Trump's "Panoply of Dementia"

This would be a national crisis if it hadn't been going on for the last four years.  I guess we're just used to have a deranged, psychotic as President.

“Bartiromo & Trump: transcript of the 45 minute deranged Trump rant on Fox Business yesterday. Read it. This is as insane as Trump has ever been,” he tweeted Monday morning. “Trump is so unhinged that he repeats the same vague ‘evidence all over the place’ & ‘you see what happens, it’s a disgrace,’ a panoply of dementia signs & symptoms.”

He added, “This embarrassing, loud, wandering, psychotic dementia tirade shows Trump to be dangerous, paranoid, out of control, & delusional. Bartiromo completes a ‘folie a deux.’ Read the transcript.”

The problem with #MalignantEnabling Maria, to paraphrase “The Sound of Music”, is that bizarre sessions with a psychotic, demented Trump attract viewers. I watched it 3x in disbelief. It’s about $$, not news. #Presidementia https://t.co/lMpZfWdxwc

— John M. Talmadge, MD (@JohnMTalmadgeMD) November 30, 2020

Why 74 Million American Voters Prefer Trump

There's a painful truth here that Democrats need to understand.  Seventy four million people didn't vote for Trump because they are all racists or because Fox (or OANN or Newsmax) told them to vote for him.  They voted for Trump because they feel that they have no voice in America.  You can't escape the reality that the map above represents.  The rural/urban divide is real and it is based on the real sense that people outside of major urban centers have that the have no voice in their own country.  Trump promised to be their voice.  The fact that he was nothing like them didn't matter.  They needed someone who at least pretended to share their sense of being outsiders looking in at a country that no longer shared their values.

It really does feel like the worst of both worlds: all the ravages of poverty, but none of the sympathy. "Blacks burn police cars, and those liberal elites say it's not their fault because they're poor. My son gets jailed and fired over a baggie of meth, and those same elites make jokes about his missing teeth!" You're everyone's punching bag, one of society's last remaining safe comedy targets.

They take it hard. These are people who come from a long line of folks who took pride in looking after themselves. Where I'm from, you weren't a real man unless you could repair a car, patch a roof, hunt your own meat, and defend your home from an intruder. It was a source of shame to be dependent on anyone -- especially the government. You mowed your own lawn and fixed your own pipes when they leaked, you hauled your own firewood in your own pickup truck. (Mine was a 1994 Ford Ranger! The current owner says it still runs!)

The rural folk with the Trump signs in their yards say their way of life is dying, and you smirk and say what they really mean is that blacks and gays are finally getting equal rights and they hate it. But I'm telling you, they say their way of life is dying because their way of life is dying. It's not their imagination. No movie about the future portrays it as being full of traditional families, hunters, and coal mines. Well, except for Hunger Games, and that was depicted as an apocalypse.

Both political parties have been exploiting this cultural divide.  People of good will on both sides actually struggle to understand why those on the other side behave the way they do.  The cynical, like Trump and many Republican politicians, realize that it is in their political interest to use cultural/religious issues to widen our national divide.  Yet, historically both parties have the same center of political gravity - catering to the rich, both individuals and corporations.  Whether the policy is free trade, tax breaks or coddling petrochemical companies, the result on rural American has been equally devastating. 

In a city, you can plausibly aspire to start a band, or become an actor, or get a medical degree. You can actually have dreams. In a small town, there may be no venues for performing arts aside from country music bars and churches. There may only be two doctors in town -- aspiring to that job means waiting for one of them to retire or die. You open the classifieds and all of the job listings will be for fast food or convenience stores. The "downtown" is just the corpses of mom and pop stores left shattered in Walmart's blast crater, the "suburbs" are trailer parks. There are parts of these towns that look post-apocalyptic. 

I'm not sure I buy this analysis completely, but I do think it fit the picture of division that the 2020 election projects.  We have a large cultural divide in this country that requires leaders willing to bridge that divide and reach out to those on the other side.  That leadership needs to come from both political parties and, so far, on a national level Republicans seem to be more than willing to follow Trump's lead in creating more division and animosity not less.

Actual Leadership - Coming Soon

Adult Management.

He Screams, He Lies...

 This is who he has always been.

Trump At The Kid's Table

Sitting at the kiddie table.  Let's let the adults get back to work.

