Part of the nation made their choice last November. Even though most of us chose the other candidate, the one who wouldn’t need babysitters, DJT is the president.
When this is all said and done, assuming we do get our government back, and assuming 45 doesn’t get the country nuked to oblivion on his way out, we’re going to need to think long and hard about the system of checks and balances. We’ve made a lot of mistakes this cycle with no recourse. Our first mistake was trusting each other to be adults, to do what is best for the whole, and trusting the people who represent us to do their jobs.
We have a free press to report the facts, to expose wrong-doing by our public officials (and potential public officials). When the press reveals a candidate is involved in fraud or irregular dealings with foreign countries, or the candidate is accused of rape (at least one alleged victim was a minor) while also bragging about being a sexual predator, or the candidate exhibits signs of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and antisocial personality disorder, voters have a responsibility to take heed. Citizens have a responsibility to themselves and to the community to check into what the press has found before making an important decision (and voting).
There are electors who exist to prevent a situation just like the one we had in November. Okay, the fact is the electoral college exists so that the slave states have an advantage, but besides that the electors were put in place to prevent an irresponsible demagogue from taking office. They are there to check when the citizens lose their minds. It didn’t work. Five times now, the president was not elected by popular vote, and this time the electors also couldn’t be bothered to do what the country most needed them to do: to not let the country elect a demagogue for president.
They had one job. They need to go.
We also need to review the cabinet situation. It makes sense that a president chooses the people who advise him/her (approved by the Senate) and who run various departments of the government. In this case the baby chose his own babysitters, and none of them care what he does. Sure, some of them might have prevented a fire in the White House (I hope they child-proofed the electrical outlets), but like a kid in the check-out line at Walmart, ManBaby-In-Chief blurts out whatever pops into his head especially when someone new is around. The babysitters shouldn’t have to hold his phone, make him do chores for the WiFi password, or speak in public for him, but this is what we have, a Toddler-In-Chief, looking for attention and praise with no regard for anyone or anything else. We need to review how advisers are chosen, how and who approves them (since we clearly cannot trust the Senate anymore), and what can be done when someone like Bannon gets his talons into our “leader.” We need to know that the person with the nuclear codes is not going to give the codes away hoping for attention and validation in return.
And how does someone too fucking racist for courts in the 1980’s get approved for Attorney General in 2017? How does a person who doesn’t believe in climate change get put in charge of the EPA? How does someone who doesn’t believe in public schools (and in separation of church and state) get put in charge of Education? WTF is wrong with us? Why aren’t we freaking out? Obviously, I am, but what about the rest of us? Why can’t we do something about our government putting a fox in every hen house? We cannot wait until the mid-term elections. They’re appointing people who want only to set our house on fire and watch it burn for personal profit. We’re letting them squander our investments in us, in each other. We’re watching them strike the matches as I write this.
There's a fox in every hen house of our government, and even at election time we might not be able to get them out. pic.twitter.com/Hd5EGShAC7
— E. Brooks (@GrayMattersTwit) May 17, 2017
Speaking of the Senate and approvals, how is it okay for the Senate to change the rules to push Gorsuch’s confirmation through? This is a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, for fuck’s sake. The whole idea behind the Congress is debate and compromise, getting to a place where most can agree before making a change. If someone is recommended for a position who is not good enough, you don’t change the rules; you find a better candidate. Ignoring a viable candidate for the court the last year of Obama’s presidency set a dangerous precedent. This nuclear option to get Gorsuch in did, too, and it is going to come back to bite the Senate in the ass.
Meanwhile, we wait for Congress to do their jobs again. We’ve been waiting for many years. Obama is gone so they can work again now. Big babies. We should have fired their asses right then, all of them. No paychecks, no retirement package, no insurance, just OUT. No more tantrums because they can’t get whatever petty or selfish thing they want. Go home and think about what you’ve done (or not done, actually), kids. We, The People, need a plan for when government stops because they don’t wanna. Seriously, now they are ignoring the president’s violations of the emoluments clause, obstruction of justice, and more, so they can fuck us all in the asses for taxes, social security, and healthcare while they push discrimination against minorities and LGBTQ. Members of Congress are being paid by us but also by big business. Of course their loyalties are divided. We know who pays them more. Time to out every last one of these people who have a title that suggests they represent us when they clearly do not. And they can’t come back. Don’t let the door hit them in the ass on the way out. Term limits. No performance, no job. Period.
This is not good for anyone. This is not normal. I refuse to believe that we will always only be represented by the party of hate and greed and the party of throwing up our hands. We need both to get back toward the middle where the people of the nation are and learn how to work together as adult representatives of the American people. And we need more parties, more choices, so that all are kept in check by each other.
The Constitution, as it stands, is being ignored by our government. We count on it to protect us, to force our officials to slow down, to think and behave responsibly, but they are ignoring it. We need the power to enforce it. Us. As sad as it is, the people who are supposed to enforce the law aren’t doing their jobs. Who enforces the law when the police won’t?
No more gerrymandering. No more “trickle-down” when it’s been proven it does not work. No more Southern strategy in government. Ditch the public/government monuments to racism and slavery and let the shitty attitudes fade. Better yet, remind people why they get so upset when someone calls out their racist comments and ideas, why they should be embarrassed when someone tells them to keep their shitty racist/sexist/homophobic comments to themselves. No more bribery to work for big business instead of the people our representatives are hired to work for. Keep religion and sexuality private and out of government. I do not want to hear one more fucking word about any religious books or religious beliefs as argument for or against any law or choice in the public arena. No member of Congress should ever utter a word used only for religion (such as the name of a deity) or sexuality to oppose or to support discrimination or “freedom.” We have the First Amendment already so their beliefs are their own, and they can stay that way. As soon as people, especially members of a branch of government, use their personal beliefs to affect what someone else can or cannot do, it’s out. We will not do it or enact it or even discuss it. Period.
I don’t know how else to undo what we’ve done to ourselves, but it’s time for the adults to run things now. These kids in government need to do their Constitution and government homework, learn some respect, and learn to tell the difference between what they selfishly want and how to support the communities they serve. They need to learn how to share and play nice and not fucking touch each other. They need to clean up their own messes, to ask for help when they need it, and to offer help when they can. They need to learn to take turns, to listen, and to not take what isn’t theirs. Our government officials need to show they can graduate to society with a clear understanding and respect for the Constitution and the people it protects. They need to show that they can think and behave like adults. Until then, the kids can speak when spoken to.
I’m a mom, and they DO NOT want me to come over there.
17 May 2017
Link: Baby Trump cartoon, December 2016, Norwegian news outlet VG.