Trump is not the Republican president

I am endlessly puzzled why my conservative friends continue to defend Donald Trump as president.  I think the only reason that I have been able to come to is they see Donald Trump as a conservative president, or a Republican president, who is under attack by liberals trying to undermine conservative or Republican policies. 

But that is not what is going on. I do not see Trump as a conservative president or a Republican president. 

I see Donald Trump as a fascist who has taken over the American presidency.  I see Donald Trump as a dangerous man-child who has no interest other than his own profit and power.  I see Donald Trump violating the Constitution daily.  I see Donald Trump as a fraud and a con-man who has mysteriously bamboozled millions of Americans to think he somehow cares about them and is on their side.  I see Donald Trump under the control of the Russian Oligarchy and who is destroying America's leadership in commerce, democracy, and human rights.  I see Donald Trump as a leader of far too many Americans whose only concern is greed and plunder to the harm of the environment and the middle and lower classes.  I see Donald Trump as a white supremacist who does everything to please and inflame white supremacists in America in order to make him King of the Whites.

I see Donald Trump as the biggest threat to Americans, America, and America's leadership in the world since - the Soviet Union.  

I see Donald Trump as a pathetic little man out to prove something about himself with no thought of any of the terrible destruction he is having on America and the world.

I do not oppose Donald Trump because of his conservative or Republican ideology.  He has no ideology.  He is trying to become America's Mussolini, or Stalin, or Lenin, or Mao Tse-Tung, or Putin, or Erdogan, or Duterte - a strong man whose whim becomes the murderous rule.

America is losing its innocence.  We have never been crushed by a dictator, and we won't be crushed by this wannabe dictator, but he is trying.

He is not a Republican. He is not a conservative.  He is a danger to democracy.

We are all at the mercy of my conservative friends since only conservatives have the power to rid the country of this toxin in the White House.  I pray that they finally turn against this fraud and see him for the danger that he is.

"Trump First"

One explanation for Trump refusing to acknowledge that the Russians are interfering with our election process is that Russia has something on him. And given his determination to destroy free trade and destroy American alliances around the world, that explanation is quite credible since these are the things Russia has long dreamed of - the collapse of American leadership in commerce, democracy, and human rights.

However, there could be another explanation. Trump knows that Russia helped him win the election. And, he knows that Russia is helping Republicans win in 2018. And he knows that Russia will help trump win in 2020. So, why on earth would Trump want to get in the way of that?  After all, winning you know...can't be a loser you know...so "America First"? - are you kidding?

Trump's campaign slogan of "America First" is for chumps. His only real slogan for campaigning and "governing" is "Trump First" - actually "Trump Only." 

However, the I still think that the far more likely explanation for Trump refusing to acknowledge that the Russians are interfering with our election process is that Russia has something on him. And given the very public evidence of his determination to always do the things that benefit the Russian tyranny, that explanation is more credible. 

Looks to me like the Russians have Trump by the short hairs.  It is up to my conservative friends to save America.  I hope they are paying attention.

Trump meets with his master - Putin - and commits treason

I think it is time to accept something that my conservative friends don't want to accept - Trump is being controlled by Putin - and Trump is committing treason.  He just met with his Russian master and was given his marching orders.  He claims he believes the head of a hostile foreign power - the Russian killer Putin - rather than his own intelligence agencies about Russian interference in American elections in 2016 and still today.

Who thinks Trump is committing treason? former CIA director John Brennan:

"John O. Brennan‏Verified account @JohnBrennan

Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???

8:52 AM - 16 Jul 2018"

 

Who else thinks Trump is committing treason?  Forbes Magazine, Krysty O'Connor:

"It's high time we called Trump by his real name -- traitor, perhaps our country's worst traitor ever. I speak not of his attack on our allies, his appeasement of our adversaries, his assault on the press, his coddling of racists, his repulsive misogyny, his rampant corruption, his terrible cronyism, his brazen nepotism, his abuse of children, his obstruction of justice, his contempt for our justice system, or his war on the environment. I speak of his systematic destruction of our economy.

Trump is hell bent on engineering a complete meltdown of U.S. trade."