Tiny, Tiny Man

Yesterday, Trump told a bunch of lies while sitting behind a tiny table.  Perhaps an end table from one of the Oval Office sofas?  Will his next address to the nation be while sitting on the toilet?  

Take A Look At Trump's Presidential Library

 

The plans are complete and the exhibits designed for Trump's presidential library.  The library near Trump's beloved US/Mexico border will host permanent and rotating displays of both Trump's presidency and his long criminal history.   

The lobby is emblazoned with Trump tweets, a map of the countries included in his early Muslim ban, and a front desk where entrance fees double to $50 for “immigrants.” Exhibits include a selection of “alternative facts” delivered by multiple White House press secretaries, the “Wall of Criminality,” and a prison with a work-release program for members of Trump’s inner circle convicted of crimes. Outside, next to the rooftop Autocrats Gallery and the Felon’s Lounge cocktail bar, is a gravesite for Trump allies who succumbed to COVID-19.

You can wander through a digital version of the library here and get to the library's Twitter feed here.  

Four Years of Abuse Is Enough - The Recovery Will Take A Long Time

For millions of Americans the last four years have had many of the hallmarks of life in an abusive relationship.  Trump is an abuser.  His bullying, ranting and verbal abuse are typical of such a personality.  And, his need for validation of his behavior by hanging out with his MAGA pals is also the typical behavior of an abuser.  It is going to take us time to get over the four years we were trapped in Trump's America.

There are certainly many parallels between the end of Donald Trump’s presidency and a psychologically violent relationship. Think about the temper tantrums, the refusal to accept reality, mood swings, fear of reprisal and a sense of looming danger: all are hallmarks of controlling and abusive behavior.

“Throughout his time in office, Trump would belittle communities, enact state violence through policies, act out in vengeful ways when he felt slighted and cut off access to supports or protections, isolating communities from each other,” she tells me. “I feel that under Trump many of us had a collective hypervigilance and anxiety of what he might do next. This has shown up in things like night terrors or constantly scrolling on social media for real or perceived threats from him to your community.”

Trump 2024.  They've all turned orange now.

 White House releases Trump's official post election portrait.  I would like to have this posted in all government buildings until January 20.

Trump Is R.O.A.D. (Retired On Active Duty)

While the leaders of the world's major economies held a virtual G20 summit meeting, Trump was busy with his usual occupations - golf, Twitter and TV.  A key component of this G20 was an emphasis on coordinating the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Trump skipped that important session entirely and played golf instead.  He later appeared in a video attacking the Paris Climate Accord that was roundly ignored.  His final opportunity on the world stage ended with Trump again absent.

As best we know, no G20 participants told Trump to his virtual face that his time is up, and no one here will write him off until he is finally gone.

But he seemed to make the point himself as the G20 wrapped and the King delivered the final communique while surrounded by leaders in their zoom boxes, Trump was not in his chair -- instead an uninterested underling, in an apparent final gesture of contempt.

For many Trump's exit from the top table of global decision-making will be a welcome break from four stormy years of bullying and lies. The metaphor was completed during the final G20 communique.

Bodies Keep Piling Up While Trump Plays Golf

Each white body bag contains a life snuffed out by Trump's incompetence

Apparently, Trump celebrates each Covid-19 death milestone with a round of golf.  He's going to get very tired considering how the Covid-19 death rate is ramping up.  The US could see 350,000 dead by January 20.

25,000 dead. Trump played golf.
50,000 dead. Trump played golf.
75,000 dead. Trump played golf.
100,000 dead. Trump played golf.
125,000 dead. Trump played golf.
150,000 dead. Trump played golf.
175,000 dead. Trump played golf.
200,000 dead. Trump played golf.
225,000 dead.... https://t.co/E6btkffzrf

— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) November 21, 2020

 

Republicanism and Trumpism Are The Same Thing

Can Trumpism survive without Trump.   The tenets of Trumpism are identical to the basic tenets of the Republican Party.  Trump has just managed to move all of those once whispered core beliefs into the "open" by both word and deed.  

As to the latter, here’s what seems to me to be Trumpism’s most salient characteristics:

*Open white supremacy

*Open nativism

*Open misogyny

*Open contempt for experts, intellectuals, universities, etc.

