As usual, Victor Davis Hanson is spot on:
A “coup” is no longer proof of right-wing paranoia, but increasingly a part of the general progressive discourse of resistance to Trump.
In these upside-down times, patriotism is being redefined as removing a president before a constitutionally mandated election.
The Babylon Bee picks up the torch of satire; the torch virtually everyone else dropped before the altar of PC… and they’re running with it. Here’s a snippet from Impeachment Inquiry Canceled After 5 Episodes Due To Low Ratings:
“The showrunners promised all these big bombshells, shocking twists, and startling revelations, but they weren’t able to deliver,” said one reviewer writing in Hollywood Reporter. “When there are so many better options out there—rewatching The Office, checking out The Good Place, staring at paint as it slowly dries—why would people tune into this tepid, uninspired mess?”
I have to admit, it’s getting to me this week. It’s a downer. One of my predictions was 100% wrong. I was certain Hillary voters would calm down after a few months. With time they’d realize Trump, as imperfect as he is, was two things:
- Not the end of the world.
- Part of the give and take of democratic elections.
I didn’t think folks could stay nuts for years and years. They had to go to work and change diapers and feed the cat. Reality would intrude on their inner narrative of doom. I was wrong.
It’s been three long stupid years and apparently it’s possible for large groups to stay nuts indefinitely. Evidence from reality has literally no effect. Their dire predictions just didn’t happen: The economy hasn’t tanked, the streets aren’t running with blood, the IRS hasn’t seized their Prius, polar ice caps are still ice covered, nobody’s starving, red states haven’t sacked and pillaged blue states, China hasn’t “trade warred” us into the dirt, abortion is roughly as legal as it was before the election, Kavinaugh isn’t having orgies in the Oval Office, and most importantly… jackbooted thugs never materialized to round up liberals and incarcerate them in work camps.
I tried an experiment yesterday. I walked the streets in a small town. I looked for visual differences between 2019 and 2007. Not much I could see. The only difference I noted are a lot of “help wanted” signs, the absence of newspaper vending machines, and someone drove by in a spiffy new Jeep Gladiator. (In both 2007 and 2019 cars look like EPA mandated shitbubbles but at least the Gladiator appears to have balls.) Jobs, newspapers, and one new vehicle… that’s it.
This week’s circus event has the feel of desperation. One doesn’t try this hard to impeach a man that’s eleven months from losing an election. If you can beat a team in the arena you don’t try to kneecap their QB in the parking lot before the game.
I get the feeling that December might include a big desperate Hail Mary pass. The holiday season has always been earmarked for Congresscritters doing things that they’d best like forgotten. The 2009 Christmas Eve passage of Obamacare, taught me there are things that can only be done when everyone is fretting over eggnog and the populace as a whole just isn’t in the lynching mood the D’s need to operate in the open. (Note: The last two times time the Senate held a roll call on Christmas Eve are 1895 and 2009. The former was to allow post civil war Confederacy soldiers into government jobs and the latter was so I would save $2,500 a year on health insurance).*
If Trump is still standing in mid-January, opposition candidates will have to defeat him the old fashioned way; by either being dirtier or better… neither of which is likely to unseat the Orange one. Time will tell if my minuscule PreditIt bets play out but the pre-game warm up looks to be the real game.
Also, it’s hardened my heart. I get that the guy I vote for doesn’t always win. That’s how voting works. Sometimes your guy wins, sometimes their guy wins. I was always pretty cool about that. But now, because of the ugly, messy, grasping, clutching, needy approach to what should be a vote count, I’m colder.
The argument seems to be “I will burn this car to the ground if you don’t give me the keys and let me drive!” The desperation, the longing for power, the feeling that anyone but one side at the wheel is not just undesirable but an affront to the universe… is concerning. I’m coming to feel safer with the inept, clueless, idiots of the party of R in power simply because the party of D wants it so badly. When a group is willing to unleash a scorched earth campaign against all who oppose them, it makes me less inclined to give them a taste of control. I can almost hear them say “make me the president because it’s my birthday and I want it”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bBpi7ifMo
Luckily it’s the weekend and then Thanksgiving. The burner goes to simmer and the ensuing week is too short do anything too stupid. One would hope.
That’s my take on it. To reiterate: The impeachment vote (if it happens) will go down exactly as it would have on November 9, 2016. It will be based on the same logic (“give me the ring!”) as it would have in 2016. Then there’s a good shot at a black swan event between now and mid-January. I can’t guess the form of the destroyer but I doubt it’ll work out as hoped.
I have to hand it to Trump, he’s done a good job of being politically unkillable in a toxic environment. I wish him continued success in that endeavor. Less for his accomplishments as to keep Smeagol away from the ring. (Honestly, Orange Man being not-Hillary Clinton is all I really wanted and one term would have formerly seemed fine to me. As the “loyal opposition” went full “coup and resistance” I’ve dug in my heels. I suspect I’m not alone in that reaction.)
As always YMMV.
A.C.
*For those interested in the Orwellian concept of a memory hole. Here’s a quote from a presidential speech on June 23, 2007: “I will sign a universal health-care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” I was there to hear it but I like to recheck verbiage for accuracy. The speech was called “The Politics Of Conscience” and it was wildly popular at the time. However, the link at barakobama.com is gone. It’s scrubbed from the usual places and I couldn’t easily find a transcript. I figured all presidential speeches are archived somewhere? I was surprised. Virtually every post I’ve ever written on my blog is still live right now. I’m not the sort to think about deleting my past mistakes. That’s why I’m not a politician.