Change At What Cost?

So, I guess none of us can use the expression, as I sit here today, anymore. Donald has blown up the government, and, in turn, the country, as we sit here yesterday, today, and tomorrow, until the fool is either impeached, imprisoned, or not re-elected. Mulvaney has indicated that he’s willing to shut the government down again in a few days over the ridiculous and ill-advised border wall. And, I read yesterday that not all federal workers have been reimbursed. The shutdown cost billions, but Donald doesn’t care, not as long as he gets his wall.

This is what we’ve been reduced to. Parenting a 72-year-old man who hasn’t lived in reality for, in all likelihood, his entire life. Holding our breath while he tweets policy that the rest of his administration has no idea about. He doesn’t read intelligence briefings or pay attention when anyone tells him anything.

And for that, his supporters cheer.

He’s draining the swamp putting multi-millionaires and billionaires in charge of it all.

And for that, his supporters cheer.

But as his supporters discover, like many Americans, that they’re either going to owe the government additional tax money on April 15th or that their typical tax refund will be pennies on the dollar, will the cheering stop? Or will they fall in line with the biggest lie of all?

He never meant to make the country great again. He only meant to score business deals around the world. Which is what he’s doing now. Just think about how many trademarks his daughter has received from China. Just think about the $100,000 of campaign contributions used to pay attorneys on behalf of her husband, a millionaire in his own right. Did supporters realize when they were buying their MAGA hats that their money would be going for legal fees for the son-in-law? Did they know it was all a grift?

Oh, we sure have some change here, but change at what cost? Donald has undone everything he can possibly do that President Obama and other Presidents accomplished for the country. And because he has no clue how to run a country, he can’t see the benefit of those policies and programs and how undoing all of it sets us back to a dangerous place. It may take decades to fix the damage from the environmental impact alone, never mind the impact of his tariffs on regular Americans.

He’s the useful idiot, a person so filled with greed that he can be manipulated by anyone singing his praises. He emulates dictators and creates policies which respond to their every desire. The country does not matter, only his bottom line.

He appears so beholden to Saudi Arabia that he cannot bring himself to condemn them for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi even though his intelligence advisors have given him proof. He appears so beholden to Putin that sanctions have been lifted on Manafort’s buddy, Deripaska. Quid pro quo? But for what, exactly? Are the allegations of money laundering true? Has he been laundering money for Russian oligarchs to build his fortune?

Or is there a fortune at all?

At the end of the day, I believe we’ll find that any fortune is an illusion and that anything he’s achieved has been done so at the expense of this country in one fashion or another. Whether it’s hiring undocumented immigrants at his golf courses, all while claiming that employers who do so should be massively fined, or it’s violating the emoluments clause prohibiting a president from making money off the office, the Republican Party has allowed this guy to run amok while they gleefully get everything they want.

Changes in the tax code to suit the rich…check.

Two SCOTUS judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade…check.

Environmental protections…gone…to make corporations happy…check.

Increasing racism and an us versus them attitude to keep everyone at each other’s throats to distract from how he’s destroying everything…check.

Destroying the financial security of millions of federal workers…check.

And the list goes on. Notice that I didn’t add anything about the border wall because other than folks like Steve King, I’m not convinced that Republicans actually want the thing. What’s happening to the immigrant children at the border may eventually bring charges of crimes against humanity, and yet Republicans are silent, so who knows?

At some point, the nightmare will be over, however, the clean-up may take decades. And for what? Are all the Republicans in Congress compromised in some manner? Or are they simply shameless and craven? But whether they remain in office or possibly take up residence in a prison cell, their damaging legacy will affect us for years to come. The stain alone over ripping children away from their parents, the worst legacy of all.

So, I’ll ask again. Change at what cost?

Originally published at www.imsteppingaside.com on February 10, 2019.