For the past couple of days I’ve been listening on the radio as I drive around to people calling talk radio shows to defend their vote for Donald Trump.  Most are in denial that they voted for a White Supremacist, a misogynist, a fascist, and someone who’s generally unstable and is going to have his hand on the nuclear codes.  I still vividly remember Trump claiming: “I love the uneducated voters” during the primary season.  (of course he loves them, they’re the perfect “victims” of the right wing propaganda machine that is extremely sophisticated)  Something in the neighborhood of 75% of white Americans with a high school education or less voted for Trump.  Unbelievably to me 53% of Women voted for Trump – despite the Fact he admitted to being a person who sexually assaults women – because he’s famous and can get away with it.  And, worst still (to me as a Christian) and similar to the fascists taking over Germany in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, reportedly 90% of evangelical Christians voted for Trump.

I have a friend (who I’m having a difficult time processing his thinking) who told me he was voting for Trump for “moral reasons.”  Of course, my friend is a regular watcher of Fox “news” and, from my perspective, has been brainwashed.  He believes Sean Hannity tells the truth.  He’s also an evangelical Christian and it’s so hard for me to understand how he (and millions of others) could look past Trump admitting to attempting to f@#k a married woman (shortly after his own marriage to our first lady elect and while she was pregnant with his youngest son) and claiming he can just come up to women and grab them in the “pussy” because he’s famous.  Of course, I’m guessing my friend didn’t believe the plethora of women who then came forward and confirmed everything Trump boasted about – all of the sexual advances unwanted.  And, of course, I guess the my friend (and the other “Christians” who supported Trump) believed Trump when he claimed they were ALL liars – and, as any sexual predator with means would, he threatened to sue every last one of the women after the election.  Honestly, I look forward to him doing that, because I believe there will be no shortage of attorneys who will defend these women for free.  Honestly, I hope some of them sue Trump!

During the campaign Trump demonstrated a complete ignorance about how government functions – he seems to think he’ll snap his fingers and get what he wants – and more alarmingly an almost complete ignorance of all things foreign policy.  If you remember he claimed to be smarter than all our generals – which should lead to an interesting situation once he’s actually “commander in chief.”  How will these generals react to someone who claims they are stupid?  Will they all be replaced?  If so, who’s going to replace them?  In my mind, ultimately the people who will be proved to being stupid are the people who voted for Trump.  Trump is incompetent and I’m sure the various factions are lining up with plans to manipulate him – and, this would include Vladimir Putin.

I found it interesting all the republicans who detested Trump being willing to “fall in line” just in case he won because, to them, it’s all about the power.  I believe one reason people are so angry with our government has been the dysfunction of Congress which SHOULD be placed at the “feet” of the republican party – they’re the ones who’ve been OBSTRUCTING everything for the past 8 years in their attempt to make sure our first African American president FAILED.  They’re ALSO the ones who enabled Bush/Cheney to deregulate our government in the 8 years proceeding President Obama creating the “Great Recession.”  It’s really interesting to me that enough of America’s voters evidently forgot that.  Or was this just the backlash to “we the people” demonstrating that we would choose the best candidate – EVEN if he/she’s Black?  (It’s impossible to take the White Supremacist “factor” out of this election)

With the help of the so-called “liberal media” republicans managed to convince the voting public the BLAME for the OBSTRUCTION (that republicans have been doing for years – the “strategy” began with Newt Gingrich back during the Clinton administration) belongs with the democrats.  I found it ironic when I listened to one Trump voter after another saying they voted for him because he’s going to bring their jobs back.  Despite the FACT he was bloviating with all his claims about how he’s going to force America’s corporations to relocate back in America that’s NOT going to “bring their jobs back” – I guess all these people have such short attention spans – and lack of interest in educating themselves – that they have forgotten it was the republicans who created the “Great Recession” – it’s been the republicans from Reagan through the two Bush presidencies who pushed the national debt to extreme proportions and that jobs were “going away” at the rate of one MILLION per month as GW Bush/Dick Cheney left Washington (with their “tails between their legs”).  The two administrations in the past (almost) 40 years that have created the MOST jobs have been the Clinton and Obama administrations.

