In the incredulous aftermath of Donald Trump’s election victory, we have many things on which to reflect.
The so-called “leader of the free world” is now a vain, thin-skinned demagogue with the temperament of a child and a complete disinterest in the details of our constitution or the workings of government in general.
He has just been given carte blanche by the electorate to follow his every selfish whim, which he will most certainly do since the venal and castrated Republican Congress is clearly prepared to do his bidding.
What this means for the millions of minority citizens whom Trump openly despises, and in the sphere of U.S. power and influence is almost beyond comprehension.
Since he was never prevailed upon by his followers and the toothless media to provide either his taxes as evidence of any possible entanglements, nor anything in the way of policy beyond general platitudes about making America “great again,” no one (not even his Republican Congress) has the slightest idea of what he might do in office other than strut his plumage and plot revenge on his many, many perceived enemies.
It is doubtful that even he has any plan beyond what immediately will satisfy his vanity and desire to swiftly punish anyone who crosses him.
Welcome to the United Banana Republic of America.
Republicans may enjoy their hegemony in the lead-up to inauguration, but they should be prepared for the worst when King Donald begins his reign for it will most certainly be marked by epic dysfunction of unprecedented scope and consequence.
Unfortunately, we will have to live through it, too.
Prepare for a long, brutal four years of uncertainty, chaos and, when Trump fails to deliver on his promises, riots and rebellion from a heavily armed populace who have been fed on hollow promises and hate.
Coal is not coming back, despite what Donald Trump might have promised. Too much infrastructure has already been replaced.
The election wasn’t “rigged,” unless you count FBI Director Comey‘s inexplicable acts of bad judgement; or Russian email hacking and other efforts at influencing the election; or voter suppression against minorities supporting Hillary Clinton. By God, Trump was right about that one thing: the election was rigged…in his favor!
Trump will not be able to replace Obamacare with “something much better.” Far brighter minds have already struggled to bring universal healthcare this far and Donald Trump hasn’t given the matter even a passing thought. An irresponsible tyke to the bitter end, I am sure he would simply end it on the first day of his administration, were that possible, and hang the consequences for the millions of people left abruptly without healthcare.
Mexico will not pay for a wall to be built on its border and only the most paranoid and localized of Trump’s supporters will still think it’s a good idea when the complete impracticality of the plan and it’s cost to the American people ultimately plays out in real time.
The women he has mistreated will not be silent; and, if the Bill Cosby experience is anything to judge by, more are likely to come forward. He will find that the women of America will not forget his abusive past, and God help him if he pulls any of that crap in the Oval Office. Bill Clinton, he ain’t.
As much as he likes to call Hillary “crooked,” it is he who is currently under active investigation for Trump University indiscretions, has numerous complaints of sexual assault unfolding around him, and may be implicated in Russian attempts to influence the election…which we now understand to have been effective.
Isis becomes his problem now; as does Kim Jung Il and thousands of other more subtle international challenges to which he has devoted little or no thought. Who is his ‘brain trust’ on international relations going to be; Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani??
He’s promised tax breaks for everyone, but closer scrutiny of the plan reveals it’s mostly for his own economic class and he has finessed the question of how to pay for those tax breaks.
Prisons and roads will likely be further privatized because we will be paying for his wall and tax breaks for the well-heeled.
Oh, yes, and he has promised “law and order.” Yay; just what is needed to calm minority Americans already alarmed by his hateful rhetoric. That’s going to go well.
The Republicans allowed themselves to be married to so many whoppers during his campaign for class president that they are beyond count. Right now, I imagine hoards of GOP staffers scrambling to compile the list of promises and misrepresentation for which they will be held accountable by the gullible electorate, which, when disappointed will transform into a tide of angry rabble.
There are lessons to be drawn by everyone from last night’s rude awakening; and there is blame enough for many.
Lesson number one is that the impossible is never impossible and assumptions are begging to be disproved.
Why do we still refuse to believe that the American people will vote against their own best interests, over and over again?
The media played patti-cake with their own Frankenstein creation for far too long; until he turned on them when, too late, they began to hold him somewhat accountable for his lies and hate speech.
The Republican establishment couldn’t summon a collective backbone throughout the primaries and allowed themselves to be bullied into submission by a whiney crybaby. Then, once Trump secured the nomination, after a brief and weak resistance, they all, for the most part, fell in line behind this insult to democracy, preferring the dangerous chaos of a Trump administration to any loss of power to the Democrats. Rather than strengthening the Republican hand in the long-run, unless Donald Trump really does begin mass deportations of immigrants, this election will only hasten the collapse of an already emasculated party.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and the Democratic establishment? Well, what can I say?
There will be some Democrats who will be quick to blame Bernie for running against Hillary in the primary and starting the conversation about her faults; but he didn’t reveal any secrets. Those vulnerabilities were already in evidence and the ‘annointing’ of Hillary as the only Democratic candidate would not have done her any favors in the general election. I can’t imagine how Joe Biden is feeling this morning!
Two people who can’t be blamed, however, are Michelle and Barack Obama who gave the campaign every advantage from a stellar approval rating to a relatively strong economic report; and they campaigned like rock stars!
We’re all grieving right now, but after a decent interval, we have to pick ourselves up and go on fighting to win back our democracy. That will take a clear-eyed look at institutional political thought and a willingness to consider a whole new paradigm, perhaps outside the two-party system.
There’s no better time to start than now.