The Inevitability of Trump

Well, here we are.

With DeSantis's departure, the GOP nomination field for President has whittled from fourteen to two.

And, hey, Nikki Haley, who are we kidding? 

It's coming into focus--the GOP nominee will be Trump

The GOP nominee will be Trump.

Polls show Trump with an average margin over Haley of fourteen points in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. And, for the following week, Trump's up an astounding 36% in SC over South Carolina's favorite daughter. So, even if somehow, some way, Nikki Haley were to garner more New Hampshire votes than Trump, it would just delay the inevitable: Donald Trump, the twice-impeached, four-time indicted, 91-felony-count-facing, sexual-assault-liable, business-fraud, former US President--despite facing charges of hoarding classified US documents and promoting conspiracy theories to overturn an election--will be anointed the GOP's nominee to run for president.

Unbelievably, you read that right. 

As it stands right now, even more than half the US GOP Senators--some of whom have called Trump a "con artist," a "pathological liar," or a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot"--have now endorsed his candidacy. The same party with lawmakers who claimed Trump's rhetoric was responsible for January 6 are now embracing the candidate who, as President, disregarded the US Constitution and attempted to thwart democracy. And, in the very near future, it will be official.

The Republicans want this despicable, bullying, narcissist as their president--this man who lost the 2020 White House, House, and Senate, and brought embarrassing numbers to the GOP in 2022, as well. 

Fortunately, it isn't exclusively up to the spineless/gullible morons who have cast their lot with Trump.

Despite most polls calling a Biden/Trump rematch in a dead heat (i.e., most are within the margin of error), polls also show that Trump's support would drop double digits if he were convicted.

Well, that's assuming that the voters they polled follow through on their morals and convictions more than most in the GOP have done.

If so, then, despite Trump's inevitable nomination, his ascendency to the presidency will be anything but.

Just like Ron DeSantis, Trump will not spend the next four years in the White House.

It's inevitable.

ADDENDUM: Politico just published (1/22) a thorough analysis of Trump's court cases and electability: Will Trump’s Jan. 6 Trial Take Place Before the Election? - POLITICO

Racism: Today's "Trump Daily Despicability" Entry

Today's entry into the Trump Despicability Index is no secret: Trump is racist.

And he knows how to play his racist audience for support.

Trump's racist assertions about Haley are lies

He's previously done so quite obviously: promoting Confederate "values" with his "Fine people, on both sides" comment about Charlottesville, or his inspiring of the ultra-racist and Trump-supporting Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" during a Presidential debate when asked to condemn their repulsive tenets of white supremacy.

Now, just as he did for Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, and Kamala Harris, Trump has added Nikki Haley to his resume of racism by promoting the baseless and disgusting conspiracy lie that she, too, is ineligible for the presidency because she is--wait for it--not a US-born citizen.

Um, except she is (as are Obama, Cruz, and Harris).

Haley was born, indisputably, in the US--in Bamberg, South Carolina.

And, according to the US Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment (which also talks about disqualification for insurrection, btw), "All persons born...in the United States...are citizens of the United States..."

So, why does Trump do this?

Because he wants the racism daily double--he thinks his doing so will "delegitimize" a political opponent (who is not "white" like him and his followers) AND he gets to rally and infuriate his gullible and angry base of deplorable voters that are still burning from the "indignity" of a Black man being elected US President in 2008.

And, in this heavily MAGA anti-immigrant climate (well, non-European immigrant, anyway), it's just a bonus for Trump's rabid base that Haley's parents were both immigrants (who, btw, Trump says are "poisoning the blood of our country").

Hmm, also immigrants were Harris's parents and Cruz's father (Obama's Kenyan dad had been studying in the US with his Kansas-born wife when Barack was born). (Parenthetically, Melania's an immigrant, too, albeit of white, European heritage).

This isn't a coincidence.

And this isn't a mistake.