*Open embrace of reactionary Christianity as the informal state religion

*Open hatred of independent journalism

*Open authoritarianism

The fundamental difference between these core Republican beliefs and Trumpism is one single factor.  Today's Republican Party has become:

*A cult of personality organized around a celebrity

The Republicans haven't thrown up many politicians who could be considered celebrities.  Trump was able to leverage his celebrity, mostly gained by pretending to be a successful businessman on reality TV, and take over the Republican Party by simply saying out loud what the Republican base always believed  Trump is an asshole, who ticks all the Republicans boxes in a way that excites a broad swath of the Republican base.  He gives them permission to be right wing racist assholes, amplifying all of their prejudices and grievances while freeing the boldest of them to act upon them.

Fascist states don't survive the death of their leader.  Germany and Italy were defeated by outside military forces, who reestablished democratic governments.  Franco's passing in Spain resulted in the return of political power to a long established monarchy, which ultimately lead to a constitutional state.  Trump will survive his electoral defeat.  But, Trumpism is likely to survive with him as long as the Republican base can be convinced that Trump was "cheated" out reelection.

And People Complain About Waiting In Line to Vote

The week's most entertaining news - the great Aurora, Colorado traffic jam.  I'm a fan, but I don't think In-N-Out is worth a 12 hour wait.

In-N-Out MUST serve you if you are in line at closing time DO NOT LEAVE THE LI—

oh sorry that’s voting, please go eat somewhere else https://t.co/nQMpVqQPCI

— Elise Foley (@elisefoley) November 20, 2020

 

Is Trump Sulking Or Is He Leading a Seditious Conspiracy?

The Guardian calls Trump's current behavior "a monumental sulk" as if he were a 10 year old who's locked himself in his room because he didn't get a PlayStation 5 for his birthday.  Trump's behavior is childish, but it needs to be called out in adult terms.  After all, Trump has a rather important job and he is completely derelict in attending to that job.  In military terms, which is appropriate as he is the commander in chief of the US military, Trump is absent without leave (AWOL).   

“I don’t think we’ve had a president since Richard Nixon who is as far in the bunker and detached from the country as Donald Trump is right now,” said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota.

Trump reportedly spends mornings in the White House residence bingeing on television. Then he goes down to the Oval Office in the afternoon, moving between it and an adjoining dining room which has a big TV. He broods there until night, conferring with lawyers in increasingly desperate efforts to overturn the election even as Biden nears a record 80m votes.

A critical component of leadership is the assumption of responsibility.  Trump has never taken responsibility for any negative consequences of his behavior as president.   

Jacobs commented: “Here’s the captain of the ship who’s missing, and the ship is really listing badly to the side, taking on water as more and more people are getting ill and dying. The president is not only missing from his post, but he’s encouraging a mutiny. There’s no precedent in American history for this kind of deranged behaviour.”

In Jacobs' comment, the word mutiny fits his analogy, but it is an imprecise description of Trump's current behavior.  Trump is currently flirting with behavior that comes close to meeting the definition of forming a "seditious conspiracy."  If Trump continues to encourage violence against political opponents and actively thwart the technical transition of power to the president elect after the certification of Joe Biden's election by the Electoral College, then Trump and his associates will be engaging in such a conspiracy.

Ronald Brownstein, a senior political analyst for CNN, tweeted on Thursday: “1,869 deaths in a day, heading into Thanksgiving. And the president, without a peep of complaint from his party, has gone AWOL, abandoning his responsibility to protect the country & leaving those in his charge to fend for themselves. What would happen to any military commander?”

Trump is not acting alone.  All but a handful of Republican politicians are supporting him by their silence.  Those Republicans are in violation of the oath of office that virtually every one of them swore with their hand upon a Bible.  

Trump Supporters Are Preparing For Civil War to Keep Him In Office

How have we come to this point?  How is it possible that the most corrupt, dishonest and, frankly, mentally unbalanced person ever to hold the office of President of the United States has come to be the person that a number of Americans claim that they are willing to fight a civil war to keep in office?  Beyond those willing to die for Trump is a large percentage of all Republicans who say they will never accept Joe Biden (and most likely any Democrat) as the legal president of the country.

Brett Fryar is a middle-class Republican. A 50-year-old chiropractor in this west Texas town, he owns a small business. He has two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree, in organic chemistry. He attends Southcrest Baptist Church in nearby Lubbock.

