Yesterday, after Trump made an attempt at a “political correct” statement regarding the violence caused by his White Supremacist supporters in Charlottesville last weekend, I heard he was very angry at the “fake media” because, essentially very few believed him. Surprise, surprise! This is the statement that came at least two days after a young lady was killed via a “terrorist” attack from a young “neo-Nazi” and two police officers died when their helicopter crashed while monitoring the situation from the air. Trump’s initial statement was a tepid attempt to condemn the violence without putting blame on the perpetrators of it. Few people “bought” the first statement – which was closer to “real” (if that’s even possible with Trump) and, by the time the second statement was made, “the damage was done.”
I guess Trump is expecting us, through the second statement, to believe he’s “speaking from the heart.” I have to question whether that’s even possible with him. However, I started this post to “capture” a train of thought prior to running some errands, and, sure enough, by the time I got home from my “business” Trump had held an impromptu press briefing in the front of “Trump Tower” where he “doubled down” on his Saturday remarks which generated so much angst. From listening to him, he’s still blaming the “fake news” as he calls it for the blow-back on his remarks from Saturday – which he referred to as “accurate” – while he proceeded to make comments cementing his standing with the likes of David Duke, but putting his presidency in jeopardy with the people in America who remember WW II, or have learned about it in the history books.
Trump referred to “many of the people” in the “Alt Right” group marching with torches – similar to KKK stuff in a part of American history many would like to forget (not sure if Trump ever learned of it – although, on Rachel Maddow’s show tonight on MSNBC images of NY Times articles of Trump’s father arrested in a Klan demonstration in NY city shows a bit more about “Trump history”) or the kind of marches that took place in Germany back in the 30’s as “good people.” According to Trump, “They were not all White Supremacists.” I guess he wasn’t watching the same video or the same pictures I saw.
Of course, this was just another example of Trump’s words reflecting the DISASTER of his occupying the “White House” in America. The man is delusional, his narcissism is beyond anything I’ve ever seen, his LYING is pathological, his lack of knowledge about American history is shocking (for someone who’s president), and his lack of credibility here and abroad makes it incumbent on republicans in Congress to move “sooner rather than later” in removing him from office. Yes, the likes of Duke and the others who participated in the “unite the right” rally in Charlottesville this past weekend will probably respond with more violence once that happens – but, as I wrote in my previous post, supporters of the “white supremacists” in Charlottesville claimed, after the event, “this is war.” They are going to ramp it up even more. Do you really think Trump is the person to lead the FIGHT against these people. This could get really ugly.
Republicans chose this path. They are at a crossroads. The next couple of weeks should be telling. Congress needs to pass a budget. We’re about a month away from a government default if they don’t raise the debt ceiling. So far, this “experiment” with Trump in the “White House” and republicans controlling everything else hasn’t worked very well. We’re getting to the point where it’s getting farther and farther away from “funny.” If they can’t figure out how to raise the debt limit the American economy could be in for a very rough ride. Already, leaders around the world are shaking their heads at what’s going on here – and, if we send the message that our nation won’t honor our debt obligations – well, the “you know what” could hit the fan. (I’m not convinced “nationalists” understand the extent America is embedded in the global economy)
Nor am I convinced any of them, meaning republicans, know how to govern. Most of them claim to hate the government and recent republican presidents (including Trump) have put people in charge of government bureaus who are committed to destroying them. The question now becomes are they planning to undermine the entire government instead of just parts of it. Remember, one of Steve Bannon’s stated goals is the “deconstruction of the administrative state.” I took that to mean to destroy the government as it presently exists. Many who voted for Trump, I believe, don’t understand the consequences of them succeeding. Remember, Bannon was a spearhead of what happened in Charlottesville this past weekend. Today, Trump said, “Mr. Bannon is not a racist.” Well, I think he’d tell you he’s not a racist either. We know better!
Many, including myself, have suggested one way for Trump to disassociate himself from this White Supremacist movement would be to get rid of Bannon, Steven Miller, and Sebastian Gorka from the “White House.” I believe Trump knows – and fears – the backlash he would receive from those involved in the right wing protest in Charlottesville (and, others around the country which received far less publicity – it seems, without the violence, our “liberal media” doesn’t take notice). I certainly have no idea how many of the, now, about one third of the country who supports Trump are part of the what amounts to a “white separatist” movement, but it’s certainly a significant portion of Trump’s “base.” As I’ve said before (maybe in different terms) republicans made a “pact with the devil” when they embraced the “tea party” movement after President Obama’s election which included many who were carrying tiki torches in Charlottesville this past weekend. Now, what do they do? Also, where is America headed?
