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| Erase Obama |
There is a human need to have a trophy, a sign our lives mean something special.
Trump, especially, wants his trophies.
Democrats can work with that. Democrats likely have the power to choose what trophy he gets.
Donald Trump has never hidden his love for big trophies of ownership and achievement. His life is full of trophy hunting and trophy display. Trump Tower. Mar-a-Lago. Trump Taj Mahal. Three trophy wives.
The human need for trophies are in the news. Yesterday someone bid $450 million for a painting probably painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It is a little damaged and there is a little uncertainty about the actual painter, but the money to buy it is real. It is somebody's great trophy. "This was a thumping epic triumph of branding and desire over connoisseurship and reality," according to a New York art dealer quoted in the New York Times.
The human need for trophies are in the news. Yesterday someone bid $450 million for a painting probably painted by Leonardo da Vinci. It is a little damaged and there is a little uncertainty about the actual painter, but the money to buy it is real. It is somebody's great trophy. "This was a thumping epic triumph of branding and desire over connoisseurship and reality," according to a New York art dealer quoted in the New York Times.
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| $450 million. "Crowd gasps at record" |
Trophies don't have to make sense. In fact, if they make sense they aren't really trophies--they are investments or items of practical utility, not symbols of achievement. Trophies are displays, not tools.
He bought the Plaza Hotel, openly admitting at the time that the purchase did not make sense, then lost it in bankruptcy. He trolled Ted Cruz by displaying an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz next to a glamour shot of his own wife. He was criticized for it and did not back down one bit. Look who I sleep with, loser!
He bought the Plaza Hotel, openly admitting at the time that the purchase did not make sense, then lost it in bankruptcy. He trolled Ted Cruz by displaying an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz next to a glamour shot of his own wife. He was criticized for it and did not back down one bit. Look who I sleep with, loser!
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| Trump tweet. Trophy wife. |
If you've got it, flaunt it.
Trump needs to abandon GOP policies if he is to achieve a trophy of the kind he wants. He needed the GOP as a vehicle for his successful campaign of right wing populism. Obama symbolized a new America, and Trump the GOP candidate and president is working to erase Obama, but the policies that got him elected are essentially negative. They erase, they don't build. They push back against a tide of modernism and change. They want a return to the past. Great again.
Trump realizes that coal is the past, not the future. Trump realizes that American factories compete in a global market. Trump communicated what he really wanted when he described the replacement for Obamacare: something really terrific.
Trophies are not erasures. They are something terrific.
Democrats are positioned as the party to give him what he sorely wants. It might be a great infrastructure program, and it will not be enough simply to repair roads and bridges. Trump will want something new, big, and startling. Something as big as an interstate highway system. Something as showy as putting a man on the moon. Something as life changing as LBJ's civil rights laws. Or better yet, something as great as the Louisiana Purchase.
Democrats need to act quickly. A great infrastructure project, or a great revolution in health care that provides terrific health care, are projects that can give Trump the trophy he seeks. Trump appears to be easily distracted. Democrats should distract him from erasures by putting something big and possible in front of him. It will be won with the votes of Schumer and Warren, and against the opposition of Ron Paul and Ted Cruz. That is OK. Big trophies are expensive, and Democrats are willing to borrow and spend, just as Republicans are.
They should act quickly because there are alternative paths for Trump, war, and Trump is surrounded by generals. War with North Korea or war somewhere in the Middle East are options for Trump--ones that won't require cooperation from either Democrats or Republicans. That is the easy path politically for Trump but it is not his preferred one. He ran as a bellicose isolationist, not an interventionist.
Democrats will not like giving Trump a "win", but it would be a shared win. Trump would undoubtably claim credit, and that is a price Democrats would have to pay, and they can claim credit. Most will fall to Trump, but some to them. Republicans will look like obstructionists because they would probably obstruct.
But the future is laid out in front of America. Trump will demand his trophy. Democrats have to power to decide what trophy it is, a great domestic achievement done primarily with Democratic votes, or it will be a war.
Democrats should choose peace.
Trump needs to abandon GOP policies if he is to achieve a trophy of the kind he wants. He needed the GOP as a vehicle for his successful campaign of right wing populism. Obama symbolized a new America, and Trump the GOP candidate and president is working to erase Obama, but the policies that got him elected are essentially negative. They erase, they don't build. They push back against a tide of modernism and change. They want a return to the past. Great again.
Trump realizes that coal is the past, not the future. Trump realizes that American factories compete in a global market. Trump communicated what he really wanted when he described the replacement for Obamacare: something really terrific.
Trophies are not erasures. They are something terrific.
Democrats are positioned as the party to give him what he sorely wants. It might be a great infrastructure program, and it will not be enough simply to repair roads and bridges. Trump will want something new, big, and startling. Something as big as an interstate highway system. Something as showy as putting a man on the moon. Something as life changing as LBJ's civil rights laws. Or better yet, something as great as the Louisiana Purchase.
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| Plaza Hotel. One of a kind. |
They should act quickly because there are alternative paths for Trump, war, and Trump is surrounded by generals. War with North Korea or war somewhere in the Middle East are options for Trump--ones that won't require cooperation from either Democrats or Republicans. That is the easy path politically for Trump but it is not his preferred one. He ran as a bellicose isolationist, not an interventionist.
Democrats will not like giving Trump a "win", but it would be a shared win. Trump would undoubtably claim credit, and that is a price Democrats would have to pay, and they can claim credit. Most will fall to Trump, but some to them. Republicans will look like obstructionists because they would probably obstruct.
But the future is laid out in front of America. Trump will demand his trophy. Democrats have to power to decide what trophy it is, a great domestic achievement done primarily with Democratic votes, or it will be a war.
Democrats should choose peace.
2 comments:
Great point that zeroes in on a fundamental issue: Spiritualism vs Materialism
I think it can generally be said that Progressive values lean toward values of thoughtfulness, creativity, and humanity, while Regressives almost exclusively see material wealth as the solution for all society's problems. It reflects the anthropological imperative that began millennia ago when humans first began to wrest resources from the earth. While many of the objects men make have utility and value, excess and waste are a drag on progress.
This is a complex subject, but I immediately think of folks who have a front yard full of broken down cars, hoarders, and those who worship money and their possessions. We can't all live like the Dali Lama but it's becoming increasingly clear that society must move more towards values that embrace conservation, moderation and humility. A fundamental hypocrisy of American society is the espousal of the principle of equality, while in practice doing exactly the opposite.
Trump is an easy target. He is a throwback to the gilded age. It is interesting to note that many of the industrialists of that era "found religion" and tried later in life to atone for their rapaciousness by turning to philanthropy. Bill Gates is a recent example.
A trophy from Democrats is called a "booby prize" defined by Wikipedia as:
"A booby prize is a joke prize usually given in recognition of a terrible performance or last-place finish. A person who finishes last, for example, may receive a booby prize such as a worthless coin. Booby prizes are sometimes jokingly coveted as an object of pride."
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