I don’t know about you, but since November 8, 2016, I have felt depressed, defeated, unsafe, concerned, aghast, incredulous, scared shitless, angry, enraged, dumbfounded, speechless, and pissed off. I go through phases of watching a little national news but only last a few days before I just need a break again. It’s relentless. A bombardment of insanity. Of absurdity. And yet, it’s not just that the antics playing out in Washington, D.C. are absurd, it’s absurd that we are witnessing the potential demise of our democracy. What the hell happened to the grand experiment in democracy that is the American experience? Will American ideals of democracy fail? After all, the USSR's experiment with communism failed.
Make no mistake, I am vehemently opposed to Trump. To everything about him – as the President and even more so as a person. I do believe the American people need to have some open and honest discussions about issues his belligerent and in-your-face style has brought to the fore (e.g., immigration, both legal and illegal) but I do not find either his approach or potential "solutions" to be appropriate. Despicable is a good word to describe him and his minions. However, he is but a small player in the much darker and more dangerous endgame that the Republican Party elites have been engaging in for decades.
The endgame is power. They are greedy for it. So greedy they have turned a blind eye to morality, ethics, civility, and apparently the rule of law in order to systematically undermine and corrupt our democratic processes and institutions. And they have been doing it for years – trying to ensure a “permanent Republican majority” in US politics. You can even Google “permanent Republican majority” and get all kinds of articles about Karl Rove’s dream, and now Steve Bannon’s newer version of that dream.
While Trump, his family, administration and followers might be despicable, the lapse in judgment by the Republican Party (and in particular Republicans currently in Congress) of putting their party before country makes them even more deplorable. John McCain and Jeff Flake do not deserve special kudos for "speaking out" recently. Where was their indignation over the last seven years? Surely they are not just now realizing what they've been complicit in all along? Rather, I think perhaps this is just another political move on their part. Oh, the words and sentiment are long overdue, but instead of simply admitting that the Republican Party has gone astray, they both tried to blame Democrats as well! Not buying it. Sure, Democrats can play the politics game. But they have not engaged in a decades-long systematic process to undermine our democracy or Constitutional rights. Any political party who engages in such tactics does not deserve the confidence, trust, or vote of the American people.