How Could This Have Happened?
Open Letter To Democrats, part II
Hey y'all. It's me again. You got a minute? Of course you do. I mean you must, because during every moment of the past ten years I've been told that "it isn't the time" for this discussion. Emotions have been running high for so long, and although it's not like your emotions have been recently assuaged, maybe you can see now is a good time to tone down the conversation and not break Godwin's law in the first sentence.
"How could this have happened?" I see repeated all over the internet today. Well, I'm here to tell you. It all began when Obama took office and filled his cabinet directly from an email sent from Citigroup, and it just went downhill from there.
I write this from the perspective of a left-leaning DemExiter. While The Right agrees with me on a lot, my criticisms are borne from a leftist ideology. Bear in mind there are two ways to gauge Obama's successes and failures: 1) from the point of view of an ideological leftist who helped him get elected, and 2) from the POV of an American who did not vote for him. By the end of Obama's first four years, he had served the latter better than the former, that is he catered to oligarchs and big business and delivered scraps to the base. I did not vote to reelect him.
Clinton's 2016 campaign was predicated on goading the radicals out of the woodwork by using Bernie as a surrogate. But nobody told Bernie. Unsurprisingly, feelings were hurt and the 2016 Democratic convention did nothing to repair those relationships. There was a big argument about allowing independents and Sanders supporters onto the platform committee; the campaign's position was that this was a Democratic platform and they could vote for it or go pound sand. Surprise! Guess what they chose to do?
Clinton's loss was the left flexing. They were saying 'no' to rigged primaries where an ex president was allowed to electioneer inside polling locations. They were saying 'no' to neoliberal corruption. They were saying 'no' to being excluded from shaping the platform. The problem was that Hillary never took responsibility for her loss. There was no mea culpa, or apology, or recognition that she was a client of her own agency.
If you want to know "how this could have happened?" dear reader, this was the moment. Failure to recognize and relieve the pressures that decided the 2016 election was a fatal error. It was only due to 4 years of Trump fatigue that we were able to elect Joe Biden, but he quickly reminded us of Obama's shortcomings.
Now this brings us to the heart of the problem, which is Donald J. Trump. Before we go any further I'd like to ask you what he did in his first term that makes you think this is the end of the world right now? I suspect you can't put your finger on it. But you know it's bad. You know this because they tell you this 24/7 and they have been telling you this for nearly a decade.
I once worked for a company that could predict a brand's sales based on the number of mentions on the TV news. Ever since Trump won the nomination the first time, we've been getting hammered with the notion of "orange man bad." I first noticed it when CNN edited the video frame to make Trump look like a boor when he dumped his fish food into the koi pond. It has been going on incessantly all the way up until Tuesday.
The collective consciousness of the Democratic left has lost its mind, and I blame MSNBC and CNN. I wrote something about this back in June after Biden bombed the debate, when a majority of Democrats polled said they believed Biden should stay in the race. How could you? It makes me very uncomfortable to watch that debate, and to think that a majority of Democrats wanted him to continue. Their response to Biden being incapacitated was that he's still better than Trump, ha ha. Perhaps it was the recent memory of Morning Joe assuring them that this was the Best Biden Ever™ which solidified their opinions.
It was then that you showed your hand as not being serious or rational. Party leaders had ignored calls to replace Biden for years, then they just slipped Kamala into the position. Don't get me wrong: They didn't have a choice. Snubbing traditional presidential succession for the first black female candidate is unforgivable, and it would be an admission that she has spent the better part of 4 years being completely unqualified for the job. No, it had to be Kamala, but doing it without a pretense of public opinion revealed their ulterior roadmap.
When it's all said and done, it looks like 14 million fewer people voted in 2024 than in 2020 and I count myself among them. Before anyone starts to berate me, let me say that I am just one person. You are looking for 6-20 million votes. You are blaming me for the candidate's shortcomings.
So who suppressed the democrats' turnout? They did. They did this to themselves. The constant gaslighting liberated the observant while turning the faithful insane. After that it became a matter of self destruction.
There's spin, such as in the Tony Hinchcliffe incident, and then there's insanity, as when Trump was attacked over accusations that he suggested Liz Cheney face a firing squad. He did no such thing. Even Bill Maher couldn't side with that nonsense. Literal truths such as Trump praised Hitler's generals have been distorted beyond the definition of hyperbole.
Something has taken grip on the narrative to the point where such nonsense can be peddled without batting an eye. What should have been considered shameful and deceitful was absorbed as fact.
I think the bar was set to a new low when 60 minutes producers edited and spliced a CBS interview with Kamala Harris, changing one of the answers which had been previously aired on Face The Nation. Outrageously, CBS doubled down on their explanation, claiming both responses were part of a lengthy answer (they weren't, the answer used on 60 minutes was shown earlier in the FTN episode).
