As expected, Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney lost her seat in the House, which is yet another very sad commentary on the state of American politics. It means, in short, that Wyoming is no longer a Republican state, it is a state voting for the authoritarianism and idol worship of Trump. My guess is that Montana will not be far behind. After all, in the last election, the Trumplicans virtually swept the ballot in Montana, so the state is now solidly in the ‘red’ column. It is very depressing that these same people are totally blind to the danger looming on the horizon if they continue down this path.
Given that Cheney voted with Trump 90% of the time, I can say without equivocation that I disagree with her on many policy issues. That said, I have tremendous respect for her because, frankly, she has more integrity, balls and real patriotism than almost everyone currently associated with the Republican party with a few exceptions like Representative Adam Kinzinger. The fact is, the Republican party that Liz Cheney has been a stalwart of her entire political career, no longer exists. It is now simply a cult dedicated to the authoritarian whims and political revenge of Donald J. Trump. In spite of the logo, this will not Make America Great! If allowed to continue unchecked, it will be the end of democracy in America. I don’t believe that is hyperbole, I believe it is a fact.
If Trump is allowed to return to power, wasting resources on political revenge is only one of the many things that will contribute to the weakening of this country. I am in the midst of reading an article in The Atlantic written by Caitlin Dickerson,” “We Need To Take Away Children.”; The secret history of the U.S.Government’s family separation policy.”” This is the longest article The Atlantic has ever published. It runs almost 40 pages, and I am about 75% of the way through it. It is a detailed account, backed up by interviews and documents received through FOIA requests, of the conscious policy enacted during the Trump administration to forcibly separate children from their parents as an immigration enforcement mechanism.
As distasteful and abhorrent such a policy is, the article is really describing an example of what happens when you have some authoritarian figure like Trump willing to install loyalists to carry out policies that are not well thought out. We all know now that the child separation policy was, not only inhumane, but was a total logistical disaster and a huge waste of government monetary and human resources.
The Trump acolytes like Stephen Miller and Jeff Sessions kept pushing to have this zero-tolerance policy implemented in spite of huge pushback from experts across the board from multiple different government agencies.
It’s easy to say, “We Need to Take Away Children,” and think that is a great strategy to discourage people from seeking asylum in the United States. However, there are major questions that never got answered as the push to implement this policy as finalized. What mechanism would be in place to ensure children could eventually be reunited with their parents – None! Are there facilities sufficient to house the huge influx of expected detainees – No! Are there enough Border Patrol agents and prosecutors to handle all of these immigration cases – No! Is there a sufficient transportation mechanism in place to transport all of these parents and children to where they are being taken – No! None of these questions and many, many more were addressed, and it turned out to be a complete and utter disaster, not to mention a huge stain on the reputation of the United States who is always preaching ‘human rights’ to other countries.
This is the kind of thing that awaits the country if the Trumplicans regain power in 2024. The government experts and career people in virtually every government agency will be replaced by people whose only qualification is loyalty to one man. I predict policy upon policy will get enacted without sufficient analysis about the longer-term consequences and it will lead to disaster upon disaster just like the Zero Tolerance policy that led to the disastrous child separation policy. Does anyone really think that will Make America Great? It will result in a huge waste of government resources.
The real irony is that all of these people who are supporting Trumplicans will likely get screwed. Trump and his cronies will get wealthier. The Trumplicans will more than likely slash taxes so the wealthy can get wealthier. They will then slash government programs that many of his supporters depend upon because of lower revenue coming into the government coffers. Or worse yet, they will decide that privatization is the more efficient option and start down that path. The only people who will benefit from this will be the people at the top. In Russia, they call them oligarchs! That’s where we’re headed folks if these people who continue to support Trump don’t wake up and smell the coffee!