Make no mistake about it, Donald Trump’s victory has brought our country to the brink of disaster. We have lost our moral compass. We are toying with authoritarianism. We have lost the confidence of our allies around the world. We are committing human rights violations with our brutish tactics with immigrants at our southern border. Our national debt is nearing $22 trillion because this president uses a form of reverse socialism that rewards billionaires for the mere fact that they have great wealth. Many of you reading this will pay more taxes this year than the retail giant, Amazon.
History repeats itself. History repeats itself. History repeats itself. Let me tell you what else repeats itself… Russian bots. Russian bots are already working tirelessly at making sure that the Democrats, Independents and disenfranchised Trump voters are being fed a steady diet of divisive misinformation so that we will allow the era of chaos under Trump to continue. Racial intolerance, misogyny, religious purity and the boogeyman of evil socialism are being trotted out to keep us confused and divided. Everybody falls for it. Even news sources that we as Democrats might find useful are rife with stories that have been sensationalized to improve readership numbers for their advertisers.
Let me give you an example: Trump is not qualified experientially for leading our nation in delicate foreign relations. When our president trusts the Russians to give him advice over his own intelligence resources during the negations regarding the North Korea matter is proof enough. Our current Presidential Cabinet is an embarrassing carousel of lobbyists, ideologues and cronies of the president. Not too much room for argument on this assessment. So imagine my surprise when the focus of days of attention on both social media and cable news is about what kind of shrewish pile driver Senator Amy Klobuchar is with members of her staff. The 2008 incident involving a staff member not being able to produce a plastic fork for the senator’s lunch is now legend. The Senator ate her salad with a comb and then berated the aide before telling another aide to “clean it.” Was it crappy? You bet! But are we going to bypass all of her actual qualifications and her leadership because she was a crank? Ask yourself these questions: Do you think Senator Klobuchar would detain children on our southern border? Do you think Senator Klobuchar is a serial sexual assaulter? Do you think she would divert funds from storm relief in Puerto Rico to build a vanity wall? If you are being intellectually honest, you know she is a qualified candidate.
I am not a fan of Amy Klobuchar. I will be investing my time and energy in elevating other candidates over her in the democratic process of selecting a challenger for Trump. I will not go out of my way to convince her supporters that they are inane idiots, faux Democrats or troglodytes. To alienate her supporters is an insane notion. That insane notion of disenfranchisement cost us the 2016 election. My message this election cycle is going to be much simpler and involves direct practice.
Do these things and we will never, ever again elect another candidate like Donald J. Trump:
If you see a quote in a meme, fact check it.
If you hear something that does not seem accurate coming from a candidate, fact check that, too.
If a friend is talking about voting for someone who you do not think is a qualified candidate, listen to what they have to say and then engage in a meaningful conversation rather than bickering.
Volunteer for your party.
Volunteer to work at the polls.
Get your news from at least three sources.
Never lose sight of the fact that kindness and understanding is preferable over angry self-righteousness.
Never lose sight of how important every vote is.
Do not try to out-nasty the far right, instead, use truth.
If your candidate falls short of the mark in the primaries, work for another qualified candidate.
Think about how much more of our current president our democracy can survive.
I would implore anyone who is experiencing deep anxiety at the erosion of American values that they believe is associated with the presidency of Donald Trump and his appointees take a stand for the United States of America. While the loyalty to the President remains very high within the Republican Party, we must not lose sight of the fact that the Republican Party is shrinking dramatically.
Rural America helped put Donald Trump in office. It is incumbent upon all of us who live in rural America to become educated on the damage being done to American agricultural markets by the reckless trade sanctions that Donald Trump has been using without regard to the impact on American farmers. The truth that comes with thoughtful research is the best tool to bring rural Americans into a more accurate assessment of Trump’s performance in office.
Do not be drawn into ad hominem attacks that involve false arguments about patriotism, Christian values, the dangers of socialism (with no substantive proof) that all socialism is evil or unfounded claims heinous crimes committed by illegal immigrants. The fray is not worth the effort. Just remind them that the 2020 election will be a referendum on the Trump administration and remind them that the tale of the tape will be decided on which party works hardest.
We have the numbers to bring this to an end by electing a better candidate. We also have it within our power to bring the United States Senate into the Democratic fold. We can still do our best to rectify the malignant policies that have harmed the environment, disparaged our allies, and lined the pockets of billionaires over the needs of average Americans. We just need to work hard, keep our eye on the prize and show up at the polls.
