You don’t need to be Nostradamus to see where all of this is going. We have a situation where #Resistance has been replaced by #Surrender. And this is across the boards. It’s absolutely the case with the Republicans, who are all on bended knee in service of their Mango Monarch and unfortunately the Democrats have completely misread the room and believe that a vow to “work with” Trump and his klown kar kakistocracy is going to get them rewarded by voters. Where that delusion came from, I know not, but we will address it as well.
First, on to greasing the Trump wheels. An obscure Florida congressman, what else, is the actual mouthpiece for the announcement that you knew was going to come, which is a formal request to Congress that the flags be raised to full staff (and full mast at sea) on January 20. And yes that breaches our protocol with respect to honoring our fallen dead, but what is that compared to getting on the right side of the unstable lunatic about to assume office?
They should be flown upside down when Trump gets inaugurated
— Groucho Marxist (@Richard89220241) January 11, 2025
I’m with Groucho, flying the flags upside down is the appropriate way to go but we lack that level of self honesty as a people. Now is this disrespect to Jimmy Carter and dismantlement of yet another norm going to get voted on and will it happen? We’ll have to wait at least until Monday to see. But the pettiness is the appalling part here. As we and other outlets have said before, Trump could use the half-staff flags on his Inauguration Day to carry a message of unity, closing one book, opening another, the continuity of the American experiment no matter which party is in power, all of that kind of conciliatory sentiment.
But that would take a speechwriter willing to write something other than American Carnage and hysteria and a Trump willing to articulate the sentiment and we don’t have either.
What we do have is a completely misguided attitude on the part of some Democrats and this is getting most concerning.
The New Republic is running a piece today “Democrats of all stripes—including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—are pledging to find common ground with Trump and the Republicans, in the mistaken belief that voters will reward them for it.” And John Fetterman is on the bandwagon. I do not know what has happened to Fetterman, I just keep finding my jaw hanging whenever I hear his latest and today is no exception, alas.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, which would allow Homeland Security to detain and deport undocumented immigrants who have merely been charged—not convicted—of minor, nonviolent crimes. If the bill also prevails in the Senate, where it is expected to advance later this week, Donald Trump would sign it immediately upon taking office—at which point we could see people deported without due process, simply because a cop alleges that they stole, say, a tube of toothpaste from CVS. It’s also easy to imagine how MAGA-friendly law enforcement and prosecutors could take advantage of such a law, exaggerating or even fabricating charges in the hopes of nabbing an “illegal.”
Despite this, 48 Democrats joined Republicans in passing the bill. One of them, Representative Tom Suozzi of New York, recently wrote an op-ed for The New York Times in which he argued, “Only by working together to find compromise on parts of the president-elect’s agenda can we make progress for Americans who are clearly demanding change in the economy, immigration, crime and other top issues.” Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is undoubtedly in agreement. Not only is he a co-sponsor of the Senate’s version of the Laken Riley Act but in the past couple of months he has been promoting himself as a supposedly “responsible,” “reasonable” Democrat intent on finding compromises with Donald Trump and the Republicans. After the House passed the bill, he joined Republican Senator Katie Britt on Fox News for a Bret Baier segment titled “Common Ground,” during which he repeated Trump’s lies about migrants, declaring, “We have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of migrants here illegally, that have [been] convicted of crimes.… I don’t know why anybody thinks that it’s controversial that they all need to go.”
You see the set up here. Why do the Democrats in question not see it? And yes, I’m going to get on Joe Biden’s case for being Mr. Warmth and schmoozing with Trump for two hours in front of the Oval Office fireplace right after the election. I get it that Joe is a traditionalist and he goes by the book. But we are not in traditional times and we have to fight fire with fire.
And I get that two wrongs don’t make a right and Joe inviting Trump over rather than snubbing him, was meant as a classy thing to do, follow tradition. That’s well and good when the people in the situation have class themselves. Everybody admired the hell out of H.W. and Barbara Bush for the way they welcomed the Clintons with open arms. I applaud the late First Couple for their patrician ways to this very day.
But Trump is a horse’s ass of a different color. Any courtesies extended to him are seen as capitulation — go ask Justin Trudeau, he’ll explain it to you. When you’re dealing with a child, and a bully, the last thing you should do is treat that person like an adult and let him believe he has “won” the conflict. That only sets up the situation for a repeat, only worse.
It’s as if Democrats have become accomplices in their perceived fait accompli. Many of them have taken it as a given that defaulting to an oppositional stance is antithetical to democratic principles and that it is incumbent upon them, following an election loss, to find compromises with Republicans in order to achieve progress where possible. They’re ignoring, however, the actual dynamics of the situation—namely that, by helping Trump achieve victories, they will only increase his power and influence and thereby advance Trumpism. This is the Trump paradox.
The list of Democrats who are falling into this trap grows by the day. As Mica Soellner and Melanie Zanona reported Wednesday for Punchbowl News, “House and Senate Democrats are actively weighing ways to work with the Trump administration.… Several Democrats told us they’re open to teaming up with Trump but made clear they’re picking and choosing their spots. Some potential areas of common ground Democrats listed include the border and immigration, economic issues and the so-called ‘DOGE’ effort, which will aim to root out wasteful government spending.” This is a worrying list of issues. It suggests not that Democrats and Republicans will compromise but that Democrats will capitulate to the Republican position out of deference to what they imagine the public sentiment to be on those issues.
This is rank insanity. This is the worst of Democratic party impulses here, curling up like a stepped on spider. I don’t know about you, but I fully intend to send an email or two to my senators and my congresswoman and let them know how I feel about this. Yes, Trump won, but not by any incredible margin. So capitulating to his worst excesses in the belief that his views are now what Americans really want is insane.
The duo of Orangeman and MuskRobin and their billionaire boys club buddies seek to destroy the democratic underpinnings of this republic. There has never been a time in our history when resistance is more important.
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Exactly right, Ursula. All I can do is shake my head at what our democratic reps are doing. Would the republicons do anything of the sort if they were the minority party? Of course not! This just makes them appear just as stupid and gullible as the republicons in my opinion.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying they should be obstructionist, but make them earn your cooperation and respect. To disrespect Jimmy Carter for this idiot clown, really?
The Dems SHOULD be obstructionists. With the current GOP “give Trump everything he wants” mindset, that’s the ONLY way to get any degree of concessions from them.
And it’s not like the GOP haven’t done their damnedest to obstruct Democratic Presidents at every turn.
Sounds like the Dem’s are becoming BRAIN-WASHED! smh Just keeps getting worse!
I’m with Ursula. Cozying up and playing nice with bullies will only get you another bloody nose. The only way to end the tyranny is to fight fire with fire.
I despair. Trumpler’s already destroyed the Republican party and will now destroy the Democrats. Is Liz Cheney the one and only American politician with the spine, guts and balls to fight for our democracy?