Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Planting Seeds



I have to admit, I've been perplexed and flummoxed at the insistent loyalty of Trump's "base," and by their unwavering eagerness to support his increasingly unhinged and blatantly false responses to reasonable interpretations of his most egregious (to date) actions. It seems that they are literally addicted to the most far-fetched rationalizations he can come up with, and he shows signs of getting even more unhinged and far-fetched as pressure from the impeachment investigation uncovers example after example of corroboration with the charges he will likely face in an impeachment trial - even one that shows signs of being nothing more than a partisan political sham (or a Barr for short). I have little in the way of expectations for the GOP-majority Senate to do anything other than rubber-stamp his acquittal, given their almost unanimous acceptance of Trump's "defense" such as it is, so we are left hoping that his "base" is not as afflicted with echolalia as are our elected Republican "representatives" (and I use that term very loosely).

If we have any hope of convincing what are, for all intents and purposes, a cult, that lies are NOT the truth, we need to present their candidate in a framework that will be more comprehensible to average
Americans who are not political junkies. To put things in a perspective Trump's "base" can more readily understand. Here's a first draft. See if it rings true to you.
Say you hired me to manage a gas station you owned.
Over the course of 3 years:

I lied to you virtually every single day.
I pocketed thousands of dollars people had paid for gas.
I told you that employees who "had it out for me" had been the ones ripping you off.
When you pointed out that some important tasks were being done shoddily or not done at all, I blamed my fellow workers and convinced you to fire them and give them bad references.
When you criticized me for acting unprofessionally toward customers, I spread false rumors about you and damaged your business and your reputation in the community.
When you finally started doing a background check on me, you found that every former employer had the same problems with me that you are having.
And when you confronted me with your list of complaints, I threatened to burn your gas station to the ground if you fired me.

Would you hire me?
Would you commit to keeping me as an employee for years?
Is the world your children will inherit one day soon less important to you than a single gas station? Your vote next November will be your answer.