...Fryar says he would go to war for Trump. He has joined the newly formed South Plains Patriots, a group of a few hundred members that includes a “reactionary” force of about three dozen - including Fryar and his son, Caleb - who conduct firearms training.

“If President Trump comes out and says: ‘Guys, I have irrefutable proof of fraud, the courts won’t listen, and I’m now calling on Americans to take up arms,’ we would go,” said Fryar, wearing a button-down shirt, pressed slacks and a paisley tie during a recent interview at his office.

This is what Trump and his Republican enablers are turning loose on our country.  

Riding the Tiger

Let's be clear, Republicans will do nothing to curb Trump reckless behavior.  They are linked to Trump because the Republican Party sold its soul to Trumpism in exchange for tax cuts and a poisoned federal judiciary.  Now, they are riding on the tiger's back and realize that even if the tiger is demonstrating a "high index of suspicion for destructive mental processes which are putting the country and its safety and security in jeopardy," they intend to ride along no matter the damage they and Trump cause.

If we had a functioning Republican Party, this would be the time either to pressure the president to resign early and let Vice President Mike Pence handle the remainder of the term (with the promise of a pardon to sweeten the deal) or to invoke the 25th Amendment. At minimum, we would hope that key figures, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and other senior officials, would act to embrace the reality of the election outcome and put constraints on Trump to stop destructive acts. Instead, they are enabling his worst instincts and behaviors. 

But it is important to at least call it out for what it is. Whatever President Trump does leading up to Jan. 20 — whether it is reckless actions abroad or lawless and destructive acts of commission or omission at home — it should be clear that these are not normal nor acceptable actions by an American president.

If It Walks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck. Is It a Fascist?

Is it fair or, more precisely, accurate to call Trump a fascist?  On a purely academic basis it is difficult to compare Trump's American made fascism with the product on display in Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy or, even Franco's Spain.  But, that difficulty stems from the fact that fascism is more identifiable after the authoritarian take-over than before it happens.  It is clear that Trumpism, which is a personality cult that has taken over the Republican Party, is based on "authoritarian ethno-nationalism" that is packaged and sold to an audience well prepared by its embrace of systemic racism and right wing fundamental religious bigotry.

Trump is a grifting demagogue, who has figured out in his feral way that the Republican party was ripe for being taken over by someone presenting himself as an authoritarian ethno-nationalist strongman celebrity cult figure — a kind of reality TV caudillo. (Again, asking whether he “believes” in ethno-nationalism is the wrong question — what he believes is that authoritarian ethno-nationalism plays with the marks. I will concede that he does seem to have a genuine — to the extent that word can ever mean anything in regard to Trump — affection for authoritarianism and white supremacy, but this seems purely emotional and reflexive rather than some sort of ideological commitment, because Trump doesn’t and indeed can’t do ideology: he’s too lazy and stupid for that).

But the fact remains that anybody who is promoting an authoritarian ethno-nationalist xenophobic anti-intellectual strongman cult, based on restoring a glorious mythical national greatness, that must now be recaptured because it has been sabotaged by both external and internal enemies, is at a minimum playing around with a Fascism 101 Starter Kit.

Trumpism is a fascist movement, Trumpism has taken over the Republican party completely, and the Republican party is trying to nullify the presidential election it just lost, so you do the math regarding whether that all adds up to some sort of nascent or not so nascent fascist plot against America.

You don't need an airtight ideology to be a fascist, just the willingness to lie, cheat and steal.  This is what makes fascism an ideal political philosophy for Trump.  He has already perfected lying, cheating and stealing.

“the firehose of falsehood"

Trump likes being president.  Not the actual work of being president, because he is basically lazy and lacks any of the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.  But, he likes the attention and the perks that go with the presidency.  He doesn't want to voluntarily leave the position, but he is more than willing to remain in the spotlight as the aggrieved and cheated "true president in exile" when he is forced out of the White House in January.  That is the real goal of his planned and coordinated attack on the 2020 election.

