While America’s vaunted media was chasing the very latest on Sean “Diddy Diddy” Combs, a few, including Heather Cox Richardson, noted that that day was the first anniversary of the day on which the Supreme Court said “Yep, there is one guy above the law. That guy is Donald Trump, because we say so.”

Remember how the SCOTUS held the decision into another month last year because they knew that the repercussions would be so loud. The Roberts Court has twisted itself into a pretzel to please Trump. Then they did it again this year as they handed down a decision that makes Trump farts have the force of law that can’t have a national injunction against them.

The MAGAs in congress quake in their boots and pee themselves at the very thought that Trump may say even a word against them. This is what our founders thought they had insulated themselves against – one man having so much power. That’s why we had separation of powers within the government and even powers of the press and the electorate outside the government.

Yet despite all that countervailing powers within the government wilt in front of Trump and external powers simply acquiesce – once more this week a major press power (CBS under the Paramount umbrella) bent a knee to Trump and offered to settle a ridiculous lawsuit for $16 million. 

We are almost to the point where all our eggs of stopping the end of our democracy are in the one basket of the midterm elections coming next November. Will the elections be legitimate? Will they be honest? We really just apparently have to hope so. We also have to put faith in the machines that do the ballot counting. 

Heather Cox Richardson recording on Tuesday as the press focused on Diddy Combs and Lisa Murkowski’s gutless vote in the senate: (15 minutes)