Fighting Trump by fighting the RMP

Here is a list (thank you S.B. for the link) of some of our worst presidents. I found this interesting because I'm sort of a history buff, but no expert, and it reminded me of historic facts that I either never knew, or had forgotten.

I'm not sure how Trump differs from other rotten presidents and tools of the ruling or plantation classes. Times have changed, and advertising and electronic media have enabled people to be steered to divisive figures much more easily than even Goebbels could have hoped. Also, see this about Silvio Berlusconi, who served 4 (four!) terms as prime minister of Italy:

The Right Way to Resist Trump

The Right Way to Resist Trump By Luigi Zingales The Berlusconi years in Italy provide a blueprint to thwart a Trump dynasty.

Trying to "make fun" of Trump, or simply say "He's just soooo awful" is not going to work. He did not win a "solid" victory (the way he claims), but he does have a solid -- if a minority -- base. So did Bush II. While the press inadvertently enabled Trump, it is far more critical of him than it was of Bush (though it did make fun of him, as did SNL).

I think that Trump -- the president not the candidate -- is so far very much a product of the truly loony RMP: anti-science, anti-people and pro business, racist and sexist. Who knows what tRuMP believes -- it's not relevent because he's now full in with Republican wet dreams about transfer of wealth from the middle class to the rich. His cabinet starkly belies his claim of any real popularism.

He might be removed before his term is over, but I strongly doubt it unless people can find a real smoking gun relation between him and the Russian oligarchs and Putin's deputies. That's why he has declared war -- possibly unwisely -- against the national security agencies. He may suspect that they know something about him that requires their pre-emptive de-legitimizing.

I think that the best strategy is to attack him on his faux "populist" economics. I have been working to try to get at least the Mass. Democrats to produce spots on how tRuMP and the RMP is already betraying the economic interests of middle class people: Lousier and (ultimately) more expensive healthcare, with the return of "pre-existing conditions"; impossible national debt that will skyrocket mortgage rates; destruction of public education and its replacement with virtually worthless vouchers that only help the rich. No one giant ad, but dozens of short ones played often on TV and the Net, all under the collective title of "Betrayed Again."

I'm not sure if people really care about whether we are being sold out to the Russians. Since the American Public seems to have a memory of only about 6 months, who knows if people know anything or care anything about Putin, the KGB, oligarchs etc anymore.

I don't think that making fun of tRuMP or calling him names is going to work any more than similar tactics did against Berlusconi. Shrinks crawling out of the woodwork saying that tRuMP is psychotic or unbalanced or whatever is not going to have any effect except to make liberals' blood boil. (It certainly made me remember how annoying shrinks can be: not that long ago their professional societies deemed homosexuality a psychological disorder.)

Also, the Dems should, once and for all, write off those who think, whatever his personal sinning, that tRuMP is "doing God's work". These people are unreachable and should be ignored (not insulted, just ignored). Without arguing morality etc., the Dems should quietly affirm their support for birth control and choice. This will keep their base without arousing the anti-abortion folks any more than they are already aroused. The argument that birth control lowers abortion rates is, perhaps, the most effective one.

Anyway, I am trying to work with the local Democratic party to find strategies for attacking the RMP. Any comments on this would be most welcome.

More on RMP = Rich Man's Party

The Republicans: the party of RuMP, tRuMP and RuMPelstilskin.

(Shades of Grover Cleveland and John Blaine and the election of 1884.)

When you're famous like Mr. tRuMP,

You can grab a party by its RuMP.

Remember these great lines (who came up with these?):

Here's the new version:

I do not like you down my shirt,

I do not like you up my skirt,

I do not like you near my RuMP,

I do not like you Mr. tRuMP.

(A tip of the hat to the person who wrote the original of this poem -- and it's not Sam-I-Am.)

Remember:

RMP = Rich Man's Party (formerly GOP)

Spread the word!

Charles Blow at the Times

I sent the following letter to Charles Blow, columnist at the N. Y. Times.

Dear Mr. Blow,

Thank you for your relentless and right-on voice against Trump and his enabling Republicans. Here are some further comments.

1. I wouldn't count on any Republican to do anything ethical at this point. That includes investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian agents. This is the chance for Big Business and the RMP (Rich Man's Party, formerly the GOP, often embedded these days as TRuMP)  to attain their wettest dreams. They see it as their best or even last chance. They will not let go willingly of the opportunity to transfer vast sums from the middle class to themselves (and stockholders) via deregulation and tax policy. They will drag their heels, lie, and even break the law to make sure they get their way and cash in. That this is already happening is not even conjectural at this point: look at Trump's cabinet and what the Congress and administration has already legislated (e.g. removing any hindrance to dumping toxic mine waste into streams; moving toward re-evaluating the worth of national park land to zero and so on).

2. The real issue here is treason: sacrificing the interests and laws of this country for personal (and class) gain (see above). Does anyone think that the contacts between Russian agents and the Trump campaign were about tourism or orders for caviar? There is only one word for attempted (and successful) collusion with a foreign government in subverting the U.S. electoral process. Hardly anyone is using the T word yet, but it is the elephant in the room...

3. The chaotic nature of Trump's first menstrual cycle in office (in the words of Samantha Bee) is partially due to his ignorance and incompetence, but also bears the signature of his de facto head advisor Steve Bannon. The so-called "shock doctrine" which uses chaos and instability to achieve hidden ends has been Bannon's self-professed and self-defining technique.

