Monday, January 9, 2017

Caving to a Narcissist

Donald Trump is not yet President of the United States but he has already managed to place leaders of industry and officials within his own party under his bigoted thumb.  Though he has refused to release his tax returns, declined to attend security meetings, ridiculed the findings of the FBI and CIA, denounced the press and humiliated adversaries via his Twitter account, the Republican establishment, except for a few Congressmen, has refused to criticize him in any meaningful way.
As Mitch McConnell so predictably noted, any rebuke of Trump and his behavior is just "sour grapes" from the defeated Democrats.

Can there really be that many educated Americans who are willing to accept this narcissist as the leader of our country?  Is this the image that we want to project across the globe?  Can business leaders and stockholders truly be swayed by every spontaneous Tweet that emerges from this self-centered powerbroker, a man who denies climate change and is prone to engage in conspiracy theories?

If his own party, blinded by the opportunity to repeal Obamacare, boost corporate profits and load the Supreme Court with Conservative judges, cannot find the courage to reign in their pompous figurehead, then the rest of us must do what we can (via demonstrations, lawsuits and a vigorous press) to derail his agenda and remove him from office.  It feels like the Nixon Era all over again and the same energy is needed to restore the ideals of American Democracy.