Is everyone ready to board? It's time to set sail for terra incognita — the unexplored world of Trumpland. But first it's only right to congratulate Cap'n Trump on his recent victory and to wish him and all of us — his anxious passengers — a hearty Godspeed.
At this date, the election has been analyzed ad nauseam. The generally agreed-upon diagnosis is that the Democrats ignored the white working-class and rural voters, the once-upon-a-time backbone of the party, at their own risk. As Dems cultivated Hispanics, African-Americans, the LGBTQ community, unions, the college educated, etc., they didn't hear the cries for help coming from middle class and poor whites who have been run over and left for dead by our post-industrial society.
But what's being referred to as "economic anxiety" is only part of the story. There's also the simple fact that too many voters fell for a storyline that will be impossible to deliver on. Congress won't give Trump scarce dollars to build a wall with Mexico, and Mexico is never going to pay for it. He will never restore enough jobs to coal country to make a difference because of cheap energy from fracking and automation.
Tariffs to keep out foreign-made goods? That's been tried before, and voters will have sticker apoplexy when they see the multiplier effect on prices for everything from jeans to iPhones. Dilute support for NATO? That is right out of Putin's playbook, and it has our allies looking over their shoulders.
I am glad to see Cap'n now wants to keep parts of Obamacare, and I wonder what made him change his mind. Might it be his lack of a detailed plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, or is it the reality of the 20 million who sit under its umbrella?
It's funny, but the only thing we've heard about rigging since Cap'n won is that which we'll use to hoist our sails. I do fear it's going to be a rough maiden voyage for the S.S. Make America Great Again, but Trump deserves our help and support. In return, he has to start the healing process by jettisoning some of the cargo on board, especially the nativists, racists and anti-Semites who during this election resurrected some of the most disparaging names and images from our nation's shameful past.
We passengers also have to ask why Cap'n received the endorsement of the KKK. That will hang like the ship's anchor around his neck until he openly repudiates it for the sake of all people of color. Trump's recent hiring of alt-right activist Steve Bannon, known for his white nationalist views, doesn't give us hope.
I pray the Cap'n takes mind of the kids on board and watches his salty language. For the first time in the nation's history, we've elected a president who's dropped the "F" bomb in his speeches and boasted about his nether regions. I'm sure the Christian fundamentalists will police him if they still have any self-respect left.
Cap'n Trump's most grievous sin is modeling the kind of personality and appeal that paves the way for future and more dangerous demagogues. Many wannabe politicos have watched and learned. They have discovered how to inflame resentment, preach distrust, and use certain tropes and stereotypes that attract an angry and often-unhinged constituency. These tactics got Trump elected. What's not to like about that? However, it does not bode well for the 2018 elections.
Considering that we've already heard calls for a special prosecutor to investigate the Clinton Foundation, and Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) has plans for at least "four new hearings," I think it is only fair that we should also push for hearings on Trump University and specifically on Trump's campaign contribution to Florida's attorney general that coincided with her halting an investigation into TU's business practices. We also need to investigate the Trump Foundation, Ukrainian and Russian connections to the Trump campaign and Trump's empire, WikiLeaks' nakedly partisan release of Clinton's emails before the election, and the FBI's last-minute election interference and Rudy Giuliani's connection to it.
Of course, with the Republican control of Congress, the above questionable matters will be left on the dock as we set sail, along with Trump's tax returns and all the maps.
Bon voyage, Cap'n Trump, and may God bless America!
Frank Batavick writes from Westminster. His column appears Fridays. Email him at fjbatavick@gmail.com.
