It’s time to prepare for the Trump sequel

I hate sequels.

Godfather II was OK, but most other sequels suck. I guarantee you the Trump sequel won’t be anywhere near as entertaining as Godfather II, though the body count promises to be much higher.

But don’t count me among the teary-eyed hand-wringers who wonder how the country I love so much has been flushed down the toilet. We got flushed when the Supreme Court gave presidents full immunity for “official” actions only the justices on the court can sanction. Pro tip: Don’t expect Joe Biden to take advantage of this tool, which may be the ultimate power in the U.S. political universe. The Star Chamber of the Supreme Court won’t side with him in any case. Darth Vader Trump, on the other hand, will get a free pass.

So, we are left facing another round of Trump insanity at the White House, brought to us by the same people who voted him in the first time but failed to get him elected in 2020. Three is either a charm or a curse – depending on your point of view – and there are plenty of people gloating or kvetching today.

The finger-pointing has begun. Screams of voter suppression and rigging the election are co-mingling with accusations that Attorney General Merrick Garland slow-walked the federal prosecutions against Trump and condemnation of Senator Mitch McConnell for failing to vote for a conviction during Trump’s second impeachment. 

Some say Vice President Harris spent too much time singing “Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy” while ignoring serious populist issues. Some say the elitism of the Democrats is equally obvious; they won’t accept the fact that most Americans won’t accept a woman – and especially a woman of color as president. All of that may be true.

The only concrete accusation so far is against Russian actors for calling in fake bomb scares to five Georgia precincts. That is a blatant act of war, but no one today is worried about that. 

They are worried — or joyful — about Trump and his sequel.

I’m reminded of a line in the film “Con Air” that aptly describes him. “He's a font of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry moments of levity actually cause him pain; gives him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts.”

To extend that comparison a bit, and using another line from “Con Air”, Trump’s election on any other day, might seem strange. But today it does not. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups, George Carlin warned us. Or, if you prefer a different take on it;

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” John F. Kennedy warned as he misquoted Edmund Burke.

The next step in the sequel comes when Congress certifies Trump’s win. It’s sure to come without the histrionics of the last election—though violence is prevalent in the United States, and I discount nothing at this point. But it will probably be relatively peaceful. Then we will witness an inauguration and a claim from Trump of a record number of attendees despite whatever the facts may bring. And then we get down to it.

In the next Trump administration, federal workers will be purged unless they sign loyalty oaths, immigrants will be rounded up, the National Guard and the military will be used by generals who’ve offered their fealty to Trump and MAGA and then it is really off to the races.

Trump, who now effectively owns the Senate, will get every criminal he wants approved and appointed to important posts in the government. The Democrats are hoping to take the House, but don’t hold your breath for that.

We face the prospect of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismantling the FDA (He’s already promised to do so), so goodbye to safe food and drugs. Project 2025 will be implemented and then we will dismantle the National Weather Service, Medicare, Social Security, women’s rights and a variety of other things most Trump supporters have come to rely upon. We’re facing massive tariffs, mass deportation and when it scuttles the economy, Trump will blame the Democrats and his 70 million plus voters will believe him.

Then again, for the last month Trump has told us the election is rigged. He claimed there was massive voter fraud in Philadelphia.  Maybe he was right. Of course, he hasn’t said anything since he won Pennsylvania.

He remains a pathetic bully, but the Democrats have failed to overcome him. Trump continues to lower the bar and the Democrats can’t manage to crawl over it. It is horribly pathetic.  Former Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh, who campaigned harder for Kamala Harris than he ever campaigned for any Republican says that is the biggest problem with the Democratic party; They don’t get it. “I’ve been saying it for years. We’re living in a populist moment. Working-class Americans are pissed off. Trump uses this populist moment to demagogue, lie to, and scare working-class Americans. Democrats have never recognized this populist moment.”  

Or, put another way, Trump, Elon Musk and other billionaires – including Jeff Bezos, have exploited the inherent anger against the donor and ruling class to continue to rule and dominate – as part of the ruling class. Makes sense when you figure out how numb many people are to facts, how horribly the press has communicated facts, how little most people think of those reporting the facts, and how gullible those very same people are. Few people have gone broke banking on American ignorance. Millions bought Milli Vanilli records and believe the WWE is “for real” so don’t act surprised that Trump won.

And while we want to point all the fingers we can at whoever we want, please remember the Walt Kelly cartoon “Pogo” and the quote, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Americans get the government they deserve, good and hard. It’s not good this time and it is going to be exceptionally hard. But, part of me channels my inner George Carlin, who also said, “I have found that over the last 20 to 30 years, somewhere in that span, I began to pull away from having a stake in any of this. I don’t really have an emotional stake in the outcome anymore, in terms of my caring. I don’t really give a f**k, when you get right down to it.”

George may have been overcompensating a bit for his extreme displeasure with the route this country took after the election of Ronald Reagan and who could blame him? Everything we see today is a result of trickle-down economics and Ronald Reagan’s embrace of the far right evangelical movement. 

A handful of companies own all the oil. A handful of companies operate most grocery stores and a handful of companies own and operate all of the news you digest. Garbage in and garbage out, controlled for the purposes of making the rich, richer, the poor poorer and utilizing the marginalized middle class to make it all happen.

Now, that sounds cheery as hell, and I won’t try to persuade you there isn’t cause for concern.

Just listening to family members who claim to be Christians supporting a man who is decidedly unchristian in his actions is enough to make you think we’re screwed. But, then again, what do you expect from an unserious man who pantomimes fellatio on a microphone, is obviously suffering a mental decline and has all of the appeal of a leper on crack? Turns out more than 71 million people like lepers on crack.

Ultimately, the Democrats, to paraphrase Walsh, need to look inward. While we were told of record voter turnout, the numbers don’t support it. It supports a record number of early voters, but Trump, so far, has received 2.5 million fewer votes than he did in 2020 while the Democrats have 14.5 million fewer. Proportionally, that’s not a good sign, even if the final numbers grow. The Democrats underperformed.

I blame George Clooney and his silly letter printed by the New York Times that trashed Joe Biden. Maybe the Democrats overreacted to Biden’s appearance in the first debate. Maybe not, but Clooney called Biden a friend and then trashed him publicly. With friends like that . . .

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Look, it’s all done. Trump is in. And part of me will be watching this one from the sidelines as I unhappily acknowledge that my granddaughter was born with fewer rights today than her mother had 30 years ago. That’s a serious problem.

Here’s the serious answer, from George Bernard Shaw:

 “This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

So, cry if you must, wring your hands, clutch your pearls and then get back into it.

Life is waiting. Don’t waste it.

“The fight for our freedom will take hard work, but . . .the fight for our country is always worth it,” Harris said in her concession speech Wednesday. “Don’t ever give up.”

If possible, also have a laugh.