RESIST Better
Within hours after the presidential election of 2016, even before all the tears had dried, the RESIST movement was born. Its purpose is to oppose Donald Trump in every way possible, with the hope that his obnoxious presence can be exorcised from the oval office. I am no Trump supporter. I spent most of a day with him at a conference in the early 80’s. I thought he was the biggest horse’s ass I’d ever met. I’d be happy to see him exiled to Mar-a-Lago. However, I think much of the RESIST effort is misdirected and counterproductive.
First, some ugly facts need to be faced.
Trump won the election fair and square. Hillary has an Ivy League education and decades of experience in national politics. She was aware that the election outcome would be determined by the electoral college. Comey did not cause her to lose. The server in the basement was hers; she deleted material as she saw fit; and she lied about it. Russia did not win the election for Trump. They were stirring the social media pot to discredit the democratic process. If Trump had been leading in the polls, they would have backed Hillary. They spent a few hundred thousand dollars on social media ads. In a contest costing upwards of $3 billion, that was a rounding error.
Trump will not be impeached. To be more precise, the newly Democratic majority House might impeach him, but the Senate won’t convict. Buying NDAs from two workers in the sex industry with whom he had fully consensual sex is not going to work as grounds. A meeting with Don Jr. and a Russian lawyer bearing promises of Hillary dirt that went unfulfilled will not get it done. There may be bombshells to come, but the odds aren’t good. In two+ years of investigation, nothing significant has surfaced from the leakiest place on earth. In the unlikely event of a conviction, you get President Pence. He really IS a threat to abortion rights.
The solution is to win the 2020 election. Here are a few suggestions that might facilitate that outcome.
The endless stream of Trump jokes and Trump scorn on SNL, the late night shows and award ceremonies (Hollywood congratulating itself over and over and . . . ) should end. The net effect is to convince Trump supporters (the 46% who approve of the job he is doing) and some of the rest of us, that the media/entertainment complex is in the Progressive tank. Of course, most of the media IS in the Progressive tank, but rubbing our noses in that fact is not a good idea. Trump is an irresistible comedic target, but the volume of material is excessive, and surely there are some Progressive icons worthy of scorn to provide the appearance of balance.
Almost daily, there is a breathless announcement that goes something like this: WE’VE FOUND THE SMOKING GUN! That is followed by a detailed description of a whiff of smoke. No gun in evidence. The keys to credible reporting are verifiable facts and on-record sources. The Washington Post took down Harvey Weinstein. His offer to apologize and contribute to Planned Parenthood went nowhere. Numerous credible accusations and excruciating detail proved irrefutable. Ronan Farrow has done the same thing in his New Yorker pieces. The Times tried with its piece on the Trump family efforts to avoid inheritance tax. They were so proud of their effort that they ran it twice. The problem is that their smoking gun was plastic. The facts were mostly correct, but not damning. Is anybody surprised that a guy like Fred Trump, who spent his life accumulating a fortune, would work hard to avoid 40% of the money being sent to Albany and Washington DC after he passed? The Trumps pushed the edge, but the techniques they used are quite standard. The estate return passed muster with the IRS. No indictment will be forthcoming. The folks on MSNBC and at the Times need to reread the story of Chicken Little.
Most importantly, all ye “woke” folks should work hard to nominate a moderate to run against Trump in 2020. I know that the energy and fundraising muscle in the Democratic party are with the Progressive wing. Elizabeth or Kamala or Bernie or Beto will be able to raise tons of money, but remember that Hillary raised tons of money (about double what Trump had, including independent expenditure). A shiny object Progressive might even win the popular vote, but would win urban metropolises overwhelmingly and not do well in a majority of states. That electoral college dragon will bite you again. Most of the country is not pining for free college for all and transgender bathroom access.
RESIST provides the emotional satisfaction of virtue signaling — a woke display — but political power is a grubby business requiring compromise. Your beacon should be Nancy Pelosi. She keeps her eye relentlessly focused on the levers of power.
