Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Dylan Thomas, published 1951
Don't give up.
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"Pussy-hat," 2017 |
My sister called me yesterday to say she didn't listen to the inaugural speech. She sounded weary. Then she texted:
"I'm sorry I am not more outraged by Trump's plan for the nation, but my knowing how bad I think it is doesn't mean much when "the people" voted him in anyway. And I'm a little disappointed in the blue team."
I get it.
I invited two friends my age to my house to watch Trump's speech. As soon as he took the microphone they left for another room to talk about music and their grown children. They said they just couldn't listen.
Only a few thousand people attended the D.C. protest rally to acknowledge the inauguration. A sign called Trump a loser, but the insult was hollow. Trump won.
It is different from eight years ago, when millions of people protested in D.C. A friend gave me a "pussy-hat" to wear to the local protests that took place weekly for months.
Democrats believed their own argument. They argued for the validity of elections. Don't lie and protest and riot if your candidate lost. That is what Republicans do. Instead, accept the judgment of one's fellow Americans. Stand for the rule of law.
The law backfired. The law was so slow that nothing got done. Worse, a great many people didn't want the legal system to function. Election-denial became acceptable. and then required, to be a Republican in good standing.
What a disaster. Elections don't work. The law doesn't work.
Democrats see Trump getting away with stuff, most recently overt crony-capitalism and grift. The bibles, gold sneakers, and NFT action heroes are all small potatoes. Trump just launched crypto meme coins: $TRUMP and $MELANIA. The Trumps own 80 percent of the coins and there is a tiny public float. That gives Americans and foreigners a completely legal way -- under cover of seeking investment profits -- to enrich Trump. They aren't even hiding the grift. Coin purchases are "an expression of support for and engagement with the values embodied by” Trump, according to the filings on them.
Trump is openly, proudly transactional. He helps his friends. And they help him. Invented from thin air, the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins made Donald Trump $50 billion dollars richer last week last week.
Voters bought a big package: dishonesty, grift, pardons for January 6 rioters who joyfully attacked Capitol police, open flouting of the constitution by declaring pretext states of emergency, and denying the constitution's plain language on birthright citizenship. Crowds applaud. Republican majorities in the congress go along. The Supreme Court says that Trump has immunity.
Meanwhile, Biden, doddering and lacking self-awareness, says he shouldn't have dropped out because he is fine and could have won. Hopeless.
What is a Democrat to do? Life is short. Why punish ourselves needlessly? If the public is okay with this assault on our democracy, then heck with it. The public wants to FAFO (F--k Around and Find Out), so let them. Retreat to one's garden or bookshelf or friends or the Hallmark Channel. I am hearing that a lot.
Wait. It isn't hopeless. We live in a system of self-government. We have responsibilities. We aren't passengers in the bus. We drive the bus.
Trump is careless, and much of what he wants to do is illegal or unpopular. Governing is hard. Trump is under water in his approval ratings and this inaugural speech won't help one bit.
Trump had an opportunity to fix himself. He didn't. In the abstract, in speeches in front of adoring crowds, a golden age for America sounds easy. Balance the budget. Rid the country of crime. Deport millions of "illegals." Reverse inflation. Trump will be a disappointment. That is what will end the Trump mania. He will lose the power to intimidate Republicans, and the GOP will begin to cure itself.
Democrats are discouraged, but Trump did not win because people approved of his character, his manner, or his policies. They just trusted Democrats less. They felt lied to. Biden should never, ever have run for re-election. Democrats can fix themselves. One or two or three leaders will emerge.
This feels like a market bottom for Democrats. That is because it is the market top for Trump. He will break things voters don't want broken. Trump allied with tech and crypto billionaires, not voters.
In the political marketplace, I am not retreating to cash. Not only am I still here, I am a buyer.
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28 comments:
Who is more powerful, crypto billionaires or voters? I’m not sure, but I hope it’s voters. Even the stupid, gullible ones would at least at some point care about their self interest.
Unfortunately, there were no surprises. What I can’t understand is why Democrats would attend the event, especially Biden and Harris, sitting there so quietly while Trump hurled his usual taunts and insults. It lent a veneer of legitimacy to an event that never should have happened. Call him what you will – Mr. President, Your Majesty, or Asshole-in-Chief – he remains a sexual abuser, fraud and pathological liar who tried to illegally cling to power after losing an election he still won’t concede.
One of his first moves, of course, was to pardon the Republican stormtroopers who violently attacked our Capitol, hospitalizing police officers and smearing feces on the walls. That's what Trump calls “a day of love” and the Republican National committee labeled “legitimate political discourse.” Consider yourselves warned.
