(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Reality Sets In [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-11-16 The election was just over a week ago and already the ridiculousness and horror of what another four years with this madman at the helm portends is sinking in. The people could have chosen a career prosecutor with endless amounts of qualifications and a list of goals to make things genuinely better in the country, from education to healthcare and help with debt. Instead America chose the billionaire’s TV sitcom. Not by a lot, mind you, but enough. Just enough. Just enough people sat it out. Just enough people bought into the nonstop lies. Just enough people didn’t pay attention. Just enough people had more hate than joy in their hearts. But here’s what I want to stop reading, hearing and talking about: Why didn’t the Democrats do more? It’s sickening. Why, especially now? Because for years we’ve been reading and hearing about all the ways the Republicans can’t stand Trump privately but refuse to stand up and hold him accountable for anything he’s done. Twice impeached and twice let off by the Republican senate. Trump’s campaign slogan could have been “IT’S OKAY IF HE DOES IT” If half of the governing party refuses to do the right thing and stand up for the rule of law, live by their oaths and convictions, and walk their talk, then there’s nothing the democrats could have done to change the outcomes of where we are now. Lobbyist Grover Norquist said their goals were "to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." Who does that benefit? The wealthiest people in the world. Not people that are living paycheck to paycheck and reliant on numerous Government programs to survive. And in the most gut-punching irony, what states are the most reliant on these Government services? The very states that reliably vote for Republicans and voted proudly, in-your-face for Trump. It didn’t matter that Trump is a felon, they choose to disregard the crimes as illegitimate. They don’t believe E. Jean Carroll, they believe Trump over the multiple credible accusations from multiple women. These folks would make up celebrities that were supposedly on the Jeffrey Epstein list and then straight up ignore video and recordings of Epstein himself with Trump and talking about what great friends they were, even after Trump was in the White House. It’s an absolute rejection of reality and once someone is that deep within their delusions, then there’s not much you can do to convince them that they’re being lied to. There were people who were so disengaged they didn’t even know Biden had dropped out of the race. There were people that were looking to change their votes the day after Trump was elected again. That’s where we are in America. It’s like watching someone drink Draino on a dare to prove how gullible and stupid you are to dare them. When the reality hits them, they’ll once again blame Washington DC and find a way to make it Democrat’s fault because that’s the game that’s been going on for decades. Republicans break it, people suffer, Democrats fix it, and get the blame for what’s wrong as they do. Rinse, repeat. The sheer amount of blatant lying that happened on the campaign trail was staggering. People literally believed Trump when he was saying that children were getting gender reassignment surgery at school without parental consent and that healthy babies were being murdered after they were born. It was the responsibility of the media to savage these lies for what they were and instead we got a parade of sanewashing headlines that made him seem like a relevant candidate with an opposing point of view. President Joe Biden had one of the most effective presidencies since Roosevelt, yet he was castigated for being too old. Biden carried the mantle of inflation that came in because of Trump’s mishandling of Covid and runaway price gouging by corporations, things that can’t be controlled by a sitting president. (If presidents could magically lower gas prices, then every one of them would during an election year.) But that’s the game now. They break it, you buy it. The oligarchs pulled off a soft coup with misinformation and propaganda. Orwell’s nightmare but shiny and full of razzle-dazzle. Isn’t it incredible how Joe Biden and the Democrats rigged the election in 2020 when they were out of power, but couldn’t do it again in 2024 when they aren’t? And all that election fraud, well that somehow didn’t happen when Trump won. You can’t make it up. We’re just that stupid now. They know who Trump is, they know how destructive and dangerous he is, and despite all the warnings they said “Yes, please. More of that.” Because it won’t hurt the people with the money, it will hurt the people that need the most help. When there is yet another hurricane that wipes out a red state and FEMA Isn’t there to help, maybe Trump will throw them some paper towels and sign their Bibles. When everyone is living in a one room apartment because Grandma no longer has social security, Dad can’t work because he’s sick and has no help from Medicare or workman’s comp and Mom is working 15 hour days, but can’t get paid for overtime, while Trump’s magic promise of no taxes on tips has gone the way of that big beautiful border wall, then maybe the reality will set in. The wealthy rightwing class want to live in a past that never really existed without standing on the backs of people that struggle to make a living. To quote George Carlin “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.” America had a choice not to drink Draino, and we chose the Draino over pasteurized milk. The Republicans know who Trump is, and they overwhelmingly stood by him. Despite those strong words, McConnell has endorsed Trump’s 2024 run, saying earlier this year “it should come as no surprise” that he would support the Republican party’s nominee. He shook Trump’s hand in June when Trump visited GOP senators on Capitol Hill. apnews.com/... That’s not on the Democrats who have to walk on water while they roll in the mud. That’s on the Republican party for promoting and standing by a completely unqualified individual for the highest office in the land, knowing that he’s unqualified. This is on them and the destruction that comes in its wake will be on them too. In a ‘just kidding’ smirk for anyone who bought his schtick about lasting peace , Trump has chosen stunningly unqualified cranks and loyalists to help him burn down the government. www.rawstory.com/... Trump’s cabinet picks is a sure sign that this is not a serious party, unless they’re only serious about the corruption. Again, the Republicans have a duty to stand up for the rule of law, and defend the constitution, and they have abdicated that duty for over nine years now, and while the democrats fight each other and point their fingers, the wealthiest around the world laugh all the way to the bank. “Imagine that you are a foreign leader who wishes to destroy the United States. How could you do so? The easiest way would be to get Americans to do the work themselves, to somehow induce Americans to undo their own health, law, administration, defense, and intelligence. From this perspective, Trump's proposed appointments -- Kennedy, Jr.; Gaetz; Musk; Ramaswamy; Hegseth; Gabbard -- are perfect instruments. They combine narcissism, incompetence, corruption, sexual incontinence, personal vulnerability, dangerous convictions, and foreign influence as no group before them has done. These proposed appointments look like a decapitation strike: destroying the American government from the top, leaving the body politic to rot, and the rest of us to suffer.” snyder.substack.com/... Not all the Republicans, but just enough. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/16/2286709/-Reality-Sets-In?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/