I'm a big believer in not tempting fate, so I'm going to preface my next statement by knocking on would and giving a hearty pu! pu! pu! to the Evil Eye. But, with the advent of the second half of an election year, we are now safely at the point where we can start to look at meaningful polls of the national political mood. And, cautiously, mindful of the lessons from 2016, I'm willing to say that the lion's share of what's available is good news for Joe Biden, the Democratic Party, and their supporters around the country. Without losing sight of either the need for caution or the lessons of four years ago, it's therefore worth taking a little time and effort to wrestle with an essential question:
What next?
I'm not referring to the eternal question faced by all Democratic Administrations and Congress: how far to the left should they go? Curiously, that might be less of a problem in 2021 and beyond than at any previous time within my lifetime. That's largely attributable to the universal loathing among party elected officials and their supporters for all things Trump, so it may not be all that curious.
But it overlooks an important point: even if this fall's election produces a Democratic blowout that make 1936 and 1964 seem pitiful by comparison, it isn't going to change a fact that would be dangerous to forget.
The other side isn't going away.
If G-d is good to the Democrats, and therefore to the nation, it is not enough to be unified on what we as members of a progressive party want to accomplish once we control the levers of power again. It is absolutely essential to remember that nothing may be accomplished unless we are prepared to battle and defeat the two components of the modern conservative movement:
The viciously stupid, and the venomous sell-outs. By which I mean, the Republican base, and the politicians they choose to trust. No matter what happens this fall, they're not going anywhere. And, if/once they've been disempowered, the last thing on their minds will be working with a new government to turn the country around and move it forward.
Let's take a few moments to look at their most recent activities, so that we don't lose sight of what we're up against. We'll start with the sell-outs.
They've sold out all of us in numerous ways, but mainly by selling themselves to Trump, whose need to be worshiped at the expense of everything else has poisoned every branch of our government with corruption that will take years, at the very least, to clean out.
This week, we had a spectacular example from the Supreme Court, which neatly reaffirmed the President's duties to turn over evidence, but managed to do so in a way that protects him and other Republicans from any electoral consequences this year. And his hand-picked Associate Justices, who are not under Court rules required to recuse themselves, naturally did not do so, although they did join the majority in ruling against Trump's claims to immunity from congressional subpoena power.
As a reminder, in case it's needed, this is on the heels of Mitch McCONnell and Senate Republicans running a protection racket for Trump at his impeachment trial, as well as a similar racket for Capitol statutes of traitors. And House Republicans lined up behind an Attorney General who sees himself as the President's lawyer, and not the nation's lawyer.
So, there aren't sufficient congressional or judicial checks of an Administration whose sins begin with its role as a foreign agent, one that can't even stand up for our men and women in uniform when bounties are placed on their heads. In fact, the Senate supports Trump in this role, by working to remove the ban on foreign aid in our elections, and openly defending his unwillingness to confront his principal with regard to the bounties.
While Trump has led the way in poisoning our system of government, the way for him was in fact paved for him by establishment Republicans, then and now. Those establishment figures can whine all they want about they've someone been forced into this every step of the way, but the truth of the matter is that their own lust for maintaining power guided every one of those steps.
And, as a result, we have a crime syndicate instead of a government, one that has no mercy even for children, nor any regard for those who have served our country loyally and with distinction. When loyalty and competence get in the syndicate's way, they do what they always do: resort to threats. And, instead, reward those who break the law on their behalf.
So much for the sell-outs. Now for the stupid.
Police officers nakedly proud of their bigotry, and unembarrassed in the face of massive public condemnation to continue their brutal behavior.
Evangelical churches that exalt conservativism over Christianity, and turn their children into living sacrifices on the altar of their idolatry.
A ludicrous unwillingness to respect basic science in everyday settings in the simplest possible ways, or even show tolerance to people who are just going about their lives. Social media is rife with examples of this. I will spare you a comprehensive catalogue of links, in no small part because I'm sure that each of you has your own, but I will share a few that really jumped out at me: here, here, and especially here, with the latter link vividly illustrating the extent to which the Trump era has freed America's bigots to fly their freak flag under any and all circumstances. It seems to have reached a point at which to be a Trump follower is to literally have a death wish without regard to the impact of that wish on others (an embarrassing example from my home state of Maryland). Perhaps it has gone past the point of recklessness with regard to the safety of others.
One is forced to wonder how they would feel if they knew that the same President who's telling them that they don't need to worry about the pandemic is going to every possible length to personally protect himself--and only himself--from the virus at its heart. Or that the money that is supposed to take care of working Americans is going to Republican supporters who advocate against taking money from Washington. Or that the same Republicans pushing children back into schools that may or may not be safe aren't planning to take a chance on the medical safety of their party's national convention?
Between the corruption of Republican officer holders, and the ignorance of the people who support them, it has become painfully clear what Republicans have always stood for, beyond the empty rhetoric about limited government, personal responsibility, and traditional values. Power. For themselves. And no one else. If the current crisis has done nothing else, it has exposed that reality for all time.
This is not only why those in a Biden Administration should not try to wish the Trump era away if/when it takes power. Indeed, it will not even have doing so as a true choice. They will still be surrounded by the stupid and the sell-outs. And they will need the clarity of vision, the rhetoric and other tools and, above all, the sheer gumption required to fight them, every step of the way.
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