Before I begin. A most merry, joyous and spiritual Christmas to all of my Christian friends. And an equally joyous and solemn Hannukah season to all of my Jewish friends. And just as happy and joyous of a Kwanza to all of my African American brothers and sisters. I wish you nothing but joy, serenity, and peace.
Whether or not, in another 7 days we will turn the calendar to a brand new calendar year. Happy New Year everybody! And we will close the books on one of the most sweeping, consequential congresses this country has seen in at least 50 years. And instead we’ll open a new congress of rampant disorder and mayhem brought on by the totally dysfunctional GOP led House of Representatives. But as we swing into that turbulent New Year, to parrot the words of Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction, I’m a smiling motherfucker.
Why? I’ll tell you why. Because I see a sea change coming, in fact it’s already started. I’ve been hooked on this political stuff for 50 years. And when it comes to politics, we’ve had to put up with a lot of sorry bullshit. Before I was old enough to care, there was Father Coughlin. Then there was Tailgunner Joe McCarthy and his communist witch hunt. Then there was that pathetic sot Ronald Reagan, with his racist Welfare Queens! blather. And then that dung stomping cattle moron George W Bush’s compassionate conservatism, with its top heavy voodoo economics.
And somewhere along the line, the American electorate just flat out stopped giving a shit. Politicians made whatever pie-in-the-sky promises they needed to to get elected, and then turned around and stuffed their own pockets instead. Your vote didn’t really matter, since these flaming muckbills were going to do whatever they wanted to. And so people tuned out and just stopped voting.
And it lasted for more than a generation. People just stopped voting, it really didn’t matter. Historical election results show the US as among the lowest of all democracies when it comes to voter participation. The politicians on both sides finally had what they wanted. They could say and do anything, because nobody out there cared anymore.
And then along came one Donald John Trump. His underdog rigged election was a national obscenity. And the response was immediate, His inauguration sparked the largest global protest in recorded history. It sparked an immediate, spontaneous, grassroots resistance in the streets to almost everything he tried to do.
But you know what else it did, my dear friends? At long last it knocked the scales of apathy off of the eyes of American voters. Suddenly they were faced with the bitter reality of spending the next 4 years being led by a compulsive, egomaniacal, centric driven moron, and there was nothing they could do about it. Because they all let it happen.
Just look at the election results. In 2018 the Democrats slaughtered the GOP for a 40 seat pickup in the House. But what else happened? Midterm voter participation was through the roof. In 2020 it was the same damn story, only traditional suburban white women GOP voters punished Trump by leaving ther top of the ticket blank, or voting for Biden. And in 2022, blowout turnout managed to add a Democratic seat in the Senate, and made the House so close it’s almost ungovernable for McCarthy, or anybody else in the GOP.
But the keystone is this. Who turned out to vote in these elections? African Americans showed up in droves, despite media predictions, Hispanic voters turned up in droves, independents turned up in droves. But most importantly 18-24 voters showed up in droves. And this is what gives me confidence going into 2023 and beyond.
Look at the makeup of the congress about to be sworn in on January 4rtd. There are more women, more minority women, more minorities, and more LGBTQ members that the congress has ever seen before. And thanks to the trailblazi g work of the women and minorities in 2018, it showed all the rest of them what was possible.
None of this would have been possible without Traitor Tot mobilizing the country against him. But you know what? Once you wake somebody up, just try and put them back to sleep again. The damage is done. And worst of all for the GOP, His Lowness isn’t going anywhere. Trump, and Trump alone reminded the American population that every vote matters. And once you get into that habit, as American voters have for the last 3 cycles now, it becomes kind of addictive. Their votes matter. They can make a difference.
One thing you left out, when Obama was elected and re-elected, I saw a whole lot of people turning out to vote. Afterwards, it seemed Trump being elected was the old, prejudicial, white centric conservatism was rearing it’s ugly head for some final gasps. That contributed to the contrast for those of us who don’t buy into white supremacy. I’m hoping it also opened a lot of white person’s eyes to what POC have to face every day.
I was the only white person in a house full of black folks each time Obama was elected. The entire crowd felt like we as a country had turned a corner. No black person in the room could believe it was real. It was a special feeling. No one thought the backlash would be so terrible. We were naive. We underestimated the hidden hate and racism that would coalesce under Trump. Now we know better. Hopefully we won’t make the same mistake going forward. Never let your guard down when dealing with evil.
Hear, hear!
I’ve often compared Trump to Jimmy Carter in terms of their respective places in the political cycle. Both times, they were the last hurrah of the old guard, the final stop before the newest political paradigm took shape.
Sadly!
Not that simple. Iran contra showed Reagan & north made deals with the Iranians to undermine Carter and withhold the release of the hostages until after the election. Reagan was more like Trump, just like info has come to light Nixon was conspiring behind Johnsons back to thwart any kind of end to the conflict until he was sunk. Carter was and is one of the most moral presidents we ever had. No one has accomplished since what he did with the Arabs & Israelis. Carter was more like Biden, driven by a high bar of morality in a pool of amoral sharks.
Those 18-24 year-olds are the ONLY reason the tide has finally turned. Unlike a good of many of us, they’ve only known this century along with its possibilities and horrors. And which party ever bothered cultivating them as voters?
In his own way, W tried warning the GOP about this two decades ago with his attempt to court Hispanics. But the fools didn’t listen to him, especially after Obama rode in. Now they’re in a trap of their own making, faced with a new generation of politicians who don’t play by their rules. No wonder they’re beating up anybody they can get away with…it’s what bullies do when they feel weak.
Yeah, Reagan screwed us with his trickle down money plan after screwing Carter. Carter was what these clown show idiots try to make you think they are. A God fearing religious man. Obama broke the mold. That’s when the minorities figured out their vote matters. That’s also how we got humpty dumbty. The other side came out to block another liberal Democrat. They used the nobody like’s Clinton. I for the life of me can’t figure out how a career criminal got elected. Thank goodness Joe Biden came along. He beat Trump like a drum. And I think it’s going to be a surprise coming in 23. I maybe wrong, but I think Joe will still get stuff done. Look at the budget bill. Nine gop crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats. Not all republicans came to town to bash Hunter’s escapades. Some came to actually work for America. Novel idea that it is.