In the 1958 B movie, The Blob, a gelatinous malevolent space monster crashes to earth and proceeds to absorb and digest every person it encounters, growing ever larger and stronger from each terrestrial snack. Likewise, Donald Trump seems to be growing ever stronger politically from each salvo of Democratic attacks on him.
Following Trump’s recent criminal conviction and adverse judgments, liberal political commentators have been flummoxed by the fact that, not only have these reverses failed to reduce his support but they seem to have supercharged his fundraising and boosted his poll numbers. To recap, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York of concealing the blackmail payoff made to Stormy Daniels; ordered to pay penalties of $355 million in a business fraud suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James; and was ordered in a New York lawsuit to pay advice columnist E. Jean Carroll $88 million for sexual assault and defamation.
There are other actions pending against him elsewhere. Further, not long ago he survived efforts in Colorado and Maine to strike him from their ballots for alleged “insurrection.” And he has endured countless media attacks, pronouncing him a “threat to democracy” and so forth and generally conveying the media’s profound disapproval of him.
And yet, still he grows, and is shown by many polls to be favored in November.
“How can this be?” desperately wail the Democrats over the resilience and seeming indestructibility of their nemesis. “Felony convictions, and immense court judgments! The more we throw at him, the more he thrives and grows!” they cry. “We have told the people just how awful he is, and yet, they don’t seem to be listening to us and our apocalyptic visions.” The Democrats seem genuinely puzzled over the failure of their efforts to inspire a huge wave of voter revulsion toward the Orange Blob.
The short answer to this phenomenon: You’ve badly overreached. We’ve stopped listening to what you think about Trump. Like the brush beaters during a big game hunt, your shrill and heavy-handed attacks, anti-democratic stunts, and cultural elitism, have been driving voters into the Trump camp.
For more than eight years, Trump has been under unrelenting attack by most of the media, late night comedians, and the political establishment, with assaults ranging from the clever and thoughtful, to the sophomoric fart jokes during his criminal trial. The tone has most often been shrill and histrionic, with occasional over-the-top comparisons to Hitler. Sadly, there are relatively few liberals who have the ability to express opposition without resorting to “scorched earth” ad hominem attacks. And, to be fair, Trump makes himself a pretty tempting target.
You whine, “The felony convictions are disqualifying!” While this would normally be a convincing argument, the very blue New York location, and the participation of progressive political operatives in the process, diminish their impact. The charges, normally misdemeanors artificially inflated to felony status, are minor and not something that induces outrage or anger. They would not have been filed against anyone not named Trump.
The E. Jean Carroll rape and defamation suits? As the charges against Brett Kavanaugh demonstrated, long dormant and uncorroborated charges against disfavored celebrities are always suspect, especially when some of the facts are vague, the circumstances improbable, and the trial was in a hostile jurisdiction.
Letitia James’ suit? An arcane dispute over property valuations in a loan transaction between big businesses, tried in a hostile venue, is unlikely to generate much genuine outrage. We expect that sort of thing from Trump.
Viewed in their totality, the prosecution, lawsuits, and disqualification efforts are widely seen as a concerted effort by the Democratic and media establishments to keep Trump off the ballot. This pisses off a lot of people, including many of us who dislike Trump. We worry about the precedent of allowing opposing parties to successfully weaponize the judicial system to control who we are permitted to vote for. There will always be ambitious political prosecutors eager to bring tactical proceedings in friendly locations. If it is allowed to succeed, it is easy to see it becoming a routine tactic in our political warfare.
There are plenty of good reasons to not vote for Trump, although I don’t find any of them sufficient to justify a vote for Biden and the Democratic lunacy. We already know what sort of guy Trump is. We also know that we survived his first term, which went pretty well until COVID-19 hit, especially relative to Biden’s term. More Democratic unhinged hollering and theatrics are not likely to change any minds. At this point, it is mere background noise.
You’ve overplayed your hand and are now merely preaching to the liberal choir. In an amazing bit of political alchemy, you have converted an obnoxious sore loser into a sympathetic victim. You’re prisoners of a visceral loathing, which may cost you the election, but you hate Trump so much that you are unable to keep yourselves from feeding the Orange Blob. Δ
John Donegan is a retired attorney in Pismo Beach whose guilty pleasure is watching Democrats shriek themselves into a bitter lather. Respond with a letter to the editor or commentary of your own by emailing it to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 4-14, 2024.
You sound just like Kevin Roberts saying “the revolution will be bloodless if the left allows it to be.” Sort of like that old misogynist joke “When rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” The Heritage Foundation and numerous right wing think tanks, oligarchs, and even state legislators in the South are openly calling for and implementing a cruel, authoritative form of theocracy. I hope we make it to the USA’s 250th birthday (July 4, 2026) with our democracy intact.
Let’s see, “Biden and the Democratic lunacy”
15 million jobs created
Number of those uninsured for health care drops to a new low
Money from the bipartisan infrastructure bill is beginning to transform America’s tattered infrastructure in every section of the nation
Inflation Reduction Act and Chips Act prompt investment in semiconductors and other efforts, generating 196 projects and 126,000 jobs
First bipartisan bill to curb gun violence in years
Reductions in prescription drug prices
Student debt relief for middle and working class students
Expansion of program to take care of veterans exposed to toxic chemicals
Let’s see, Trump sanity
Had his press secretary tell us that his inauguration drew the largest crowds ever, when photos clearly revealed it was smaller than both of Obama’s inaugurations
Told reporters there were fine people on both sides of a riot between far right white supremacists and far left anti-fascists
Kissed Vladimir Putin’s rear end in Helsinki, telling reporters he took the Russian dictator’s word over his own intelligence agencies when it came to Russian interference efforts in U.S. elections
Wrote “love letters” to murderous dictator Kim Jong Un
Blew up the Iran nuclear deal causing that nation to now be close to producing a nuclear weapon
Held several “Infrastructure Days” at the White House, none of which produced a penny toward building infrastructure
Passed the largest tax cut in history, 88% of which benefited those making over $400,000 a year and punching an $8.1 trillion hole in the nation’s total debt
Ignored warnings from the Obama Administration and instructed his National Security Adviser to cut the infectious disease team that had been working in China to help alert for future viruses in that nation
Ignored early signs of COVID pandemic and kept telling the nation it would pass
Told Americans to take hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to cure COVID, neither of which worked
Told Americans to drink bleach or shine a UV light down their throats to prevent COVID
Called the 2020 election fraudulent despite officials in his own administration calling it the most secure election in U.S. history
Whipped up a crowd of zealots to attack the capitol and hang Vice President Mike Pence, causing one person to be killed on the spot and 176 police officers to be injured
Boy, I really look forward to getting back to having a sane president rather than a lunatic.