Pretending to buy Trump’s most anti-American lie, the Jackson County Republican Party declared Biden to be an illegitimate president. It doesn’t get any more illegitimate than this.
I voted for Trump, but he wasn't my first choice as a Republican. I'm not one of his blinded sycophant supporters. Trump claims to be a billionaire, yet he now sells crypto currency and wrist watches. That's tacky and cheesy behavior for a President. Trump is 78 years old. How much money does he need to live? I hope that Trump serves the average person, but I fear that he'll cater to the elites. Democrats should focus on "basic" good governance (schools, low taxes, public safety, government infrastructure) in their states, and avoid extreme behaviors. If they serve the people, it will be noticed. Trump is a lot of self-hype. I expect that Trump the self-promoting narcissist will implode at some point.
"The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls" is a book by Kara Dansky published in 2023.
Ms. Dansky is an American attorney, feminist, lesbian, activist, author and consultant.
She also has a Wikipedia page, if interested. She also has a page on Facebook. She has been leading the charge against gender identity ideology in the US. Congratulations to Kara and to all women and girls in the USA.
Peter could be right, but it depends on what the Democrats decide to do. Will they move to the center, or will they move further to the left? Will they drop woke identity politics, or will they double down on it?
And of equal importance, will someone with charisma emerge to lead them? Among others, I am keeping my eye on Ritchie Torres, an up-and-coming young leader who might be just what the Democrats need.
Michael, I do not believe that Richie Torres is the answer. An openly gay black man probably could not win a general election.
I also doubt that Harris could win next time.
My money is on Hakeem Jeffries. He has the charisma, the experience and respect to win.
I still like Jon Tester. He was the Senator from Montana who just lost to a military Republican. He's a Midwesterner, and a farmer. But, he is solid and smart. Now he has the time to mount a really good campaign in 4 years. I hope he's on the list.
Those who read here daily know (expected) that I voted for Trump. Yes, my first choice. Biden was my 2nd choice .
Today's essay has many points I agree with. Some of the people I know to be left leaning are all quite disappointed today, and have to let everyone know their grief. Heck, even some Democrat leaders are writing and talking now about all the mistakes that they've made that led to Trump's win.
For some, many critics believe Trump will implode. He'll do enough damage along the way to hurt everyone, and they will feel vindicated. No way will they reach out and offer help to prevent that from happening.
The coming weeks and months will frustrate many; on all sides.
Peter talks a bit about retreating back to farming. Some on his Substack agree.
While Some of the Oregonians here are waiting for Trump to implode, perhaps they can focus internally and fix Oregon and make it better. There are already Progressives in control of the state, but things aren't necessarily rosy. Perhaps they can work harder to make Oregon better for its residents and entice folks like me to return. Right now, it's much less expensive for me to visit Oregon than to live there.
Recent reports continue to confirm that Oregon is one of the more expensive states to live in, for both workers as well as retirees.
I owe a lot of my success to Oregon and my career there. Unfortunately, the developments over the past decade made it easy for me to pick up stakes and move to Florida. The last 5 years here have made me stronger, healthier, and even brightened my outlook for the future.
Peter is right. “Voters bought a big package: dishonesty, grift, pardons for January 6 rioters who joyfully attacked Capitol police, open flouting of the constitution…” And let’s not forget his felonies, his attempt to illegally overturn the election and his pussy grabbing (“When you’re a star, they let you do it.”). It’s hard to believe that such a sleazy criminal would be the first choice of any voter who considers himself rational.
One of the Democrats on the news last night (I can't remember which one) said he attended out of respect for the institution and the peaceful transfer of power. This made sense to me.
That's what I figured. But as soon as Trump took it over, the institution lost any respect other than what it could impose through threats. So why pretend?
A former Rebel leader-turned-Governor from the 10 year civil war in El Salvador once told me that tearing down is easier than governing. He said people are fickle.
Trump’s schtick is convincing people how bad things are. I see him as the former “Rebel Leader”who promises a golden future. Now that Trump seems to have all four branches of government (if you include the Technocrats) kissing his ring, we’ll see how well he is at governing. People are fickle.
But in the worst case, it may not matter if fickle people’s voices cease to matter because elections became passé.
M2in FLA, I am curious. Do you have any second thoughts based on what Trump has done so far? Top of mind would be his pardon of the people who attacked our capital. You and many others are loyal to Trump regardless what he does or says, but I often wonder if there is a limit.
