Seriously, the "president" appears to have lost whatever smidgen of shit he ever had, and his team is flailing, and this is all really, really bad. Now is the time for the majority in Congress to rise up and fix this, and...I won't hold my breath. They'll go along with this until they break unions, end any hope of civilized health care, and destroy environmental regulations and demonize immigrants and gays, and of course deregulate banks so they can loot the economy. After all that's in place, they'll admit their useful idiot wasn't useful and is just an idiot, and replace him with Pence, who is creepy as hell but less likely to blow up the world. This isn't just about Trump and the Russians. There's a whole layer of Republican leadership that needs to go down with him, but good luck with that. At this point that whole succession of power thing is a mess, and some random under-secretary of something is probably the only non-tainted person in the line, and that position is probably still vacant.
And like their ranting leader, the Trumpkins aren't doing very well. I have one I encounter up close and personal - I won't share the details of her story, even though if you stood in line at Walmart with her you'd hear a lot, because she shares it freely - and the other day it got a bit weird.
A third party, a very religious and very sweet woman, suddenly brought up the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, something she feels very strongly about. The Trumpkin responded that "President Trump will fix this! He's going to stop it!" I normally keep my mouth shut because I don't beat my head against these walls, but I just couldn't stand it.
"'President' Trump has to be forced to say anything on this topic, and then it's always a mealy-mouthed, "It's wrong, very wrong...." response. He's doing nothing."
"He'll fix it, give him time!"
"No, he's not responding on this! He has time to sign all sorts of executive orders (I carefully avoided an opinion on the substance of those orders) and pick fights with SNL on Twitter, but the threats on Jewish community centers and cemetery desecrations aren't being addressed. He's not going to fix it."
And she physically reacted, leaping up and coming at me: "He's only been president for a MONTH!" Give him TIME!" and the third person present stepped in and reached out to her to calm her down. She did calm down, and I'm not saying this was a dramatic "I was in danger of being assaulted!" situation at all. It was just the visceral reaction of a trapped animal. This poor Trumpkin is coming to grips with reality of her choice, and she's not happy on any level. She's not sleeping and she's frequently on the verge of tears, but she can't quite bring herself to believe that Fox and Friends has been filling her head with bullshit for years, because her entire identity is wrapped up in being Republican. I would have more compassion if she and her kind didn't manage to drag us all down this sewer too. A minority of the population, aided by a shitload of free media coverage, a network devoted to spewing bullshit, right-wing radio hosts to listen to on the drive to work, and a truly embarrassing lack of intellectual curiosity, got us to this insane low.
The Republicans revealed their long-awaited "repeal and replace" of the ACA, and after only SEVEN YEARS of bitching about Obamacare and boasting that they could do MUCH better, just wait and see, they whipped up a pile of crap behind closed doors and want to shove it through without financial oversight from the Congressional Budget Office. This is simply fucking insane, on every level. If they thought their constituents were pissed BEFORE this bullshit, they ain't seen nothin' yet.
And then, there's the Russian shit, which is getting deeper and deeper, and holy crap. I've thought many times about posts on this meltdown of our government, but every day it gets more and more batshit crazy. I look back to my earlier posts about our possible future that now look overly optimistic. And yes, I'm still angry, and getting angrier every day.
5 comments:
Anger and frustration and determine action are the only sane responses to this insane and dangerous situation. Stay angry, I say, AND find a damned good outlet for action so that it doesn't take you down!
Btw, your blog is a breath of fresh air in a fetid, oblivious Fiddle While America Burns, "Oh, let's play and sell yarn!" knitblog world. I understand making a living but the disconnect is horrible. So please keep sharing, C.
I agree with Caroline. I don't comment often, but it's reassuring to know that I'm not the only one feeling this way. I think it can't get any more ridiculous or sink any lower...and then some privileged white guy says "poor people don't care about insurance," while another one pipes up that we'll just need to make a choice between wanting that shiny new iPhone or health insurance. And let's not even get into the doofus asking why a man has to pay for maternity care because it's not something he'll ever use.
And the GOP and Trump's supporters still think that all the marches, town hall protests, letter writing and phone calls, etc., are "poor losers" or "sour grapes" because Clinton lost. Yeah, it's not the assault on healthcare, civil rights, the environment, schools, and holding industry and businesses accountable.
And it's only been 6 weeks.
Karen
Don't fade away! I need you, and your ability to say I'm mad as hell, but I went to Disneyworld and had a good time. Also your insistence on self-care. I need reminders.
Thanks, you are "guilting me" in a good way to want to write more. Today (3/15) is one of those careening, rambling rants. I'm also reading fun books and knitting and doing yoga, and yet still mad as hell and not willing to look away from this crisis. Congress is running scared, ducking town halls, hating their lives. Eventually they will be backed into a corner and made to do their jobs.
Oh God, Karen, the insurance thing! I don't think that bill will go anywhere, but it did reveal that the people behind it don't even understand the first thing about how insurance WORKS! Pooled risk is so basic, a five year old would get it with a quick explanation, but our Republican Overlords are baffled as to why they should pay for prenatal care? It's all just so mind-blowing! They are saying this out loud, on the record??
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