The media narrative for most of my life, combined with institutional racism, has kept the focus on black men and women as some sort of threat to the peace, safety and well-being of this nation.
Whether we want to admit this or not, it has appeared in our public life in both subtle and not subtle ways.
All the while, legions of ignorant white men were being turned into weaponized goons on behalf of illiberal, reactionary white supremacists and authoritarian con men.
Now we face a very real threat to our democracy that will take generations to undo.
The stain they have spilled onto the soul of our nation is not one that will come out easily - only the sunlight of truth can truly wash it away.
In the end, the MAGA movement was nothing more than a cartoon produced by a grifter.
Trump’s ‘major announcement’ proves that he no longer considers himself a viable candidate for 2024.
He is effectively ceding the battleground to Ron DeSantis but not before one last money grab.
I believe Donald Trump is well aware of his own diminishing fortunes and impending legal jeopardy.
I am certain he expects to see himself under indictment early in the new year.
The problem is the cartoon universe he has created and how much of that toxic ignorance will become a moveable feast.
The racist clowns believed in the bullshit he was selling so deeply that they were willing to take up arms to protect the snake oil itself, not just the salesman.
The lies and conspiracies have now become more important than the players themselves in the right wing political world.
That’s why organizations, such as CPAC, that promote the lies have become so popular and omnipotent.
Followers attend to get under the big tent with like-minded adherents, listening to subtle and not so subtle dog whistles to white supremacy.
Like their recent stage design of a Nordic rune, a well known Aryan symbol.
They know whichever speaker they happen to catch from the ever expanding line-up of bottom feeder trolls and pock-marked political hacks, spitting vitriol and lies with dry ice and pyrotechnic displays going off in the background, will deliver.
It’s a combination of mega-church and monster truck rally, breeding a generation of militant Christo-fascist foot soldiers.
Trump and the GOP have built an army of the ignorant.
Another more self-disciplined leader will exploit this militaristic style the conservative minions seem so hungry for, and insert himself as a despot presiding over a kleptocracy.
Far too many Republicans who should know better will happily accept this outcome to keep their own grifts going.
Not to mention their hold on power, however weak the marriage, they seem to have occupied a space where their constituents require less and less actual accountability.
Think of the GOP politicians from Texas and Florida alone - and how little they actually deliver to their citizens.
Men like DeSantis, Rubio, Cruz or Abbott basically punish the folks under their care but as long as they wave a flag and a gun or quote from the Bible around election time they’ll keep getting sent straight back to D.C. or the Governor’s mansion, no questions asked.
Trump spent his entire life ripping people off, even the buildings in N.Y.C. that bore his name were simply towers of grift.
Trump properties were the city’s largest polluters well into his presidency - when it came to emissions, no amount of fines stopped his transgressions.
The Trump Organization has now been found guilty of cheating on taxes, lying about square footage, inflating and deflating assets.
All of this was designed to cheat the city and country (he claimed to love) out of revenue.
And those are just the legit sides of his business, I am not even accounting for the greasy casinos and cut-rate steaks.
Not to mention a whole litany of other scams he’s been running since his name first appeared in Page Six.
Trump has not made good on any of his over-inflated promises - or delivered a real product of any lasting value to the American marketplace of ideas or cultural or political thought.
In over a half-century of business, his only instinct has been how can I scam more cash for myself out of the situation.
He held this same view while occupying the Oval Office.
It should come as no surprise that his utterly ridiculous ‘Trump Trading Cards’ were images such as ‘Trump Texas Ranger’ or ‘Trump Superman’.
There was no Trump looking serious and sober as a medical professional or scientist for a reason.
Trump omitted these images even though he held the office during the largest global pandemic in our lifetime, which by any measure will be seen as the defining moment of his presidency and one which has sadly now killed well over one million Americans.
The other defining moment of his time in office will be the January 6th attacks he orchestrated because his ego and avarice wanted to hold onto a job he couldn’t be bothered to do in the first place.
The real lasting legacy of the Trump Administration will be the racism he coaxed out into the open and used like a cudgel to divide Americans.
Pitting countrymen against each other, Trump and the GOP demonized Democrats and liberals and weaponized the reactionary forces.
Those once seen as outliers on the American landscape have sadly now gone mainstream.
My wish for the New Year will be some accountability for the folks who were so casually willing to throw away our democracy for their own designs on power and to find favor with a budding authoritarian.
The GOP texts messages to Mark Meadows over the 2020 Elections results revealed the lack of character and moral rot in so many who now remain in office.
This is the moment to seek the truth and hold all those responsible for one of the darkest hours in this nation’s history to account.
They will seek to sow chaos and cast further doubt while demonizing their opposition in ways that are wholly un-American.
We will not let them succeed - the truth will come to light as it always does.
Sunlight is always the best disinfectant, let it now shine across this land.
Peace.
Given their ignorance, more desire I think but regardless. Using platform push the wedge between the extremist, jingoist supporters. I always this was inevitable and studying those online groups it's there. Make them come to see these goofy right-wing figures as part of The Swamp, or sell-outs so to speak. The contempt for others is much greater to people who they perceive as traitors and people who made fools of them. "Uni-Party" is their current lingo for that. I study there groups and what they talk about. After that McCarthy stuff most see all these people as traitors and part of said Uni-Party. Even Trump in a lot of cases. A lot of their lingo states they think he is part of the "Satanic Cabal". They see he has not retaken office as promised and all the b.s. like profiting of these dumb NFT cards. Push that. Turn the trolls game against them.
Else appeal hard to Gen Z. Make sure your buddies there on Twitter practice showing an empathic side as much as possible. It's easy math how Gen Z effected the Midterms in ways the out of touch farts in the media could not comprehend to anticipate. Well there are going to be many more legal age to vote Gen Z in addition to that in 2024. That will be a little less than two years of the GOP putting on the same outrage inducing clown show in the media all the while treading water. All while they are busy eating and fighting each other for "more".
So the victory is yours and your mates if you push for it. I mean consider, your opponents are single minded buffoons. School them. Let them and their outmoded, archaic ideals go in to the trash history where they rightly belong.
I appreciate your consistent Leadership and Patriotism. You spent a career around celebrities and “people of influence.”
The irony is that yours is the lasting, meaningful legacy.