They don't need to do away with elections. They just need to weight them in their favor, and they are:
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5268958/trump-order-census-citizenship-question-apportionment
Jennifer, some deserved to be pardoned, but not all. Don't forget, that during his speech earlier in the day Trump told his followers to protest peacefully. Many did not need that warning.
I'm sure you weren't happy with the many protests in Portland that went unpunished. Similarly, I'm pretty sure you didn't condone all the pardons that President Biden did on his way out of office.
As I suggested, each leader delivers good and bad. I'm focusing on the good likely to come from Trump's future actions.
Darn autocorrect... "heed" not "need" in the comment above...
M2inFL, you didn't answer Jennifer's question. Trump tried to illegally overturn the 2020 election. Is there any limit to what you would find acceptable from him?
To be fair in both directions, the Democratic mayor, governor, and U.S. senators all urged demonstrators to be peaceful and nonviolent. But on the other hand, some of the anarchists cosseted amid the BLM protesters spray painted the Hatfield Courthouse, set fires in dumpsters, and threw water bottles, which disrupted city, county and courthouse business. I don't consider this equivalent to attempting to stop the count on a presidential election in order to reverse its outcome, but it is commonplace among Trump defenders to consider them equivalent and use it to justify overthrowing the election.
Trump invited the mob to come on Jan. 6, telling them, “Will be wild.” They came armed. He sent them to the Capitol, telling them to “fight like hell.” They did, seriously injuring 140 police officers and causing $millions in damage. Trump just pardoned them or commuted their sentences, regardless of the seriousness of their crimes. Those are the facts, but if Trump supporters gave a rip about facts, they never would have voted for him.
In 2020 Portland alone, BLM/Antifa supporters stabbed a man, shot another man to death, knocked a seated and defenseless man unconscious via kick to the head, threw Molotov cocktails at police, and started a fire inside the bottom floor of the mayor's residential building.
I don't consider that the equivalent of the January 6th travesty either, but it is commonplace for partisans to minimize, rationalize and even forget violence occurring in the furtherance of causes which they favor politically. Naturally, the opposite occurs with disfavored causes.
I was outraged at the violence in Portland and other areas. Violent criminals took center stage in what was a legitimate protest against violence toward Black people. I am weary of the whataboutisms that are used by Trump and his supporters to justify heinous acts. Two wrongs don't make a right, end of story. (By the way, no one is suggesting the BLM protesters be pardoned for their crimes.)
My question for M2in FLA was if there is anything Trump could do that would cause him to stop supporting him or to criticize him in any way?
It's true: violence sucks, regardless of the pretext. The U.S. has a long history of political violence. In the 1970s, the primary perpetrators were leftist. There was a dramatic decrease in the decades since, but then it has increased again starting around 2015 and the big players right now are right-wing groups.
https://www.npr.org/2024/09/17/nx-s1-5113997/political-violence-trump
Jennifer, to answer your question...
I'll let you and the rest know if/when it happens. Right now, I am pouring over the meat of those executive actions. I like a lot of the law and order actions. I'll have to look harder to find the orders I don't like.
As with any political leader, each offers us good and bad.
As I stated originally Biden, and actually Harris, were my 2nd choice. Trump, despite his faults was a better choice for me. Too bad our choices were limited this election year.
We all assume different things will happen over the next few years.
His failure to answer is your answer. If Trump's long list of corrupt, unethical, felonious and traitorous behavior, nor the sheer volume and stupidity of his blatant lies, are no deterrent to their support, you can be sure that nothing would be. As Trump said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?"
Jennifer was asking you about the order that released all the insurrectionists. You still didn't answer.
I would have preferred that Trump only pardoned the ones who were only charged with misdemeanors.
Though he went too far, I'd still rather have Trump as President than Biden or Harris.
Yes, his pardons pissed off a lot of people.
That said, there will still be more that could disappoint me in the future, just as Biden's pardons did.
Finally, Trump was not charged with Jan 6 insurrection.
Trump was not charged with insurrection but he was about to be charged for stealing classified documents and for his part in the January 6 attack on our capital. He avoided responsibility by being elected president, which is extremely upsetting to those of us who believe in the rule of law.
It sounds as though there is nothing so far that causes you to have doubts about Trump. I am curious if you feel the same way about President Biden. If he had been convicted of sexual assault or charged with refusing to return classified documents to the national archives, would you have considered this acceptable?
The Justice Department indicted Trump on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the run-up to the violent riot he incited at the U.S. Capitol. If that didn’t give you pause, nothing will.
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