Trump is the master distractor, and given the avalanche of bad news over the last 10 days or so his decision to fire on all cylinders with lies and actions that show his “toughness” to protect our borders by being politically incorrect (a cruel lying idiot.) is working:
- It is outraging the “liberal elite” media
- It is delighting his base. They love his political incorrectness, his simple framing, and chaos.
I say this because the most recent gallop polls show his approval ratings, which started low when he first entered office, and continuted to fall slowly for months, have been edging back up, and he’s now back at his “personal best” . (Gallop June 18, 2018: “Trump Job Approval at 45%, Tying Personal Best” )
This surprised me, because it seems like his latest outrageous actions are actually starting to get to some Republicans, who are speaking out...slowly. But his tribal followers are not having any of it. To them, he’s under attack, and so they rally. The trump supporters seem like the famous honey badger.. they just don’t care (about the fact).
Trump supporters don’t trust the media, and they still feel like the rest of the world thinks they are all deplorable.
My take is we need to be relentless in repeating some of the key facts, and the evidence behind them, any time we can bend the ear of a trump leaning or supporting person.
Recent events lost when Trump directed the focus as his briar patch (immigration):
- His campaign manager is in jail because he was caught conspiring with a Russian citizen, who was also charged, but has fled to Putin’s Russia. That Russian, Konstantin Kilimnik, is suspected to have ties with the Russian intelligence services. (“Special counsel Robert Mueller files witness tampering indictment against Paul Manafort and Russian citizen Konstantin Kilimnik”)
- Michael Cohen is likely to testify against on Trump. His main laywers quit abrubtly, 99.9% of the documents reviewed were found NOT subject to attorney client privledge, and now, and CNN reports that one of his friends says he “is not averse to talking in the right situation” (“Trump's personal attorney is 'willing to give info' about the President” — CNN)
- “Zero Tolerance” does not apparently apply to Trump’s EPA Head Scott Pruit. He’s broken more laws and abused his office in so many documented ways, that it’s hard to track them all. From using his position as a head government official, using his position, and his staff to :
- Chick-fil-A franchise for his wife,
- Contact Republican donors who might offer his wife a job
- Find him special Hand Lotion and used mattresses (good god..what was he doing in his secure $43,000 phone booth? ;-))
- And on and on and on.. most importantly, meeting and coordinating with corporate polluters to eviscerate the regulations that protect all of us.
- Forbes magazine published a expose on Trumps Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross that found:
- For most of last year, Ross served as secretary of commerce while maintaining stakes in companies where he has a major conflict of interest as secretary of Commers, including:
- A company co-owned by the Chinese government
- A shipping firm tied to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle
- A Cypriot bank reportedly caught up in the Robert Mueller investigation
- Ross broke the law in November when he submitted a sworn statement to federal officials saying he divested of everything he had promised he would—even though he still held more than $10 million worth of stock in financial firm Invesco, his former employer.
- As the Forbes article points out, Wilbur Ross’s current responsibility as Secretary of Commerce is to be a “one of Trump’s top lieutenants in the ongoing trade war between the two largest economies in the world, the United States and China.” Holding assets tied directly to the governments of those countries is outrageous.
- And much more.. Full article, is a real ball buster, clearly documenting the incredible audacity and scale of his corrupt use of his office. The full exposé here is here “Lies, China And Putin: Solving The Mystery Of Wilbur Ross' Missing Fortune”
- Last Thursday, the“attorney general of New York sued the Trump Foundation, alleging that the organization affiliated with the President of the United States and his family had broken a number of laws governing charitable groups.” reported CNN
That’s my list for now.. and I probably forgot some whoppers!
Keep your eyes out for any of the other outrageous stuff that has been buried in the latest fire-hose of news. I think most politician realize that if you have bad news to get out, now is the time.
Let’s do our best not to let them get away with it — when you see something, say something — summarize it, visualize it, post it, share it.
This is not to discount the horrible treatment of the families and children seeking asylum at our borders. It’s truly horrible and un-American. Unfortunately, it’s also providing excellent cover for so much other evil stuff that needs sunlight and attention.
What are some counter-strategies we use to manage the fire-hose, with the goal being to win back our democracy, so it can serve all Americans fairly, justly, humanely, no matter where they came from, what they look like, or how much they might (or might not) donate to a politician.