Four Days of Fear and Hate
Of course, Donny opens for himself. This is 2016, but ya gets the idea. Photo: Meg Vogel
In 1969, the small upstate New York town of Woodstock saw a music festival that had branded itself as ‘Three Days of Peace and Love’. Well, it turned into three days of mud and failed organization, but at least there was some of that peace and love going around. And some good dope.
Now, we have another hastily thrown together festival starting this week. Instead of a grassy field upstate, it’ll be held in rooms and cyberspace. It also has people (acts) who dropped out (where are Bush and Cheney? Mitt Romney?), and instead of hitting the stage during a rainstorm, it’s playing during a global pandemic. It’s four days instead of three, and it’s not about ‘peace and love’, but focuses, like the people throwing it, on ‘fear and hate’.
The Republican National Convention has begun.
The Democrats focused on inclusion, diversity, and a vision for what to do after Trump was gone. The Trump Party (as that is what it is) is focused on blaming someone (China, Democrats, Biden) for the wreck their own polices, and the lack of them, have made of America. If you look at the speakers, for every one of them slightly this side of sane, they have a pile of bomb throwers, cranks, grifters and grievance peddlers. And Trumps. Every night at least a couple of the Trump Crime family (and extended Crime Family) will be speaking. And Trump himself.
Every night.
That can’t go wrong, can it?
The RNC has become the Trump Show, that final season of the Apprentice he never got; all Trump all the time. In fact, producers of the Apprentice are helping to slap together this soggy bag of anger and hate into something ‘watchable’, like car wrecks are watchable, in the hopes that Americans will slow down and gawk.
Who’s speaking? All the Trump kids, their spouses, and Trump himself (every night, did I say that already?) Jim Jordan (still dogged by accusations he ignored the sexual assault of athletes when he was a coach) Matt Gaetz, liar in the service of Trump, who mocked the virus by wearing a gas mask in congress during a vote, as his constituents were dying of it back home, the idiot ‘gun couple’, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who demonstrated incorrect gun handling by waving guns at protesters walking past their house, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was part of gassing peaceful protesters and has used his offices to protect Trump, Sen. Rand Paul, who has proven himself to be an idiot several times over, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, whose covid policies have been killing thousands in her state, along with her refusal to seek help after the derecho devastated counties and towns, Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, representing a state whose policies have allowed the virus to rampage through nursing homes, beaches and bars, infecting and killing thousands. She should be home, working to make things right.
So, why double down on the hate and grievance?
What else they got?
Trump can’t run on his record because, well, look around. Est 200,000 Americans dead, virus burning uncontrolled across the country, double digit unemployment, protesters in the streets… none of this is good. So, he tried tweeting ‘LAW & ORDER’ in all caps, because Trump, but seeing how he’s the shadiest President since Nixon (Nixon resigned before being impeached, btw) that hasn’t worked so well. Even his secret police only made things worse by being even more violent that the regular police. He’s got the lying thing down (Joe Biden is a radical leftist!) but he just lost his most effective liar as Kellyanne left, about to lose her family over her ugly job. He’s still showing pictures of burning cars and calling it ‘Biden’s America’, fooling nobody. Donny, it’s Your America.
Fear, hate, finger-pointing and grievance are what he’s got left. Point to immigrants, to Black Life Matters, to China, to Democrats to explain what can only be called a failed presidency. They are to blame! If only there was one of those forgotten caravans around to help! If you can’t inspire hope (and let’s face it, he can’t) then inspire fear.
We’ll see a lot of that the next four days.
It’s all brought to us by a party who has literally thrown out their GOP party platform (principles, hope, mercy…) to say the only thing they stand for is Trump. Where Goes Trump, There Go All. A cult-party of over 200,000 acceptable deaths (57% of Republicans think that, according to polling), ready to reward his performance with four more years.
And four more after that, as a spying/virus/economy crashing do-over.
And they’d give it to him.
Let the Four days of Fear and Hate… begin.