Certainly, if you check out the responses coming from Germany and other places where the United States has been traditionally allied, they are watching closely to see what on earth is going on in America? Is this really where America stands? “We the people” need to make it clear to anyone who questions our nation that Trump and those he’s choosing to support represent only a fraction of this nation and their ideology will NEVER prevail. Unfortunately, we have to wait until November of 2018 to make our statement at the ballot box, but, it’s time to be clear about what that statement will be right now. Personally, I don’t care what party affiliation candidates for public office have, I just believe it’s time they ALL must be clear about where they stand on the issue of race and individual rights.
Make no mistake, I believe, under our constitution, those who support David Duke, for example, have every right to do so – what is not OK is someone like Trump who wants it both ways. He wants “we the people” to believe he thinks racism is “evil” while at the same time clearly giving legitimacy to groups who espouse it. We need our leaders to be clear. And, to the republican party – this man is one of you. To the Senators and to members of the House of Representatives it’s time to stop the equivocating. Either you support this man or you don’t. Silence is not an option – as far as I’m concerned silence is a cowardly way of giving him your support.
The people behind the tiki torch march last weekend have declared “war” on America – if you believe the post that was put up on “The Daily Stormer” a neo-Nazi blog shortly after the young lady was killed and the two police officers monitoring the situation died when their helicopter crashed. They claimed they are going to “take over the government.” I personally haven’t seen anyone in the “liberal media” taking notice of that claim, but it really does amount to seditious rhetoric. I doubt we can trust a Justice Department run by an admitted surrogate to Trump to take action against such a claim. I guess we just wait to see what they do next.
Many are categorically, now, saying what many who think like myself have been saying since early in the campaign – Trump is not fit for office. No matter what you think of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s actions continue to make her look prophetic. She predicted much of what is currently happening during the campaign and was roundly criticized for it. The people carrying torches we saw in Charlottesville last weekend were what she called the “basket of deplorables.” Unfortunately, many who don’t understand what she was talking about took offense to the comments thinking she was referring to them. I certainly don’t believe ALL of Trump’s supporters believe in the white separatist movement, but the reality is that David Duke was correct when he pointed out they are the reason Trump is in the “White House.”
I’ve pointed out many times on this site, the big question with Trump as president is how much damage will he be able to do before he’s either impeached or voted out of office? The damagis MOUNTING fast. It seems every day there’s a new “crisis.” It appears very little is going to be accomplished legislatively because all the attention is on Trump and his various “scandals.” Remember, it took Charlottesville to get the focus off the “Russia thing.” But, the “Russia thing” is still a very significant issue. The Russians ATTACKED our country during the election on a scale that was unprecedented – we’ll never know if they affected the election enough to actually swing it to Trump – but, what they did was unacceptable (they’re doing it around the world and still doing it here as I’m writing this) and “we the people” need to make that clear. If Trump colluded with them, he should face severe accountability (that he can’t pardon himself from). All this seems to be preventing the government from even functioning anywhere close to “smoothly.” Additionally, Trump SHOULD be doing something about the ongoing Russian intrusion into our politics – but, he says NOTHING! (that’s an indictment in itself in my view)
Will republicans pass a budget? Will they increase the debt limit? Will they actually try to fix The Affordable Care Act (in a move that would indicate compassion for “the least of these”)? Will they fully investigate the “Russia thing” (so that like many have said, “it will never happen again)? Will they come up with a plan to rebuild our infrastructure (which they blocked when President Obama was in office)? Will they clearly repudiate themselves from Trump and his ideology (which can no longer be a secret)? The “damage” I’m talking about is either going to be a permanent “stain” on the republican party (and, possibly, America) OR it could be a moment of truth where they actually move away from their corporate pay masters to what’s best for “we the people.” I’m certainly not holding my breath, but Trump has given them the opportunity to actually act like what I would see as true conservatives.
Republicans and Democrats could “disagree” with each other, but do it in the same room with the idea of coming up with tenable solutions to our many problems, one by one, somewhere in the middle. Maybe the events of the past few days will help them see where vitriol has gotten us. They could end the days of what could be termed the “Newt” doctrine – the idea that obstruction is the republican mantra. They’re actually in the majority and they have the opportunity to lead. So far I’ve seen no evidence they understand how to do that – but, I can certainly hope. Step one is to repudiate those who carried the tiki torches in Charlottesville and those around the country supporting them and step two is to disassociate themselves from Trump. His behavior should never be enabled by anyone in leadership in this nation.