(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . MAGA Magic [1] ['Grey Panther', 'View Profile', 'Back Of Bourke', 'Greg Dworkin', 'Dan K'] Date: 2026-04-23 Illusions Revealed – Reality now the Cold and Heartless Economics Trump Celebration 2016 – revived 2024 now gone is it over? The Heartless MAGA Milieu has begun to take its toll on the Heartland. It was predicted. Playback any analysis spoken by the grounded and competent analysts, even the blustery hyperbole of anti-Trump politicians. The words spoken before the election sound like ignored prophesy. Tariffs and inflation, mass immigration arrests, massive tax cuts to wealth, ending regulation, cheering on the destruction of our environment, stifling dissent, banning journalism, ballooning deficits, are become reality. We are following the Project 2025 blueprint; we were warned. As predicted by anyone without Trump Derangement Syndrome, the actions Trump promised did raise prices, slow growth, lead to economic uncertainty, and balloon deficits. The disastrous policies were put in place with the tactics of the blitzkrieg. The recession in rural America is headed for a depression, more lasting than our past recessions. Even the dullest of MAGA Mush Brains have begun to realize electing Trump was a mistake. I would normally avoid name calling. After years of insults by the Potato, oneupmanship, ridicule, owning of libs with illogic, unfounded claims of puffery, we have lowered the bar. The best we can hope for is mild name calling. In his first election I thought the majority of women, even white women, would not vote for Potato, but they did. White people have saddled us with Potato. White people who have benefited the most by the United States and our democracy have brought on this plague of extremist politics. In 2024 I was sure Potato, who everyone knew had tried to overthrow our democracy, would not win. Yet once again a majority of White women voted for Trump. Old grievance filled white men were a lost cause from the get-go. Lost Cause experienced a resurgence in Potato’s politics. White people have foisted this disaster upon the USA and the world. Yes, we can blame the young Bros, misguided Hispanics, podcasters, Old Joe, Kamala, TikTok, Joe Rogan, but we white Americans must shoulder the blame. We have allowed our innate prejudices and fears of others to steal our rationality and often our morality. Trumpism will receive a sound thumping in the November election. We will begin to repair the devastation. Our nation’s credibility is gone. Trust and admiration of the American way has evaporated. Our nation’s wealth has been squandered. The absolute forms of truth, justice, and fairness have been dented. What would a pledge of our sacred honor mean? We have embraced or tolerated sacrilege. We have double-speaked our way to meaninglessness. We have exiled empathy, our most essential human quality, to the camps of our enemies. Corruption like mass murder is too common to be news. Laurel and Hardy were hugely popular in my grandfather’s time. Surely that is the time we should yearn to return to, not if anyone studies the time with accurate history. I remember the line where after Hardy causes chaos he turns to Laurel and says “Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into!” This will be the cry of the GOP MAGA running from the house they’ve set fire to. There are no words We should view our time in November in similar fashion to when the nation found itself near the end of the Civil War. How to rebuild after all the destruction? Here are lessons to learn from the failure of Reconstruction. Keep Lincoln from getting shot. We do not have a Lincoln, rather prima facie observation of our politicians. We must proceed to another lesson. We do have the lesson of Jan 6th, do not let the passion of Americans be manipulated by the lies of authoritarian power grabbers. Much of what has allowed Trump to trample on America is the desire to use the Republican Party as a structure that remains viable. A way to climb the scaffold to power and wealth. The enablers coddle wealth. Wealth coddles power. Both wage war on the health of the world. Both dismiss the spiritual morality of the faithful. Faith is used simply as a tool to power and wealth. In our modern system, power and wealth are conjoined. We should call it, pow-ealth. Corruption we must tackle corruption with fervency. Trump didn’t fire all the inspector generals, watchdogs, and IRS personnel for any other reason than to hide the fleecing of America. Congress should pass a law allowing no partisan redistricting in any state. Ban trading of stocks, futures, and prediction markets by any member, family, or associate. Insider trading should always lead to expulsion. We must restore the integrity of government, and it must be enforced for all. The aftermath of the Civil War left much of the Confederacy economically devastated. They didn’t have much in the way of industry going for them before the war. The nation should have invested in the rebuilding of the South. We should have done so with strict enforcement of equal rights. The right to work for equal pay and to vote. Strictly enforced the right to have property and life protected by federal, state and local governments. A booming economy is created by a population expanding its economic power. The hoarders, a class of the few and privileged, never leads to a booming economy. Elite cronyism always leads to economic panics and suffering. Time to hold the Epstein Class responsible and make them contribute to society. This can be done in ways that enhance their wealth. We must strive to bind the wounds and build a new America. A nation all the world envies, trusts, and admires. Look at Atlanta, this victory more than any other propelled Lincoln to re-election. Today, Sherman could never capture Atlanta; he would never make it through the traffic congestion. Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, and Porter (essential inland waterways admiral) Always vote, participate in peaceful protest, advocate in party primaries. We need reform before partisan politics. We must voice truth, science, justice, fairness, and empathy before all else. We must reach our hands to the defeated (MAGA) but never let them bring their cruelty and authoritarianism back to America. Another lesson of Reconstruction do not let the same elite, who propelled our nation into war and destruction, steal the hope and renewal after their defeat. ShireSteve.Substack.Com — piddling writer of short stories and three novels Forgottonia.org [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/23/800026256/community/maga-magic/ 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/