There have been numerous studies which have shown the least informed Americans are the ones who watch Fox “news.”  And, in many rural settings unless you want to do what I did and pay for satellite TV, the only “news” you can get comes from Fox.  And, if you’ve watched Fox and vetted what they’re spewing you quickly realize they are proponents of the “Big Lie Theory” of the Nazi’s propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.  You repeat a LIE often enough and people will believe it’s true.  They’ve been doing this for 25 or more years – slowly manipulating the minds of the people watching them who believe they are obligated (they’re on TV aren’t they) to be “reporting” the truth.  If Fox had any intention of being “honest” they would re-brand themselves as GOP TV.  Over the years, I’ve discovered it’s hard to have a civil conversation with someone who gets their “information” on Fox because they are absolutely convinced their information is accurate and, as my friend who was voting for Trump for “moral reasons” said to me, “There’s no way you’re going to change my mind.

You have to give credit to Kelleyanne Conway and Steve Bannon for joining the Trump campaign (there’s a Wall Street Billionaire who financed it all) and keeping him on (a dishonest) script.  Kelleyanne Conway is one of the best LIARS I’ve ever seen.  I watched her spin one Trump blunder after another by ALWAYS switching the subject to “But, Hillary……”   She never would allow whoever was questioning her to get a real answer to any questions regarding the reality of Donald Trump – it was always about Hillary Clinton.  And, the media allowed her to get away with it.  In Bannon’s case – he quietly mobilized the SIZEABLE White Supremacist base of the “new republican party” (Including, to my and many others’ despair, the KKK) – the people Trump originally endeared himself to as he led the “Birther” movement after President Obama was elected.  Trump gave many white nationalists (racists) a reason to vote for the very first time.  Before this, neither party has ever chosen someone who was overtly racist to lead them – and, despite Trump’s “victory” (I continue to believe when the facts regarding the voter suppression tactics of the republicans become public Trump’s legitimacy will be undermined) I believe he will be the undoing of their party.  I think the backlash to Trump will stain every republican who goes along to “get along.”

The republicans are now in an interesting position.  Their “base” is solidly made up with what Hillary Clinton referred to (accurately in my view) as a “basket of deplorables.”  She was, of course, referring to the strong connection with Trump and the alt right – or White Supremacists movement that was energized by Obama’s election.  This group is made up of “hate groups” that are very likely to have an unrealistic expectation of what a Trump presidency means.  I can already hear people like Conway and Bannon – and the others who end up in his administration – the idea of Newt Gingrich as Secretary of State makes my skin crawl – YIKES! – blaming democrats for whatever goes wrong in his administration. What if “Obamacare” isn’t repealed? (I have one friend who voted for Trump who believes it won’t be), what if Hillary Clinton isn’t “jailed?” What if there’s no wall, or Mexico won’t pay for it?  Who are they going to blame the backlash on that is certain if they start rounding up Latino’s and begin deporting them?  Do you really believe republicans are going to focus on rebuilding our inner cities and creating opportunities for members of the African American community?  (Honestly, I would love it if they would – but, when it becomes obvious that Trump won the election via voter ID laws that excluded (possibly) MILLIONS of African Americans – in key “battleground” states – from voting do you think his supporters will be committed to “Black Lives Matter?”)

However and more importantly, keep in mind that Trump represents a group that wants nothing to do with the republican “establishment.”  You already see Paul Ryan showing his true colors by “kissing up” to Trump – evidently, the FACT Trump is an overt racist is no longer an issue for Ryan – but, I’m guessing Ryan as Speaker of the House is not a guarantee – there may be a few “Tea partiers” who have different ideas – I’m certain they feel empowered.

In the next four years we’re going to see the true colors of the republican party and my guess is that it will be the beginning of the end of their “conservative” movement.  People like Ryan and McConnell already, I’m sure, have their sights set on programs like Social Security and Medicare – finding ways to funnel as much of the money from those programs to their corporate benefactors.  I’m sure they have intentions of more “tax cuts for the wealthy” (again, their benefactors), and more “no bid” contracts for their friends in the WAR industries.  They will be propping up the fossil fuel industries (despite the critical stage we face in the “war on Climate Change” – which Trump and his supporters refuse to acknowledge) – in fact, I’ve heard that Trump has a MILLION dollar investment in the company building the pipeline that is generating controversy in North Dakota.  It’s almost certain he will grant the license for this pipeline that is violating Tribal lands given over in Treaties from the mid 1800’s and when people learn of his financials stake in the process – well, it’s not going to go over well with us “LIBERALS.”  The protests aimed at Donald Trump began shortly after the election.  My prediction: America, get used to them!