Ten pretty yellow umbrellas on the Rose Garden patio, tables and chairs ready for afternoon teas that will never take place.
This makes no sense to anyone but Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.
One man, one voice, one grandiose ego.
The problem for all Americans is that Donald Trump has this country by the cojones and he has no problem squeezing them. Whereas before he would say “Make America Great Again”, now he says “Do As I Say Or I Will Destroy You.”
No checks, no balances, Donald Trump has the near-absolute freedom to do as he pleases without limitation. Donald Trump has been given an unprecedented degree of authoritarian power, and we are all suffering the consequences. Nearly two-thirds of Americans do not approve of the direction Donald Trump has taken this country, but right now this does not matter.
Why one-third of Americans still support him is an important question to ask, but that is for another time.
What is important is that Donald Trump has disrupted a functioning government and society without regard to consequence, disregarding the rule of law, accepted science and social norms in a myriad of self-serving and illogical ways. In the first seven months of his administration, Donald Trump has proven himself to be the most undemocratic, the most un-American president in the history of the United States.
Donald Trump will continue to exert his will on this country for the rest of his term. To what extent he will further damage our country cannot be underestimated. It is as if he is bringing his anger, his resentment, and his need for vengeance down on us all. We have been given a little taste of what living in a fascist-style pseudo-democracy is like. It is up to us to respond as a people as to whether or not this is acceptable.
Perhaps God will stop Donald Trump for us through illness and dementia, but God gave us free will and using our free will instead of waiting for God to act is a better way forward.
It is conceivable but unlikely that President Trump will be able to declare a national emergency to prevent the midterm elections from being held. This redistricting in Texas is a more subtle way for President Trump to attempt to ensure that he, through the Republican Party, will retain control of the government.
And yet, who is to say that redistricting to create additional Republican-controlled districts in the House of Representatives will actually work as intended? There is nothing written in stone that guarantees that the Republicans will win the mid-term elections in these newly-formed Texas districts.
I understand that to many people who have voted their entire adult lives for Republicans, and who have believed that the Democratic Party was the party of Godless, socialist devil-worshipers, the very idea of voting for a Democrat is stomach-churning heresy.
And yet, for example, Texas was not always a Republican-controlled state. To those Texans and people in other so-called red states who cringe at the idea of voting Democrat, I would like to point out that their grandparents probably voted Democrat. In fact, over the course of Texan statehood, there have been 27 Democratic senators and only 7 Republican senators. Also since Texas became a state, there have been 37 Democratic governors and only 7 Republican governors.
Historically, then, Texas has actually been a blue state, and Texas-proud of it.
Just as the Democrats lost their way and fell out of favor with Texan voters, the same can certainly happen to the Republicans. If I were Texan, I would not be happy with the completely partisan redistricting that is occurring, primarily because my vote is being taken for granted.
I might or might not object to the unfairness of this redistricting process because of its blatant intent to manipulate and negate the democratic will of the people.
I might or might not object to the way in which the Republican-controlled state government has rushed to do the bidding of President Trump instead of standing firm on established democratic principles like any respectable Texan would and should have done.
I might or might not reconsider my loyalty to the Republican Party in general, and seriously think about voting the way my grandparents did.
While we are at it, let’s look at all of the so-called red states, just to see if any of these states have a significant history of voting Democrat.
These statistics are taken from the United States Senate historical record and the National Governors Association historical record.
In the beginning of this nation, there were other political parties such as the Whig Party, the Democrat-Republican Party, the Union Party, and the Federalist Party. With the exception of the Whig Party, which was the forerunner of the Republican Party and is counted as such, politicians from these other parties have been omitted from this statistical evaluation, as have politicians who changed from Democrat to Republican or vice-versa mid-term.
