Warning: rant
ahead. Detour if you wish.
I am outraged,
angry, humiliated, resentful, puzzled—I cannot begin to tell you the emotions
that have raged through my mind since I read about 45 referring to people from “shithole
countries.” That such language from the
Oval Office is unpresidential goes without saying; so does that it violates
every one of our dearly held democratic principles, the ideas that our country
was founded on. “Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry.” The statement is
racist beyond belief.And sadly, it will appeal to his base, those people who are desperate to find some way to feel better about themselves. LBJ, whose wisdom was probably underappreciated in his day, said it: If you can convince the lowest white man that he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice that you’re picking his pocket.” Unfortunately, not much has changed since LBJ’s day, and 45 is playing that song like his theme.
But there’s more. Not only is he a disgrace to democracy, to American principles, and to our presidency and the White House, he is a man with clear mental incompetency, what appears to be dementia.
And nobody is doing anything! That old phrase keeps going through my mind: “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck . . . .” Well, you know the rest.
Clearly the Republicans are in power, and they are the ones who can do something about this terrible, frightening situation that they have thrust us into. We look to Mueller to save us (and he may, but he’s a slow and deliberate man, carefully building a foolproof case—will he be in time?); recently we’ve looked to Michael Wolff’s book to save us (and again it may—that’s what Kim Jung Un predicts). But it is the Republicans who have the power and the tools in their hands right now to correct what they have wrought. They have the 25th Amendment.
Suely they don’t think their legislative record, their blind eye to the president will win them votes. Most are seasoned politicians, and they know the odds. The base 45 courts is not big enough to counter a voter wave that will sweep many of them out of office—perhaps that’s why so many are announcing resignation and retirement. But for the nonce, they are unfettered. They have their way, with a president who can be easily manipulated, and they’re going wild with power. Not a conscience or a backbone among them. The best they can do is resign, which doesn’t help us. I call out Senator Bob Corker who seemed for a bright moment there to be earnest, sincere, and aware, but he caved to a little bribery. Greed rules all.
What will save our country at this point? I don’t know. Do you? Will you be the one? Will you vote come November?
4 comments:
I do not think that the rapid change you are hoping for will happen, Judy. There are too many, I believe, of what we used to call "the silent majority" who were dissatisfied and, in many cases, furious at what Obama was doing as president and opted for a change. Part of the problem, and actually, I believe, a big part, is that Hillary was accused of many, many things such as the Benghazi incident and the press blew it up. BUT the thing about the press is they are always looking for the flamboyant and not the "corrections" that prove innocence. And, people, I believe, don't really care that much about that as it doesn't have the flamboyancy of the original accusations. The silent majority does not pay that close attention to everything but latches on to the immediacy of the accusation and that is enough for them. The old adage about where there is smoke there must be a fire is not truly applicable as the word "must" is enough for them when the word "may" would be more appropriate. Another huge problem is the question of debt. The silent majority looks only at the general picture: when Obama took office, the national debt was $9 trillion. When he left, it was over $20 trillion. It doesn't matter to them that he may have reduced the debt in some instances as for them, money owed overall is the true debt. The enormity of the "final figure" is all that they care about. One must remember that the majority of citizens do not keep themselves fully abreast about politics, etc. All one has to do is look at the general population number and the number of people who voted. The difference is tremendous and if those people suddenly decide they are going to vote, they look only at the "big" situations that have happened. You keep yourself fully aware of everything (as everyone should) but you are really in the minority as far as the entire population is concerned. Unless THAT can be changed, I really don't think a rapid change is possible. I think it is going to take a few elections for enough people to become dissatisfied with what is happening now and once again form a different opinion. What is truly needed, I think, is a charismatic candidate who is fully "innocent" or perceived as such, to draw the silent majority away from the Republican party. Yes, Trump is a complete idiot but he has made some changes that appeal to those individuals regardless of his general and overall stupidity. Right now, the Democrat party needs to find someone who fits the above parameters and unite behind that individual, building s/he up in the eyes of the voters as the new "savior". There are too many of the "old school" still in the picture and those people are tarnished with the same brush of negative "politics" that drew the electoral vote in the first place. The Democrat platform must undergo a radical change to do that---which should be apparent given the past election. Right now, though, I fear that too many irons are in the fire whereby too many people have favorite candidates, etc. which is "fragmenting" the party. People do not really want that. They want a very few individuals, and frankly, I believe, only one, around whom they can rally. There is time, at the moment, for that to happen before the next general election but I don't see it happening at the moment. ONE individual who represents change must emerge from the fray. Certainly a lot of Republicans have become disillusioned about Trump BUT not enough to fully influence general voters. Unfortunately, I don't see one emerging right now. That is, one who is not connected with the past but brings with him/her a whole new picture. It is time for people to stop pointing out the stupidity of Trump and start proposing an individual(s) who can correct the stupid things he is doing. Well, that is MY opinion. I thought he was dangerous from the beginning but he was saying things that people apparently wanted.
Randy, I agree in part, disagree in part. Pondering a reply but I hope you're wrong about slow change. We need fast help.
I hope I'm wrong, too, Judy, but I fear I'm not. Consequently, I do think it's time that we start finding someone who can be built into someone that will draw even more people from his side. What is needed is an intelligent All-American man who can appeal to all sides (or as much as possible with the Republicans as well). That takes time to do and will take more than one year or half-year as campaigns usually go. There is no one waiting in the wings.
Did you hear yourself use the gender-specific noun? Again, I fear you're right. With the experiences of Obama and Hilary behind us (and I'm a big fan of both) I don't think the country will elected anyone but a white male. Several women in the field who would be good.
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