Taking Advantage of Trump

If we do our jobs properly as Americans (NOT just as liberals/Democrats, but as Americans), Donald Trump is in for a world of hurt come January 20, 2017. It is very obvious that he and the Republican Party in general think he will essentially be the “boss” of the United States of America. If you bother to look at the things he says and does and the appointments he’s making without reacting to them in a knee-jerk manner, you will find that Trump thinks he will get to do whatever he wants and that no one will object because they’re afraid to do so. It is also clear that he plans to delegate his duties as president to others and that he will get away with that. He has no concept that the president is actually a public servant, which means he works for us. If we do our job properly as citizens, we can use that to our advantage.

Of course, we have to do our job properly, which will require that many far left (unicorn) progressives change strategy for a while. Aw, hell, they have to do this permanently. We haven’t had the luxury of losing elections for a long time, and it’s time more “progressives” understood that. It’s not enough to put pressure on Trump – that part will be easy, since Donald (Sorry, but I will never call him “President Trump” in an informal setting) has never worked for someone else in his life. However, we have to make the entire Republican Party a target. That’s not really hard; they’ve been in charge for most of the last 40 years and they haven’t accomplished shit. Actually, let me re-state that; they have accomplished shit, and only shit. The only good thing they have ever done is the Medicare Part D prescripion program, and they screwed that up so bad, the ACA had to fix it. That’s why it’s puzzling that so many on the left don’t get that the first step to a progressive country is getting rid of the current incarnation of the GOP. How much do they have to fuck up before unicorn progressives figure out that getting rid of them is more important than perfecting the Democratic Party?

Trump should help to make that easier. As progressives, we should be all over him like flies on a pile of shit. He is a pile of shit, after all. This is a guy who didn’t really want to be president; he just wanted to win the election and be the “Boss of America.” He has no concept of what the job entails. He thinks it’s like running the Trump Organization, which it most certainly is not. And we now how the Trump Organization works; they’ve had more business failures than successes and he doesn’t run shit, anyway, he delegates everything. We have to make it clear from DAY ONE that he and the rest of the Republican Party will not take anyone’s healthcare from them. We have to make it clear that they work for us, not the other way around and that we will not allow them to cut the budget in ways that hurt us. When the unemployment rate increases (it will), we have to make sure everyone knows that it always increases under Republican rule and that it’s always Democrats who bail out the economy. When they try to jam through tax cuts for the rich (they will), we have to make sure they know that they have to offset that loss of revenue through cuts in the defense budget, not education and programs for the poor. When the deficit increases, we have to make it crystal clear that Democrats bring budgets into balance, while Republicans have a habit of blowing up the deficit. There is no such thing as a “fiscally responsible” Republican these days.

All of this is crucial. We can’t give Republicans even a little bit of breathing room. Yeah, they are probably going to get away with a few things, but we have to make clear to everyone that the GOP is a disaster for this country on the whole. Not just Trump, but the entire GOP. And we have to be relentless. No, I am not talking about “organizing” and marching. I’m talking about constantly contacting YOUR members of Congress and all of YOUR state legislators and letting them know the level of opposition that is out there. Make them afraid to do stupid shit. Make them fear losing their jobs. Did I say we have to be relentless?

And do the same to Trump. This is a guy who places being popular far above being effective, so let’s use that to our benefit. The one thing that scares Trump more than anything is the specter of a failed presidency. He can’t accept failure. I mean, look at how he lies on Twitter about the popular vote. He HATES being unpopular. We also know goddamn well that Trump doesn’t actually believe the shit he said during the campaign. He’s on record saying the opposite over the course of many years. When he tries to fulfill his campaign promises, we have to let him know just how unpopular they are. Flood the White House switchboard. Flood the White House email system. Make sure all of the polls are bad for him by touting his failure at every turn.

I believe we can make Trump do some of the right things, but only if we make sure he is seen as a failure as president. However, more important is that we make sure everyone knows that he is the leader of a failed political party, for once. Put away your “both parties are the same” bullshit forever, and play up what abject failures that entire party is. Target the GOP and be relentless about it. Trump wants to be popular and most Republicans want to in reelection more than anything. That’s why, more than ever, it is important to play up the fact that governing is not the same as campaigning and to make sure everyone is aware what an absolute failure the Republican Party is. It can’t be hard. This blog features a great comparison of blue vs. red states (source). Blue states tend to be great places to live, while red states are veritable hellholes. Let’s make sure people know that. Also, everyone should know that debt and deficits do matter, and that virtually all of the debt increases have come at the hands of Republicans. Make sure people know that the Great Depression was caused by Republican policies and that virtually every recession since the end of World War II was caused by Republicans. It is not coincidence that the worst recessions in the last 50 years have all come during Republican administrations. List all of the programs that Democrats created and compare it to those championed by the GOP.

It’s time we targeted the entire Republican Party that gave us Donald Trump and George W. Bush, and it’s time we started championing Democrats over them. We have not had the luxury of nitpicking Democrats for a long time and it’s time every liberal understood that. If a bill passes the House with five Democrats voting for it and you think you’re politically savvy by pissing on the five Democrats, rather than the 230 Republicans, you’re part of the problem. If a Democrat in the Senate puts a hold on a bill and you focus on the handful of Democrats who rhetorically support the bill, you are a fool and part of the problem. When Democrats are in the minority and you slam any of them for their “voting record,” you’re politically ignorant. And if you don’t understand that some Democrats represent conservative districts and states and don’t have the luxury of being as “progressive” as Maxine Waters, stop telling us you’re a “political junkie” because you’re too ignorant to be that.

If we focus on the Republican Party and make clear that a lot of people are against everything they stand for, we can accomplish two things. We can force Donald to perhaps abandon the GOP in favor of his actual core political beliefs, which are actually more moderate, but we can also make the GOP so toxic that neither he nor any reasonable voter can possibly vote for one in 2018. Be relentlessly anti-GOP and we can bring liberalism back to the United States. Trump is pliable because he has no principles; he wants to be liked and admired. Let’s use that to our benefit, for once. Let’s make 2018 our year by targeting the GOP and making voting for Democrats a priority. And by all means, let’s neutralize Trump by turning him against his own party. It can be done.


Taking Advantage of Trump — 7 Comments

  1. I’m thinking we’re too late. Hate to be a pessimist, but I’ve seen this coming with the GOP for years, and yet, the public is first getting to understand how the GOP has failed America, while growing their own bank accounts. We’ve let this metastasize. The Popular Vote speaks loud & clear. Like the Red Line in Syria, this is the Red Line in America. We have been crossed, like never before. We have 12 days left. There will be a civil war. You can count on it. Our people will be going into war for Trump in no time at all. This can never be accepted. It’s NOW OR NEVER!

    • We, the people can stop it. We do have the power. Pessimism does no one any good. We only win through hope, not despair. And we have to win.


    Ted Rall just doodled a cartoon, suggesting that maybe Trump might not intend to keep the worst of the horrible promises he made.

    So both parties are exactly alike and everything will be OK, so long was we keep the perfidious Democrats away from power.

  3. “Put away your “both parties are the same” bullshit forever…”

    This, Milt. I certainly hope it happens, but…I wonder if there are too many purists who just CAN’T do that. But it is something that MUST be done, because it is false. Both parties are not the same, have not been the same for years.

    • They have NEVER been the same. Never! Republicans just fill the air with rhetoric that makes them sound like Democrats, and when it gets down to the vote, they hall out the good old GOP agenda that shrinks the middle class and concentrates even more wealth at the top.

      We need to get out and vote at a grassroots level. Start yesterday!