 

...the real question is why. One answer is mental illness. It doesn't fit the facts. Another answer is stupidity. No one, not even Trump, is that stupid. The only answer is that he's trying to ruin our economy for the same reason he's trying to destroy NATO, alienate our allies, befriend our enemies, divide our country, undermine our democracy, and demean our values. The reason is he's a traitor."

Putin has Trump under his control for the purpose of destroying America, destroying America's influence in the world, destroying the leading voice and force for human rights in the world, for destroying America's sacred destiny of being a shining light on a hill - a symbol of hope and democracy for all of the world.  He couldn't have lucked into a better choice to destroy hope than Donald J Trump as president - a repulsively ignorant, greedy, self centered, corrupt man who spreads darkness not light across the world.

Donald J Trump is not a Republican president.  Donald J Trump is not a conservative president.  Donald J Trump is an authoritarian fascist president under the control of the wealthiest and most corrupt man in the world, Vladimir Putin.

Donald J Trump is America's dark side, the side of white supremacy, the side of plutocratic greed and destruction, the side of the plantation owners of slaves or yore, the side of the neo-Nazis and KKK, the side of environmental despoilers and polluters, the side of impoverishing labor to make them subservient to their aristocratic and plutocratic masters, the side of pulling children from their parents - and losing track of them.

Donald J Trump is the very loud, very visible shame of America.  He isn't alone. He isn't the first.  But he lifts the most shameful parts of America into the light and struts it proudly, and allows the slime crawling out from under old, moldy rocks to strut their filthy selves.

My dear conservative friends, you are not Trump.  You are not the slime crawling out from under the rocks. You are the ones who need to wake the hell up.  What is it going to take if not watching Trump stand next to Putin and side with him over his own intelligence agencies?

Only my conservative friends can save America and thus save hope in the world.  

Impeach the bastard. 

 

Indictment of Russian intelligence officers shows direct connection to Trump himself

First thing we all have to know is that Trump is using tried and true propaganda technique, following Goeble's and Hitler's example:

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it”

So, Trump says over and over that there is no collusion, it's a witch hunt, the elite are trying to stop the will of the people.  And  some people believe that rather than pay any attention to actual news, which Trump says over and over is Fake News.  And some people believe that the news if fake and the government propaganda is real.  Just like what used to happen for decades in the Soviet Union.

But Rod Rosenstien, the Deputy Attorney General, just indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for taking active measures to harm the candidacy of Trump's opponent and put Trump into office.  The indictment went into great detail about how and when.  It is not just some vague political hit piece.  It is indictable evidence.  It is news.  It is not fake news.  It is time for my conservative friends to wake up and smell the treason.

There are many devastating charges in the indictment, here is the one that directly links Trump himself to the Russian intelligence officers' actions:

"On July 27, at a press conference, seemingly out of the blue, Trump said: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” referring to the so-called “missing” emails from the private server Hillary Clinton used while serving as secretary of state.

Which brings us to stand-out thing number two: the spearphishing done by the Russian intelligence operatives was done “after hours.” At no other point in the indictment does the Mueller team refer to what time of day other hacking was done. Trump’s press conference was in New York at about noon. That’s 7 p.m. in Moscow. Russia was listening, all right.  They started hacking immediately after Trump’s call-out to them. After hours."

The Russians took a direct order from Trump and followed it.  Isn't this conspiracy?  Is any more evidence needed to connect Trump to the Russian intelligence operation to elect Trump?  Does this rise to the level of treason, which is certainly impeachable, and actually punishable with death per the Constitution?

Which brings up the most important question of all - why isn't Trump and his administration pulling out all the stops to investigate and stop a hostile foreign power from interfering in our elections?  It is still happening now.  If he and the Republicans aren't trying to stop the interference isn't that evidence that they are welcoming it? that they are conspiring with it?  that since it benefits them they are turning a blind eye and thus aiding it?

Trump and the Republicans are failing in the most basic of all of their duties and pledges -

"...defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..."

Trump's endless stream of outrages and offenses has numbed the country to him.  But we shouldn't be numb.  He and his Republican enablers are not protecting us, they are attacking our very democracy itself. Trump may indeed be a kind of twisted genius, the genius of propaganda, of "branding", of throwing sand in our eyes.  

