Even if you didn’t vote for Donald Trump and you hate his guts, you have to be jealous of how much he’s doing so quickly. Liberal Democrats can’t even imagine one of their presidents leaping into action like this.
A Democrat Would Never Do This
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Is he though? What did they actually do?
Sure, they are good at stopping stuff after barely a cursory look and getting everyone spooked. This was positive on the Gaza genocide where at this stage of the war it was enough to send someone to tell Netanyahu to cut it out. But now they are back again at fantasizing about real estate deals for land held by guerilla fighters. At least they will resume normal meetings with Russian officials (something Biden stopped doing), but they have yet to actually do anything foreign policy wise.
Does cancelling appointments with refugees to assess their claims to asylum count as “leaping into action”? Arguably gearing up for another level of mass deportations might – then again mass deportations have been bipartisan standard procedure.
How about firing civil servants for working in a department whose vibes don’t mesh with MAGA? This is standard Republican practice by now (the “wrecking crew”). Does wrecking things count as “action”?
(I’m seriously asking – there clearly is no shortage of U.S. government policy that should be scrapped for the benefit of humanity; but for a sustained break with the past we need to build an alternative future)
What they are really good at is hogging the news cycle 24/7 – between Trump’s threatening tariffs because it is Tuesday and Musk’s Nazi salutes. I guess a Nazi salute technically counts as a hand action.
The Biden admin actually broke with their neo-liberal austerity religion and started dabbling in industrial policy again [stupidly they did so quietly for fear of displeasing their donors]. However many executive orders he signs, so far Trump is all bluster – however darkly it may portend…
As a registered Republican I watch the Dems and liberals beat up their own party in what I see as strange ways. That people do not understand the fact that the party for the weak will have unique challenges is a head shaker. Do you know how hard it is to navigate between the fickle nature of humans and the fullest needs of those who need the most?………………………………..Ted’s sour grapes are the least dignifying I have witnessed.
But it is *not* our party – and we can cry if we want to! (you would cry too… cue music)
Seriously – even though they sidelined anything remotely left-wing from the liberal wing of the business uniparty – I agree that criticizing what are now octogenarians with terminal cancer may come across as unsporting.
Sure, forming another committee to study something is fun to ridicule. But given the political divisions in this country, talking with the opposition, finding common ground, etc. is something that we sorely need. (Really, if we could get past the name calling, there are things that large supermajorities of the population would support, and we need to get these done.) So, when the Democrats play by the rules that’s actually part of the goal. Not playing by the rules does appear to get some things accomplished (until many of them are repealed by “the rules”), but is quite counterproductive in re-establishing that there is a common ground that is getting short shrift.
Could the Democrats do better? Of course. Keep beating them up when they get it wrong. But emulating Trump’s flurry of questionable executive orders is not a step in the right direction.
There is a scene in an episode of “Star Trek the Next Generation” where Capt. Picard and Dr. Crusher, stranded on a planet, are trying to figure out which way to go. Picard looks at the map. “This way.” Because they’re psychically linked, Crusher knows he’s not sure. “You’re acting like you know exactly which way to go, but you’re only guessing. Do you do this all the time?” And Picard replies, “No, but there are times when it is necessary for a captain to give the appearance of confidence.”
I can recall very few — if any — instances of a democrat (president, senator, governor, representative) being Picardian. That is, making a choice that might be wrong but gives people the sense that the guy in charge appears to know what he’s doing.
Case in point? Look at Mayor Adams in New York. Gov. Huchul has the power to bounce him out of office. And she doesn’t. Why? Who cares. She should have forced him out of office the second he let Trump order the Justice Department to drop the case. Instead, she gives canned formula responses that everyone can see through. She won’t admit the truth: “If I can him, I risk losing a substantial portion of the black vote. Screw law and order, I’m in it for me.”
Why hasn’t Alvin Bragg instituted a trial at the state level against Adams? Instead of democrats cleaning up their own messes, putting their own house in order, they’re doing the same wishy-washy nothing as they always do but acting like they’re the law-and-order people. This is why the dems keep losing. This is why the Republicans keep winning.
At least we can joyously delight, and unite, in our bipartisan, deliciously lethal (current) genocide!!!