institutionalists to worry less about the institutions and more about the democracy that enables their existence.

@threadreaderapp unroll...