I make a heartfelt plea to my conservative friends - I used to be a conservative myself until I was driven out of the movement by the corruption, cruelty, racism, greed, and now the treason - please wake up, please pay attention to actual news and get out of the rabbit holes of propaganda news feeds.  Please turn against this astonishingly corrupt and venal man - you are better than him. Only you can save the country from him.  

(By the way, just as a reminder, Trump takes his orders from Putin. He is about to meet Putin with no other Americans present.  He needs his marching orders from Putin as things get tough for him. Watch what he does after meeting with Putin)

We liberals and never-Trumpers aren't listened to.  The fate of democracy in this country is in your hands. Impeach the bastard.

Why is Trump trying to destroy America's alliances?

Trump managed to take another step toward destroying American alliances in his NATO meeting.  Why?  

Russia. 

Russia has long dreamed of breaking up NATO and stripping American protection from the NATO countries.  Trump is a gift from God to the Russians. Not that it is any surprise to anyone, after all Russia did intervene on Trump's behalf to get him elected, according to all of America's intelligence agencies - Trump's laughable denials to the contrary.

Is he actually an agent of Putin's? Does Putin have control over Trump via blackmail, or money, or some kind of macho-authoritarian male bonding nonsense?

Or maybe that's too  cynical. Maybe he's just an idiot. 

From GQ writer Julia Iofee:  

"Ran into an old source from Moscow here in Brussels and asked him how Moscow sees Trump.  "As a total idiot, a useful battering ram who goes after the American elite and NATO."

From a guest on Russian state TV:

"I never thought I'd live to see this - neither the USSR nor Russia, who tried many times to drive a wedge between the transatlantic allies, but Washington is doing everything to break down the foundations of transatlantic alliance & unity.

Of course, the kindest suggestion is that Trump is an idiot.  Let's see what happens after he goes to meet his master, Putin, in a few days.

Predators not protectors

Why on earth are conservatives supporting Trump and his administration?  Conservatives are supposed to have a value system based upon the "strong father" family model.  Cognitive Linguist, George Lakoff wrote in his book "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think":

"At the center of the conservative worldview is a Strict Father model.

This model posits a traditional nuclear family, with the father having primary responsibility for supporting and protecting the family as well as the authority to set overall policy, to set strict rules for the behavior of children, and to enforce the rules. The mother has the day-to-day responsibility for the care of the house, raising the children, and upholding the father's authority. Children must respect and obey their parents; by doing so they build character, that is, self-discipline and self-reliance. Love and nurturance are, of course, a vital part of family life but can never outweigh parental authority, which is itself an expression of love and nurturance—tough love. Self-discipline, self-reliance, and respect for legitimate authority are the crucial things that children must learn. Once children are mature, they are on their own and must depend on their acquired self-discipline to survive. Their self-reliance gives them authority over their own destinies, and parents are not to meddle in their lives."

The liberal worldview is based upon the Nurturant Parent model, which he also goes on to describe, and which is not an authoritarian model but more of a caring model.

So, conservatives value the "strong father" values, primarily protection.

But where is the protection?  They are not only failing in their duties to protect the people of America, they are stripping protections of the people as fast as they can.  

Environment? - the Environmental Protection Agency is destroying as many environmental protections as they can as quickly as they can.  The environment suffers, people's health suffers, enjoyment of the beauty and healing properties of the earth suffers.  They have taken the EPA from the protectors and turned it over to the predators.

Financial protection? - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been neutered, Dodd-Frand is being neutered, Payday loans are thriving, and the Wall Street predators are sharpening their teeth.
 
Education? - turning it over to private schools.  Some are probably wonderful.  Some will be worthless education from predatory "schools" - ala Trump University? Trump school for chumps.  And more in that mode to follow from other predators.

Women's reproductive rights? - moving as fast as possible to outlaw abortion now, birth control to follow.  Back to the good old days of women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

Minorities? - moving as fast as possible to limit minority voting, including rigging the census count to under-count people of color.

Jobs? - Trump's trade wars are hurting and will hurt jobs in America.  Even most fools know that trade wars triggered the Great Recession in the '30s.  

I know conservative white Christians seem to be thrilled with Trump and his administration, but they also will be drinking polluted water, have vulnerable investments, can be suckered into chump schools, and have reproductive needs and expectations.

There are countless other examples, but I  am getting a little sickened thinking about them, so I'll stop here.

In Trump's America the predators are empowered and the people are prey.