BLUE WAVE OR THE BLUES?

Dems counting chicks before they hatch.

For some time now, at least six months, Democrats, and many in the media, have been counting on a tidal wave of Democrats, Independents, and tired-of-Trump conservative Republicans to show up at the polls in massive numbers to change the course of history.

The pundit predicted outcome of this anticipated tsunami of voters, many of whom exhibited nonchalance during the 2016 presidential campaign when only 6 out of 10 eligible voters exercised their right, will be a defining takeover of the House of Representatives by Democrats.

There has even been talk of the “real” possibility Dems would not just take the House – which would include the tantalizing prospect of impeaching the president - but would also capture the crown jewel that is the U.S. Senate!

Winning and controlling both arms of Congress would enable Democrats not only to impeach in the House but would pave the way for a Democrat-controlled impeachment trial in the Senate.

The Senate would then summarily convict Donald J. Trump, removing him from the White House, a house he never would have claimed had white women, Millennials, minorities and sensible conservatives done the right thing in November 2016. That is, get out and vote with the same fervor we witnessed in 2008 and 2012 for President Obama.

Anticipating a reversal of the usual ho-hum attitude too many voters take during mid-term elections pundits, especially those employed by liberal-leaning MSNBC and CNN, have been salivating about the mid-term election for months.

The Democratic base is fired up over a plethora of issues: Obamacare repeal, the GOP’s laissez faire attitude toward sexual assault, abortion rights, immigration reform, taxes, climate change, tariffs, foreign policy, sordid details about Trump’s personal affairs, emoluments, and lest we forget, the ongoing Mueller investigation.

But mid-term celebration plans should be tempered because therein may lie Democrat’s problem. They cannot come up with a coherent message. Not to mention Dems, at least in some quarters, are re-embracing Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, an act of tone-deafness that is mind-boggling.

Fair or unfair, warranted or not, Hillary (and Bill and Chelsea) inflame GOP voters like just about nothing else. With chants of “Lock her up!” still resonating at Trump’s white nationalist pep rallies, Hillary should recognize the best way she can help defeat the GOP, and their curiosity about fascism, is to stay out of sight.

(Sidebar: The New York Times reports Trump uses his unsecured personal iPhone to make calls to friends, for example former Las Vegas hotel magnate Steve Wynn. Trump’s own security detail reports both Russia and China are eavesdropping on Trump’s calls. China uses the information they extract to manipulate Trump’s friends who, like Trump, are driven by greed and want to do big business in China. Trump using his unsecured personal phone deserves a chant of “Lock him up!” given Trump’s incessant railing about Hillary’s use of a private email server.)

Moving on from Hillary’s reappearance, Dems messaging is weak and scattered like Wildebeests fleeing hungry lions.

There are many things wrong with the policies put forth by Trump, Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul “Wimpy” Ryan. Clearly, the GOP, at least the wing that resembles the Tea Party, is not at all interested in America’s best interests. They are also not patriotic and, despite what they say, they are not Christians.

(Last fall The Weekly Opine threw shade with “America’s #1 Fake Christian” available at this link: theweeklyopine.com/blog/2017/11/23/americas-1-fake-christian)

However, too many Democrats still wander around in a daze trying to figure out a message while Republicans, in textbook fashion, pound away at a unifying central theme.

You would think the party controlling the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House would message around policy victories. But Republicans are running away from their record, which is littered with glaring failures.

Like tax cuts that do not help the GOP’s MAGA hat-wearing base; failure to repeal Obamacare; failure to place on the Supreme Court a justice with even a nominal level of integrity; failure to hold Russia accountable or do anything to protect future American elections; asinine tariffs failing MAGA hat-wearing farmers, blue-collar workers and iconic American brands like Ford and Harley-Davidson.

Yep, despite controlling the federal government the GOP has nothing to run on except fear. And that is the Republican message: Fear and Hysterics.

Whether it’s fear your minority neighbor or fear Muslims or fear Mexican and South American immigrants or fear anyone with a pre-existing condition or hysterics about NFL players who kneel during the national anthem or hysterics toward women who stand with #MeToo and #TimesUp, the GOP strategy is easy to understand (and easy to memorize if you are a minion tasked with pushing-out the message). Fear! Hysterics!

Dems are missing the opportunity to fashion their own message, anchored in stark reality.

The message, in the form of a campaign video ad, would show film footage of the Proud Boys, or any other white nationalist group, pummeling innocent Americans, such as what happened in New York and Portland recently.

The white nationalist footage would segue into film footage of Hitler’s Sturmabteilung “Storm Troopers” roaming the streets of Berlin in the 1930’s, beating up Jews and others considered impure. The voiceover would simply say, “Republican leaders embrace authoritarian fascism instead of American values and democracy. Is this the America you want?”

The point is not to stoke fear (like the GOP Willie Horton TV ad did in the 1980’s) but to make a matter-of-fact statement about what could be the impending reality for the USA.

Anyone thinking this is hyperbole is ignoring the news that pipe bombs were mailed this week to the Obamas, the Clintons, ex-VP Joe Biden, ex-CIA Director John Brennan, California (D) Rep. Maxine Waters, ex-Attorney General Eric Holder, billionaire Dem supporter George Soros, actor Robert DeNiro and cable news outlet CNN.

Trump’s response? Let’s just say he pulled out the playbook he used after the atrocity in Charlottesville last year. After an American citizen, who was peacefully protesting, was murdered by a white nationalist, Trump incredulously said there was “blame on both sides.”

Last night, Trump said “the media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone.” No mention of the violence-is-encouraged tone Trump himself has ingrained into the core of his base. The man who endorsed a video of himself body-slamming CNN, regularly calls the media the enemy and just recently applauded a Republican candidate for body-slamming a reporter, takes no responsibility.

Accelerated more so since November 2016, America is, like Olympics toboggan racers, swiftly sliding down a path to a potentially irreversibly broken society, featuring an increase in unprovoked violence by some of its citizens against other citizens.

The mentally deranged Trump, and his enablers, rage and urge on the breakdown of America, one hate-filled pep rally after another.

It is indeed surreal to see MAGAs cheering their own demise, oblivious to the fact they won’t be able to afford, or even get, healthcare coverage. Cheering a tax break that is a rip-off for most Americans while lining the pockets of the wealthy.

And if war breaks out between the U.S. and North Korea or China, it will be the sons and daughters of MAGAs doing the fighting, not Trump’s sons. All of this is beyond the intellectual grasp of many MAGAs, including the Uncle Tom fool Kanye West.

Truly patriotic Americans, regardless of political party affiliation, must seize this moment to save our country. Otherwise, November 6, 2018 will be a date which will live in infamy.

Douglas FreelandOctober 25, 2018