Expose the criminality of the far right
Dave Johnson writes about how Republican presidencies have gotten worse over time and how Democrats let them get away with it:
Nixon had to resign for things that Reagan picked up and did from day 1 without apology. Reagan, of course, instructed underlings to violate the law and lie to Congress about it. Bush I used parts of the government to obstruct the Iran/Contra investigations, then pardoned several criminals who had worked for him. And Iran/Contra — and avoiding the mistakes that led to exposure — was the model for the current Bush’s first day in office – with this Bush this proudly hiring convicted (but pardoned by Dad) felons!
Elected Democrats and moderate Republicans keep letting far-Right conspirators off the hook, and failing to expose the true nature of their activities to the public. Perhaps this is because they honestly did not and do not recognize them for what they are. Some of Nixon’s cronies went to jail — none of Reagan/Bush I’s. Worse, the Carter and Clinton administrations did not ask for a full accounting of the transgressions — political and financial — of the prior administrations. In a way, this signaled to the public to expect such activities as part of “business as usual.” By allowing the Right to publicly get away with an “everybody does it” excuse, the legitimacy of our democratic form of government was eroded.