This is a former president and current candidate for that office purposely playing the racist card to pull the cockroaches from the dark recesses of our society out into the light so they will cast their votes for him.

THAT'S Trump's strategy.

If that's not despicable, nothing is. 

Trump: Daily Despicability

Inmate #PO1135809

Donald Trump is despicable.

He doesn't care about the people.

He doesn't care about the law.

And he continues to prove it day after day.

Men wait outside a soup kitchen
 during the Great Depression

Yesterday, he said he hoped the US economy collapses in the next year (essentially so it wouldn't hurt him politically if he was elected President)--not taking into account the loss of businesses, the loss of jobs, the short- and long-term suffering and effects on our fellow citizens that MAGA insists Trump cares about so much. 

Nope. He hopes the economy crashes now so it won't affect his image.

And, just this morning, in his presidential immunity trial, Trump's team--defending the self-proclaimed "Law and Order" President--argued that a President couldn't be criminally charged with having his political rivals assassinated unless he had been first impeached and convicted of that in Congress.

Actual text from today's federal appeals court hearing:

Judge: Could a president who ordered SEAL team 6 to assassinate a political rival and is not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution?

Trump lawyer: If he were impeached and convicted first.

Think about that. 

Trump's team is arguing that a US President could have his political rivals murdered, and if the Senate was spineless/immoral enough not to vote to convict the President in an impeachment trial (as happened in Trump's insurrection impeachment trial because Senators feared violence directed towards their families, or because some Senators clung to the weak argument that it wasn't proper to convict a, by then, former President), that the once-President would be able to walk away scot-free.

No one would be safe in Trump's America

That means if Biden ordered such assassinations now, he couldn't be charged unless he was convicted in the Democrat-controlled Senate. And if the Democratic Senator votes were affected by fear of violence or personal political repercussions or because of peer-pressure or lack of moral/ethical turpitude, Biden would happily railroad off into the sunset.

And that's what Trump thinks is acceptable?

My, God.

On second thought, despicable doesn't even begin to describe him.

Our Country's on Fire

A fire alarm sounds. Rational people get the hell out of the building. They don't stay, even if Frank from accounting tells them there's no fire, even while the office burns around them. 

To those that don't heed the alarm, bad things happen, especially to Frank. And to those that believed him.

Incredibly, that's where we find our country. Too many people believe Frank.

On the ignominious anniversary of Trump siccing his violent mob on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, numerous politicians and organizations are sounding the alarm about Donald Trump and what his power grab then--and ostensibly, in the future--will mean for democracy and the United States.

Rational people think, "Danger!" 

Trump supporters think, "Frank from accounting said this isn't a problem."

Video from that day shows Trump supporters attacking police, ransacking the US Capitol, and chanting to hang Trump's own vice-president--these people Trump and his followers now cheer as "Patriots." Those arrested and awaiting trial for their alleged crimes, Trump calls "hostages." Trump's political rallies play videos of his minions overrunning the Capitol, with the background music of the insurrectionists singing the national anthem and Trump reciting the pledge.

As rational people know, Trump engineered the event ("Be there, will be wild!") after cultivating doubt about a fair election among his many gullible and angry followers for months--spewing disproven conspiracies ranging from ballot-switching Dominion election machines to voting from scores of dead voters (for which Trump's claim has helped bring a Georgia arrest).

And the flames, people, are raging. 

Trump vows retribution. He threatens witnesses. He has laid out a road map for what his chaotic and vengeful presidency would be. He and his campaign have again refused to say they would accept results if he doesn't win.

But the GOP doesn't seem to care. Trump can do no wrong. 

And the gullible GOP followers think the same thing--even an astounding 34% of them believe that US law enforcement actually organized and encouraged the Trump-incited, disgraceful and horrific January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

The building is on fire.

For God's sake, don't listen to Frank.

Trump, the GOP, and a pair of political wishes for 2024

No matter how you view it, politically, 2023 was grim.

Most days brought head-shaking news from the GOP. 

