Bullying works in real estate deals.
Bullying works if you are a CEO of a privately held company.
Bullying works if you are the star of a hit television show.
Bullying works if you are the lead sponsor of a beauty pageant.
Bullying works if you are the autocratic head of a dysfunctional family.
But there are lots of areas in life where bullying does not work.
DJT is apparently just learning this.
Thinking he could bully people in the presidency is just further proof of his third-grade thinking. Ooh if I was President I could do whatever I want!
I’ll make Mexico pay for the wall. I’ll force companies to bring jobs back home. I’ll just tell the pipelines they have to use American made steel. I’ll shut the borders and send all the “illegals” back where they came from!
Sorry Donnie, being President is not like being king, emperor or dictator. You have to be this thing called “accountable to people” that you have never had to deal with before.
The Presidency was designed by people who were rebelling against the autocratic rule of a king.
As a result, the Presidency is a cooperative effort, done in concert with hundreds of members of Congress, millions of voters, and key allies around the world.
His life experience has been so limited that he is genuinely mystified by this.
From time to time I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.
Sometimes he seems like a child who has won a contest to play at being president for a day, who has confused himself into thinking he is actually in control, unaware that the adults are still running things on his special day just as they did the day before and will do the day after, and that none of the actions he is taking will have any effect. As he pretends he has the actual power to order people around, he does not know that some of the adults are laughing behind their hands and the rest are wondering when someone will step up and discipline him for being so far out of line.
Sometimes he seems like a child desperately trying to get his father’s attention. Daddy, Daddy, look! See how well I signed my name to this paper! Let me hold it up and show it to you! Have I done good? Am I a good boy? Am I a good president? Am I good enough to be your son? Please say something, daddy!
Sometimes he seems like a child who lied about knowing how to swim so he could go to the pool party and show the big kids a thing or two, but now he is thrashing about in the deep end of the pool, too embarrassed to admit he doesn’t know what he is doing, too prideful to admit he is drowning.
But when my compassion buttons get pushed, then I see him as a different kind of child, a cruel one who says nasty things about the other children who speak a different language, have darker color skin, need to eat the free school lunch, don’t live in big houses, or can’t afford to wear expensive clothes. He’s just a smug entitled hater tot who gets away with everything because his dad is rich, has friends only because of the things they hope he will buy them, and brags about getting away with sneaking into the girls’ locker room and committing sexual assault.
There is one place where bullying does work.
Bullying works in the White House itself.
That is the place where folks obediently bow and say yes sir, defer to his wishes when he barks out orders, step aside when he barrels down the hall pushing people out of his way.
It is the one place where he can recreate his CEO command style to his heart’s content: hiring family members as he pleases, doing the exact same questionable deals he called pay for play when his opponents did them, and breaking whatever rules he finds inconvenient in spite of what the rules have always been for everyone else.
The White House is the only venue where he can reasonably expect that everything revolves around him and no one else’s needs will ever be allowed to be in conflict with his own.
It is the one place where everyone in his sight and earshot is there to do his bidding and when he says jump they will jump and ask how high while they are in the air.
That’s why he doesn’t want to visit other leaders in their countries where he might have to sleep in a bed he didn’t choose and follow protocol he doesn’t understand and obey rules and customs he is not at liberty to challenge or change.
The White House. Mar-A-Lago. Trump Tower. He is severely uncomfortable in any other location, where he will not be immediately and unquestioningly acknowledged as master of all he surveys.
He is more restricted than someone with physical illness who can only stay overnight in a place that has a safety seat in the tub and a ramp for his power chair and handrails to help him stand up out of bed. If he is forced to go to a place where he cannot demand those accommodations, he will be so distressed as to be incapable of even minimal functioning.
This is a serious emotional handicap, people.
But I have more respect for people living with obvious physical challenges, and they have an advantage over DJT.
At least they openly acknowledge and are aware of their limits.
He thinks he is king of the for-ehhhhhhhhhhhhst
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 23: TBR SUNDAY: Did Putin or Bannon direct DJT to “endorse” Le Pen?
Apr 22: BLUE RIBBONS: Flipthe6th voters, tax return marchers, and (international!) marchers for science
Apr 21: But he’s not *running* as a prolife candidate?
Apr 20: Is it good or bad that DJT has no idea what he is doing with respect to North Korea?
Apr 19: What Huckabee actually DID say, about journalism, was totally outrageous
Apr 18: Another 20 point swing means the Rs are scrambling to regroup
Apr 17: The number of persuadables is growing as people lose confidence in DJT
Apr 16: TBR SUNDAY: He shook up the world—Easter fears can be overcome with Easter JOY
Apr 15: BLUE RIBBONS: David Fahrenthold, Amariyanna Copeny, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, the ASAN
Apr 14: Everyone talking, everyone reaching out—is it helping?
Apr 13: Three ways to respond to the stress overload of current political news
Apr 12: Republicons--the party of cruelty
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense