There
is on this planet an alternate universe where Kellyanne Conwoman's
alternative facts serve as bricks that help to make up a vast, dense
wall of willful ignorance and self deception. It is a very dark and
smelly place this alternate universe – full of right wing bacteria
such as Ann Dolt-er Coulter, Insanity Hannity, Witch Doctor Laura,
Rush (how low can you go) Limbo, and Loose Knobs Dobbs. It is a
world long on beliefs and short on facts, a world in which the only
role of the government is that of a villain that must be fought and
killed if possible. Thus we had the right wing bacteria threatening
to slime Donald Trump in an effort to get him to carry through with
his threat to shut down the “evil” government. The civil
servants who were deprived of their livelihoods during the shut down
do not matter to the bacteria. They (the civil servants) are, after
all, government employees – otherwise known as the dreaded deep
state! The alleged issue or cause celebre used to justify the shut
down was Trump's vanity wall, but we know that that was just an
excuse because everyone with an IQ above eighty knows the wall would
be impossibly expensive and ineffective. But Trump had promised the
xenophobes a big, beautiful wall that Mexico was going to pay for,
and he was being held accountable to the extent that he had to look
like he was fighting keep at least half of that absurd promise no
matter how much harm this war on sanity caused. Fear and loathing
never rests. So Trump the bully cringed in fear of the bacteria, and
he shut down the government as he said he would.
What
we really have here is just another right wing attack on reality.
Unfortunately for Trump and the right wing reality has a way of
asserting itself at the most inconvenient times. The first dose of
reality came when the Democrats took over the House of
Representatives and made Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House. They
could not have chosen a better leader. The reason the Republicans
have spent decades villainizing Nancy Pelosi is because she is very
good at what she does. She knows the power of Congress and how to
use it, and she cannot be intimidated by a blustering bully such as
Trump. She told Donald Trump something his father should have told
him a long time ago – she told him NO! She said no to the useless
wall which, in light of Trump's cruel acts against refugees seeking
sanctuary in this country, has become a symbol for the sort of
bigotry and nativism our country has faced and rejected many times in
our history. Then Speaker Pelosi delivered the master stroke by
denying Trump the invitation he needed in order to deliver his state
of the union speech in the house chamber to a joint session of
congress. Depriving Trump of an audience! Now that is how you hurt
a diva. (Oops! Please pardon my gender confusion. I think it stems
from Trump constantly trying to portray himself as the subject a with
hunt.)
What
it took to end the shut down was a resolute Democratic Party holding
its ground, Trump and the Republican Party tanking in the polls, Air
Traffic Controllers and TSA employees causing a transportation
problem by calling in sick, and nervous Republican Senators that had
to answer to wealthy doners who had an interest in getting people,
including themselves to the Super Bowl and other places. In other
words, it is unlikely that Trump had a choice. He would appear a lot
weaker if he waited until his own party ended the shutdown over his
whimpering protests. So the Donald caved! And he got absolutely
nothing for re-opening the government except for another sliming by
the likes of Ann Coulter, et al. That sliming is not exactly a sympathy card
for getting shot down, but as I said above, “fear and loathing
never rests,” or forgives.
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