From in-House GOP bickering to the House expulsion of George Santos to lining up a fact-free impeachment of the Democratic president to, stunningly, presenting as their BEST CHOICE to run for president in 2024, an ethically-bereft, twice-impeached insurrectionist facing 91 felony charges in four different courts, who has promised, if elected, to obtain the apparently Confederate-inspired goal of "retribution."

Amazingly (and, truly, terrifyingly so), 2024 doesn't look as though it might be any better.

But our country needs it.

That said, here are my two political wishes for the new year.

First off (and less important than my second wish), I hope the House GOP gets it together. 

They took fifteen votes to elect a Speaker and then ousted him. GOP members physically and verbally assaulted one another. They scrutinized Biden's bank records attempting to prove that a documented loan repayment from his brother and car payments from his son are really evidence of impeachable offenses. And they continued to bend over backwards to appease the demagogue that is the head of the GOP: twice-impeached, four-time-indicted, former president Donald J. Trump.

And it's been done to the detriment of legislating--neglecting pressing needs such as gun control and immigration to pass an historically few number of bills.

I understand that GOP functionality is an enormous ask, though. Hopefully, there will arise a few (or at least one or two?) principled GOP lawmakers to take a stand for what's right. 

The country needs it.

But, sadly, I wouldn't count on it.

My far more fervent wish, and an even bigger ask, I'm afraid, pertains to the upcoming trials of the GOP presidential frontrunner.

Although my hope is that justice will be served, my wish is much more than that.

Juries of my fellow citizens--and their court officers--will hear evidence to determine Trump's guilt or innocence.

Obviously, they'll have to put aside preconceived biases to reach just verdicts.

But it won't be that easy. 

They'll also have to navigate their fear for the physical safety of themselves and their families if they decide to render a guilty verdict--something even U.S. Senators couldn't overcome during Trump's second impeachment, despite recognizing his guilt.

The same fear and threats of violence likely experienced by the District Attorney of Fulton County, GA, or the Washington insurrection trial judge, or the DA's office in New York, or the four Colorado Supreme Court members that found Trump should be removed from the primary ballot (notably, those Colorado Justices voting in favor of Trump WEREN'T threatened by Biden supporters).

So, my wish is that the juries will be able to render fair judgements. And that the threats made by the gullible, evil minions of Trump's army will not be able to thwart such decisions. And that those brave souls serving the country in the U.S. Courts will remain safe.

Our country needs it.

God bless America.

Of COURSE, there's US racism

Someone told me they believed the balance of power between white Americans and Black Americans has evened out since the 1960’s. After all, laws have been passed to reduce discrimination, right? There's more crime in Black-populated communities! And, for goodness sakes, we even elected a Black man to the presidency!  So, how in the world is it that anyone believes that Black Americans are still oppressed?

Simple (or maybe, more accurately, not so simple): a system’s balance of power doesn’t even out in a lifetime.

Or even many lifetimes.

And that power structure started with the first vile act of oppression.

A brief history:

Africans were ripped from their lives and enslaved (as, too, were Indigenous Americans, which is a topic for another day). Then, despite centuries of dehumanization and abuse—and with, because of the abhorrent system, little to no opportunity for education, community, or financial gain--their descendants persevered. The traitorous Confederacy (proclaiming Blacks were inferior and should be enslaved) lost, finally bringing those in enslavement the most basic of human rights, freedom.

But freedom isn’t equality.

Suddenly, there were 12% more free people in the US, Americans who, within the system, had no homes, no finances, and little education. The vast majority were relegated to living in poverty. The “system” didn’t help. Governments codified discrimination via Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, which—especially when combined with persisting attitudes and perceptions—denied educational, housing, voting, and job opportunities to Black Americans (who, because of skin color, were easily singled out). By the time of the Civil Rights push in the 1960s, Black Americans had already endured generations of inequality in the system which generally led to less opportunity for things such as education and financial gain (note: the wealth gap between Black Americans and white Americans continues to increase). Laws designed to reduce disparity and discrimination were passed, but racist and discriminatory attitudes persisted. And they still do. Generations of such policies and treatment that limit opportunity often lead to poverty, which, studies show, is a very difficult inheritance to overcome.

