Broken Clock

 Broken Clock

Donald Trump isn’t always wrong. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. This is not saying the president has such a sterling track record as a broken clock, but he has managed to accomplish a few things. He has identified problems that were important to most people. In fact, Republicans and Democrats are of a single mind in many if not most things. If we can assume that most people have common sense and wish to better themselves, most of us should be on the same page. We mainly differ on the solutions and priorities to problems we all agree exist.

Both parties agreed that immigration was a problem. For Republicans it went to the top of their list and got Trump elected. It became “job one” with the help of a little political exaggeration but it worked. Democrats had it further down the list and missed the boat. The solution, however, is even stretching Republicans faith in Trump. Now they see that instead of solving the problem legally and with some degree of humanity, we have armed masked police arresting innocuous people who may or may not be citizens. Border security is arguably Trump’s greatest success, but it has come at the loss of some of our individual freedoms.

We now see border detentions for citizens of the US who may have been naturalized but still look “foreign” or speak with an accent. The Trump empowered ICE, INS and Customs Services know that they can use their jobs to bully others with impunity. They are no longer arresting “thugs” but now moms, kids, and others doing jobs nobody wants. People are being terrorized and traumatized without cause. In some cases, the thugs turn out to be the enforcers. Just a few bad apples mind you, in a sea of new faces hidden behind masks. I can only imagine that psychological testing and screening in a desperate struggle to fill the ranks of these enforcers is an afterthought.

Trump’s promise to end inflation has fallen far short and prices are rising. Most people think his tariffs will be counterproductive in the lowering of the cost of living. Nobody likes higher taxes, and Trump extended the tax cut. While everybody benefited from this to some degree, its effectiveness will need to be measured in terms of impact on all income levels, not just the wealthy. Nobody believes the old "trickle down" BS anymore.

Trump cut spending through his dismantling of many government agencies. While both parties would agree there was some federal fat there, the wholesale reduction or elimination of agencies that provided needed services is now having a negative impact on citizens. Air travel is not safer. Disaster relief is no longer guaranteed. Healthcare for many has been eliminated. The Social Security Administration has been made less efficient. More people will be left homeless. Medical research has been cut and the long-term effects will never be known. Recent cuts to MRNA reseach will setback this promising technology that was just getting into cancer cures. Research jobs have vanished and countries like France and China have started programs to attract our brightest minds. Is this is better? Is this what you voted for?

The Trump presidency will be evaluated by future historians. For now, both Republicans and Democrats will need to come to their own conclusions. Those Republicans who have benefitted from Trump’s actions will have a different viewpoint from those who have had a friend or relative held by immigration or ICE with no explanation or recourse. Republicans who see higher prices at the grocery store, higher gas prices, the loss of their businesses or jobs due to tariffs, and loved ones whose lives are now in danger without government assistance, will have a more jaundiced view of these Trumpian efforts.

Democrats need to use this time for introspection. Your priorities were out of whack with reality. That Kumbaya moment of idealistic harmony and unity was a pipedream. It was overly optimistic, simplistic, and didn’t stand a snowball’s chance on a Miami sidewalk in July. Idealism being promoted from the sidelines means you have allowed things to get worse. We can’t spend our way out of this deficit. At least Republicans “talk” about cutting spending while it increases. They can do this because they are good at winning elections.

Donald Trump is bulletproof. His sexual dalliances, that would have ended other political careers, can’t make a dent in a persona crafted in a world of social media grifters and reality television stars. The only chink in his armor will be the economy. If the economy goes into the proverbial toilet, the stench will eventually do in the Teflon Don.

If that happens, the only thing that will matter will be the answer to the question, can we reverse the damage in time to salvage our once great nation? We will need to do this on our own. We have few friends left and many more enemies than we had just a few years ago. We will have to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to find a way forward. We aren’t that far apart no matter what politicians might try to tell you.

We need to respect differing viewpoints, discuss our concerns with civility, and work on meaningful solutions. You can’t do this while carrying signs and yelling at one another across a divide. The folks under the MAGA hats are your neighbors not your enemy and vice versa. We all shop at the same stores, pump the same expensive gas, and want a better life for ourselves and our children. We are all afloat in the same leaky boat and we need to work together to bail with vigor and repair the leak before the boat sinks with our broken clock and the loss of all aboard.