Category: Uncategorized

Outdone by Trump

It has been a while since I posted.

Trump is a special case. I have disagreed with many past presidents on policy. I agree with little Trump has done.

But more than that, I just feel embarrassed by his presidency. His abject failure to show any quality that I admire just makes me sad. He makes bad decisions faster than I could possibly comment on them. So I’m no longer going to focus on him as a daily travesty. When warranted, I’ll say something. But I’ll be spending time on other topics more now.

‘Blame Obama’ game

Trump’s is now saying former president Obama is orchestrating the protests against Trump.

There’s no evidence, but we’ve come to expect Trump to make unsubstantiated claims.

Trump’s real purpose is to delegitimize the protests in the minds of his supporters. First he paints Obama as some kind of bogey man and says the protests are all because of him. Then Trump’s supporters can view protesters as some mindless army of Obama-directed drones, and no longer consider whether the protesters have some legitimate complaints that should be considered. (Yes, I see the irony.)

It’s a cheap mind game. But, sadly, it will be very effective.

Corporatist, globalist media

Steve Bannon decried news coverage, saying it was run by “corporatist, globalist media.”

Trump is corporatist.

Trump is far more global than most US media companies.

Yet this statement got cheers from the conservative convention where Bannon was speaking.

People weren’t listening to what Bannon was saying. They were listening to how he said it. And because of that, they cheered a statement that, in my mind, doesn’t make sense.

Shouldn’t they be booing the corporate, global Trump if they really believed this?

Deflection and distraction

Trump’s press conference on Feb. 16 was a skillful sideshow that allowed him to determine the headlines on the next day’s papers and the rest of the day’s TV news coverage.

Sadly, most of the major media fell into the trap.

The real news from that conference is that he said nothing of importance, and tried to blame others for the chaos in his administration, be that Barack Obama or the news media.

What he didn’t say:

  • He takes responsibility
  • He has a solid plan to settling things down

The news media isn’t trusted by a majority of Americans. This is especially true for people who identify as Republicans, and I would speculate media distrust is even higher among Trump’s most loyal supporters.

And when coverage focuses on Trump’s attitude toward the news media, it runs the risk of appearing self important. Maybe it even is. I don’t much care what Trump thinks of the media, but the media clearly does.

By spouting allegations of “fake news” whenever he is criticized,  Trump is able to draw attention where he wants it. The news media need to stop falling for this subterfuge.

UPDATE: Here’s a good analysis of the situation.

Time for a plan

There is so much to be upset and angry about these days, it’s easy to fall into reaction mode.

We absolutely need to call out the wrongs being done, but we also need to make sure we have a plan in place, a message to present, something for people embrace so they have an alternative to the easy-answers rhetoric of the Trump administration.

The message needs to be well honed. It needs to be short, sweet and powerful. There need to be details and facts to support the message, but that needs to be kept out of the way until needed. Simply having facts and details will be a differentiator.

But we (we being the broad range of people who object to Trump’s agenda) need to begin working on two things. One, coming up with a clear, powerful message. Two, deciding who will deliver the message.

I believe different parts of the message can come from different groups. But I think it’s important all the groups show unity.

Don’t be a fool

Trump is trying to play all of us for fools.

First, he is casting doubt on all critical news.  It’s a disturbing attempt to convince people that only the word of Trump is valid.

Second, he is creating chaos to pit us against each other. If people are fighting each other, then they’re not fighting him.

Don’t be a fool. Don’t blindly believe everything the media report. But don’t dismiss it. Certainly don’t believe everything Trump says. And don’t blame anyone but Trump for the things Trump does (except possibly Bannon).

Now is not the time to give up

We live in a democracy. We do not live under a system of government where we are excpected to accept the outcome of the last election and acquiesce.

Trump presents the greatest danger to our democracy I have seen in my lifetime. Part of that danger is relying on people to throw up their arms and stop caring enough to speak up.

That’s what will turn this country away from its democratic principles and turn us into an autocracy, a dictatorship, an authoritarian regime.

Protesters in Texas, ignored by their representative in their first request for an audience, say they plan to come back every week. That’s the spirit we need.

If we give up, we are doing nothing less than giving Trump all the tacit support he needs to continue to deprive all of us of our rights and freedom. Today it’s “Muslims” and “Mexicans.” Tomorrow it might well be you, and if you’re silent now, it will be too late then.

 

Working together, the smart way

A bill to sell off acres of federal land was pulled.

According to the article in The Hill, this effort was opposed by “conservation and sportsmen’s groups.”

I think there’s two important things to note about this success.

  1. The bill was opposed by groups that don’t always see eye to eye. While “just getting along” in this era of Trumpism is a bogus strategy, it’s also smart to find temporary allies. Don’t reserve alliances only for those who align very closely with you. Where there’s common ground, leverage it.
  2. The article makes it seem that the driving force behind getting this bill pulled was the efforts of a group that Trump himself is a member of.

This battle against seeming insanity need not force us to behave in shameful ways, descending to the level of those we oppose. But it will require we fight smart.