It's true that a higher percentage of people in poverty commit more crime than those not in poverty—regardless of ethnicity—often due to the psychological effects of hopelessness and desperation. Desperate, hopeless people sometimes also turn to drugs, which fuels their own criminal actions as well as that of a community’s drug trade and influence.

Sometimes, crime, instead, is a reaction to a perception of systemic inequality in things such as law enforcement and justice (such as in the summer of infrequently violent protests in reaction to the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis).

And the system reinforces that perception. Those with less education—which correlates directly with poverty—receive longer jail sentences for the same crimes than those with more, likewise as do Black Americans compared to white Americans.

Even not-in-poverty Senator Tim Scott has discussed his experiences with systemic racism, including discriminatory judgments towards him from Capitol police or times (as an elected official) he was stopped for “nothing more than driving a new car in the wrong neighborhood, or some other reason just as trivial.”

Regarding Obama’s election, which some say proves there is no racism in America, studies show his mere presence in the White House actually increased polarization along racial lines (he lost the white American vote by 12 points in 2008 and 20 points in 2012). In 2016, Clinton’s position as a champion for racial equality swung even more such voters to Trump.

Obviously, systemic racism is still here.  And despite what some politicians and their followers insist, Black Americans aren’t the ones pulling the strings. Ingrained societal perceptions and long-time “norms” set up and perpetuated by the white American majority are doing that. Similar patterns are found in the histories of traditionally oppressed people throughout the world.

And personal racism is here, too. In 2020, for example, the FBI noted a 40% increase in hate crimes toward Black Americans. Black Americans are still the number one target of hate crimes.

So, whether or not someone chooses to believe that racism towards Black Americans—in policies and attitudes—exists in the United States, research and history prove that, so horribly, it does.

The GOP goes "fact-free"

House Republicans have gone "fact-free."

The House GOP tries
its new "fact-free" diet

After more than a year of investigations into their fanciful allegations of Joe Biden malfeasance, they have formalized an impeachment inquiry of President Biden--only the sixth one in the history of our country--without the slightest evidence of any "high crimes or misdemeanors" that are required for an actual impeachment. 

Instead, they've uncovered evidence of a loan repayment from Biden's brother, and about $4000 in payments connected to his son Hunter's truck.

They've heard witnesses, under oath, declare they didn't think the President ever had anything to do with the financial business dealings of his son.

They've had their own members, such as earlier Senate Biden investigator co-chair Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, say there's no "hard proof" connecting Joe to any wrongdoing (Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland gave a thorough and scathing response to earlier GOP accusations here).

It's not the same as a previous formal inquiry when Trump was first investigated/impeached for (documented) withholding of Congressionally-approved aid to Ukraine, asking a foreign government for the "favor" of campaign assistance through announcing an investigation into his chief political opponent.

It's not even like when Bill Clinton was investigated/impeached for lying under oath about having an affair with a staffer.

Nope.

To be accurate, no evidence is required to launch an impeachment inquiry.

But it highlights some important GOP priorities--not for the country, but for itself.

Inmate #P01135809

It deflects the actual malfeasance (and two impeachments and 91 felony indictments and liability for sexual assault and defamation and business fraud) of the GOP's frontrunner (unbelievably so) for its 2024 presidential run, Donald Trump. 

And it should take their members' minds off pesky issues such as supporting allies around the world or funding the government before its January default date or having discussions about gun laws or immigration reform. 

So, a GOP-led House--that removed its own Speaker (for the first time in history) and expelled one of its own members (only previously done five times ever)--has now formalized an impeachment inquiry for only the sixth time in the history of our nation.

And this one is fact-free.

Stephen Colbert's take: