What's At Stake

How inured we’ve become to Trump’s atrocities. The Republican-majority Senate Intelligence Committee just released its final report on Trump/Russia, and it’s been practically ignored, especially by Republicans. 

It’s damning. They concluded Trump and Roger Stone lied to Robert Mueller, and that Trump’s first campaign manager “represented a grave counterintelligence threat,” and did business with “a Russian intelligence officer.”

The Republican-led investigation also concluded the White House “significantly hampered” their efforts, and coordinated the testimony of witnesses before they appeared. It found that WikiLeaks, with which Roger Stone was conspiring on behalf of Trump, was “knowingly collaborating with Russian government officials.” It stated that Trump’s campaign encouraged and received Russian help in electing him, and are doing it again. Collusion.  

Knowing all this, Republican members of the committee still voted to deny Democratic requests for witnesses during impeachment, continuing a traitorous perjurer’s squatters-rights to the Oval Office. “Ho,” say Trumpists, “hum.” The friend of our enemy is our friend, too.  

We know what’s at stake. The surprisingly watchable “virtual” Democratic Convention made it clear: decency vs. indecency; common cause vs. deliberate division; compassion vs. cruelty; DACA vs. border cages; addressing climate change vs. making it worse; celebrating vs. demonizing diversity; inspiration vs. invective; science vs. conspiracy theories. Empathy vs. sociopathy. In short: America’s best vs. Trumpism.  

“I thought it was divisive,” said Trump of Michelle Obama’s heartfelt speech. Said the man who claims liberals want to destroy you; calls journalists enemies of the people; urged “liberation” of covid-fighting Democrat-run states; leads chants to imprison opponents, urges violence at rallies, calls neo-Nazis “very fine people;” who retweets a call to “… Let [Democratic cities] rot.” (Rule of thumb, fingers, and palm: when Trump accuses someone of something, it’s he who’s doing it.)  

After four years of so-called conservatives condoning Trump’s lies and incompetence, coddling dictators and insulting friends, making Americans unwelcome and pitied worldwide, suckered by China and North Korea – and much more -- no one imagines Joe Biden can completely heal us. Those still supporting Trump’s demagoguery will never heed President Biden’s calls for clarity and compassion. 

But whereas Trump would continue to stoke acrimony and alienation, Joe Biden will try to rid us of them. Only those who need someone to hate would miss it; only those unwilling to pull together as Americans to face our increasingly challenging future would turn away.  

Just from last week, here’s more proof of November's importance:  

• Having pig-headedly reneged on the Iran nuclear agreement because Obama, Trump implored nations to renew the arms embargo against it. You no longer matter, they said. In an unprecedented, humiliating defeat for the US, they rejected Trump’s plea; whatever good might come from the UAE/Israel accord is on even shakier ground. 

• Trump finalized plans to drill in ANWR, one of America’s most pristine and environmentally fragile places. Simultaneously, he reversed President Obama’s regulation of methane, the worst of greenhouse gases. It’s as if he wants to burn us down on his way out.    

• When reminded there’s no evidence of mail-in ballot fraud, Trump’s Chief of Staff said lack of evidence is “the definition of fraud.” Seeing no dinosaurs on your lawn proves they’re there. It’s science.     

• Trump and pillow-guy are pushing untested, poisonous oleandrin: yet another fake Covid-19 “cure.” 

• Trump’s second campaign manager was arrested for defrauding investors with a phony border-wall-funding scheme. On its website, Trump is seen up-thumbing the plan.  

• Enough damage done, Postmaster PFC DeJoy says he’ll suspend further dismantling the USPS till after the election.   

• To keep Trump from descending into a rage of denial, intelligence agencies hide evidence of Russian interference in his briefings. 

• Seventy Republican national security officials wrote a letter.

• The former DHS Chief of Staff revealed Trump’s temerarious attempts to make the department his personal instrument of power.   

• Trump called for boycotting Goodyear (cancel culture!) because they banned MAGA hats in the workplace. In fact, they banned ALL political paraphernalia, which is good business.  

•  Trump thinks the stock market is the economy. He golfed while his brother died. He repeated the debunkum that President Obama spied on his campaign. He praised people who believe the world is controlled by Satan-worshipping cannibalistic pedophiles who spread Covid-19 via 5G.  

Barack Obama laid down the stakes like railroad ties, his words a cri de coeur for country and constitution.  Joe Biden made it clear he understands the challenges of the future and the failings of the present and is ready to take them on for ALL Americans.

[Image source] 

Self-Inflicted

Jesus Fking Christ. Leave it to "liberals" to screw things up and look like idiots to everyone else. Interrupting a prayer, with "Bernie, Bernie, Bernie??" Chanting "Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs" and "We trusted you!" to Elizabeth Warren? Really? Elizabeth Warren?? Shouting "Black Lives Matter" as Cory Booker spoke? C'mon. Cory Booker??

Get over yourselves. Bernie said it best: the campaign was never about him, or Hillary, or anyone else. It was about climate change, the environment, education, health care... And if it was about You with a capital "Y" it was never just about you, in lower case. It's so much more important than you, shouters, and it's about far more than your shattered dreams and wounded feelings. It's about the dreams of those who, for now, have health care coverage; it's about our kids growing up as the earth warms to the boiling point; it's about public education and roads, about what we leave behind. And, mainly, it's about not letting a megalomaniac conman anywhere near the Oval Office, and about not letting those spittle-flecked, happily uninformed haters who support him get the upper hand.

It's also about the fact that it's how democracy works. Sure, there's corruption and cynicism and too much money and all the rest; but, in the end, it was an election. People win, people lose. And the losers, if they believe in things greater than themselves, and Bernie Sanders clearly does, they join the winners to do what's necessary. Especially now, when the other party has handed itself over to a would-be strongman who's already promised to use the power of government to quash his perceived enemies. Like, among other things, the press. And Jeff Bezos. History tells us, and not in a whisper, where that leads.

So, suck it up. There's too much at stake, including, but hardly limited to, democracy itself. Because if Donald Trump bullies his way in, and bullies Congress and the press the way he's bullied the people he owes money, there's an entirely un-imaginary possibility it could end.

And if you just don't give a shit, if your sense of entitlement trumps, in your minds, the needs of everyone else in the country, can you at least find a way to shut yourselves the fuck up when people are speaking? It makes you seem like assholes, and it's starting to look like you really are.

(Well, at least they shut up for Michelle Obama's perfect, moving, beautiful speech. Some things transcend it all.)

[Image source]