You can point many fingers at many targets to try and explain the reasons for the seismic political earthquake that Tuesday’s election turned into. Pundits and political pros are working overtime to do so. They can slow their roll. It’s easy. You only need one finger aimed at one target. Donald Trump.
Yes, there’s the Iran War. The economy. Corruption. Data centers. ICE. Cruelty. Racism. Health care. Dismantling the rule of law. Tariffs. The dismantling of international relations. Elon Musk trying to buy elections. Toxic masculinity. There’s something for everybody.
But, if you hover that finger over any of the targets you don’t have to drill down too far to see Trump is ultimately and completely to blame for those issues bubbling up into a toxic smelling political stew that just became more than folks wanted to stomach, much less smell.
The pushback is indeed glorious in its magnitude. And it flips such a multitude of table tops upside down that I’m not sure we’ll be able to come to grips with the scale of that magnitude for some time to come.
The one I’m the most hopeful about is that it appears there’s a chance to turn the political divisions away from what’s been a battle between red and blue, particularly the cultural issues, into one that’s top vs bottom focusing on the bottom line. There’s no doubt that the war, which led to higher gas prices, exacerbating an already failing and debt-ridden economy weakened by tariffs, reached directly into the pocketbooks of so many.
What appears to be the possible outcome (I say possible) is that Trump’s unrepentant bragging about how so much money was being made by his Mar-A-Lago cronies and too-quick-to-capitulate corporate hangers on and political pall-bearers has finally led some, hopefully enough, of those on the lower rungs of economy to actually pay attention and feel those greedy hands reaching directly into their wallets. Here’s hoping the Democrats can draw that line in a big, bold, bright stroke.
Add to that equation the polling data that showed 90% of voters recognized and despised the rampant corruption this gang of thieves exuberantly embraces. Extend that big, bold, bright line into how this corruption affects your pocket being picked and you’re on to something.
Some of the new blood that just won elections are doing so. Those chosen to lead the charge going forward need to follow that lead. And if they don’t, they don’t deserve the chance to capitalize on the gift they’ve just been given from the one man who always wants the spotlight on him.
My excitement is only tempered by the fact that this one man is still a malignant narcissist who lets his wounds fester until he can strike back. He’s proven it over and over again and proven to be as unpredictably predictable in the ways he chooses to do so, even if it brings more harm to him and those around him. Until he’s no longer giving tours of his ridiculous ballroom and reflecting pool renovation I’ll always urge caution.
But I do keep in mind how Narcissus eventually wasted away by the side of his own reflecting pool.
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