I think the time for recriminations, finger-pointing, division and blame re. “why Hillary lost” needs to stop at least yesterday. With enough blame to go around, we don’t need a circular firing squad; we need to quickly learn from what happened and begin the hard work of reimagining and rebuilding our broken country. Trump’s election stands as both a symptom and product of the deeper ills plaguing the United States.
Trump is a master showman & fraudster – solidly evidenced by his businesses, successful or not – specifically, regarding the KIND of businesses he gravitates toward. He builds big shiny skyscrapers, casinos and hawks steaks, wine, his “university”, clothing line, et cetera… All flashy, status-ey things with his name slapped on them; all of touted to be biggest, the best, and the glitziest; truthfully, the core is hollow and the glitter is just spray paint. We accepted the scam & sham as part of his persona until the 2016 election; he was a kind of national joke, “that’s just Donald Trump.” When he descended the golden, of course, escalator at Trump Tower to his (paid) adoring crowd, he remained a joke, and was treated by the media as a reality TV star, not a real presidential candidate. Then the spray paint & reality got conflated, and here we are, unsure of objective reality vs. spray paint fumes. The run for the presidency legitimized the scam, and people bought it lock, stock & barrel. Welcome to Trumpmerica, the dystopian theme park we can’t leave.
The Bill of Goods chosen for all of us by about 25% (not even the majority vote) of the entire electorate is full of a lot of big, and likely empty, promises. Let’s look at a few of the biggies:
1. Trump promises to “drain the swamp” in Washington.
Interestingly, the cast being chosen to play the principals in the tragicomedy are long-time residents of the swamp… hanging around in varying levels of marginalization, especially in recent years. Now they slither right up to lick their new master’s boots to ensure their parts of the swamp aren’t drained.
2. Trump promises to repeal & replace Obamacare with “something terrific”.
Well, if he means terrific in the archaic sense, “causing terror,” he is probably closer than if is trying to use the modern meaning. While Obamacare isn’t perfect, it’s better than what we didn’t have before, but we know that it will be repealed in short order come 20 January. Replacement details are vague, including elements about Health Savings Accounts and buying insurance across state lines. Beyond that, no plans for transition or implementation are out there. The Republicans have bitched about Obamacare for over 6 years, but have never given us any more than vague generalities – exactly zip, zilch & nada. Sadly those who bought into the scam are most likely to be the hardest hit or simply continue as they were, particularly if they live in a state that didn’t take part in the Medicare expansion.
3. Trump promises to have Mexico pay for the wall he wants to build, and deport all 11 million illegal immigrants.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said clearly in July that Mexico will not pay for Trump’s estimated $7.8 trillion boondoggle. So, if Mexico won’t pay for it, who will? Will Congressional Republicans agree to it, considering how they prefer to take money from programs for the needy and redistribute it to their corporate masters? They might go along with it if their buddies can have a piece of the pie. It might be a great jobs program, along with hiring all the new deportation/corrections officers for the 11 million they plan on removing or incarcerating, starting 20 January.
4. Trump promises to bring jobs back to the country.
As mentioned above, his wall and deportation program may well be the cornerstone of his plan. Sadly though, his big plans are covered in that same flaky gold spray paint. The manufacturing jobs lost across the Midwest and South since the 1970s have devastated those regions. These very people are those who have hitched their wagon to Trump’s star power. These people have been largely taken for granted by the Democratic Party as a demographic, with no real help offered to help them pivot from the economy of the 1950s to the realities of today. In the meantime, the Republican Party simply disposed of them as just the “cost of doing business.” However, Trump’s slithery cast of characters marching in time with the Corporate Congress isn’t likely to help them. More corporate tax breaks, laissez-faire governance, lax labor laws, will only lead to lower wages, more offshoring of jobs and higher unemployment.
5. Trump promises registration and surveillance of Muslims.
Blatantly unconstitutional (for now), this will be fought in the courts as long and hard as people are able. Again there is the question of cost, and perhaps it’s another part of the shiny new jobs plan.
These are some of Trump’s biggest and baddest promises in the Bill of Goods. One need only look at the Corporate Republican Congress and the swamp dwellers slithering onstage to see what is happening. The corporate elites will enjoy even greater license to influence the halls of power. More of our tax dollars will flow into their pockets, while worthy social service programs will continue to face cuts under the guise of the welfare mother and all the tired old tropes that paint the poor as lazy, unworthy, et cetera. (Read as people of color.) Additionally more of the taxes that are to support the military will flow into the coffers of defense contractors, not service members.
None of this has even touched on the inherent racism, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Muslim rhetoric in his campaign. To a one, Trump and his surrogates have united in their message disavowing any of the above. He asserted that African Americans and Hispanic American communities are “living in hell” and vowed to help them (again shiny spray painted words) while saying that known African American communities like Chicago, St. Louis and Philadelphia should be watched for signs of fraud on election day. This isn’t even a dog whistle unless you are denser than dog snot, it’s a fucking flashing red neon sign that says, “Racism Here.” Couple that with his big plans for Muslims… oh boy.
The other flashing red neon sign says “Misogyny Here.” While Trumps claims to be more respectful of women than probably anyone ever, his boasts about being able to grab women by the pussy anytime he wants paints a different picture. When that revelation is followed by 12 women coming forward, his only form of denial is to call them all liars and threaten to sue them.
The racism, misogyny, and hatred of anyone not a white straight male is sort of like the secret menu that everyone knows about on the Bill of Goods. If you voted for Trump out of pure intention, you purchased the whole bill of goods, including the secret menu stuff. Your vote shows that you accept it. You knew it was there, you cannot say you didn’t see it. It was part and parcel of his campaign from day one. You did this, you cannot blame anyone else. You made this choice for the whole country and you have been had. All of us will have to live with the aftermath of your actions, some already are, especially the “others”, minorities, women, LGBTQ folks, non-Christians, et cetera. Thank for caring more about yourself than the country as a whole. Most of us didn’t choose the ticket to Trumpmerica.
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