Professor Grossman,
This is a very good article. It was well written and well thought out. I have one issue to raise. The double standard as far as how laws are applied have been going on for years. There have been numerous cases where you could argue that a persons wealth or power was a major reason why they got off light for a crime that average citizens like ourselves would be crucified for.
For context, I submit the following:
The Affluenza Teen:
This wealthy kid literally got away with murder for the lamest argument anyone has ever heard. If you or I posed that argument in our defense, we would likely be laughed out of the courtroom.
And yes, I am bringing up Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal. I understand it’s resolved and nothing will come of re-litigating it. It does matter in terms of our conversation. There is a double standard of how powerful people can be treated differently than those without power.
Congress can exempt themselves from certain bills they pass. The ACA exemption is an example of this…
Then there is the politically motivated hypocrisy investigations. Countless hours were wasted on the Benghazi witch hunt, yet Republicans complaining about the length of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian tampering in American elections.
The point here is that equal treatment and equal protection under the law went the way of the Dodo a long time ago. However due to political divide in this country, it is ignored if the politician or powerful person is someone who you (not you personally) like or dislike.
As a result, Americans, both left and right leaning, have continued to elect & re-elect politicians who put party ahead of rule of law. They consistently put party interest ahead of our best interests. This has been building for a long time, and our collective negligence as constituents has allowed this to happen. This is just the natural result of not taking our responsibility as citizens as seriously as we should.