We were told that Trump intended to use the Justice Department to pursue his enemies, when he was the one convicted for conspiracies which the prosecutor could not prove an underlying crime. It was Trump who was summarily removed from the ballot without due process.
A 40 year old GOP playbook that gets rehashed every few years is suddenly a novel movement within the Trump campaign to reshape America.
I gotta ask, what were we supposed to think after all this? After all the lying, the hysteria, the hypocrisy, the manipulation, a.k.a. gaslighting?
It was bad enough that they ignored calls for a robust primary, and then installed a candidate who had never earned a vote. Or that she avoided the issues and ran an identity politics campaign. Or that the substance of her campaign is "Trump is a Fascist!"
We can forgive her for running a bad campaign. What the handlers couldn't change is that Kamala is just not a likeable person. Even my 10 year old niece knows that laughing at your own jokes is a fatal character flaw. What kind of support group of people does one hang out with in order to develop such an odious tick? Donald Trump's character flaw is that he adores himself. Kamala's character flaw is that she detests herself. I think that's the lens which you have to view her actions.
Those of you who have worked on a political campaign know it's a labor of love, even for those who are getting paid. The committment level of these people earns my respect, even if I think their intentions are a bit misguided. On election night Kamala Harris gave an Irish goodbye - left her celebration party and slunk out the back door. I think that is a perfect representation of her cowardly and ungrateful campaign.
Comments
Thank you for this.
Most of what you did say does resonate with me. However, Trump did say, I saw and heard the video clip, "Global warming is a hoax." Those words WERE SAID BY DJT. At this point, I. don't. care. what was the context, and I. do. not. want. to. hear. any variation on "he was just funning".
As for the Dems. Chickens is coming home to roost and it is all of us ordinaries and basics, you know, the unfun people who do the work that keeps our society functioning, going to be shat on.
Mary Bennett
Global warming is a hoax
That statement is a dwindling set of arguments which criticize any efforts to stop climate change. It's said by people who believe in the veracity of the statement, who are unaware that it's been promoted by extraction companies to keep the pumps running as long as possible.
At first it meant the earth wasn't getting warmer, then it meant the warming earth wasn't caused by man, now it means the efforts to reverse GW are coming from bad faith actors who are only interested in pork projects. Half of Florida will be underwater and they'll still find a way to claim GW is a hoax. Takeaway: What it means to you and what it means to him are very different things.
“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”
If global warming was a serious threat
Then the elite wouldn’t be building homes on islands that would flood.
Bezos just bought 3 plots on this island in Florida. Obama has bought houses in Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii…others keep buying houses on islands that are supposed to be under water in a few years.
They wouldn’t be flying solo in their planes, but pool their flights with the riff raff. The military wouldn’t be flying their jets that use as much fuel in an hour as a family of four uses in a month and it would have changed all it fuel hogging equipment to electric or solar. I could go on..
Recycling is a scam. We separate our garbage, but it’s buried in the same area..
Some parts of it might be caused by humans, but the rest is a hoax. If the elite actually believed in it they’d be doing….., but they aren’t.
Good essay. I’ve said the same things over the last few months.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Add in: don't buy too
many clothes, bathe every other day, walk to work, don't wash your clothes until you've worn them 3 times, don't eat meat, don't use your a/c or heater, no gas stoves, have meters installed to control your electricity use. As instructed by squeaky clean, designer clothes dressed people who flew in on private jets to shame you into modifying your behavior, who will not tolerate a 5 star hotel telling them to adjust or control their a/c or heat, and who just ate a meal of filet Mignon, bathed in an oversized tub, and so on. And those same folks promote wars. Nothing says fossil fuel use like the military.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I do all of the above,
and do you know what the results are? Money saved. After putting one kid through college and another through a nursing program. Bills paid on time, none of those nasty late charges. House all to my self with garden space and room for books and a sewing room. And the ability to shop the farmer's market. And no overdressed, sneering PMC idiot told me to. Figured it out myself. Sure, comfort is nice, but how much money do you want to give the oligarchy?
Mary Bennett
Like you,
everything I own is paid for. My credit card balances are reduced to zero every month. I spend zero per annum on interest. I worked and paid my own way through 9 years of university. However, I am, by virtue of my profession, a "public figure". I do not have the luxury of skipping out on bathing, wearing make up, and meeting the dress code. In my area, a farmer's market is way more expensive than shopping at the grocery store.
The finger waggers who shame us for being clean and owning cattle are what gives rise to the theory of hoax. Let the hypocrites fly off into the sunset.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
It certainly undermines credibility...
