The Rape of American Democracy focuses not so much on the particular details of events, though these are covered, as it seeks to connect the dots and tries to answer the question of what is going on at a particular point in time in the context of what has gone before and been chronicled in earlier chapters, and what it all means.
As John B. Mitchell, Professor Emeritus at Seattle University School of Law, explained to me a few years ago in response to my question of why people seemed so uninterested in talking about the specific events of the six years between 2016 and 2021,
"We don't want to remember. We are exhausted from the past four years (2017-2021). And we don't want to remember because it was all too painful. If we remember we will have to think, and if we think we will understand. And if we understand what is really going on, we will have to act, and we cannot imagine acting when we don't know what to do and feel so exhausted."
This book, however, will not let you forget. Too much is at stake. This book will make you think.
It will help you remember and understand what Donald Trump was doing when he appeared to be intimidating witnesses or retaliating against them for truthfully testifying in the House impeachment hearings. This book will remind you of how Trump tried to interfere with electoral processes in key states after the election on November 3, 2020.
Donald Trump and his co-conspirators sought to overthrow the election results and thereby the Constitution of the United States. Their actions constituted an attempted coup d'état. Ultimately, they failed. But they got frighteningly close.
The essays in this book chronicle developments as they happened or were about to happen. The result of this approach is not so much the painting of a picture of what happened, told in an analytical form from the perspective of the present moment, as it is a kind of moving picture of the process that was unfolding. Viewed in this manner, the reader can better appreciate the drama of the events as they occurred, and understand the extraordinary extent to which, day to day, American democracy seemed to be hanging in the balance.
The Rape of American Democracy will obviously be of great interest to journalists, politicians, and potential voters interested in developments prior to the elections held on November 5, 2024. But its importance and lasting significance will extend far past these elections. Familiarity with what Trump did in his first term, and the mistakes and failures of the Democrats during 2016-2021. will be of great usefulness in understanding events during his second term and devising strategies to limit the damage done by his policies and decisions.