Trump’s strategy is sophisticated, even if his style is not. As a profligate and frequently unsuccessful litigant, he almost certainly knows that his lawsuits will not reverse the election. To succeed, however, he must merely reach two attainable goals: convince Republicans that the election was not free and fair (as 70 percent of them already believe, according to a recent  Politico/Morning Consult poll); and convince much of the rest of the public that the election result is in doubt, and can never be known for sure. Those outcomes will frustrate and distract Democrats, outrage and mobilize Republicans, and—most important from Trump’s point of view—position him to remain agitator-in-chief after he leaves office.

Sniping at Joe Biden from the outside, while he remains the de facto leader of the Republican Party is the perfect role for Trump.  It isn't particularly time consuming.  Any failures of the party in elections is the fault of loser candidates not Trump.  He can hold a rally a week if he needs the attention between rounds of golf.  And, his political action committee can rake in millions of dollars for his own personal use with no strings attached.  It is a perfect scam and he has almost the entire Republican Party supporting him as he lies his way out of one more personal financial disaster. 

Conscious Sabotage of the United State Government

Let's say the Russians did a complete and thorough psychological profile of Trump during the years they worked with him on various deals, including his beauty pageant and various financial deals, including laundering money for some of Putin's oligarchs.  Let's also say that many of the Steele Dossier's more purient findings were correct and aided the Russians in coming to a clear determination as the what they could expect if somehow Trump became the US president.  What an incredible weapon Trump would be if they could deploy him and thanks to racist Americans and the slave states contribution to the Constitution - the Electoral College, Trump  was deployed.  

I suspect even Putin couldn't have gamed out a scenario as perfect for Russia and as inimical to US interests as what is happening right now in our country.

“Imagine if, in November 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had decided to check out of World War II because it wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. Imagine if he had secluded himself in the Oval Office, listening to the radio all day, laughing at ‘Fibber McGee and Molly‘ and cursing at Walter Winchell’s news program,” Max Boot wrote for the Washington Post Monday.

“Trump’s focus in his final days seems to be on replacing competent officials with unqualified loyalists,” Boot wrote. “A purge directed by his 30-year-old former ‘body man‘ has heads rolling at the Defense Department, Homeland Security, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Energy Department and even at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — where a climate-change denier has been put in charge of the U.S. Global Change Research Program.”

Boot declared, “Trump could not be doing more damage if he were consciously attempting to sabotage the U.S. government.” 

71 Millions Americans Voted for Death

Trump just doesn't care how many Americans die of Covid-19.

Dr. Peter Hotez, who serves as the dean of tropical medicine at Baylor University’s School of Medicine warned on CNN that the United States is so overwhelmed with COVID-19 that it is approaching a humanitarian crisis.

Sunday marked the 12th day in a row in which the United States had over 100,000 new infections of the coronavirus in the country. The past week shows the increasing spike getting worse. Things have gotten so bad that Doctors without Borders, which normally helps with medical access in the third world, has dispatched physicians to the U.S.

“It’s more than just heading in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Hotez. “We are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe approaching potentially 400,000 Americans who could perish by the early part of next year. Let’s look at where we’ll be in January when the formal transition takes place: 2,000 to 2,500 Americans will be dying every day, those are the projections.”

I despair for my country.  71 million of my fellow Americans voted to give a mass murder a second four years in office.  Virtually the entire Republican Party is complicit in this mass murder.

Millions and Millions - In Your Dreams

Here's how things work in the MAGA world.  McEneny lies that a million marchers descend on Washington when the actual number is a few thousand at most.  

McEnany, who once declared she would never lie to the American public, wrote, “AMAZING! More than one MILLION marchers for President @realDonaldTrump descend on the swamp in support. Best base in political history — we LOVE you guys!!!”

Trump will drive past the feeble crowd on his way back from the golfing and echo McEneny's lies in a Tweet.  Fox News will confirm that there were at least a million MAGAs there showing support for Trump.  At that point, even the MAGAs in attendance in the sparse crowd will swear that they were in a crowd so vast that it seemed the whole of Trump's 71 million voters were there.

There were more Proud Boy fascists hanging out at a DC bar, than people in the crowd at Freedom Plaza.

Yes, Trump. You're Fired!

 Look in the mirror, asshole.

Ivanka and Jared Looking to Turn Their Lives Around

Just In:  Ivanka and Jared have signed on to star in the stage adaptation of the classic British film, Anna and the Apocalypse!  They hope this will help them re-enter New York society.

