Let's stop pretending to be shocked, because none of us should be. Face it, if you're still shocked at the conduct of this president, I don't know what else I can say. And let's stop pretending that this is all just the meanderings of someone who is "new" to politics, as if that makes a damn bit of difference. I've been in the private sector my whole life and the things that this man has done would've gotten him fired on his first day on the job. And for the last fucking time, enough with the "When he is going to become presidential?" bullshit, because he isn't and he never was going to be.
And we elected him; maybe not the majority of us, but enough to give him the electoral college, and we're stuck with him for the next three and a half years, no matter how many investigations the Senate and the House conduct, and no matter what Robert Mueller digs up. And that's assuming Trump doesn't fire him over the summer. The fact is that so long as the GOP still has a use for him, they will never impeach him. They know he's a disgusting pig, but they will never stand up to him.
Oh a few "brave" Republican senators and congressmen called him out over his latest tweet about Mika Brezinski, but speaking out isn't the same thing as standing up, and Trump knows it. That's why he's not afraid. Predators never are, which is why most of them get away with their crimes. They prey on those they know they can bully and they rely on the silence of the indifferent.
And even in those rare moments when they get caught, they do what all predators do: they blame the victim. She provoked me, yes that was it. No sooner had the shit hit the fan than Trump sent his lackey, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, out to not only defend the offensive tweet, but justify it. They - Brezinski and Joe Scarborough - were mean to him and said bad things about him. And naturally having mean things said about him is all the impetus he needs to unload on someone. Swear allegiance to him and he's all smiles; turn on him and watch your back. Jesus, Michael Corleone had nothing on Trump.
I can understand Sean Spicer standing up on that podium in the White House briefing room and trying to dress up this turd; hell, I can even understand Mike Huckabee doing that. The last enlightened thought that entered his mind got flushed down a toilet years ago. But for the life of me, I cannot understand how any woman, regardless of political leanings, could defend a man like Trump. It boggles the mind. I still can't wrap my head around how Hillary got only 54 percent of the female vote last November. God only knows what the other 46 percent were thinking.
To call him a creep would be an insult to the millions of creeps out there, some of whom have never come close to groping a woman's pussy. And he's not nuts, no matter how many times people may infer it. People who are insane do not behave in such a methodical and deliberate fashion. He isn't Charlie Cheswick, he's Randle McMurphy. And the rest of us might as well be nurse Ratched.
But that doesn't mean there isn't something pathological going on here. A man, unable to control his basic impulses, paranoid of criticism, contemptuous of authority and lacking even the semblance of intellectual curiosity that the job demands actually has the nuclear launch codes that could start World War III. In all the years of the Bush Administration - and even those of the Reagan Administration - I was concerned about policies that I thought were wrong and would set back American relations years. Not once did I go to bed thinking I might not wake up. Over the last six months - Jesus, has it only been six months? - that thought has occurred to me several times.
And now this man child, who treats the Constitution like it's a piece of toilet paper, is attempting to solidify his grip on power. His scam commission on voter "fraud" has sent a letter to all 50 states "requesting" their voter data. That's right, Trump wants to know your name, your social security number, your address and, most importantly, your voting record. Folks, that's how despots take over a country: by first identifying and then eliminating their opponents. This is no longer about those three million phantom votes that were stolen from him in the last election; it's about the ten million votes that might go against him in the next.
This madness must stop. Someone must rise up and take a stand against this man. The courts? Well, if the recent Supreme Court decision that permitted part of his hideous Muslim ban to proceed is any indication, we are truly fucked. The GOP? This isn't 1974 and Trump isn't Nixon. Nixon, at least, had the good sense to know when it was over and resigned before he was impeached. Trump will take the whole damn country down with him rather than cry uncle.
The media? Well, despite some recent and great reporting in The New York Times and The Washington Post, most of the main-stream media has gone along for the ride. Oh they've barked now and then, but they continue to show up for their daily briefings of dog food, and whenever Lord Fauntleroy holds one of his Nuremberg rallies, they can't resist broadcasting it live. And you thought dogs were hopelessly loyal.
I have begged the cable news networks repeatedly to pull the plug on Trump, as have others, but to no avail. Like crack addicts, they can't go two minutes without their fix. Trump this and Trump that. What will he tweet next time? Christ, even parents know when to give their kids a timeout.
The Democrats? Don't make me gag. They're still stuck in the past, pitifully re-litigating the 2016 presidential election. Their hatred of Trump, while laudable, will not get them back into power, just like it failed to retain it last November. And from what I've seen, there's zero evidence that an epiphany is on its way. The midterms are looming and things don't look very promising.
That leaves it up to us: the citizens. Those of us who are appalled at the actions of this president and his apologists must make our voices heard load and clear. We must not be cowed by threats of intimidation. We must resist the false equivalence argument that this administration throws out. There is no equivalence at work here for the simple reason that we have never witnessed such a revolting display from a sitting president. Even Nixon would've blushed and said, "Shit, compared to this guy I was Gandhi."
Our standing in the world has been seriously compromised. Our allies are wary of our intentions and our foes are drooling with eager anticipation at the harm they might visit upon us. North Korea remains a real and present threat, as is the specter of a cyber attack, and the way this president has cavalierly undermined his security apparatus, has left this country in a precarious position.
Throughout history, empires have been brought to their knees, usually by outside forces. The battle of Carthage is a classic example. What is going on here looks more and more like a modern-day version of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Only in this instance, it was the emperor who lit the match and we who fiddled.
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