Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Up before 6am on a Saturday morning, I turned on the kitchen TV during the waning period of infomercials that fill after midnight broadcast programming.

On the screen was a familiar face.  It was Mike Murdock (he refers to himself as “Dr” Mike Murdock although he dropped out in his second year at Southwestern Assemblies of God University – daunting academia for sure). He has been a long time televangelist and general purveyor in the God business.

He spent the majority of his air time that morning, as usual, preaching (but sounded more like demanding)  that his faithful listeners send him a measly $1000 “seed” donation, which will be returned to them a hundred fold (or more) in some financial or quasi-financial form. Not a bad deal…for Mike.

He shamelessly warns that if they keep the $1000 which they may have saved up for a vacation, medical care, or debt repayment...that’s all they’ll ever have. He points out that he doesn’t keep a debt balance on his credit card, but other people have told him they have paid their $1000 “seed” with credit card debt to ample reward. “I didn’t say that,” he discloses, “they did”.  

His tax supported flimflam is part of the substantial (and wretchedly ugly) tip of a colossal iceberg that is (to use an old but currently in vogue Latin phrase) a quid pro quo. Believe in me, have faith in me (send me your “seed”) and you will receive eternal life (no fear of death), and maybe even riches in this life.

The fact that the majority of funds sent to Murdock and an army of similar vendors goes to support their lavish lifestyles, unconstrained behavior, and fund their ego laden projects has never dissuaded the faithful. That is because the faithful simply don’t think of it as a quid pro quo, they only feel it.  

Now in our politically divided Nation this same dynamic is being played out, not just for the accumulation of wealth but also for the securing of power. Watching the progression of efforts to impeach and remove Donald Trump from office has become a contest of reality vs. belief, of reason vs. emotion.

The real trial is not being played out in Congress. The real hearing can be found with Fox News and Talk Radio on one side and the rest of the news media (CNN, MSNBC, BBC, PBS, ABC, CBS, NBC etc) on the other.

If you consider reason and reality in this drama you can become painfully bewildered as to why anyone would condone the behavior of Donald Trump. This episode with Ukraine is the only the one in which he got caught red handed. There are obviously numerous others, some even out in the open. Like the way he maneuvers public assets and influence to benefit himself financially or with his un-American (if not treasonous) relationship with Putin (a pariah in the global community). They will all come to light…someday.

Jonathan Turley (expert witness for the Republicans during the Judicial Committee hearing) only argued that the Democrats had not “proven” their case. He was never asked “if a Congressman believes what Trump is accused of beyond a reasonable doubt should he not vote for impeachment”? He would have had no choice but to answer “yes”. He would have undoubtedly followed with the question of what is reasonable doubt.

Republican Congressmen, the producers at Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the rest know the truth, but to them it is meaningless in the infomercial of the politics they sell. It is all about the quid pro quo they're transacting with 30% of the American population. It’s “listen to me, vote for me, believe in me and I will keep you safe from those others who want to take away everything you hold dear…don’t think about it, just feel it”.

They know they can sell a “reasonable doubt” as any doubt at all, no matter how ridiculous. Broadly applied no one could be convicted of any crime in this country. However this "reasonable doubt" is narrowly targeted.

Rush Limbaugh was a college drop-out and a failed disc jockey without a buck to spare. Since then he has only been a hard right-wing radio talk show personality. Yet now his current net worth is estimated at about $600 million and his current annual income at $84 million. Mike Murdock…eat your heart out! You're in the minor leagues.