I have also included a statistical breakdown for the so-called swing states. The state-by-state statistics are quite interesting:
Alabama – 32 Democratic Senators, 8 Republican Senators; 40 Democratic Governors, 7 Republican Governors
Alaska – 4 Democratic Senators, 4 Republican Senators; 4 Democratic Governors, 6 Republican Governors
Arizona – 8 Democratic Senators, 9 Republican Senators; 14 Democratic Governors, 9 Republican Governors (Blue State/Swing State)
Arkansas – 28 Democratic Senators, 7 Republican Senators; 43 Democratic Governors, 8 Republican Governors
Florida – 25 Democratic Senators, 12 Republican Senators; 33 Democratic Governors, 9 Republican Governors
Georgia – 37 Democratic Senators, 10 Republican Senators; 42 Democratic Governors, 6 Republican Governors (Red State/Swing State)
Idaho – 10 Democratic Senators, 19 Republican Senators; 11 Democratic Governors, 20 Republican Governors
Iowa – 11 Democratic Senators, 27 Republican Senators; 10 Democratic Governors, 31 Republican Governors
Kansas – 3 Democratic Senators, 29 Republican Senators; 13 Democratic Governors, 31 Republican Governors
Kentucky – 33 Democratic Senators, 18 Republican Senators; 33 Democratic Governors, 17 Republican Governors
Louisiana – 33 Democratic Senators, 18 Republican Senators; 34 Democratic Governors, 12 Republican Governors
Michigan – 17 Democratic Senators, 25 Republican Senators; 18 Democratic Governors, 29 Republican Governors (Blue State/Swing State)
Mississippi – 30 Democratic Senators, 12 Republican Senators; 44 Democratic Governors, 7 Republican Governors
Missouri – 24 Democratic Senators, 17 Republican Senators; 39 Democratic Governors, 14 Republican Governors
Montana – 15 Democratic Senators, 10 Republican Senators; 14 Democratic Governors, 10 Republican Governors
Nebraska – 8 Democratic Senators, 31 Republican Senators; 11 Democratic Governors, 28 Republican Governors
Nevada – 14 Democratic Senators, 14 Republican Senators; 14 Democratic Governors, 16 Republican Governors (Blue State/Swing State)
North Carolina – 29 Democratic Senators, 23 Republican Senators; 37 Democratic Governors, 13 Republican Governors (Red State/Swing State)
North Dakota – 10 Democratic Senators, 15 Republican Senators; 6 Democratic Governors, 25 Republican Governors
Ohio – 20 Democratic Senators, 41 Republican Senators; 19 Democratic Governors, 33 Republican Governors
Oklahoma – 10 Democratic Senators, 10 Republican Senators; 21 Democratic Governors, 5 Republican Governors
Pennsylvania- 12 Democratic Senators, 25 Republican Senators; 11 Democratic Governors, 26 Republican Governors (Blue State/Swing State)
South Carolina – 37 Democratic Senators, 16 Republican Senators; 55 Democratic Governors, 9 Republican Governors
South Dakota – 7 Democratic Senators, 20 Republican Senators; 5 Democratic Governors, 27 Republican Governors
Tennessee – 35 Democratic Senators, 16 Republican Senators; 31 Democratic Governors, 14 Republican Governors
Utah – 5 Democratic Senators, 13 Republican Senators; 6 Democratic Governors, 12 Republican Governors
West Virginia – 22 Democratic Senators, 17 Republican Senators; 20 Democratic Governors, 15 Republican Governors
Wisconsin – 11 Democratic Senators, 20 Republican Senators; 13 Democratic Governors, 32 Republican Governors (Blue State/Swing State)
Wyoming – 7 Democratic Senators, 17 Republican Senators; 13 Democratic Governors, 19 Republican Governors
What these statistics show is that many of the current red states have an overwhelmingly blue history. There was a time that being a Democrat in these states was considered to be a respectable, majority-held position to have. In fact, the Democratic Party was the majority party in these states for quite some time.
These statistics also show that some of the current blue states considered to be swing states have a strong red history. Nothing can be taken for granted in politics.
The Democrats need to bring both of these points up repeatedly.
First, that there is honor and precedent in voting Democrat in most of the states that are considered safe Republican states. Many of these states used to be Democratic strongholds until the voters lost faith in the Democratic Party.
