A Life Before Trump: Have We Forgotten Who We Were?
Do you remember what it was like, how we treated each other, how we spoke to each other and the pride we had in our 250 year old democracy? Do you remember our nation before Trump?
We have two major political parties, the GOP and the Democrats. In the not so distant past, these parties fought over the issues and basic ideological ideas as to how the government should work and what it should or should not do. Issues were debated on the floor of the House and Senate as well as the committees and backrooms. Deals were made and alliances forged. They fought, argued and bartered to pass legislation. They never lost their humanity.
It was a time when good men and woman represented their districts and states in Congress, worrying more about getting a few dollars for their constituents than about seeking the approval of or fearing the wrath of one populist leader. These same men and women debated, the issues, and not each other’s ancestry or religion. Our military and it’s leaders were put on a pedestal, a position of honor and esteem and not called out by our own President as treasonous, stupid or having a small brain.
In the age of Trumpism, America First, and MAGA, collegiality in Congress is all but gone. Academic discourse has disappeared. It’s a race to the bottom, with a Jerry Springer effect ruling the day with name calling, gender and race baiting, misogyny and the vilification of the Democratic Party being labelled as Communists and pedophiles. It’s an all or nothing proposition for the new right wing where the word bipartisan is seen as caving to the left and doing nothing is now a victory for the true patriots, that is those who have bent the knee to any and all things MAGA and Trump. All other members of the GOP are flagged as RINOs and traitors.
A Brief History Lesson
It was barely 23 years ago when we came together on a September day as aircraft were used as weapons of terror, killing over 3500 Americans.
There was a moment when everyone forgot their petty squabbles, their party, their divided loyalties and divisions. It was a wonderful time of unity in the midst of the Pearl Harbor of our generation. Almost nothing else mattered but pulling together, checking on each other and showing the world who we were.
9/11 brought it’s own issues with The Patriot Act, massive spying on Americans, morphing a mission from punishing Al-Qaeda to the false claim of WMDs in Iraq and Edward Snowden, but the initial spirit of unity was stunning in those early days.
Our troubles prior to 9/11 seemed less personal and more ideological. The political parties were polarized along those ideological lines, but not in service to a single populist figure. After 9/11, the polarization continued, but even then, the divisions remained in the realm of, the issues.
During the 2008 Presidential cycle, with Barack Obama and his opponent, John McCain, civility was still the standard with two stand out events. The first was parodied on Saturday Night Live, but the moment deserved so much more credit than it received at the time and is a startling history lesson in humanity for the presidential race of 2024.
John McCain was taking questions during a rally. Two voters spoke about their fear of having a (Muslim) president, when speaking about Obama. McCain grabbed the microphone and gave a sincere and full throated defense of Obama’s character, despite their ideological differences.
McCain would go on to lose his bid for the presidency and give a, from the heart, concession speech, despite his will to win and his desire to be our next president. He honored our long tradition of yielding to the will of the voters. McCain received 69.5 million votes vs 60 million for McCain. The electoral vote was 365 to 173.
Four years later, Mitt Romney sought the presidency, but ultimately lost his bid to unseat Obama. He, just as McCain did in 2008, gave a heartfelt concession speech praising Obama, his campaign and his family as he wished the president well in guiding our nation. Obama received 66 million votes to Romney’s 61. The electoral vote for Obama was 332 to Romney’s 206.
And yet again, four year on, Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump and gave her concession speech, pledging to aid Trump in any way she could to help him to be a successful president. She won the popular vote with 66 million vs Trump’s 63, but of course we don’t elect presidents by popular vote. Hillary received 227 to Trump’s 304, 270 needed to win. She wasn’t happy and the polls showed her ahead, but she lost with dignity.
The elections of 2008 through 2016 were not contested in any way other than a few people in 2016 vocally challenging Trump’s win, but in the end Trump was certified without incident by none other than Vice President Joe Biden.
The only election over the past 70 years or so to be challenged before the 2020 election was the election of 2001, Bush v Gore. Gore received 51 million votes vs Bush’s 50.5, but Bush received the required number of electoral votes with 271 to Gore’s 266. At one point, the Florida vote count was less than 150 votes apart. Gore had originally called to congratulate Bush when the networks called the race, but then found out about the squeaker of a race in Florida and the “chad” issue where people were confused as to who they’d voted for.
Suffice it to say, Florida was a mess and the lawyers swooped in with Warren Christopher as Gore’s lead and James Baker as Bush’s point man. The case flew through the courts, making it’s way to the Supreme Court that ordered the vote recounts to stop on Dec 12th, 2000 with Bush as the winner.
Both sides legitimately challenged the initial results of this election as was their right to do. Both had strong cases, but there were almost no accusations of fraud, malfeasance or trickery. In the end, with the decision of the Supreme Court and Bush still ahead, Al Gore relented and conceded, honoring our centuries long tradition.
The 2020 race would have and should have been another in a long line of peaceful transitions of power were it not for the desire of one man to win at all cost, regardless of the vote, regardless of the laws and traditions going back to our nation’s first days. Donald Trump immediately sowed doubt, fear and conspiracies as to why the vote was not in his favor.
By mid December of 2020, Trump was planning for a final event to delay or halt the Constitutionally mandated certification of the presidential election. He summoned a mob to the Capitol for a Jan 6th rally and put pressure on Mike Pence to stop the certification process, while working behind the scenes with private lawyers to push false electors into the process. He opined about having the military seize voting machines. His mob stormed the Capitol with the intention of stopping the certification process. Nearly 150 police officers were injured, property damaged and the Capitol was breached, requiring the evacuation of the entire House body. His plan failed and Mike Pence performed his Constitutional duty despite calls by the mob for his hanging.
The striking difference between the events of 9/11 and those of Jan 6th, that is often forgotten, is that 9/11 was a terrorist attack by a foreign entity, Al Qaeda, bent on our destruction. Whereas, the attack on the Capitol was inspired by our own President to stop the peaceful transfer of power between two opposing candidates where one, Trump, who lost in a free and fair election, conspired, with a small group of sycophants, to remain in power no matter the cost.
Trump waited until Jan 7th, one day after the attack on the Capitol, to concede, but even in his concession, he continued to sow doubt as to the vote count and the process of presidential elections. He refused to congratulate Biden and simply said that Congress had certified the vote. He did condemn the violence from the previous day, but then again, he summoned the mob starting in mid December. Read the entire Jan 6th Report
He did not want to admit that he lost or state that Biden won the election as can be seen from the outtakes of his Jan 7th concession speech. He did not want to say that the election was over because, in his mind, it was not and is not to this day where he continues to state, falsely, that he won the election.
Three years later, Trump was interviewed by a “Friendly Reporter”, Bret Baier on Fox on October 11th, 2023, and continued to lie about the 2020 election even after losing 50 court cases including at the Supreme Court with judges that he appointed. Despite numerous recounts and certifications, he simply refused to state that he lost.
Donald Trump drove a wedge into the soul of America, dredging up old hatreds, fears and divisions from our dark past. His talk of poisoning the blood of our nation harkens back to the worst fear mongering against immigrants and “Outsiders”. His incessant name calling and belittling of anyone who has not bent the knee to his despotic desires is akin to the demonization by some of the worst men in our history, Joe McCarthy and Father Coughlin.
Even worse than what he says and does, is that millions seem to want this style of bombastic leader, reminiscent of Mousseline and the Fascist Italy of the 1930s. He’s loud with a bullying character. He says the things that were never meant to be said out loud, but only in the dark corners of racist, anti immigrant, and homophobic secretive groups.
He created the permission streams for this hatred of differences. What he’s against would fill several book volumes, but it’s exceedingly hard to tease out what he’s for, except that all of his words and actions are in service to his own ego and celebrity. His use of “I” vs “We” is indicative of his character. He delayed the first COVID stimulus checks going out so that his name could be prominent on the checks.
He talks of a final battle, that we won’t have a nation if the, as he says, “Communists and the radical left” takes over.
Never before has a sitting or former president spoken with such derision toward this nation. One would think we are on the brink of a total collapse with a failing economy, a woke military, the worst of everything, worse than anyone has ever seen. As he so often says, “No one’s ever seen anything like it!”
It’s as if he wants the nation to fail so that he can swoop in and be the second coming.
Trump: “If Jesus were the vote counter I would win California!”
He’s doing it again: When asked if he would accept the results of the 2024 election. See The Guardian Article
“If it’s a fair and legal and good election – absolutely,” Trump said after being asked three times if he would accept the results. But then Trump repeated a false claim that US elections are filled with fraud to justify his sprawling efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat. “I would have much rather accepted these – but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous.”
Yes. Yes we have forgotten who we once were…
Thank you.