Beating Trump

So who can beat Trump? Twenty years ago, this question would have been greeted with derision.  Because the answer was obvious—ANYBODY can beat Trump. It’s what people do, because Trump is a total idiot, incompetent at everything he does, from marriages to broken casinos. He has money because he was born to money and simply hasn’t had time to blow it all. Also, banks seem to be idiots with no morality at all. Banks know how to scam the public. It’s what they do, so for them to continue supporting Trump, is to just keep on truck'n. It’s what they do.

I have been drawn to wondering why we have had so many folks trying to win the Democratic Presidential nomination.  I mean, twenty plus people??? Really?? How could that be? Maybe those old “smoke-filled back rooms” weren’t so bad after all.  But then I thought. Trump. It’s all about Trump. Think of it. Trump is one of the most laughable people on the planet.  He’s demonstrably stupid. And for that I blame daddy. I really do assume that, because Trump is so stupid, that daddy did not want him embarrassed all the time in school, so he sent someone else in junior’s name. So The Donald never actually received a formal education. I mean, that would explain his abysmal ignorance of almost everything on almost any subject. He either can’t or simply doesn’t read.

And then there is his narcissism. What is a narcissist?  Well, there are definite signs of what is known as narcissistic personality disorder:

• grandiose sense of self-importance
• preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
• belief they’re special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people or institutions
• need for excessive admiration
• sense of entitlement
• interpersonally exploitative behavior
• lack of empathy
• envy of others or a belief that others are envious of them
• demonstration of arrogant and haughty behaviors or attitudes

Ok, so he pretty much satisfies all nine of these signals.

And then there is his latent racism. It is well known that he and his kids (also slumlords) practiced racism fairly openly in deciding to whom and who not to rent to with their apartments.  He also sucks up to racist KKK folks commonly. I know he decries racists when it is convenient, but that is because of his other dominant trait—LYING. It could be a characteristic associated with his basic stupidity and his narcissism. He says things that are blatant lies, but my theory is that he is not even aware he is lying. He says whatever he thinks will make an audience adore him. That those things are lies known to almost any thinking adult is irrelevant to him. If it works at the moment for his selected audience that is all that matters. He has no regrets for lying because he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process.

And then comes his basic incompetence, I assume something also associated with his serious ignorance and stupidity. I assume that seriously stupid people can do some things. I mean, if you give them a lawn mower and tell them how to mow, they may be able to complete a simple lawn job. If you tell them how to write a check, they may be able to complete that task, even while having no understanding of the significance of writing said check.

And then, of course there is all the crap about Trump’s malodorous beliefs and practices regarding both his various wives, and women not his wives.

But all of the above is not only known, but known for decades. None of it is a surprise. And when his supporters say, proudly, but Trump is a businessman, as though that automatically qualifies him for President, the standard retort is, “well, yes, but he is a demonstrably unsuccessful businessman. He is in fact totally incompetent at the world of business, having caused six bankruptcies, more than almost anyone on the planet.

And so that draws me back to the very large field of competitors for his job. And then, Voila! Of course there are many candidates. Trump has demonstrated that you don’t need to be qualified at anything to win the presidency. Oh, you might need some qualifications to actually BE the president, but not to run for president and certainly not to attract voters to your side. Almost anyone with money can apparently become president.  And, if you look, almost everyone within the entire field of democratic candidates has more experience actually doing things than Trump. Even Mayor Pete has some managerial experience as a mayor, albeit of a small town. And Pete served honorably in the military, and has a distinguished academic background.  Most of the others have either served in some political government positions, or run businesses more successfully than Trump. So, the entire field can say, I’m clearly better than Trump.  Turns out, almost any working adult in America could claim better credentials than Trump. Ergo, the very large field of candidates.

AND, while it might be nice to look at the records of people and figure out who might actually be a better president, the answer again is, “well, almost anybody.”

Now, none of this will make it easier to decide for whom you might want to vote in the primaries. The field really is wide open, narrowing a little, but still pretty large.  But for all of you complaining about this very large field, I have two thoughts. 

One, Trump is the sole blame here. If he had any qualities worthy of the name, that field would be much narrower. And, Two, whoever is the final candidate against Trump, kindly go to the polls to cast your ballot so as to rid our nation of this awful pseudo-human.  America will not outlast another four more years of Trump.  And check now to be certain that you are registered. Trump and his buddies are going to try to wreak havoc with our 2020 voting system. Don’t let them. Register and then VOTE!

