Dear Danielle,
I just read your op-ed in The Washington Post. Actually, I was sorta compelled to read it because a good friend of mine on Facebook for some strange reason thought it was important enough for me and others to read. Clearly, it must've been a slow day up in his neck of the woods.
From the gist of your piece, you are considering voting for Donald Trump in 2020 because you fear the "leftward lurch" of the Democratic Party. You write the following,
What is there to be afraid of? I fear that former vice president Joe Biden would be a figurehead president, incapable of focus or leadership, who would run a teleprompter presidency with the words drafted by his party’s hard-left ideologues. I fear that a Congress with Democrats controlling both houses — almost certainly ensured by a Biden victory in November — would begin an assault on the institutions of government that preserve the nation’s small “d” democracy. That could include the abolition of the filibuster, creating an executive-legislative monolith of unlimited political power; an increase in the number of Supreme Court seats to ensure a liberal supermajority; passage of devastating economic measures such as the Green New Deal; nationalized health care; the dismantling of U.S. borders and the introduction of socialist-inspired measures that will wreck an economy still recovering from the pandemic shutdown.
I fear the grip of Manhattan-San Francisco progressive mores that increasingly permeate my daily newspapers, my children’s curriculums and my local government. I fear the virtue-signaling bullies who increasingly try to dominate or silence public discourse — and encourage my children to think that their being White is intrinsically evil, that America’s founding is akin to original sin. I fear the growing self-censorship that guides many people’s every utterance, and the leftist vigilantes who view every personal choice — from recipes to hairdos — through their twisted prisms of politics and culture. An entirely Democratic-run Washington, urged on by progressives’ media allies, would no doubt only accelerate these trends.
There was also some drivel about Biden's "national security positions" that I'll leave for another day, or perhaps another century, since this is the last time I plan on reading anything from you. Take it from me: just because your fingers have the capacity to type out words on a keyboard doesn't make you a writer.
My overall assessment of your piece? Blow it out your ass, lady! No, really, blow it out your ass!
Seriously, a megalomaniac is currently residing in the White House and it's Biden's lack of focus and leadership you're afraid of? What are you smoking?
Your concern that Democratic-control of both houses of Congress would automatically lead to passage of the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and open borders reveals a staggering lack of understanding for just how the Senate works and how diverse the Democratic Party truly is. Assuming they do retake the Senate this November, Democrats will be fortunate to wind up with 51 seats. The last time I checked, Joe Manchin and Jon Tester were hardly part of the Bernie Sanders' wing of the party. Not only would none of the bills you fear get the requisite 50 plus votes to pass, I seriously doubt they would make it out of committee. In essence, all would be dead on arrival, that is of course assuming Nancy Pelosi even allowed them to get a vote in the House, which she probably wouldn't. This might come as a surprise to you and others of your ilk, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib don't have nearly as much clout as you seem to think they do. In fact, even within the caucus, they are the minority; a loud minority to be sure, but a minority just the same.
Regarding your beloved filibuster, maybe it's high time that archaic contraption be put out of its misery. For too long, the Senate has been the place where bills go to die. In the good old days, a Senator was required to stand in the chamber and literally filibuster a bill. Now all he or she has to do is threaten to filibuster and a bill goes up in flames. If that's your idea of small "d" democracy, I'll pass, Danielle. The reason a majority of voters have been saying for years that the country is headed in the wrong direction is because nothing gets done in Washington. Maybe if members in both houses were able to vote on actual legislation without said legislation being blocked by leadership, more would get done and more people would be optimistic about their government.
And that second paragraph in which you bemoan "Manhattan-San Francisco progressive mores" and "virtue-signaling bullies" is laughable on its face. Have you taken a good look at some of the people who attend Trump's rallies? Now that's cancel culture on steroids. And knock it off with the "white is evil" schtick. Nobody's asking white people to apologize for their station in life. But a little humility for how blessed we've been wouldn't kill any of us. Ever hear of the story of the man who walked a mile in someone else's shoes? That's what they're talking about, Danielle. Get a grip.
But let's cut to the chase, shall we? Personally I could give a shit about your opinions on healthcare or climate change. You make enough money writing those scratch offs you call op-eds to not worry about getting sick and you'll be dead and buried long before the worst effects of climate change are felt by this planet's population. But how the fuck can you shrug off Trump's worst proclivities as "general crudeness," especially since you admit later on that "his bizarrely isolationist attitude toward international trade will hurt the U.S. economy and splinter the global trading juggernaut that over the past half-century has brought the world amazing prosperity, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty?"
For your edification, as we speak, Trump's consigliere Bill Barr is considering charging protestors and a sitting mayor with sedition. The Sedition Act is something we reserve for people who threaten to topple the U.S. government, not for people who protest, even if some of them are violent. He's also made it clear that he will stop at nothing to make sure Trump wins the election, even if it means violating every norm and rule of law on the books. And speaking of il Duce, he's now undercutting his own head of the CDC because apparently he had the audacity to say a vaccine might not be readily available until 2021. If Biden is the candidate in this race that really keeps you up nights, I pray you never find out how truly wrong you are. The sad truth is you're too dumb to realize you're being played.
Like Matt Lewis and Rich Lowry, I suspect what bugs you most about Trump isn't his policies, but how transparent he is. You don't hate what he's doing, you just wish he'd be a little more discreet about it. The racism, the infantile rantings, the gross incompetence, the overt corruption, all are forgivable so long as Democrats don't win the White House and the Senate. Right, because Republicans have been such responsible stewards of the economy whenever they've been in power. During the Reagan and Bush 43 years, for instance, the national debt of this country tripled and doubled respectively. But by all means, please give us a lecture on economics, Danielle.
Like I've been saying for quite some time now, it is a fool's errand for Democrats to try and court reluctant Republicans and wayward conservatives like you over to their side. All it gets them is grief. It was nice that Jeff Flake and John Kasich discovered just enough of a spine to take one for the team, but you and I both know they're the exception, not the rule. Deep down, most Republicans are more like you. Trump's "mendacity" may rub them the wrong way, but not nearly enough to abandon ship. When push comes to shove, they know where their bread is buttered.
You should read Alexandria Petri's piece in the Post when you get the chance. She's got you pegged pretty good. I wish I had her gift for sarcasm; I'm more blunt. When I see stupidity and hypocrisy, I can't resist calling it out.
Bottom line, lady, you may be a piece of work, but you're hardly unique. In fact, you and what's left of your precious Grand Old Party deserve one another.
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