Trump's Cabinet of Clowns

The irony of "We The People". Whether it's printed on your t-shirt of tattooed on your body, modern-day politics is no longer about "we the people", but rather "people supporting a hard-line political ideology or roadmap".

Let's face it, the last couple of elections have been based purely on one side versus the other. You may think that's "normal", but none of this has been normal.

Go back to Bernie v Hillary. On all accounts Bernie should have been the nominee, and I feel that he likely would have beat Trump. However, the Democrats really wanted the first woman president, so they pushed Hillary and sidelined Bernie. That was the wrong move as they found out. Trump is a menace, but Hillary was too polarizing (often confused with her looking mad) with enough baggage to make her fail. Tim Kaine wasn't the strong support she needed - so he was another bad pick. Could you imagine a Sanders/Clinton ticket? That would have certainly overcome Trump/Pence. Bernie's fierce support of the common man with Hillary's vast background in politics and geo-political connections would have been quite a team. A good term with those two would likely have led to Hillary being elected president after. But that never happened.

Trump capitalized on his tagline, MAGA. People supported that dream, people voted for that dream - who wouldn't want to become Great Again? What we saw in his first term was a glimpse of what was about to come (in his second term). Trump laid the foundation for "fake news", lying and rewriting history frequently enough to take over the truth. Surely if you're told the same thing over and over, you begin to think it's fact. It's a sad truth.

Biden/Harris could have been the start of something good, but the Dems blew it again. How, why? Well anyone could see that Biden should have only been a one-term stepping stone to the next Democratic president. He was too old, too slow, too "sleepy Joe", and everyone knew it. The fact that the Dems didn't have a coherent plan of succession was a massive mistake, one that cost them the next election.

And why was that mistake one of the worst they could have made? It's easy. The subsequent campaign and election were so botched, that Trump was a likely easy win. But why was that so bad? Again, easy. Trump, without the common sense of Pence, in a second term with nothing to lose. You remember the subtle chaos of his first term, well the second one was bound to be more out of control...which it has been.

But here's the thing - this Trump-term has killed the Republican party. Republican's are now all labeled MAGA idiots, no matter where they sit on the conservative spectrum. Trump has been more extreme right than Biden was extreme left. Trump's own base is now crumbling and largely turning against his rule. Sure, he still has some hardcore supporters, generally right-wing-super-christians, but I think most wouldn't associate with them anyhow. So his approval rating is the lowest it's been, he has a need for the spotlight, a need to seem like he's a savior, but he has no idea how to actually be one. Because Trump only knows Trump and he's surrounded himself with a cabinet full of ass-kissers. And he has enough backing now, that if you dare not kiss-the-ass, you just lose your job.

Why is this bad for the Republican party? Because there is no succession to his rule. JD Vance? Oh please. He will become largely irrelevant, much like he was before. All this cabinet members will be lost. And not only that, I believe they'll be followed with disgrace. I'd be surprised if Fox News took Pete Hegseth back. Maybe he'll be a "special correspondent" to boost their ratings a few numbers when they need it. But really, the fallout in the military alone will be hard to replace. Remember General Miller? Arguably the most badassed General in modern history - yeah, he resigned. This is a man who not only lived through the toughest military training around, he thrived in it. When it came to Hegseth and Trump, he called it quits...that's saying something.

So where does that leave us? I think the Democrats have a shoe-in election coming. Will they mess it up? Maybe, but they could position themselves for a good 8-16 years of Democratic presidential rule. They need to position themselves with a strong candidate, who can lead through two terms. They need to couple that candidate with a junior, but strong, VP candidate, who can also serve those two terms, then take the reigns after that. Who could that be? Anyone alive probably know that Gavin Newsom will be the nominee...but who will run with him? I'm not sure if this is the right pick, but I smell a West Coast + East Coast connection in Newsom/AOC. I'm no fan of AOC to be sure, but she's been pounding the pavement for years with Bernie and is making a name for herself in the public eye. So, give her 10 more years of political sway (two more stumping with Bernie and 8 in the Whitehouse as VP) and you could have a female JFK on your hands. (No, she's no JFK, but you know what I mean.) What do you think?

This takes us back to how both parties have gotten it wrong. The "it" being "the people". Both parties have forgotten about the people - what's best for the population as a whole? How can we help the little guy? What made America great in the first place? All those questions have been forgotten and replaced with polarizing extremes that the general population doesn't want. America has met the general population in the middle, but that ideal has been lost. We need to get back to the middle-ground, each side needs to win, each persons voice needs to matter.