Standards

So, our Senate republican friends have decided that, whatever it was Trump was accused of doing by those nasty Dems, it did not rise to the level of impeachment. But, on the other hand, Nancy tearing up Trump’s speech publically was definitely a crime and she might need to be jailed.  Ahhh, the standards, the standards.  Remember those good old days when standards were clear, as in “Lock her up, lock her up!”  And what was it Hillary was doing that warranted being locked up? Ummm, nothing as it turns out after an extensive investigation by republicans. But of course republicans impeached Bill Clinton, right? And that was for, umm, oh I remember, he was impeached for getting a blowjob while talking on the phone about some public policy issue. I think that’s called multitasking, right? Wouldn’t want our presidents multitasking.

So, standards are so important. We couldn’t run a safe and honest government without them.

And now I understand that Trump is planning to participate in the Trillion Tree global initiative. That’s on top of all the things he has been doing to destroy our environment, of course.  So, how can he be planning on planting a bunch of trees, while tearing up or selling all of our national Parks, or destroying Native American heritage sites to build his wall, or pulling us out of any serious global climate change initiatives? Well, I think it’s called “playing to his base”.  It’s like his plans to whack Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, to help pay for his tax cut for the wealthy, while doing something trivial on prescription drugs as a claim he is reducing the cost of drugs to the population. Again, playing to his base.

And he continues lying to us all while he is planning his re-election campaign.  And here lies my biggest worry. I worry that, now that he has been emboldened by Senate Republicans, he will do something to forestall, or delay the 2020 election. He has already muttered something of that nature, i.e., that he might want to “delay” the 2020 election to avoid the (non-existent) voter fraud.  Trump still insists he would have won the national 2016 election by a popular majority had it not been for the widespread voter fraud.  Now, all studies of this phenomenon tell us that there is no serious voter fraud in this country. But Trump insists to the contrary. 

Now Trump lies, all the time, so his word on this important issue cannot be believed. If it would benefit him, he will lie, every time. He cannot help himself. He lies, I think because he doesn’t even know he is lying. He just says whatever he thinks will sound good for him. If he can dream up some issue that will help him to win an election, or even to forestall an election, he will lie.  He has even (joked??) indicated that he might “stay on” beyond 2020. See, he doesn’t understand or believe in democracy. He simply wants what he wants, and cares not how he gets it.  I rather imagine, having been emboldened, that he really believes he could go out on Fifth Avenue, shoot someone, and simply walk away. That’s who he is.

Lately, his emboldened personality has been a revenge rampage. He has been firing good people who he thinks have wronged him, people like Lt. Colonel Vindman and his twin brother. He also ordered the firing of Gordon Sondland. Vindman and Sondland were fired because they agreed to testify against him in the hearing. Some think those firings may have broken the law, but nobody seems to care about such things, because we have seemingly thrown away all of our standards. In a recent tweet, several legal experts have used Twitter to speak out and call Trump’s firing of Vindman a violation of federal law prohibiting retaliatory acts against witnesses. University of Alabama law professor Joyce Alene tweeted, “Vindman’s brother was fired & walked out alongside him. Understand, Trump can now come for anyone who gets in his way, he can retaliate against family. The people who wouldn’t do the right thing for its own sake should know that day can come for them too.”

So, thanks to Senate Republicans, we are now in some Land of Oz, where none of our standards as a civilized society operate. We may in fact be approaching 1933 Germany, where German politicians and even ordinary citizens began looking the other way, as Hitler began distorting the German system of governance, leading to his complete takeover and the beginning of what he declared as the 1,000 year Reich. I know, it seems far fetched, and his supporters decry such comparisons. But he is already responsible for children dying at our southern border. He is threatening responsible citizens everywhere, should they have the nerve and decency to stand up to him. He is distorting and even destroying our system of Justice—see his invasion (Barring??) of the process of sentencing Roger Stone, leading to the resignations of the Justice trial attorneys. 

And Senate republicans seem fine with all that, because Senate Republicans no longer have any standards of decency, or even Justice.

That is where we now stand, as we head into our election year, a year in which Trump has been unleashed to do his damnedest to destroy everything we hold dear. Republicans, have you no shame at all?