Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Day 1 Of The Resistance

I'm shocked and appalled, sure, but I'm shaking it off and thinking about what can be done, and the more people think about that the less damage Trump will be able to do.

For a long time people have been comparing Trump's candidacy to Britain's Brexit vote. That's actually an encouraging comparison, because, as you may have noticed, the UK still has not actually begun the legal procedure of leaving the European Union, and probably never will, and the Conservatives who rammed Brexit down their nation's throats will very likely lose power in the next elections.

The day after the Brexit vote many British voters were interviewed who hadn't realized what they were voting for until the interviewer told them. I imagine a great many of Trump's voters don't realize what his policy positions are -- unless a journalist has interviewed them already and told them.

Those day-after-Brexit interviews show how easy it would've been for journalists to explain Brexit before the vote. Many people who'd voted for Brexit were appalled to learn what it actually entailed, and wish they could've changed their votes. Journalists also could've done a much better job of explaining Trump. "He lies nonstop, exploiting and duping voters who are frustrated" would've been a much better bullet point than "he appeals to many voters who are frustrated."

Maybe some journalists have grasped that now. Hey, learning takes what it takes.

Speaking of learning, I wonder whether Trump actually thinks that when he takes office he can actually order a wall to be built between the US and Mexico, without getting the co-operation of Congress. I wonder if he realizes that he can't actually arrest people.

I wonder whether he's thought about the consequences of having the entire Democratic Party and a great deal of the GOP already solidly aligned against him, even before he begins to officially fuck things up as President. I suppose we can't actually impeach Trump before he takes office, but we can certainly start preparing to get rid of him.

And "we" most certainly includes some Republicans.

It may be that Trump will be in serious trouble as President no matter what he does: if he keeps his campaign promises, there should be ample grounds for impeachment; and if he doesn't keep them, the hard-core of his support will be furious, and he may quickly lose that support. Here's hoping the Trump Presidency will last much less than 4 years.

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