Opinion: Doing wrong thing worse than nothing

Political crimes aren't like ordinary crimes. They are worse.

They are also outside the "innocent until proven guilty" standard, which applies to most other crimes; crimes committed by people without political power.

With an ordinary crime, you often have to figure out whether any crime was committed at all. Maybe it was an accident or a natural occurrence. Then, if it is discovered there was a crime, you have to try to find out who committed it.

This isn't how political crimes work. Most political crimes are committed in public, in front of cameras, with the guilty party bragging afterward about what they've done. There is no "allegedly" there.

Suppose some definitely-not-based-on-a-real-person hypothetical politician went in front of the public and announced she intended to commit the crime of Deprivation of Rights under Color of Law (TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242) by suspending the US Constitution -- specifically the Second Amendment -- for at least 30 days in one particular county.

This is a crime against every resident and visitor affected, and the crime is committed openly, in public. There's no question of guilt.

The penalty for this specific crime can include the death penalty if anyone dies because they were unable to protect themselves from a freelance criminal while complying with the edict.

Our imaginary politician might admit she knows criminals won't comply (because they won’t) but she feels the need to “do something.” Doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing, and she's doing the exact opposite of what should be done. Feelings over thought.

In such a case, I would consider any law enforcement representative present while she committed her crime guilty of dereliction of duty for not immediately placing her under arrest as she spoke. Any law enforcement then conspiring with her to enforce her rules should be her co-defendants.

Some have claimed this imaginary politician would have to be impeached and removed from office before she could be arrested. This is ridiculous, but if true, get on with it. Impeach her.

If you're concerned about the hypothetical politician's welfare, don't be. She's safe from legal consequences as long as she's on the side with the political power, doing things other political criminals in state and federal government positions want done to the people. They'll protect her. It's so rare for anything to come of such crimes that the risk can be ignored.

Farwell’s Kent McManigal champions liberty. Contact him at:

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