Big Law Firms Bailing on Trump

Maybe these big law firms are just worried that Trump will stiff them when they don't deliver him the election.  Or, possibly these lawyers have more integrity than Trump's Republican enablers.

Major law firms helping the lame-duck president in this effort have been discovering there is a cost to representing departing President Trump’s last-gasp legal crusades to overturn electoral results that made him a one-term, impeached president. The day after the New York Times reported that one Porter Wright lawyer called it quits and another major firm, Jones Day, had been coping with dissension in the ranks of partners queasy about contributing to a legal offensive that they feared would weaken election integrity in the United States.

Part of the problem for Trump is the fact that although their clients may be comfortable lying under oath, lawyers can't stay lawyers if they start telling lies in court.  

What Pandemic?

Remember when we had a pandemic task force?  It was kind of a big deal.

I guess Trump and the Republicans are tired of all that winning.

Where's My Money?

I have been sending in my evidence of the rigged election, but so far haven't received any money.  I have photos and those affidavids things (I don't use my real name, cuz I don't want the libs to come to my trailer).

I saw the libs dump Trump ballots here.  Send money and I tell you where.

   

And I sent in a bunch of these affadavids:

Does Donnie Just Need A Hug

Maybe everything would be good, if Joe Biden would just give Trump a hug.

This is the Twitter content I’m here for... pic.twitter.com/nrNVuvnGbc

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) November 11, 2020

"I have the evidence of 104, no 215, no 11,000 incidents of voter fraud...."

Back in 2016, Trump claimed that there were millions of illegal and/or fraudulent votes for Clinton.  He formed a high profile commission of voter fraud experts to validate his claim.  

Remember when Kris Kobach was charged with Donald Trump with the task of coming up with a shred of evidence for Trump’s wild lies about how “millions” of fraudulent votes were cast against him in 2016, and he came up with nothing? Not with “a totally half-assed set of poorly supported partisan conclusions that would convince nobody who needed convincing.” But literally nothing.

Main stream Republicans approved of the commission because voter fraud is the boogie man of Republican politics.  They have been using it as a way to suppress potentially Democratic voters for decades.  But, Trump's current attack on the voting process is much more than putting on the boogie man costume for Halloween.  And, as his fellow Republicans add their support to the Trump's lies, the whole structure of our democratic government is weakened.  

 The irony here is that the Republican party has now morphed into a parody of the most brain-damaged paranoid leftist America-hater you could possibly imagine: The kind of person who makes unhinged claims about how American elections are all simply “rigged” ahead of time by “the big corporations,” “the media,” etc etc.

This is horseshoe theory with a vengeance, but what nobody wants to admit is that the two ends of the horseshoe consist of a street person who should be institutionalized, and the chair of the Republican National Committee (who is Mitt Romney’s niece and George Romney’s granddaughter no less. Republican royalty!), and who is merely parroting what the Leader has decreed shall be the Party Line.

The current Republicans make the fictional Senator John Yerkes Iselin look sane.

Maybe They Should Check With Rudy

 Just sayin':

Gutless Republicans

 

Republicans passing notes to Democrats.

Pour one out for the (unnamed) Republicans who (apparently, secretly) acknowledge that President-elect Joe Biden won the race, but tragically have no choice but to do nothing as their leader strikes a match and pours lighter fluid all over the principles of American democracy as he refuses to concede.

“They call me to say ‘Congratulations, please convey my well wishes to the President-elect, but I can’t say that publicly yet,'” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota Tuesday.

Republicans Embrace Trump's Lies

What this year's campaign, election and its aftermath should drive home to all Americans is the precarious condition of our democratic republic. Trump 2016 election and his ability over the last four years to unite millions of our fellow citizens in support of autocracy and even outright fascism should be ample evidence that our current constitutional government can be subverted and that there are vast numbers of our fellow Americans that would be willing participants in that subversion.

The Republican Party has fully embraced Trump and sees Trumpism as the key to that party's ability to retain political power.  For decades, Republicans have focused on grievance politics, pitting one group of Americans against another.  What Trump did for them is elevate their grievances and sharpen their focus.  Trump embraced the darkest impulses of fringe groups and forced them into the mainstream of our political discourse.  Some Republicans may have been squeamish about Trump's exchange of the Republican "dog whistle" for a bullhorn, but as his MAGA cult's devotion grew, most of the squeamish minority of the party embraced Trumpism - some quietly, but most enthusiastically.  

