I saw a recent quote from Sherrod Brown this morning and it got me thinking:
If Trump is serious about being a President for all Americans and stopping hate, he must fire Bannon. And it’s up to us to hold him to it.
This is interesting as it clearly begs the question: If Fearless Leader does not fire Bannon, is he not serious about being a president for all Americans? I submit that, regardless of what he does with Bannon, he obviously is not, for a number of reasons:
- He ran the most divisive campaign any of us can remember. There was nothing in his campaign rhetoric to suggest that he had any interest in uniting the country.
- Since the election, he has done nothing to suggest any course change. His appointments to date, including Bannon, have been the most divisive people imaginable. Indeed, he seems intent upon purging the executive branch of anyone who might have even marginal appeal to Democrats, or moderate Republicans for that matter. In fact, Fearless Leader seems more interested in completely demoralizing Democrats with his appointments, than with actually building an operational executive branch that serves the people.
- He has doubled down on his divisive policies such as mass deportations, registration of Muslims, and building his wall.
- He has been silent on the subjects of Abortion, Medicare, and Social Security, allowing the radical elements of the Republican party free reign to forward their hateful agenda. I suspect that whatever he might actually think about these things (if he thinks about them at all), he will allow the radical agenda to proceed in order to inflict maximum punishment upon those who had the nerve to not vote for him. Because…
- He is a vengeful prick. Just ask Chris Christie. Fearless Leader played him like a fiddle, virtually forcing Christie to lick his boots in public, then cutting him loose in a way that inflicted further public humiliation. Hard to be sympathetic towards Christie, but if this is how “friends” are treated...
- His temperament, and behavior of record suggest that he would view any post-election moderation of his radical positions as a sign of weakness. Like Fonzie, Fearless Leader could never bring himself to admit he was wrong about anything.
- He has shown no sign that he has any respect for government institutions or traditions. He showed no sense of decorum during the campaign. According to the blonde nitwit, he wants to live in his New York palace and commute to his Washington “day job.” What would make anyone think he would hesitate to take the original copy of the Constitution and use it to light his expensive Cuban cigars, or wipe his orange ass?
- His admiration for ruthless dictators is well documented. Hitler, Putin, and Kim Jong Il are all not only just peachy with him, but are held up as role models.
- He blatantly plans an administration fraught with cronyism and myriad conflicts of interest. Objections? Too bad. BTW, I got yer tax returns right here!
- Finally, I believe that Fearless Leader views himself as an absolute monarch, who answers to no one. He has no experience with having his executive decisions questioned or debated. Corporations are not democracies. His word has always been the law, with his sycophants only too eager to comply. It is important to note that once he gets his tiny mitts on the nuclear football, he can hold us all hostage. Not just other nations, but all Americans as well. Remember that if he threatens any country with nukes, he also threatens us with their retaliation.
So, we can set all the clever semantic traps we want, but I’m sure he literally doesn’t care. He has the office. He understands the Plutonium Rule — He who has the plutonium makes the rules. The biggest bully in the free world has the biggest stick, and the only way he fires Bannon is if he can find someone even worse to replace him.
God help us all. Eventually, I expect the light bulb is going to come on for even his most ardent knuckle dragging supporters. But it’s too late. I don’t see any possible scenario where we don’t suffer maximum screwing. It is, and always has been what he does best. He thrives on hate. He’s like that alien light thingy on Star Trek that got stronger when the Earth guys and the Klingons were beating each other’s brains in. His preferred scenario may be to keep us commoners at each other’s throats so we start killing each other. He can declare martial law, suspend habeas corpus and elections, and declare himself dictator for life. Of course, we can all keep busy arguing about whether Bernie Sanders would have beaten Millard Fillmore in a theoretical spelling contest.
Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer. I welcome someone — anyone — to please talk me off the ledge. I was just a toddler during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and vividly remember Watergate, but this is the first time in my life that I have been existentially scared. I hope and pray that smarter people than me can figure this out, and that our system is robust enough to weather this. I don’t think sternly worded letters are gonna do it this time.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
For your listening pleasure, somehow the title seems appropriate...