Ilhan Omar has won the Democratic primary election in MN05 after a contentious campaign against a well financed opponent. This follows similar wins by...
If there’s one thing we should all have learned by now, it’s that Donald Trump can’t make it on his own politically. Having the charisma and authenticity of a turkey vulture, Trump requires a nemesis, a Sherlock Holmes to play foil to his own Moriarity, so to speak. Just follow the bouncing ball. In 2015, when he rattled down that schlock gilt escalator in Trump Tower, his foils were the 16 other candidates running for the GOP nomination, and then Chairman Reince Priebus and the RNC itself. From the time he became the presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton was his next, and most natural target. After the election, when Clinton went back to being a full time wife and grandmother, Trump was lost. He tried rekindling the flame at his rallies, but they just weren’t into it anymore. After the election, the media became Trump’s new Ernst Blofeld for a while. They were a natural target because they insisted on reporting uncomfortable truths and facts about His Lowness. Trump even invented a pet phrase for them, one so simple even his doltish followers could remember it, “fake news.” But the bloom withered on that vine when the press refused to engage with him, and stuck to reporting the facts. But then came Trump’s most durable, and longest lasting adversary. Robert Mueller. Mueller was in many ways a dream foil for Trump. Since he never said a word in public, Trump could paint Mueller any old way he wanted to. And when the media reported on the investigation, Trump could resurrect his mantra of “fake news.” But even the golden era of Mueller must come to an end, and after Wednesday, Trump’s most worthy adversary will be no more. But, who to replace Mueller? Well, how about four young, outspoken women of color, all of whom just fortuitously happen to be women of color? A match made in heaven. And it started out that way. Trump freely bashed them for their extreme progressive views, especially on immigration, and gave Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic caucus fits. But then Trump once again stepped over that invisible line he keeps tripping on. Needlessly, he brought religion and racism into the equation. And as well as it plays for his base, it has stirred extreme consternation among his GOP legislators. You can tell this by their response. In normal situations, GOP congress critters defect Trump’s gaffes by either laughing them off, or claiming that Trump either misspoke or was misunderstood. This time they’re reduced to either ignoring the question, or flatly stating that Trump isn’t a racist, and getting the hell out of there. But once again, Trump is about to lose his foil. In about 10 days or so, Nancy Pelosi is going to bang the gavel down, and The Squad are going to go home to their families and constituents for 5 weeks or so. And that’s going to be bad news for Trump, because he’s still going to need a punching bag. The fallout from the Mueller testimony is likely to last for weeks, especially if subsequent polling shows an increase in the appetite for impeachment. And with congress adjourned for recess, the only political news will be from the Democratic primary campaign, where a good portion of the output […]
