That skeevy grifter squatting in the Oval Office made a bad move Monday. Whatever your personal views of John McCain, negative or positive, Donald Trump’s pathetic refusal to order the flags at the White House lowered back to half-staff was a PR screw-up. And simultaneously another example of how The Don repeatedly confuses the office of the presidency with himself. L’etat est lui. In Trump’s mind, everything is always about Me, Myself, and I.
Thus did the death of a man widely admired even by some people who ferociously opposed his politics turn what has traditionally been a moment of national respect into a jaw-dropping, gobsmacking, witless display of the supposedly media-savvy “leader of the free world” slicing off his nose to spite his face.
When that flag goes back up to full staff after McCain is interred Sunday, perhaps one of the top aides who had such a difficult time getting Trump to budge on the matter will hoist it the way it appears above, the signal of dire distress to let the resistance know there’s support in the inner circle for chucking this guy.
Yes, I know, total fantasy. Get real.
There is a good reason for that flag to be inverted as the Mueller vise tightens around this reckless, ruthless, graceless, impulsive, unraveling man and his horrid little family—the trash of the oligarchy. We know how wounded badgers respond. Trump is a bit more unpredictable.
This adolescent playing-out of Trump’s McCain grudge on the national stage—while much of America is on vacation—will not change many red votes to blue come November. There is, after all, a hard core of people still mesmerized by this predatory charlatan 19 months into his term.
True, the flag affair gave those of them who saw it a glimpse into the consequences of his heartless insistence on making everything personal. But why would yet another exhibit of his relentlessly dreadful behavior lead to any change of mind among people who are glad that Trump wants to grab women by their reproductive organs and curb their reproductive rights, separate children from their undocumented parents, burn more not less fossil fuel, incite violence with the fuel of white supremacist hatred, play a checkers version of the Gilded Age in an era of Go economics, and make half-assed threats of nuclear annihilation? These supporters aren’t going to go all twitchy just because Trump has behaved like Trump. Candidates he endorses or endorse him are going to get these supporters’ votes no matter what. He could nuke San Francisco and some of them would cheer him on.
Hence, the upside-down flag. Call it a reminder that there are only 69 days left until November’s general elections. And early voting is obviously a lot sooner than that. The outcome will tell us much about where we’re headed for years to come. Either Americans who oppose Trump and the extremist Republican agenda will gain the political clout to do a more effective job in that opposing, or we won’t. And if we don’t, the shadow of fascism will truly be upon our land. That is a term often used promiscuously. It is utterly appropriate now.
Those 69 days aren’t about Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. They’re not about 2020. Not about what we say on social media venues among people who are already likely to vote for Democrats. They’re about us and what we do now to prevent Republicans from continuing to dismantle democracy and shred any remains of economic fairness. It’s what we do to encourage a trip to the polls by progressive-at-heart people who are hesitant, reluctant, or sporadic about voting in midterm elections, which are notorious for no-shows. The best targets for this are Democrats who already vote in presidential years but skip the midterms. Much easier to give them a nudge than trying to lure someone who hasn’t voted in a decade into casting a ballot.
About half the respondents in two recent (unscientific) Daily Kos polls say they aren’t yet engaged either paid or volunteer in any election campaigns. This is an especially bad year for that to be the case. It’s true that not everybody can donate, not everybody can canvass, not everybody can handle traditional campaign tasks. But everybody can find something to do to make the promise of November into the reality of January.
Here’s a suggestion. However much you’re doing right now or planning to do to make the election be the blue tsunami we all hope for, from now until Election Day, add five hours a week. Already planning 20 hours of election activism? Make it 25. Already working zero? Make it five. If your circumstances make that out of the question, add three hours, or one hour. But vow right now to step up your efforts. This is the year to step up.
One more thing. Focusing hard on some specific evil Trump has wrought is no doubt the path to Democratic victory in some congressional, gubernatorial, legislative, and other state races. But we ought always to keep in mind that for all his lies and corruption and lethal awfulness, our battles in elections as well as “in the streets” are ultimately not about Donald J. Trump. He’s the symptom, not the disease. Nevertheless, his deplorableness may indeed provide the advantage we need to begin turning his regime into dust and ashes this year. We may win a majority in the House. And that means investigatory power, and blocking power. Eventually it means being able to get serious about 21st century progressive social and economic policies. Huzzah to that.
But first things first. November cometh.