Republicans have no interest in American democracy.  They offer no policies for governance and have no solutions for the many domestic issues that are tearing our country apart.  Their only political goal is to stay in power in order to support the wealthy - both individuals and corporations.  Supporting Trump's attacks on the results of the 2020 election give Republicans a lasting political reward for their embrace of Trumpism.

...47% of the country will have an even darker view of Democrats and cities and black voters and "the Deep State." Then we'll be even more divided and the right will be even angrier and more paranoid (and better armed -- I guarantee you that gun sales are rising right now, and will rise even more if Trump's lawsuits fail and Biden's win is certified). But these cynics don't care that they're encouraging a state of permanent cold civil war. They're sure they won't be harmed by this. It'll be the rest of us who suffer as the country continues to fracture.

Republicans can only succeed by dividing the country -  marginalizing, disenfranchising and demonizing any potential opposition to their policies.  Supporting Trump's wild accusations about massive, widespread voter fraud is a great tool for  Republicans in achieving these goals.  It's why they will not abandon Trump even in defeat.  By placing the blame for Trump's defeat, not on his policies and behavior, but on massive voter fraud and "deep state" subversion, Republicans gain all the advantages of Trumpism, without having to debase themselves bowing down before him for four more years.

Petty, Vindictive Loser Surrounds Himself With Petty Vindictive People

The petty, vindictive loser who is squatting in our White House, stuffing his face with fast food, won't allow his appointed head of the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide mandated government support to the Biden transition team.

The federal official whose job is to sign off on President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory and begin the mammoth task of transitioning between presidents has refused to do so, potentially delaying the official transfer of power, The Washington Post reported on Sunday evening.

Emily Murphy, a Trump appointee who heads the General Services Administration, has resisted signing the paperwork that would give Biden and his team access to millions of dollars in transitions funds, as well as official access to government officials and equipment to prepare the incoming administration.

The GSA said over the weekend in a statement to Politico that it had not yet made the ascertainment. It could wait until Dec. 14, when the Electoral College votes are cast and certified, but doing so would undercut weeks of transition time Biden needs to enter the White House prepared for the job.

“GSA and its Administrator will continue to abide by, and fulfill, all requirements under the law,” the agency said in a brief statement.

Murphy, the GSA head, is a Republican Trump enabler, who has a bit of history supporting Trump's illegal activities. She lied to Congress regarding her decision to keep the FBI headquarters building near Trump's Washington, DC hotel.  The FBI intended to move to a new headquarters out of the downtown area, but Trump wanted to keep the major headquarters close by his hotel and Murphy made that happen for him.  

Murphy has also run afoul of the GSA's inspector general for her decision to allow her staffers Friday afternoon drinking parties at GSA headquarters.  I guess the drinks cost too much over at the Trump hotel.

Class, Always Class

The world's tackiest girl friend award goes to:

“Senior campaign and GOP officials vented that Trump’s finance team, led by former Fox TV host and Donald Trump Jr. girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, underperformed and was an HR nightmare,” reported Politico. “Trump couldn’t compete with Biden’s small-dollar fundraising machine, and some donors were horrified by what they described as Guilfoyle’s lack of professionalism: She frequently joked about her sex life and, at one fundraiser, offered a lap dance to the donor who gave the most money.”

The world's tackiest couple award goes to:

“Republican Party and campaign officials were convinced that Guilfoyle’s team, which was beset by infighting and departures, was vastly underperforming. There was anger over their abrupt cancelation of a late September virtual fundraiser with the president that was supposed to rake in as much as $15 million just ahead of the third quarter deadline,” said the report. “Senior campaign officials, meanwhile, had been getting reports that Guilfoyle had been berating her staff. Appearing together at fundraisers, Guilfoyle and her boyfriend, Donald Trump Jr., would banter in sexually suggestive ways that made some donors uncomfortable.”

This is the garbage dump that Trump has turned the Republican Party in to and which he has rubbed America's nose in for four years.

Dancing in the Streets -- LA Style

 LA has a message from Trump.  

Los Angeles gas station party on Los Feliz boulevard pic.twitter.com/f4MBmsH3wB

— Sam Levin (@SamTLevin) November 7, 2020

Out With Putin's Puppet

An American president will replace the Russian puppet on January 20th.