4. I don't think that these guys will get away with this, but it will be necessary to oppose them forcefully and intelligently. There is, at this point, a tremendous surge of activity and energy in the opposition. This opposition includes, BTW, quite a few business people who got where they are through intelligence and creativity, and understand Trump's lack of any real talent (other than amorality and bullying). 

5. Unfortunately, the national Democratic party so far seems to be using this grass roots opposition to Trump and the RMP in order to collect campaign contributions. Have you received any messages from them that didn't have a solicitation? Why should we be paying them to do the right thing? They, in fact, should be preparing hard-hitting and CREATIVE opposition TV and Web ads and paying (with the money we've sent them) to air them NOW. Where are our so-called Hollywood and Madison Ave lefties to volunteer their time and talent to create these spots? If the national Dems wait (as they always seem to do) until just before the next set of elections, they will be out-defined, out-framed, and blind-sided once again. Here is a case where the grass roots is way out in front of their "leaders".

Quote of the week

After losing the Appeals Court decision 3 - 0, Trump said (Tweeted): "See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake."

Washington state had challenged Trump's executive order; its  Gov. Jay Inslee replied to Trump: "We already saw you in court, you lost."

If we really had an activist national Democratic party, they would be playing this up in national ads, especially the "you lost" part. They are still sitting on their hands though. Probably waiting for the Supreme Court to weigh in, when things have moved on, at which point they will, as before, do nothing. It's a good thing we citizens don't depend on the national Dems for very much: all they do is ask for contributions, which they'll save until... uh... until...

There is no opposition party.

Several weeks ago there was one of the largest protest marches ever in (a) Washington, (b) Los Angeles, (c) Boston,  (d) San Francisco, and ... dozens of other cities who never had marches this large. Since that time, cities, universities churches etc. have joined in opposing Trump's illegal immigration orders by declaring themselves immigrant-friendly "sanctuaries", ready to resist these executive orders by all legal means. The entertainment industry and the software industry have publicly excoriated Trump and his minions. Everywhere pledges of resistance have sprung up.

Well, everywhere except in the national Democratic Party. We've seen and heard nothing from them official except promises to stop Trump's cabinet picks -- empty promises so far. We all know -- in spite of hoping-against-hope -- that the national Democrats (I'll call them Dems for short) will eventually cave, as they always manage to do. They'll tell us they're united against Trump -- except for a "threatened" Dem here and there (Heidi Heitkamp in N.D., Joe Manchin W.V): just enough to break their resistance. They're afraid that if they use the filibuster on Gorsuch that it will simply make the Republicans angry enough to eliminate it. So they won't use it since it will just prevent them from using it. Wow: those are fighting words.

OK, maybe they're really up against it. What they might do is, for example, help the rest of us who are marching and setting up Sanctuaries. But no: they're simply asking us to send them more money for their "future" campaigns. I hear from the DSCC nearly everyday -- sometimes twice a day. We've been doing the work, being militant, supporting the ACLU and Planned Parenthood etc, and they want us to send them more money. 

Are the Dems creating and using national TV ads attacking and ridiculing Trump and Bannon and Gorsuch the way the Republicans and the Tea Party have been attacking us for decades ("leftists", "commies", "big government",  "crooked Hillary")? They should use the money we send them for something. Where is the propaganda machine that we need now, to prepare for the elections less than 2 years away. Are they vetting new candidates? Are they framing the issues: Trump's a con man, Bannon's a neo-Nazi, Trump's draining the swamps and using the sediment he digs up to stock his cabinet? We know that the Dems are old and serious and uncreative, but couldn't they at least hire some younger, witty and creative people from Saturday Night Live? What do they do with our money? The only exciting candidate they have produced, Bernie Sanders, should be on paid political spots right now. But no. The Dems are going to wait until just before the next elections so that they can be sucker punched in state assemblies which do the redistricting, and in the gerrymandered congressional districts. The Democratic base has energized itself with a lot of local work and activity since Trump took office, but the national Democrats have not done anything except send an occasional speaker to our rallies and ask for more money to stiffen their (meh) resistance.

We need the equivalent of a Tea Party, maybe, to prod lazy Dems in primaries. Heitkamp and Manchin don't do us any good except to sap our energy: they lose by not fighting and yet we are told we have to protect them. Look, if it walks like a Blue Dog and talks like a Blue Dog, then it is a Blue Dog (Democrat). It's better to fight and lose than not fight and still lose.

We have a chance at doing some real damage to the Republicans next election -- 2018. For a change we have the press somewhat on our side (after it's been insulted by the Trumpists every day), we have outrage and anger and energy on our side. The courts have been doing yeoman duty recently. Maybe need some help organizing and bringing forth determined leaders. Above all , we need a propaganda machine to frame and ridicule the Trumpists and the whole unprincipled Republican Party. We just won the popular vote by a large margin in a national election, and lost the key electoral states by a narrow margin. If we are unified and continue our anger and outrage, and don't have Clintons to drag us down, we can play lots of powerful cards and maybe hobble the Trumpists by some meaningful victories in (less than) 2 years.

Oh, and one more thing. Let's stop calling the Republicans the "GOP"; there's nothing "Grand" about that party anymore. Let's rebrand them: They are the Party for The Rich (PTR) or maybe the  RMP (Rich Man's Party: looks like Trump and rump). 

Listen up, national Dems: We want some value for the money we send you. We don't want a "close loss": we want a victory.