Use It

Before You Lose It

“Welcome to the culture war—where only the right is really fighting, and the other side is helping it out by punching itself in the face.” Nesrine Malik, The Guardian, 11/25/24

Twenty days past, We the People elected Donald Trump to a second term in the highest political office in our system of governance.  He has used the time in the interim to defy in a very public fashion at least one law—the Presidential Transition Act.  He is playing a shell game of corruption that alarms select politicians and journalists. What bothers me is the failure of the current administration and congress to challenge him while one and a half of the three reins of power are still in their hands.  Or for the states to fail to use their significant separate powers to distract and worry him—before he strips that option away.

Opinion/The Age of American Despair. New York Times. 17 Sept 2019

Soon resistance and obstruction will be the only tools available to persons, organizations, institutions, governments, and late-night comedians concerned about the effects of Project 2025’s implementation.  For a few precious days, Trump does not have his hands on all the levers of power.  He has Day One executive actions and he has a 180-day playbook for “normalizing” We the People to autocratic rule.

“Trump became his party's presumptive nominee on March 12, 2024, and formally accepted the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July. The Trump campaign announced the formation of the transition team on August 16, with Linda McMahon, Trump's former head of the Small Business Administration, and Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group, officially named as co-chairs. Vice presidential nominee JD Vance, along with sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, were designated as honorary co-chairs. The effort beginning at this time was considered unusually late, as historically, most transition efforts start in the late spring. If the Electoral College vote has not resulted in the election of either a president or vice president, the incoming Congress (emphasis added), as opposed to the outgoing one, would conduct a contingent election, following the process set out in the Twelfth Amendment.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_presidential_transition_of_Donald_Trump

The Transition Team

Trump has nominated Linda McMahon to the post of Secretary of Education. Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick to the post of Secretary of Commerce.  Neither of them need a transitional briefing. They come to their duties with a playbook that intends to remake their respective kingdoms from both a policy and personnel standpoint.  Disruptions are expected. Punishment is promised to those who resist.

Don Jr. and Eric showed their true colors under oath during their father’s civil trial for commercial misconduct in the State of New York.  They are designated bag men.  The hens don’t have a chance with the boys standing guard over assets past, present, and future.

Trump’s noncompliance with background checks, transparency rules, and ethics sets the table for a corrupt administration, perhaps even worse than his first time in office.  Every minute of every day since 12 March 2024 has given Trump a brand new personal piggy bank.  On 16 August 2024, Trump sent forth an engraved invitation to participate in protected graft and corruption. 

And We the People have no right under current law to know who responded to an opportunity to guide our ship of state to a benefit they shared mutually with Mr. Big.

Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer in the Bush administration, is quoted in a Politico article of 11/25/24 as noting “Until they sign this agreement, they’re not yet government employees. They can have any conflicts of interest they want.  They could be taking money from foreign governments….Not signing these agreements is a great way to tell all those working class voters: ‘Thank you very much. Now eff you.’”

Scared Senseless

Give the guy credit.  He is a very effective bully.  If the sky is not actually falling, spokespersons for the Chicken Little Party (and foreign disinformation actors) have the rest of the barn yard concerned enough about the threat to flutter about hopelessly demoralized.

Part of the Falling Sky Threat is how his loyalists in Congress used the Twentieth and Twelfth Amendments on 06 Jan 2021 to give notice he would not be denied power. The strategy did not work on the Day of Love insurrection. It can work now as he blows past the Presidential Transition guardrails.

Tomorrow Is Another Day.  Let’s Use This One

Despair and depression are worse than useless.  Circular firing squads are counter-productive.  We don’t have to know why Trump won.  We just need to accept the fact that he did.  And move forward.

Let us leave behind inaction while still we have some margin for self-protection. Donald Trump is distracted naming his Death Star navigators, collecting tribute, making plans for a killing in the stock market, and expanding his highly leveraged real estate interests at home and abroad. While he is distracted, let We the People use our power before we lose it. Let Biden use the Presidential Medal of Freedom to nominate voices of resistance. Let the Senate use its consent power to force nomination of persons fit to lead cabinet and administrative positions. Let We the People identify, name and anoint capable, willing, and sane Faces of Resistance.  Avoid further support of failed strategists. Find and fund fresh faces of proven devotion to the concept of a more perfect union.  Develop and implement your own acts of public strength and resolve.  Be creative.  Be bold.  Be brave. Be quick.

Prevail.