Today we discuss crime, punishment and stain removal.

You seem to write an awful lot about Donald Trump

Unfortunately.

Don’t you like our former president?

I think he’s a human stain that stains everything he touches.

Besides, I could happily get by without ever typing the T-word again for as long as I live.

But liking or disliking Trump has nothing to do with the need to emphasize the clear and present danger that the unhinged ex-president continues to pose to our country and our system of democracy.

Very noble of you.

I’m just trying to make a living.

Couldn’t you ignore him?

Ah, the ostrich strategy.

Trump thrives on attention like plants need water and we all need oxygen. He said famous Bad publicity is sometimes better than none at all, so it’s tempting to deny Trump his drug of choice and the resources he uses to continue his endless money-making.

His rallies are easy to ignore, having long taken on the diminished feel of a faded tire grinding oldies on the county fairground circuit. Not even Fox News (motto: Ratings Over Country) carries them live anymore.

But turning away doesn’t mean Trump would go away.

In addition, he is currently the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. He continues to hold sway over much of the GOP and many of its leaders, including Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, who is the master of Mar-a- Lago follows like a Pomeranian on a leash.

That is why it is important to continue to highlight Trump’s continued recklessness and mendacity.

And you’d have to agree that the very first indictment against a former president, by any estimate, is remarkable.

How strong is the case against Trump?

I’m not a lawyer. And most of the comments aren’t either, except for the ones that

Are

legal experts.

And those qualified to parse the 34-count New York City indictment disagree whether the Manhattan district attorney should have brought the case, especially given other potentially more solid charges related to Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and incite the January 6 riot.

But whatever a judge and perhaps ultimately a jury decide in the New York case, it’s worth noting that the allegations are about more than extramarital sex or shoddy administration.

How?

Essentially, Trump’s actions were an attempt to defraud voters so he could win the 2016 election.

How is that?

Consider the circumstances surrounding the hush money payments to star of the naked screen Stormy Daniels. Events unfolded during the final weeks of the hard-fought presidential battle. Trump’s campaign gained momentum after the release of a tape of him bragging about sexually mauling women.

Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, either distanced themselves or completely abandoned the GOP candidate. It was a real question whether Trump would stay on the ticket. His vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, reportedly volunteered for the Republican National Committee as a replacement.

The revelation of an alleged affair with Daniels could have been the end of Trump’s candidacy. So he made plans to keep it under wraps at least until after the election, as he reportedly told his lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, “At that point it wouldn’t matter if the story went public.”

Prosecutors even say that Trump, who is notoriously stiff with creditors, urged Cohen to delay payment of hush money as long as possible so he could squeeze under the deal and keep his checkbook padlocked once the political er, storm was over.

Even in deception, Trump was a deceiver.

It sounds like you really like Republicans.

Not at all, it’s more like tough love.

huh?

Political competition is good.

The country needs a strong, vital Republican Party, as opposed to a cult enslaved by a corrupt and destructive personality like Trump.

We need a party where policies and principles are central, not arousing anger and

play out resentment of bringing in contributions and “owning the libraries.”

That is not governing. It’s trolling.

So you think California is some sort of political nirvana?

Not at all, you don’t have to look closely to see the excesses of a one-party democratic system.

Gov. Gavin Newsom goes ego-tripping on the presidential campaign trail, instead of taking care of the job voters chose him for.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon recently stripped a Democrat from Bakersfield, the heart of California’s oil field, of an important committee assignment after she had the courage to oppose Newsom’s crackdown on industry price hikes. The bill passed 52 to 19. Whatever the merits of the legislation, Rendon’s move was a sign of arrogance, not force.

What about Tennessee?

You refer to the recent ousting of two black Democrats from the Republican-led House for the high crime of decency violations during a chamber floor protest for stricter gun laws. That is an even more frightening and extreme example. It just shows what happens when one side doesn’t have the power to rein in the other.

So you try save the Republican Party from itself?

From Trump, at least, and the further spread of his political toxicity. That’s why it’s important not to ignore him and his irritating, anti-democratic antics, tempting as they may be.

There’s a saying used to promote transparency and the need for government to conduct its business in public for all to see: Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

It may also help remove stains.