CommentsBELL VIEW-I became a liberal during the first Bush Administration. Everything about George H.W. Bush – as quaint as that now seems – appalled me. I disliked him, his upbringing, his ancestors, his wife, and his kids. I became enamored with Bill Clinton (and blind to his many faults) for the simple reason that he could beat Bush. When Bush’s frat-boy son ascended to the presidency, my loathing filled every molecule of my being.
Then two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and – like 97% of Americans – I was ready to give George W. Bush the benefit of the doubt. Bush squandered that trust, and I soon came to loathe him again – but the shock of 9/11 caused many of us to rally round the flag and the president.
With the noose tightening around Donald Trump’s neck, those of us who oppose him need to keep focused on the mid-term elections this November. Last night, democrat Connor Lamb squeaked out a victory in a district Trump won by 20 in 2016. That’s good news – but Trump’s 37% approval rating pushed Lamb over the finish line. What would happen if Trump saw a 9/11-type bump just before November?
I don’t mean to get all Alex-Jonesy or anything, but we already know Russia actively worked to destabilize American democracy – such as it is. Last week, the Russians poisoned a double agent in central London.
Our president’s response to both events?
Meh.
If Putin decides to give Trump a temporary boost in approval ratings this October with a little improvised mayhem, what are the odds Trump gives Putin a mulligan and pockets the W?
What I’m saying is we need to stay focused on the singular goal of destroying this cancer on the land. Democrats were crowing about the 67% Democratic turnout in Western Pennsylvania this week. Yeah, that’s good – for America. But it’s not good enough. This Trump thing needs to be crushed. We need 80, 90 percent turnout. We need people carpooling to the polls, licking stamps for their elderly neighbors, and convincing the kids to put their phones down long enough to pull the lever for the nearest Democrat.
The Russians worked the 2016 election in two directions: pumping up angry white people with nonsense about brown hordes coming over the border to take their jobs and sneak cilantro into their meatloaf, while at the same time stoking the resentment of lefties with the hogwash that Hillary Clinton, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Diane Feinstein were no different from Donald Trump, Betsey DeVos, and Paul Ryan. It worked like a charm, and for pennies on the dollar. It doesn’t exactly take a John Le Carre to imagine a scene where Vladimir Putin decides one well-placed briefcase full of nerve gas could put the nail in this experiment in liberal democracy.
This thing is real, people. The Trumpists are working slowly toward consolidating a grip on power that will never go away. Last week, rumors started floating that Anthony Kennedy might retire in the Spring. Kennedy’s a mixed-bag – giving us Citizens United with one hand and legalizing gay marriage with the other. But a mixed bag’s better than a shit sandwich.
So – as long as we’re mixing metaphors – I’ll leave you with a quote from the great Herbert Hoover, who famously said, “Don’t drop anchor before you’re out of the woods.”
(David Bell is a writer, attorney, former president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and writes for CityWatch.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
