While it is satisfying to see outright lying and law breaking brought into the light, I hold no hope whatsoever that we'll see anything less than Donald Trump serving out his full first term as president.
Don't expect any member of the GOP to grow a spine or have any sort of "come to Jesus" moment, no matter how overwhelming the presented evidence is.
Don't expect red state voters to suddenly change their minds about guns, gays, brown people, or the unborn and abandon the Republican party, no matter how obviously deep the rot goes.
Don't expect any mainstream journalist or TV pundit to risk their jobs or, God forbid, their ever-precious "access" by directly calling out any lies or distortions, regardless of how blatant they are.
While it seems obvious to those of us who oppose the Trump regime that we have the truth on our side, there's just one problem…
The truth is not enough.
The truth is no match for the right wing noise machine. The truth doesn't stand a chance against the turbid, roiling cauldrons of propaganda and disinformation that are eagerly dipped into by so many. The truth is boring. The truth doesn't draw clicks and eyeballs. The truth will get shoved aside in favor of whatever is the loudest or most outrageous every time. (See: 2016 election)
Donald Trump and his entire cult of the hateful, angry, and gullible need to be voted into irrelevance. The only way that happens is through continuous widespread engagement. Their agenda is largely unpopular outside the enclaves they’ve carved out for themselves in the South and the Midwest. Trump won the presidency by an extremely slim margin in a handful of key states, and lost the popular vote by close to 3 million. If we ALL SHOW UP and VOTE for WHOEVER is opposing him, he'll be beaten easily. Unfortunately, I can already see the same cynicism and lazy false equivalencies rearing their ugly heads once again. I'd love for the Democratic nominee to be whoever you think is running on the purest, most progressive platform. I have my own personal preferences too...but let's face it, there’s a high probability that it’s going to be Joe Biden, so I’d begin the process of accepting that possibility now. Indulging in the entitled luxury of protest votes, throwing ideological temper tantrums, or staying home because you "weren't inspired" are simply not options. Grow up. The economy, the environment, race relations, and our nation's standing in the world have been set back 50 years by the Trump administration. Removing Republicans from power at all levels of government is the highest priority. Once that's accomplished we can get to the business of mitigating climate damage, addressing inequality, and crushing fascism in all it's forms. These things might not happen as quickly or to the extent that many of us would like if Biden becomes president, but they stand exactly zero chance of happening at all should Trump stumble his way back into the White House for a second term. In fact it will all get much, much worse. Undoing the damage he and his enablers have caused will take decades. We need to start now. We don’t have time for independents and “true progressives” to gain momentum.
Look, I get it. I really do. It's exhausting how all the power in the world seems perpetually wielded by greedy, amoral pigs bent on ruining everything that's equitable, worthwhile, and beautiful. It’s disheartening how readily people respond to rage, ignorance, and bumper sticker rhetoric. It’s mind numbingly frustrating how impossible it seems to wrest control away from the moneyed and privileged and place it in the hands of those who are suffering under abuse and exploitation. But put down the Howard Zinn for a minute and understand something: The only way to change the system is from within, and unfortunately the only real way in at the moment is either as a well-groomed professional with massive financial backing, or (evidently) a shamelessly arrogant tool...with massive financial backing. Is that frustratingly unfair? Absolutely. But that's the reality. Work within that reality or get used to those who's singular mission is to actively and violently oppose everything that you care about standing in the way.