Before Donald Trump was elected President of the United
States, people were wondering what would happen if he lost the election and
refused to concede. Of course, nobody thought to ask the same question about
Hillary Clinton because we all knew the answer: she would quit the fight even if
she had the majority of the votes, just as Al Gore did in 2,000. Funny in those
16 years between Gore and Clinton nobody on the Democratic side of things did
anything to ensure that voters’ rights were guaranteed, did nothing to appeal
to their left flank, and did nothing to get rid of the electoral college that
has now cost them 12 years of Republican presidents in 20 years.
Let me point out for you some of the differences between the
Republicans and Democrats:
--Democrats lost in 2,000 and are still blaming Ralph Nader.
Republicans lost in 1992 and still quote Ross Perot. No animosity there,
despite the fact his presence enabled Bill Clinton to be elected.
--Election after election the Democrats insist the better
candidate is unelectable and go with the establishment option. Republicans
nominated Donald Trump.
--Democrats say NAFTA was a done deal by the time Bill
Clinton got into office and he had no choice but to enact it into law.
Republicans promised to put an end to Obamacare their first day in office, even
though it’s already been the law for years now.
See, the difference between Democrats and Republicans is
that when Democrats lose an election they look into moving to Canada and when
Republicans lose elections they buy guns. In short, Republicans bravely attack
while the Democrats are a bunch of…well, let’s just say Trump wouldn’t be shy
about grabbing them.
The difference is as obvious as the difference between Sean
Hannity and Alan Colmes. Of course it’s set up on Fox News to allow Hannity to
be the tough guy, but I suspect it’s similar with the party candidates. I truly
believe the game is rigged to support strong Republicans and weak Democrats.
Even when we get a winning candidate he ends up moving the country to the
right. Barack Obama entered office with a Democratic congress and did nothing
more than bail out the big banks. He turned Bush’s two wars into four. The
healthcare plan he managed to get passed was modeled off his Republican
opponent’s plan.
Yes, Hillary Clinton lost, and the result is something that
appears very much like fascism. But the answer to that threat was never going
to be another Clinton. Donald Trump is the bloom upon the plant the Clintons
have been diligently watering for the last 24 years. Had it not been for NAFTA
and TPP Trump would not have had trade as a weapon to use against her. Had not
Clinton in her role as Secretary of State overthrown the government of Libya and
stirred the pot in Syria, had she bravely refused to vote against the war in
Iraq, Trump would not now have the anti-immigrant cudgel he now wields.
If it was fascism we were facing in the 2016 election, then
Hillary Clinton was Neville Chamberlain. No, worse than that, she was the
Maginot Line. Even worse yet, she was Vichy France. She was a facile attempt to deal with very real issues by not
dealing with them. She was a coat of paint on a crumbling bit of
infrastructure. She was a wolf who took the time to dress herself in a sheep’s
pantsuit.
Let me give you an example of how a tepid candidate not only
loses you elections but doesn’t allow you to pass your agenda should you happen
to win. The climate is changing. The freaking climate is changing and it’s our
fault. The climate is changing, it’s our fault, and only people who deny the
preponderance of scientific evidence will claim otherwise. It will require
immediate action to ameliorate the effects and nobody knows for certain how bad
it will be even if we turn the boat around this instant. This is actually
happening. Something’s actually happening, Reg, and we have to do something!
Hillary Clinton had this issue to work with against a
science-denying half-wit and because she was in the pockets of the oil industry
she made no mention of it save when on the same stage as Bernie Sanders and
could not avoid it. She had in her possession the flaming sword of God’s own
justice and she never bothered to unsheathe it, let alone use it to cut the
head off the ogre. We are actively destroying God’s greatest gift to us—the planet—and
Hillary Clinton could not bring herself to make it a campaign issue.
You cannot be timid about such issues as climate change. If
it is real it is terrifying and if you don’t act like it is terrifying, people
will assume it is not real. It only feeds into the mindset of those brainwashed
by the rightwing media that tells them global warming is a hoax. They have been
told in confident tones that Global Warming is not real, it must be countered
with an even firmer response if they are ever to be swayed. The truth of it
must be shoved in their faces, not whispered timidly only when in the right group
of people.
Hillary’s career has been one of capitulation. She is the
example of everything Trump supporters don’t like. She is the reason people
were willing to believe in Trump if only because he did not sound like a
politician. They wanted to hear conviction, wanted to see it, and it showed more
in Trump than it did in Clinton. It was a naïve choice on their part, but you
must remember they had no other option than the status quo that had shipped
their jobs overseas and bailed out big banks while leaving them with more mortgage
debt than house equity.
To be a leader you must be bold. Clinton had at her disposal
a youthful and zealous army but she refused to rally them to her side. Nobody
rallies to a flag with the emblem of a weasel or a snake but instead to one
with an eagle or a lion. How did you expect that we would follow you? Who is
willing to go into battle unless they believe the cause is just and the
generals trustworthy?
You had the arrows of truth in your possession but you could
not shoot straight. You had the scars of countless campaigns but they were
undermined by the myriad whispered rumors of you secretly being in the camp of
the enemy. We simply could not trust one who had been rewarded so handsomely
without ever actually winning any battles.
You played it safe all your life in order to win the
ultimate prize and in the end you lost. You retreated whenever the battle was
upon you, as you did upon the eve of the Iraq war. You betrayed those truest to
the cause and most willing to fight for it and instead sought to enlist
officers from the enemy’s camp: Glen Beck, John Negroponte, Brent Scowcroft,
John Warner. Politics is as much about emotions as it is intellect, but you
appealed strongly to neither.
The people were frightened, they were frightened by a world
you helped shape. Many who voted for Donald Trump couldn’t precisely put their
finger on what was wrong but their senses told them, quite correctly, that
there was something rotten in our political system. They voted for hope and
change, just as many voted for hope and change when they went to the polls for
Barack Obama in 2008. I’m guessing a fair amount of people voted for Trump as
they once did for Obama, placing their hopes irrationally on slogans and
aspirations rather than thoughtful proposals and a proven track record.
It is not the rank and file who can be found wanting, not us
who should be judged. It is our leaders who have failed us. 50% of us did not
march to battle at all, most of the rest did so grudgingly. Should a true
leader someday emerge, he will find himself with a nation of eager followers,
ready to take on whatever tasks are asked of us. When someone comes along who
can unite us, not divide us, we will once again show what the United States is
capable of. We can yet be an example to the world, a city upon a hill that
demonstrates liberty and justice. Until that time, I suggest that it is best to
avoid going to war for generals who are interested in nothing more than enriching
their own coffers and their own sense of glory. Do not take up arms against
those who they claim is your enemy. The hatred and the violence will only worsen
your lot while feeding the egos of those who seek victory, heedless of the
cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment