Last year, there were many people who tried to sound the alarm that Donald Trump was a serious threat to win the White House, although they were routinely dismissed.
Now, before I go on, let me explain something: I was one of the people who refused to believe that Trump was a serious candidate. At some point, probably right around the time that he had the Republican nomination all but officially locked up, I began to understand that he had a serious chance of winning it all - more than most people gave him credit for - yet I never took him or his candidacy seriously. He was just too much of a clown, too much of a throwback to an older, outdated way of thinking and doing things. He does not represent a serious approach to coping with America's problems today, but rather represents the collective dragging of the feet for many who feel threatened by all of the problems and changes going on in the country.
Well, there were plenty of people who warned that Trump's rise was a real danger to the country, but most of them were dismissed. A lot of people seemed to share to unfounded belief that this man just would not, could not, possibly win the presidency, that Hillary Clinton would make short work of him in the general election, because he was just such a clown. Despite the polls showing that she never had a solid lead that assured her success, and despite her being both the most despised and distrusted major part candidate in American history, most people on the left, including the media, seemed to think she was a sure thing.
These people generally dismissed anyone else who suggested that Trump had a serious chance of winning the presidency. To be fair, the notion of Donald Trump, of all people, being elected to the highest office in the land seemed, at the time, still largely both comical and ridiculous, so I can understand. Again, I never, ever took this man seriously before the election, and thought of him, admittedly, as a piece of trash. Wrongly, I assumed that most people could see through him as easily as I could.
Wrong.
And so were many people who dismissed others who took his threat seriously. That included, of course, Michael Moore, who made major headlines when he basically suggested that Trump would win the election, that he basically had it in the bag.
Now, everyone who knows anything about Moore would know automatically that he is not a fan or supporter of Trump, and that he was alarmed, rather than heartened, by this prediction of his. But he made it, and most people thought that he was playing games. That this was his alarmist way of getting people to take the threat seriously, so they would come out and vote in large numbers. In other words, they assumed that he exaggerated the threat, so that many would also take the threat seriously, and cut it off. The possibility that he was forecasting - accurately, as it turned out - what would actually happen never seemed to occur to many, including the mainstream media.
But Moore was very serious. He was soberly analyizng what he saw, and predicting what would happen, even going so far as to suggest that he was not playing any games or being overly alarming. He said that Trump basically had this election in the bag, and as it turns out, he was right. This was one prediction that I am sure Moore would have dearly loved to have gotten wrong, but unfortunately, he did not.
Now, we have President Trump.
Also, now, Moore is making another prediction: that despite all of the bullshit since January, when Trump took the oath of office, that he is actually in strong position to win re-election.
And you know what? I agree with him.
Here's the thing: it is not what I wish to come true, and not what Moore wishes to come true.
However, the signs are there. Literally. I mentioned that my own sinking feeling of the inevitable Trump victory came in the weeks and months before his actual election win, when it seemed that I saw at least 10, and perhaps up to 20 Pro-Trump bumper stickers and posters than pro-Hillary bumper stickers and posters. This was in New Jersey, allegedly a solid blue state. Yet, Trump was all over the place. Inescapable. After a school orientation meeting for parents just before the academic year began, I found myself suddenly surrounded by Trump fans in conversation, exchanging stories about the Trump rallies that they had attended, and how protesters would never dare to go to one of these, because they understood what would happen to them.
The threat was hardly a veiled one. It was not even really directed at me (the guy who expressed this sentiment actually looked at me after he said it, but more in a "Don't you agree?" kind of a way than anything else), yet I felt the first strand of what was left of our democracy being undone.
It was right around that time (late summer, early autumn) that more and more of those pro-Trump posters and bumper stickers came out. That was when it began to dawn on me that not only did this guy have a chance, but that he was most likely going to win, and that it would take some doing to stop this from happening. To his credit, Trump did everything he possibly could to derail his own campaign. He said and did some unbelievably stupid things, seemed to go out of his way to discredit himself as a human being, let alone as a candidate to be the next president.
So what does it say about our country that he still won?
Amazingly, though, many people still refused to believe, and assumed that not only would Hillary win, but she would win in a historically big way. I saw one guy, a Facebook friend who was 100 percent pro-Hillary, projecting that Hillary would not only take all of the east and west coast, as well as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio, but that she would win a few states in the south and west, as well. His electoral college projection had Hillary winning by nearly 300 electoral votes. I could only shake my head, and in a moment of weakness, I went back to this particular post of his the day after the election, and told him to stick to his day job. Not proud of that, but my bitterness was getting the better of me. After all, people like me, supporters of Bernie Sanders, felt the sting of two major disappointments during last year's insulting election. Yes, we were crushed emotionally by Trump's win, but we also felt betrayed by the complicity of the mainstream Democrats in so immediately and mindlessly circumventing the democratic process to assure that their favored candidate, Hillary Clinton, received the Democratic nomination. She was a weak candidate, and there were a lot of clear problems that were quite apparent, if people just stopped believing what they wanted to believe and paid attention to what the polls were suggested: that she was both the most disliked, as well as the least trusted, major party nominee in the history of this country - and that's saying something. A couple of months of campaigning would not likely change that, and that was especially true when she chose to focus on emphasizing just how bad Trump was, instead of touting her own accomplishments, or on the proposals that she allegedly was running on and set to achieve once in office.
Of course, she and her supporters naturally assumed that she would obtain that highest office, betraying their arrogance and sense of entitlement, which did nothing to help their chances.
In the meantime, Trump supporters grew bolder in their support of their candidate, probably emboldened by the sudden wave of pro-Trump posters and bumper stickers. Roving rednecks in pick-up trucks placed American flags prominently on the bed of their pick ups, essentially showing the world their militant support for "the Donald." And predictably, a lot of conservative (mostly white) women who had sounded legitimately betrayed at his behavior up to that point, and proclaimed that they would vote for Hillary, suddenly went back to the old Hillary hating. Already, the country seemed to be apologizing for the decision that they were about to make, and many suggested that the awesomeness of the highest office in the land might actually humble a man infamous for his total lack of humility.
We all know that he won the election, despite receiving nearly three million votes than his opponent did. Once again, that saying "only in America" was apropos, although it was not a flattering sentiment. The results sent shock waves throughout the world, and most of the world was understandable horrified, and not a little bit nervous about what might happen.
Trump's bluster was not toned down. Being elected to the highest office can be humbling to many, if not most, who receive that distinction, but not Trump. Nor was he humbled once he obtained that highest office, and his Twitter ramblings have not stopped, although they have slowed at times once they seemed to be especially compromising to him and his credibility.
But credibility is nothing that Trump seemed to ever worry about. After all, when you completely lack credibility, why worry about it? He did some of the things that he promised, and expressed bitterness and a sense of betrayal for those that he could not do. The man disgraced himself and betrayed his pettiness and immaturity by fixating on the size of his inaugural crowd. He made a shambles of America's image around the world, showing off to the Australian prime minister about the size of his election win, then turning off the Pope when those two met, and then clearly setting a negative impression when he met with other European heads of state, as they all seemed to announce in unison that they no longer felt that the United States was a reliable partner, and they needed to start going their own way. That should have been enough to discredit Trump, yet his staunchest supporters were emboldened yet again, while conservative (again, mostly white) Republicans expressed dismay at his style, but still seemed to lend him their support when it mattered most. Just like the election.
Why should we expect different at this point? By now, this man has offended and outraged numerous other world leaders, who seem to make a habit of condemning his words, his policies, and his actions. The entire world condemned him for announcing that he would pull the United States. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch. He recklessly threatened North Korea with nuclear annihilation, even this threatened a possible third world war involving China, North Korea's neighbor. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch. Trade deals and pacts promising closer cooperation were signed between other nations, who felt threatened by Trump's America, and these seemed to compromise America's credibility around the world. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch. He seemed on the fence about white nationalists (formerly known as white supremacists), even those who were doing straight arm salutes and hailing him by name, and suggested that some of the white nationalists were swell guys, in fact. In response, he received the solid support of neo-Nazis and the KKK. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch.
So why should we expect that they will flinch when it will matter the most? Indeed, if things keep on going the way that they are going, Trump will surely not get impeached, but moreover, most likely will he not only win re-election, but he will win it more convincingly than he did last year. As like last time, the world will recoil in horror, and more agreements and pacts between other nations will be signed, and these will undermine America's strength and role in the world.
And by now, if we who oppose this president have not learned the lesson yet, then we ourselves are living in a cocoon of our own making. Because regardless of how many idiotic and disgusting things we see this "leader" say or do, no matter how many other world leaders condemn him and his actions, either by name or indirectly, his supporters will stick by their man for the long haul, through thick or thin. And as we saw in the recent past, all of that will most likely be enough to win the election for him.
I am not happy about that. Michael Moore made this projection that Trump would win again, but he is not happy about it.
However, we are living through a sorry state in this nation's history. At precisely the point when our leadership and prestige is slipping, our political rhetoric and stances have grown more extreme, not less so. As our standard of living continues to decline, as it has been doing for decades now, some Americans are expressing more pride in our supposed exceptionalism then ever before. Through all of this, we keep electing "leaders" who are not only not helping, but actively undermining what would be in the country's best interests. It is a Robin Hood in reverse situation that we have got here, and despite how this thinking led to the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, people still believe in it, and enthusiastically, without any reluctance.
Are we headed for something far worse? Yes, I think we are. At this point, the only thing exceptional about American politics is our stubbornness. Most other countries would have had the good sense to throw the bums out of office. We seem to consistently go in the other direction, rewarding idiots for idiotic behavior. George W. Bush got us involved in an illegal and immoral war that compromised America's standing in the world and, in some cases, earned us the hatred of people in some countries. He bumbled his way through four years, mishandling a national disaster, and then cynically using it to forward a very narrow agenda. In his second term, he kept stumbling, mishandled a huge natural disaster, and nearly derailed the country's economy. His approval ratings were seen as low, but they were not as low as they should have been. Within a year or so after he left office, his approval ratings were once again strong.
How quickly people forget.
Now, we have Trump, and his idiocy already has grown to legendary status. Predictably, some who cannot stand him assume that he will be out in 2020, at latest, while some actually believe that he will be impeached.
That just goes to show that Americans have not learned their lessons, and that Americans also have not learned any humility, collectively. Yes, I am talking about those who identify both as red staters and blue staters. The vast majority of Americans feel a sense of entitlement that, quite frankly, they should not feel entitled to feel. That is why we get worse and worse leaders. That is how we get some "leaders" who are uniquely and historically unqualified for the awesome responsibilities that they have been entrusted with keep getting elected. Trump ran for the White House seemingly because of his ego and sense of entitlement, and we rewarded him for his bad behavior and his big mouth with exactly what he wanted. In other words, we indulged him in his immature behavior, clearly showing our own collective immaturity as a nation. We have indeed grown reckless with our prestigious offices, and this lack of seriousness has been showing for some time now. It has now grown glaringly obvious to the entire world, except for those Americans who still proudly wave the flag and wear their patriotism on their sleeve, acting like scoundrels and allowing their sense of responsibility, and any semblance of objectivity, to fade away without a trace.
This is America's problem. It has caused the country a great deal of embarrassment around the world, and has caused some people tremendous pain. But apparently, not enough people. I do not know how much pain it will take for this ugly nationalism to finally go away and be relegated to where it deserves to be, as just a bad memory. Unfortunately, we seem to need to go through still more pain and more embarrassment before we finally realize that we have squandered too many very good things to keep on doing what we are doing. And unless that happens within the next three years, Trump and company will indeed be re-elected in 2020.
Here's the thing: it is not what I wish to come true, and not what Moore wishes to come true.
However, the signs are there. Literally. I mentioned that my own sinking feeling of the inevitable Trump victory came in the weeks and months before his actual election win, when it seemed that I saw at least 10, and perhaps up to 20 Pro-Trump bumper stickers and posters than pro-Hillary bumper stickers and posters. This was in New Jersey, allegedly a solid blue state. Yet, Trump was all over the place. Inescapable. After a school orientation meeting for parents just before the academic year began, I found myself suddenly surrounded by Trump fans in conversation, exchanging stories about the Trump rallies that they had attended, and how protesters would never dare to go to one of these, because they understood what would happen to them.
The threat was hardly a veiled one. It was not even really directed at me (the guy who expressed this sentiment actually looked at me after he said it, but more in a "Don't you agree?" kind of a way than anything else), yet I felt the first strand of what was left of our democracy being undone.
It was right around that time (late summer, early autumn) that more and more of those pro-Trump posters and bumper stickers came out. That was when it began to dawn on me that not only did this guy have a chance, but that he was most likely going to win, and that it would take some doing to stop this from happening. To his credit, Trump did everything he possibly could to derail his own campaign. He said and did some unbelievably stupid things, seemed to go out of his way to discredit himself as a human being, let alone as a candidate to be the next president.
So what does it say about our country that he still won?
Amazingly, though, many people still refused to believe, and assumed that not only would Hillary win, but she would win in a historically big way. I saw one guy, a Facebook friend who was 100 percent pro-Hillary, projecting that Hillary would not only take all of the east and west coast, as well as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio, but that she would win a few states in the south and west, as well. His electoral college projection had Hillary winning by nearly 300 electoral votes. I could only shake my head, and in a moment of weakness, I went back to this particular post of his the day after the election, and told him to stick to his day job. Not proud of that, but my bitterness was getting the better of me. After all, people like me, supporters of Bernie Sanders, felt the sting of two major disappointments during last year's insulting election. Yes, we were crushed emotionally by Trump's win, but we also felt betrayed by the complicity of the mainstream Democrats in so immediately and mindlessly circumventing the democratic process to assure that their favored candidate, Hillary Clinton, received the Democratic nomination. She was a weak candidate, and there were a lot of clear problems that were quite apparent, if people just stopped believing what they wanted to believe and paid attention to what the polls were suggested: that she was both the most disliked, as well as the least trusted, major party nominee in the history of this country - and that's saying something. A couple of months of campaigning would not likely change that, and that was especially true when she chose to focus on emphasizing just how bad Trump was, instead of touting her own accomplishments, or on the proposals that she allegedly was running on and set to achieve once in office.
Of course, she and her supporters naturally assumed that she would obtain that highest office, betraying their arrogance and sense of entitlement, which did nothing to help their chances.
In the meantime, Trump supporters grew bolder in their support of their candidate, probably emboldened by the sudden wave of pro-Trump posters and bumper stickers. Roving rednecks in pick-up trucks placed American flags prominently on the bed of their pick ups, essentially showing the world their militant support for "the Donald." And predictably, a lot of conservative (mostly white) women who had sounded legitimately betrayed at his behavior up to that point, and proclaimed that they would vote for Hillary, suddenly went back to the old Hillary hating. Already, the country seemed to be apologizing for the decision that they were about to make, and many suggested that the awesomeness of the highest office in the land might actually humble a man infamous for his total lack of humility.
We all know that he won the election, despite receiving nearly three million votes than his opponent did. Once again, that saying "only in America" was apropos, although it was not a flattering sentiment. The results sent shock waves throughout the world, and most of the world was understandable horrified, and not a little bit nervous about what might happen.
Trump's bluster was not toned down. Being elected to the highest office can be humbling to many, if not most, who receive that distinction, but not Trump. Nor was he humbled once he obtained that highest office, and his Twitter ramblings have not stopped, although they have slowed at times once they seemed to be especially compromising to him and his credibility.
But credibility is nothing that Trump seemed to ever worry about. After all, when you completely lack credibility, why worry about it? He did some of the things that he promised, and expressed bitterness and a sense of betrayal for those that he could not do. The man disgraced himself and betrayed his pettiness and immaturity by fixating on the size of his inaugural crowd. He made a shambles of America's image around the world, showing off to the Australian prime minister about the size of his election win, then turning off the Pope when those two met, and then clearly setting a negative impression when he met with other European heads of state, as they all seemed to announce in unison that they no longer felt that the United States was a reliable partner, and they needed to start going their own way. That should have been enough to discredit Trump, yet his staunchest supporters were emboldened yet again, while conservative (again, mostly white) Republicans expressed dismay at his style, but still seemed to lend him their support when it mattered most. Just like the election.
Why should we expect different at this point? By now, this man has offended and outraged numerous other world leaders, who seem to make a habit of condemning his words, his policies, and his actions. The entire world condemned him for announcing that he would pull the United States. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch. He recklessly threatened North Korea with nuclear annihilation, even this threatened a possible third world war involving China, North Korea's neighbor. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch. Trade deals and pacts promising closer cooperation were signed between other nations, who felt threatened by Trump's America, and these seemed to compromise America's credibility around the world. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch. He seemed on the fence about white nationalists (formerly known as white supremacists), even those who were doing straight arm salutes and hailing him by name, and suggested that some of the white nationalists were swell guys, in fact. In response, he received the solid support of neo-Nazis and the KKK. Those who supported him, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, did not flinch.
So why should we expect that they will flinch when it will matter the most? Indeed, if things keep on going the way that they are going, Trump will surely not get impeached, but moreover, most likely will he not only win re-election, but he will win it more convincingly than he did last year. As like last time, the world will recoil in horror, and more agreements and pacts between other nations will be signed, and these will undermine America's strength and role in the world.
And by now, if we who oppose this president have not learned the lesson yet, then we ourselves are living in a cocoon of our own making. Because regardless of how many idiotic and disgusting things we see this "leader" say or do, no matter how many other world leaders condemn him and his actions, either by name or indirectly, his supporters will stick by their man for the long haul, through thick or thin. And as we saw in the recent past, all of that will most likely be enough to win the election for him.
I am not happy about that. Michael Moore made this projection that Trump would win again, but he is not happy about it.
However, we are living through a sorry state in this nation's history. At precisely the point when our leadership and prestige is slipping, our political rhetoric and stances have grown more extreme, not less so. As our standard of living continues to decline, as it has been doing for decades now, some Americans are expressing more pride in our supposed exceptionalism then ever before. Through all of this, we keep electing "leaders" who are not only not helping, but actively undermining what would be in the country's best interests. It is a Robin Hood in reverse situation that we have got here, and despite how this thinking led to the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, people still believe in it, and enthusiastically, without any reluctance.
Are we headed for something far worse? Yes, I think we are. At this point, the only thing exceptional about American politics is our stubbornness. Most other countries would have had the good sense to throw the bums out of office. We seem to consistently go in the other direction, rewarding idiots for idiotic behavior. George W. Bush got us involved in an illegal and immoral war that compromised America's standing in the world and, in some cases, earned us the hatred of people in some countries. He bumbled his way through four years, mishandling a national disaster, and then cynically using it to forward a very narrow agenda. In his second term, he kept stumbling, mishandled a huge natural disaster, and nearly derailed the country's economy. His approval ratings were seen as low, but they were not as low as they should have been. Within a year or so after he left office, his approval ratings were once again strong.
How quickly people forget.
Now, we have Trump, and his idiocy already has grown to legendary status. Predictably, some who cannot stand him assume that he will be out in 2020, at latest, while some actually believe that he will be impeached.
That just goes to show that Americans have not learned their lessons, and that Americans also have not learned any humility, collectively. Yes, I am talking about those who identify both as red staters and blue staters. The vast majority of Americans feel a sense of entitlement that, quite frankly, they should not feel entitled to feel. That is why we get worse and worse leaders. That is how we get some "leaders" who are uniquely and historically unqualified for the awesome responsibilities that they have been entrusted with keep getting elected. Trump ran for the White House seemingly because of his ego and sense of entitlement, and we rewarded him for his bad behavior and his big mouth with exactly what he wanted. In other words, we indulged him in his immature behavior, clearly showing our own collective immaturity as a nation. We have indeed grown reckless with our prestigious offices, and this lack of seriousness has been showing for some time now. It has now grown glaringly obvious to the entire world, except for those Americans who still proudly wave the flag and wear their patriotism on their sleeve, acting like scoundrels and allowing their sense of responsibility, and any semblance of objectivity, to fade away without a trace.
This is America's problem. It has caused the country a great deal of embarrassment around the world, and has caused some people tremendous pain. But apparently, not enough people. I do not know how much pain it will take for this ugly nationalism to finally go away and be relegated to where it deserves to be, as just a bad memory. Unfortunately, we seem to need to go through still more pain and more embarrassment before we finally realize that we have squandered too many very good things to keep on doing what we are doing. And unless that happens within the next three years, Trump and company will indeed be re-elected in 2020.
Michael Moore: Trump on track for reelection BY JOE CONCHA - 08/28/17
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