Progressive Values

Alan Dershowitz Supports Donald Trump, While Laurence Tribe Warns Of Danger He Presents: Why The Split Over Trump?

Alan Dershowitz is a renowned law professor, and so is Laurence Tribe.

But Dershowitz sees Donald Trump as not having done anything that is impeachable, while Tribe has said that Trump could be impeached or indicted while in office, and is a danger to the Republic.

How can two renowned Harvard Law School professors have diametrically opposite views of Constitutional Law?

One could say that any two experts can disagree on constitutional matters, since there can be honest differences of viewpoint.

But when one looks closer at the two men’s careers, one can start to understand that Dershowitz has long been a gadfly, who often seems to revel in publicity and attention, even if it is based on notoriety. He has often been involved in major controversies, and in many ways, he is the Donald Trump of the legal profession, a real character who has elements of egotism and narcissism in his basic DNA.

On the other hand, Laurence Tribe has had a distinguished respectable career speaking up for progressive values, but avoiding the constant limelight that Alan Dershowitz revels in on a regular basis.

When the history of the Trump Presidency is written in the future, Alan Dershowitz will not look credible and respectable, but Laurence Tribe will have dignity and principle as the basis of his entire life.

The Alienation Of Millennial Voters Endangers Voter Turnout Which Could Undermine Democratic Party And Progressive Values

Depending on which public opinion polls one follows and believes, it might be true that many millennial voters are “turned off” by the present election contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and might vote in large numbers for Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson or Green Party nominee Jill Stein in November. Or they might just stay home and not vote at all.

Millennials, defined as those under 30, but also sometimes including those under 35, are hostile to the “Establishment” and the normal way of dealing with politics and government, as represented by the stalemate, gridlock, and paralysis so common in recent years in Congress and in state governments, as the two major political parties refuse to work together and cooperate for the nation’s future.

The problem is that the present situation seems likely to be perpetuated, as the House of Representatives, at the least, still seems likely to remain Republican, maybe with a smaller margin, while the US Senate may go Democratic by a few seats, but not enough to avoid filibusters by the minority. So new people might be in charge, but the overall situation is unlikely to lead to the real possibility of progress on major domestic problems, and controversy over foreign policy may be further enhanced.

The danger is that alienation may bring about the possible election of Donald Trump, which would be a national nightmare, and undermine the Democratic Party and progressive values, including the future direction of the Supreme Court.

The nation can ill afford the possibility of a “loose cannon” with the backing of extremist right wing forces, termed the “Alt Right” by Hillary Clinton this week in a Reno, Nevada speech, gaining power and promoting ideas and programs that would undermine the Bill of Rights; promote confrontation and conflict between races, ethnic groups, and different genders and sexual orientations; and put the nuclear codes in the hands of a dangerous man who could undermine our relations with foreign allies and provoke war due to his lack of discipline and mental stability.