Second, that the Democrats must work hard to keep the voters’ faith in the swing states that are currently voting Democrat, or the political pendulum will swing back to Republican, particularly in those states that used to be Republican strongholds.
Of course, none of this will matter if the Democrats do not have candidates that can offer a clear alternative vision to moderate voters as to how to Make America Great Again. This is a real problem for the Democrats, as most politicians run on a few poll-driven issues and selective attacks on their opponent’s character. Few politicians have any vision for the future beyond their next election.
This is unfortunate, because the Republicans are clearly demonstrating to the American people who they are as a party and what they stand for, and it is anything but Make America Great Again.
Virtually all of the Republican incumbents have shown their support of the Trump Administration’s steady march towards a fascist pseudo-democracy. The Republican Party has shown quite clearly that it will not object to anything that the Trump Administration does to Americans and to American society, no matter how brutal, no matter how authoritarian, no matter how anti-democratic this Administration’s actions might be.
The Republicans are the party of military occupation of our major cities. The Republicans are the party of the richest and most powerful at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable. The Republicans are the party of wholesale abduction and deportation without due process of illegal aliens and Green Card holders alike, and in some instances American citizens as well.
The Republicans are the party of ideologically-based threats and intimidation directed towards law firms, media firms, tech firms, universities, and national museums. The Republicans are the party that authorizes the investigation of the political opposition with threats of criminal charges and possible imprisonment, even extending this retribution and purge to former loyalists of Trump who dared to object and speak publicly about their concerns, and to those who were simply doing their jobs.
The Republicans are the party of environmental destruction and the elimination of government agencies that study and predict weather-related disasters. The Republicans are the party that eliminates all government oversight in order to allow corrupt activities to flourish. The Republicans are the party that diminishes American influence by indiscriminately eliminating humanitarian foreign aid and withdrawing from international organizations.
The Republicans are the party that rejects medical science and exposes Americans to potentially lethal diseases. The Republicans are the party that is in the process of eliminating Federal involvement in education, thereby crippling the ability of our children to compete with the superior level and in-depth education afforded to children around the world.
The Republicans are the party that says nothing when senior-level qualified career public servants and military leaders are fired because they provide factual data or place the interests of the country before loyalty to this administration. The Republicans are the party that has allowed the President to monetize the Presidency and add over $3 billion to his personal fortune. So far.
I ask you, how could any reasonable person argue that any of this Makes America Great Again?
No Republican incumbent should be allowed to feel safe when they have essentially condoned this reign of political terrorism against the American people.
This all needs to be pointed out by the Democrats factually and bluntly, time and time again, This is a betrayal of the American people and of our democratic principles of the highest order.
But the Democrats need to offer much more than repeatedly listing the failings of the Republican Party and this administration. This by itself will have little impact on changing the course of voting in red states if not accompanied by a clear-eyed vision of a better way to actually Make America Great Again that is grounded in American tradition, democratic principles, and common sense.
The Democrats need to stop talking incessantly about those tangential issues that alienate many voters such as trans rights, critical race theory, reparations, abortion, and the like. Just stop. Common sense will always prevail in these matters no matter how strongly you believe in your personal ideology, so let common sense prevail.
The ultimate goal for the Democrats in the mid-term elections must be not only to regain the majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, but to obtain a 2/3 majority in the Senate so that Donald J. Trump can be impeached for a third time and finally be convicted and removed from office.
This is unlikely to happen, of course, but if the Democrats are able to regain the majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, a stalemate of sorts will have then been reached. President Trump can be impeached but not convicted, congressional hearings can be held, and the extent of the damage done by the Republicans and the Trump Administration can begin to be exposed, quantified, and documented.
Even regaining the majority in either the Senate or the House of Representatives would have an impact in slowing down the spread of fascist corruption and ideological terror.
The problem is that this all depends on the ability of the Democrats to rise to the occasion, to begin to speak clearly, forcefully, and persuasively, with a unified voice and a shared vision for the future of this country grounded in democratic principles and common sense. Right now that seems unlikely but not impossible.
Optimistically, that’s a start.