You already know how I feel about conservatives and inability to empathize. It’s a common, recurring theme with them.
On a separate but Trump 2-related note, why in the blue hell is Laura Loomer at the White House? Trump hopped off back to golf for an extended weekend. This is all a cosmic joke, someone please explain how any sane or rational person thinks of any of his bogus cabinet, dumb felon friends or lunatic crackpot racists is the behavior of a sitting president. Or a decent co-worker at the office or grocery store.
What is your cognitive dissonance with this immense oaf? Why do you hold him to a lower standard than you would expect from a stranger off the street? Most conservatives would be the first to rid themselves of someone like Trump in their everyday life.
I've been away for awhile.
In my last post immediately after the election, I said "I worry about a nationwide abortion ban, which would presumably override state protections, replacement of experts in Federal departments with political lackeys, dismantling of the Department of Education and other departments, rolling back climate change mitigation, and especially seeing RFK, Jr. in charge of the FDA, CDC, and related agencies. If he's allowed to do what he wants on vaccination, expect a resurgence of measles, polio, and other preventable diseases, not to mention disappearance of Covid and other vaccine development in this country."
It's difficult for me to accept, but even my worst fears have been surpassed. Measles is resurgent, and I won't be surprised if the same happens with other preventable communicable diseases. Even worse, the dismantling of agencies like the CDC and NIH that support medical research and public health, along with Trump's appointment of incompetent, dangerous morons to lead them will adversely affect Americans for decades. I shudder at what will happen when the next pandemic hits. Even if that is years off, Covid is still around, and development of highly promising nasal vaccines that could prevent it from taking a foothold is slowing or stopping.
The same holds true across the governmental landscape. Trump's tariffs are already having devastating ramifications. Our standing in the world has been irreparably harmed – the world can no longer trust the U.S. Modest progress on measures to mitigate climate change are being reversed. Cuts to Medicaid will harm millions. The list goes on.
I don't blame Trump for this. He is who he is. But I do lay responsibility squarely at the feet of the Republican politicians who continue to enable him and the voters who put him in office. Sure, Democrats could have done a much better job connecting with a disaffected electorate, but it isn't as if stark warning signs weren't there. It's difficult for me to empathize with those who voted for him and suffer the consequences of their choices.
GOP candidates just won two House seats in Florida by reduced margins, but Republican voters will have to be so personally affected by the new status quo that they'll be able to overcome their irrational fear of supporting a Democrat in the midterms. And Democrats will need to better articulate why continuing on the current path will be increasingly harmful and what they'll offer in its place.