...especially - and this is by far the scariest part - when REAL scientists like my own father are allowing themselves to be led around and have their priorities shaped by political machines rather than the other way around (Exhibit A: "Union of Concerned Scientists").
The reason those politicians and businessmen are doing that isn't because they're in on a secret, it's because they're literally psychotic; they live eat breathe and sleep lies and unreason, haven't had to face logical consequences since the last time their parents got mad at them (if that), and it's taken its toll on their own minds.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Good for thee vs. Good for me
It's true the elite don't care. That doesn't mean the wealthy don't believe in global warming. It just means Jeff Bezos is not concerned about losing 100% of the value of his home. I think of it as "while the world is running down, make the best of what's still around," i.e. a general pillaging of everything in the moneygrab. By the time it sets in and becomes a global problem, they will be moving to the moon or living on ships. Try to insure a home on the Florida coast, or sell your home in the same, and you'll get the cold hard reality of actuarial probability of destruction.
“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”
I am not seeing this.
Nobody who runs for President (with the exception of a certain tired old Jew?) has ever fit this profile.
Perhaps if you tried elaborating on this observation a bit more?
True or not, I think the worst part is that I get the sense a lot of her supporters would not see how this could be a bad thing.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Uncomfortable in her skin
It's hard to describe if you aren't familiar with what I'm talking about, but it's a general feeling that the person is really uncomfortable with themselves. I mean, you wouldn't expect someone who hates themselves to actually walk around self-flagellating. Self deprecation results from very low self esteem, but not loathing.
Have you ever met someone who seems to be "passing through" their life? Oh, sure, their schedule is busy as heck, they're very involved, but it's as if it's all a distraction to keep them from having to spend time with themself. It just kinda makes my skin crawl.
Self-loathing on its face can be a desirable trait for a CEO, but the way it usually manifests is someone who is just downright repulsive. Talks with a *nasal fry* like a valley girl from jersey, as if she's always looking at shit on a stick. Laughs at things which are not funny. I once knew a girl who couldn't use a tampon without an applicator because she couldn't stand the thought of touching herself. Kamala reminds me of her.
“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”
Sounds like poor semantics, then.
I'm not afraid to deal in metaphysics; I think the word you may be looking for is "soulless".
― Jean-Paul Sartre
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Soulless works
Soulless works as a descriptive adjective, but since I can't prove to my readers that the soul exists, I can't prove that hers does not exist. I'm searching for motivations and root causes.
“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”
Good analysis...
Trump has always gotten too much attention from the media. It happened when he did wrestling, or whatever it was. And on from there. If they would shut up about him, he'd disappear! But no, not at all.
As for Harris. Gag. This rings so true: 'What the handlers couldn't change is that Kamala is just not a likeable person. Even my 10 year old niece knows that laughing at your own jokes is a fatal character flaw. What kind of support group of people does one hang out with in order to develop such an odious tick?'
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
For all the talk
people can't understand how non US citizen economic refugees rate the attention while we have people living under bridges or on the street. Where kids attending school put their address down as a shelter or minivan parked at Walmart. Where the answer to mental illness is to call the cops. Where drugs are rampant and narcan is next to the aspirin. Where you can't get ahead no matter who is in charge. That's why Bernies platform resonates. People are pissed. But.....
Capitalism has no Overton window, and capitalism runs our nation, our political parties and ultimately our lives. It only exists to extract wealth, and hires our politicians to write laws that will make that happen. Our elections tinker around the edges, focused on messaging and social issues and makes wedge issues the central issues. It won't matter if the 99% suffer, capitalism doesn't care.
fatigue motivated a massive
fatigue motivated a massive increase in 2020 voter participation? is that fatigue related to the campaign that began when he was elected in 2016? people tired of hearing about Russia decided to vote just this once? I must not understand what fatigue is.
I gather this election bored everyone? maybe they felt the insult of the end run by the Democrats who never seem to enjoy the primary process as an opportunity for voter input?
that i can understand.
those fickle millions.
Yeah, those fickle millions.
I'm not sure I get the gist of your comment. It's as if you don't accept any explanations for the fluctuations in voter turnout.
2008 - historic turnout
2012 - not as historic (like me, Obama's coalition was not as committed)
2016 - Clinton vs. Trump the least engaged electorate ever
2020 - ok what do we got to do about this guy Trump to make him go away?
2024 - We wanted him to go away, but she's even worse. And now we want to punish the people who tried to hammer the square peg into the hole. We're done with this shit.
“He may not have gotten the words out but the thoughts were great.”
Of course, DJT knows he was lying,
in order to reassure his voters that they can go on spending on crap no one in his or her right mind needs. Meanwhile, his international billionaire buddies, from whom he craves acceptance, like a nerd hoping to get into the Kewl Crowd, can grab while the grabbing is good.
Mary Bennett