Political Noobs Get Mad on Social Media!

A lot of folks are waxing indignant on facebook.

The funny thing is that these people are just now getting mad over things that we have been following for decades, and we have been getting mad at, too!  "The rich are getting richer!"  (Where have you been, kid?)  "Wall street doing great doesn't mean people are doing better!"  (We knew that.)  "Unemployment is going down, only because some businesses first laid off their employees, and now, under Trump, are re-hiring those former employees part time.  It looks like unemployment is going down, but people have lost their benefits!"  (An old, old trick.)

It takes a lot of self-control to be patient with these folks who are just now discovering the dirty underbelly of politics!  But we have to be patient; the political system we have is basically that what most people want is what we have to live with, and if we want something different, we have to persuade our fellow citizens that our objectives are better.  Just getting angry is not enough!  (And, it isn't guaranteed that what most people want is what we get, either; and that's why we're so angry that Trump tried to get Ukraine to help him throw shade on the Bidens.  There is nothing that Ukraine could really bring into the news, except that young Biden was earning a lot of money for doing practically nothing, which is not illegal; Trump and his family have been doing it for years.  He just wanted the story to hit the news; Fox would have taken it from there.  It didn't have to be true!  Playing Ping Pong with lies is a new trick, about which we're all upset.  But all the other things: unemployment, racism, sexism, gerrymandering, taxing the poor---we've been watching that for decades.)  All the italics are for the benefit of those who don't read a lot.

Well, we knew we would have to pick ourselves up off the floor after this impeachment thing.  It wasn't going to happen.  Trump, if you notice, is not as thrilled as you would have expected, to have evaded being removed from office.  What sorts of reactions do you think the voters would have, to have seen this entire thing take place?

Some of the Alt Right are probably rejoicing that Trump escaped unscathed.  But I can imagine that some members of Alt Right families are watching things a little more carefully---even in families with less than a full mental quiver, there must be a few outliers with more perception than their siblings---and these must be realizing the sense of what the Dems were angry about.  Without the opportunity to vote without interference, we have nothing, not even the little that we have now.

Those who were hostile to Trump are probably more hostile than ever.  Well, this is not surprising.  The one positive thing that could come out of this is that they will turn out for the elections.  If all the Dems had voted in 2016, Trump would never have come near the White House.  (Even he was surprised when he won, though he pretended that he expected to win all along.)  Some Democrats were all upset at Hillary having won the nomination, and stayed home.  This is a big lesson: in today's politics, we cannot afford to sulk.

Over the next several months, we're going to be subject to a large amount of both propaganda and basic political messages.  The trick is not to get mad, not to get jaded, but focus on finding out whom to vote for, both for President, and for Senators, and Congressmen.  (And Mayors, and Judges, and members of school boards, and state representatives.  Bear in mind that there are many people running for office under the Democrat banner who do not deserve to hold any sort of office: people who rub everyone the wrong way, people who want to channel the people's money into the coffers of their friends; and general slimeballs.  Do not vote for them, just because of their party.)

Try to get a feeling for how things have changed over the past ten or fifteen years.  Note how the Republicans take credit for things the Democrats have done.  Note how the Deficit that Republicans were so upset about was actually paid down by the Democrats.  Note how the Republicans claim to protect the part of Obamacare that prevents Insurance from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, but actually work behind the scenes to weaken it.  Note how Republicans claim to want to lower taxes, but have actually raised taxes in a few instances.  (They may not do it in the future, because they know the Democrats will pay off the deficits eventually!)

A lot of Republicans are afraid of Trump's tweeting.  Trump has a lot of followers, and he used to be able to ruin the chances of a person running for office with a single tweet, calling him some crazy name, such as Little Mike, or whatever.  That has been a little less successful of late; Trump's favorite for the Alabama Senator lost, his favorite for Kentucky Governor lost, and it looks as though McConnell might lose his seat in the senate.

Lastly, the Alt-Right rank and file (not the crooked leadership) must, on their own, take note of whether their lives are really better.  So far they have been satisfied with having Trump tell them that their lives are better.  One of these days Trump will make a claim that even his followers, who have bought everything that Trump has sold thus far, will notice as being false.  He had better not push his luck too far.

But, look, let's not make fun of Trump's family: his wife, his youngest kid.  I don't think we need to go that far at being hostile to Trump.  (He himself seems not to care too much about them, but that's no reason we should take cheap shots at them.  I dislike targeting the families of people in office on principle, but if you need a practical reason for desisting, remember that if a Democrat is voted in, we would not like his family being harassed.)

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