America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country.

The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.

I will keep the faith that you have placed in me. pic.twitter.com/moA9qhmjn8

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 7, 2020

Finally!

 Word from the president elect.

The Signs Point to It

 Just follow the arrow.

How Long Can You Hold Your Breath?

 Still holding my breath.  But, I'm definitely in favor of dancing in the streets.

West Philly reacts to Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania by dancing in the street, of course pic.twitter.com/WBuipfLydN

— Ellie Rushing (@EllieRushing) November 6, 2020

Will Trump Just Fade Away?

 What are the odds that Trump goes quietly?  

President Trump apparently has his sights set on remaining relevant to his base, even if that base of supporters no longer has a leader to devote themselves to. As morbid as it may seem, President Trump is, according to Mayer’s reporting, interested in taking over Rush Limbaugh’s radio show if the longtime feverish conservative commentator passes away (he has stage four lung cancer). Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January, during a made-for-reality-TV State of the Union address.

I think there's a chance Trump tries to run in 2024. He certainly won't let Trump Jr. run.  Maybe, Ivanka, but I don't think he would let either take his place in the MAGA spotlight.  It will be interesting what the Republican Party does if Trump decided to run again.  What piece of the party will still be faithful to him after four years of the same diatribe on his own radio show or as a Fox News contributor.  One thing we know about Trump.  He's lazy, so will he do any work to cultivate his MAGAots?  Or will he depend on a producer like he had with The Apprentice?  Someone who tells him where to stand and what to say?

I'm personally pulling for any Trump project to be housed at a state of federal prison.  That would make my day.

Trump's New Wall to Keep Americans Out

Trump is building a wall around the White House to protect him from the American people.  

“A federal law enforcement source tells NBC that beginning tomorrow, crews will build a ‘non-scalable’ fence to secure the White House complex, Ellipse and Lafayette Square,” said Bennett. “250 National Guardsmen have been put on standby, reporting to Metro Police officials.”

Also putting troops on standby for his own protection.  What a brave man he is.  Every minute he spends in The People's House defiles the memory of every previous temporary occupant..  

Trump - Incompetent Super Villain

Goldfinger was much richer than Trump

Trump's claim that the late Sean Connery was instrumental in getting Trump permission to build one of his money losing Scottish golf courses is, as you might guess, bullshit.

But Martin Ford, the Aberdeenshire councillor who was chair of the planning committee that initially refused Trump’s application to build the resort, told the Guardian: “Mr Connery was not involved in the due process that led to the granting of planning permission for a golf resort at Menie. He did not submit a letter of representation to the council, appear at the planning hearing, or at the public local inquiry.”

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond said: “Scotland and much of the world is mourning the loss of a great spirit. Sean Connery’s contribution and life’s work was immense, real and lasting and everyone with an ounce of class is reflecting upon just that today. Tributes are great from all sources but this is not a time for tweeting silly claims or indeed responding to them.”

In Trump's mind, everything that happens in the world revolves around Trump, even if he has to make up a story as evidence of his delusion. 

Fauci Has Had Enough

Anthony Fauci is a globally acknowledged public health expert.  Donald Trump is a globally derided, brain dead, incompetent buffoon.  Trump has side tracked virtually every public health expert and epidemiologist in favor of a former Fox News medical analyst with no public health expertise, Scott Atlas.  Trump pretends that the pandemic is over while Atlas is implementing a herd immunity scheme that will result in tens of thousands more deaths. Dr. Fauci has seen enough and is speaking out.  

“We’re in for a whole lot of hurt,” Fauci told the Washington Post in a hard-hitting interview published on Saturday night, three days out from election day, immediately angering the Trump White House.

“It’s not a good situation. All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.”

Fauci apparently has given up on Trump and considers Atlas to be exactly what you would expect a Fox News medical contributor to be - ignorant, but close to Russian disinformation sources.

“I have real problems with that guy,” Fauci said. “He’s a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn’t make any sense.”

On Saturday, Atlas promoted an interview with RT – a Kremlin-backed TV channel which regularly spreads disinformation. “Lockdowns, facts, frauds,” he tweeted. “If you can’t handle truth, use a mask to cover your eyes and ears.”

Trump's reelection will result in hundreds of thousands more dead American.