Donald Trump continues to lay the groundwork to destroy the fabric of America. This statement isn’t hyperbole. Women and a few forward-looking companies like Starbucks are fighting back as timid politicians acquiesce to Trump’s evil deeds.
Republican politicians fear Donald Trump. Democratic politicians continue to believe the fallacy that they can work with Trump and the Republicans. How did that work out for the last eight years?
Democrats, Progressives, and forward-thinking Republicans, and others must do everything in their power to object to every policy proposal or act by Trump. This means the status quo for a few years. Many people will get hurt in the interim. However, if we enact any of Trump’s policies whether good or bad, we would have set a dangerous precedence. Moreover, even more, will be hurt as bad policies get codified.
Democrats must not provide any votes for confirming a new Supreme Court Justice. Leave the Supreme Court with eight votes till the next administration. Republicans can choose the nuclear option if they so choose but that will set a precedence. The country irrespective of the current election is moving left morally and economically. The failure of the Left did not get a Republican elected president. That failure got a pseudo-populist elected. A non-existent filibuster will serve Progressives if the grassroots work is affected.
Americans cannot allow a person who divided the nation with his sexist, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic, and narcissistic acts to lead effectively. Allowing him to govern effectively will give the green light to other demagogues to use his tactics. Some may say this is not the right thing to do. After all, did he not win the election?
Let me be clear. Trump is our president, but a president without the mandate of the people. As such he does not have the moral right to make the dramatic changes he is attempting. Remember the following.
- He lost the vote of the people by three million votes, the largest losing margin ever by the electoral college winner.
- Russia, a foreign country, helped get him elected by manipulating our election at a minimum using information technology. Of course, it is yet to be determined if it is deeper than that.
- The FBI assisted him with selective release of information on Hillary Clinton while holding back his Russian involvement.
- The press gave him $2 billion of free advertising and were completely derelict in their journalistic duty except for investigative reporting by a few journalists like Kurt Eichenwald.
We have a president in office who ripped people off in business dealings, fake universities, and more. There is ample evidence that he demeaned and abused women. He populated his cabinet with billionaires who did the same, from Steven Mnuchin who ripped off old ladies for mortgage mistakes to Tom Price who profited from legislation he voted on.
The majority must speak up in an organized fashion. It started in full force with the Women’s March. It continues with grassroots organizations following the Indivisible Guide. We did our own here as we flooded Ted Cruz’s office building with constituents. And it is continuing weekly at his office and continuously by phone. We are letting our politicians know they pass Trump’s policy at the risk of their political survival. That is how we work at the grassroots.
Forward-looking corporations have the power to do the right thing. Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz announced that he would hire several thousand refugees starting with those that were helpful to Americans service people overseas. He wrote a letter to his employees to let them know he is opposed to the evil emanating from the Trump administration and will mitigate them where possible from health care to bridge building where they’ve erected walls, to fighting for DACA.
Now some Trump supporters are talking about boycotting Starbucks. I use Starbucks as my second office. I purchase their expensive coffees because I know they treat their employees well giving them health care, education, and livable wages. And they make an attempt to do the same for their suppliers. So folks, go out there and support Starbucks. They are one of the good corporations fighting Trump’s evil.
The fight back to sanity will be difficult. But one cannot lose hope lest wicked wins. Stay strong and be consistent in peaceful but loud and voluminous opposition.