The Orange Wave
America's gets what it asked for.
Hey Friends,
Welcome to America.
Some of you are feeling blue, and some of you are seeing red. You may be a migrant wondering if you made a wrong turn. The rest of you are celebrating.
Actually, most of America is celebrating. America's gender reveal party was this Tuesday, and by late in the evening, we learned it was not a girl. It was a felon.
We didn't have a blue wave or a red one. It was orange.
This wasn't the first time Donald beat a woman. He assaulted E Jean Carrol and at least 25 other women have publicly accused him of the same. This time, it wasn't sexual assault on Kamala Harris. He simply beat her. The assault comes next.
The swamp has been drained, and now the Lockness Swampster and his loyalists are all that remains. America is getting what it has asked for.
Here's what we got:
- An executive leader who has complete immunity for his actions, possibly even including those he’s already been convicted of.
- Billionaires appointed to his cabinet, including one who has proven he can be successful by cutting staff, customers, and revenues at a for-profit software company. (Perhaps he can do the same for America, especially if it benefits his own wealth).
- The Elimination of, or weakening of Government institutions, including:
- The Judicial Branch
- His own accountibility
- And anyone who would cross him along the way
- A guy with a worm in his head. (Typically, it takes one to know one. A worm, that is. And here's why you should not trust one.)
- Not to mention more ketchup stains on the walls of the White House.
America has given him a pass. We've actually said very clearly with 51% certainty that this is exactly what we want.
Nixon's loyalists broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 to compromise the election. He was forced to resign to save himself. Trump pressured states to “find” him more votes. After inspiring a riot that led to breaking into the Capitol and a threat to kill his vice president, he was invited back into the White House.
I blame Joe Biden.
Trump said he would build a wall. When he didn’t, people said he tried.
Biden said he would build a bridge to the future. But that bridge had a toll, and instead of stepping aside, he waited until his chances were so far past winnable that it was hardly winnable for anyone else.
Trump said, "Drain the Swamp," "Build the Wall," "Stop the Steal," and at the center of it all, "Make America Great Again." And everyone repeated it. It’s not exactly “Brat Summer,” but at least you know what it means.
Biden's message: "We are in a battle for the soul of our nation." hardly connected with anyone. He may as well have said, "A rising nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry, engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right, advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye..." as Thomas Jefferson said in his inaugural address. Both sound beautiful, but neither is relatable today. For Kamala, her message was just as beautiful, I just can’t remember what it was.
In the words of someone who makes up phrases all the time, "What sounds lovely inspires few." (– Me) Or is it "Beautiful sounds oft go unrepeated." (– Also Me). My point is that the American people don’t want beautiful words. They want an anthem. And people don’t fact-check an anthem. They sing it.
Right or Remembered?
The notions of conservative and liberal politics are always changing, but conceptually, they are based on one idea–the scope of government.
Over the last 40 years, Republicans have driven up the deficit by reducing taxes, and Democrats have driven up the deficit by spending more on public services. Each party has come into power saying they would fix it.
The only balanced budget on record is that of a Democrat when Clinton presided over a surplus. The biggest examples of deficit reduction are under Democrats on the heels of crises during Republican administrations, including Obama's recovery from the Great Recession after Bush and Biden's recovery from the impact of COVID-19 after Trump.
There's no need to blame Trump for the pandemic, just as you can't credit Clinton with the Dot Com boom, but you play the cards you're dealt.
When it comes to the economy, Obama and Trump have similar records regarding economic growth, stock market growth, poverty rates, wage growth, and more. The charts look about the same. In fact, Obama presided over more years of economic and stock market growth than Trump.
What does this mean? Probably nothing, except that while your mileage may vary, we weren't better off under Trump.
By the numbers, the greatest economy in history is actually today. That is, if a record-high stock market, booming small business, record-high GDP, record-low unemployment, and record-high wages mean anything. Wages have even kept up with the cost of living, although mostly benefiting those in higher tax brackets.
According to the facts, life has been great for the last 40 years, but just slightly better under Democrats.
During any period of time, the socially relevant issues on the fringes may change. Voting rights, equal rights for women, immigration, healthcare, abortion, gay marriage, and transgender youth care are all among these sorts of issues. These issues are debated, but generally, the liberal plan is to make progress, and the conservative plan is to protect traditions. Both seem like good ideas from a certain point of view. The liberal view is ironically most conservative–to reduce government impediments to civil and personal rights. The conservative approach is to limit change of values that might expand those rights. This is true for voting, healthcare, abortion, gay marriage, and, for some strange reason, what books end up in a library.
At least, that's according to the facts.
But the facts don't matter. Only the narrative. Economists, journalists and academics have a lot to say. They might be right, but most people simply remember what it cost them to buy eggs.
All that matters is the story people are telling themselves–and Donald Trump was the only one who offered them one.
That‘s it for this week.
Despite our differing views on politics, it's important that we all agree on one thing. We're in this together.
"You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.” – President Joe Biden
Have a great weekend!