In the never-ending struggle between good and evil, Hollywood tells us that good will usually triumph. In the real world, that isn’t always guaranteed. In our recent presidential face-off, good barely survived. Good and the 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞-𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫-𝐨𝐟-𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 delivered an apparent crushing blow to the evil villain, Donald J. Trump. The previous mid-term elections also saw the forces of good (Democrats?) tip the scales of what we call Congress, with an apparent slight leaning in their direction. Democrats then wanted to break out the tambourines and declare this a kumbaya moment.
Not so fast Bunky. Without tossing out the filibuster rule we were on an overloaded tanker with a bent rudder, in rough seas, with engine trouble, a mutinous crew, and pirates on the horizon. Sorry for the Hollywood-like description. Toss in some climate-change-related natural disasters, a global pandemic, and a nuclear super-power amassing an army threatening an invasion, and now you have the making of a real blockbuster.
Will there be Donald J. Trump, the sequel? Will the forces of evil institute an election process that assures a directed outcome? Will the Democrats, Independents, and responsible Republicans see the threat to our democratic way of life in time? Will good again triumph over evil? All good questions without a clear answer.
Democrats, for their part, will have to take off their rose-colored glasses, put down their tambourines, take the bull by the tail and face the situation. It's not a pretty sight. Republicans will have to find the stomach to see that the emperor has no clothes and that their party will not long survive an association with Nazis, white supremacists, and the nut-job extremists in their midst. I have never had a problem discussing policy with responsible and sane Republicans, Libertarians, or Independents who can debate topics without relying on a priori assumptions.
Democrats need to realize that they are not negotiating from a position of power and that, while many items on their agenda may be worthy of future consideration, this is a time to address issues of more significant concern to a broader base. We are spending far too much time talking about the most vocal rabble within the opposition party when we should be pushing forward with more important matters.
It is time to talk loudly about the potential benefits of infrastructure improvements and other items in current pending legislation, the jobs that will create, and how life will be made better for all citizens. It is time to put pressure on passing a budget for 2022 and get the Appropriations Committee to finalize things and not just pass short-term spending bills. Let the public know why bridges are collapsing, roads are unimproved, rural Internet expansion is halted, and construction and manufacturing jobs are put on hold. Identify those responsible for the delays with petty infighting for pet projects. Public works projects across the nation are all being delayed by just a few people. State budgets are held up awaiting federal funding decisions.
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| Infrastructure Spending Please... |
Point out people like Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama who is delaying these life-changing programs ($1.2 trillion) because he wants more money for the Pentagon. Yes, the same military budget that is currently at $777.7 billion, is larger than the combined military budgets of China, India, Russia, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, and Japan, and was used by Donald J. Trump to fund his unfinished border wall.
If Democrats keep harping on Covid restrictions, investigations into January 6, climate change, and a list of progressive measures, they will lose the mid-terms and all hope of advancing any of these worthy items. Democrats can’t afford to abandon the middle of the country and continue to place all their eggs in the basket of the northeast and west coastal areas of America. When you do good, flaunt it. When you do bad, own it. I believe Joe Biden is a good person and an experienced politician, but we need someone who will be able to challenge the likes of a Ron DeSantis if he should win the Republican presidential nomination.
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| Democrats can't ignore red-state America (note, some marked blue are really purple) |
If Biden decides not to run in 2024, who do the Democrats have? Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Stacey Abrams, and Amy Klobuchar would be front-runners. While all are good people, and most could do the job, would they stand a chance of moving red-state America to trust a Democrat? I doubt it. Hillary Clinton had skills and experience but came with more baggage than an airline carousel. Chauvinistic it may be, but there are many in America, especially red-state America, not ready for a woman president. Regrettably, we may not be there yet. Mayor Pete, the only male on the list, would be one of the smartest and most capable entries, but his single carry-on won’t fit in the overhead bin for a large vocal group of Americans. Is there a shining star somewhere in the Democratic party that I missed that stands a chance? I can only hope.
One long-shot would be California Governor Gavin Newsom. Last September he defeated Trump, or at least he defeated a Trump-supported recall election effort with 64% of voters. Yes, they were California voters but it was still a positive sign. While none of this should matter, Newsom is male, straight, and handsome. Yes, a woman should eventually be president, and someone from the LGBTQ community should have that opportunity as well, but not in this current environment. Not while we have some in our midst still fighting the Civil War and others wanting to resurrect the ideals of Nazi Germany. Our advancement as a society is moving at a glacial pace and our planet is getting warmer.
You can believe that leprechauns ride unicorns across rainbows carrying bags of golden hen’s teeth, but most of us are still choking on the Big Lie and not ready for another fairy tale. This is not a movie set, it's the way things really work.
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| Leprechaun riding a Unicorn over a Rainbow, a beer in one hand, and a bag of golden hen's teeth in the other. |
Ｒｅａｌｉｔｙ ｌｅａｖｅｓ ａ ｌｏｔ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ ｉｍａｇｉｎａｔｉｏｎ－
Ｊｏｈｎ Ｌｅｎｎｏｎ．
Enough with all this serious stuff, just remember these 5 rules for life that I stole from someone cleverer than I:
1. 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙈𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙠𝙚.
2. 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙙’𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚.
3. 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.
4. 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.
5. 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙝𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙠.
