I keep hearing from the chattering class that Donald Trump garnered over 72 million votes in his loss to Joe Biden, so Democrats need to listen to them. There was an even split between the number of states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden and the current lame-duck Donald Trump, although Mr. Biden amassed nearly 6 million more popular votes. Sure, that would seem like the basis for compromise, after all a huge swath of the electorate disagreed with the majority.
Numbers are not always the starting point for compromise.
In 1861 the United States was comprised of 34 states, 15 of which were outright slave states. The 19 remaining states had compromised with the south for economic gain and the preservation of racial superiority, hence slavery flourished as a way of life in the south and portions of the Midwest as the north turned the other cheek. President Lincoln decided that continued compromise was unsustainable and inhumane.
Is Trump the New Hoover
In October of 1929, the bottom of the American economy fell out. President Herbert Hoover, much like Donald Trump and the Covid-19 virus, said the economic downturn would go away. By 1931 people were erecting shacks, standing in soup lines, and begging for work and pennies. Finally, the American people decided no more compromise with the Hoover backers and elected Franklin Roosevelt. Hoover’s ignoring of what was obvious led to the biggest economic failure in American history. Similarly, Mr. Trump, for reasons that only he and the people I am encouraged to compromise with can fathom, has used every tool of an ignoramus to approach the coronavirus pandemic. Ignoring the advice of experts, eschewing the simplest of remedies like masks, playing scientists with ultraviolet light and bleach, and propagating unproven cures such as hydroxychloroquine, contributing to the 240,000 deaths, and counting.
His followers have devised plans to kidnap governors, hunt down baby-blood drinking satanic Democrats, and piloted the boats that were a part of a sinking flotilla in support of Donald Trump. These people cannot be compromised with they need to be locked away for their safety and ours. Unfortunately, in my hometown of Washington, DC, this past weekend, I watched Confederate flags, Nazi flags and Trump flags fly shamelessly alongside the American flag as Trump supporters debased the elections system. I am not denying their right to support Mr. Trump, I encourage it. I am not denying their right to dissent, I encourage it. Where I lose my ability to compromise is when a protest turns into right-wing conspiratorial fantasy.
Right-Wing blogs have compared the Trump protesters to Black Lives Matter, which alone demonstrates the delusion they live under. Court after Court, election official after official, both Democratic and Republican have found no evidence of election malfeasance to the point of purposeful fraud. Yet Trumpsters load into their pickup trucks, dress in camo and American flags, and go protest. When asked for proof you get wild speculation about the deep state, QAnon, and Rudy Giuliani in a landscaping businesses’ parking lot. When you compare that to George Floyd, who we all saw executed on an American street, or Breonna Taylor shot in her underwear in her own home; where is the compromise?
You Voted for Change.