Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Debate & Switch, Crash & Burn

Lots of people feared that the first presidential "debate" between our two designated right-wing codgers would end up being a train wreck. But nobody could ever have expected a reenactment of the Hindenburg disaster. That Nazi airship blew up in 1937 New Jersey, whereas the more modern fascist version exploded in Ohio on Tuesday night.

If you were still naively operating under the assumption that we have even the merest vestige of a functioning democracy left, than Tuesday night's spectacle starring human dirigible Donald Trump (with a largely muted walk-on assist from Joe Biden) should have permanently disabused you of that quaint notion.

The commentary running through many an aghast head as the grisly event streamed into millions of foreclosure-prone American homes went something like this:  (h/t Herb Morrison)

"Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers screaming around here. I... I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest, it's completely a mess of smoking wreckage. And everybody can't hardly breathe. It's hard, it's crazy. Honestly, I can hardly breathe. I'm going to step inside where I cannot see it.... This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed!"

The gasbag blimp known as Donald Trump has been blowing things up for quite awhile now, both verbally and operationally. And since his wreckage will be raining down upon the earth far into the future. the phrase "Oh, the humanity" can't even begin to describe what we witnessed on Tuesday night. For as much as we thought that we were steeled by the last three and a half years of Trumpism, could anything have prepared us for an American president publicly calling on the crypto-fascist Proud Boys militia to "stand back and stand by?" He also urged his ad hoc troops to converge on the nation's polling places on Election Day to monitor balloting and, presumably, to accost voters who look or act suspiciously un-American. Presumably, these volunteer monitor-militias will also be fully armed. Presumably, the very thought of armed freelance election monitors will also keep enough people away from the polls to even affect the outcome.

It's no wonder that Trump wants all the schools to reopen in the middle of a pandemic. Without schools, young people cannot be properly indoctrinated by his proposed Patriotism re-education curriculum. Without the monitoring custodial function which classrooms provide, students might even start to wake up and realize that their leaders in both parties are making a real botch of things.

If they watched the Tuesday night debate debacle, however, they are probably already realizing it.

If anything can finally terrify Undecideds or Stay-At-Homes into voting for the detritus known as Joe Biden, it was Tuesday night's dirigible disaster. Maybe we can pick through the wreckage and salvage something. Although, with such "gaffes" as Biden's indignant insistence  that he has "nothing against" Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett because she seems like "a very fine person" Biden does sort of evoke Trump's own infamous remark that "there are very fine people on both sides" of the racist/anti-racist divide.

Biden's disavowal of the Green New Deal, and his admission that his "public option" in health care coverage would just be a means-tested renaming of Medicaid, that he is more prone to starting a war with Russia than "Putin's puppy" is, that he repeated discredited CIA propaganda about Russia putting a bounty on the American invaders and occupiers of Afghanistan, and that he said all of these "reassuring" things with his beady eyes squinting straight through the camera at the terrified viewers at home, might still make some of those annoying  "purists"  out there continue to refuse to find their sustenance in a toxic landfill.

Here's what Biden said about the bait and switch of a "public option":

 "It’s only for those people who are so poor they qualify for Medicaid they can get that free in most States, except Governors who want to deny people who are poor Medicaid. Anyone who qualifies for Medicaid would automatically be enrolled in the public option. The vast majority of the American people would still not be in that option." (my bold.)

Translation: the option is not only restrictive, it is every bit as mandatory as a law requiring people living high on the hog of the minimum wage or reduced unemployment benefits to buy a Bronze plan which they can never afford to use because of obscenely high deductibles and co-pays.

Since cutting off Trump's microphone as he lit his own poisoned gas on fire apparently was not part of the plan by the ratings and profit-hungry corporate media outlets which created Trump in the first place, they will forge right ahead in their unending game of disaster-feasting:

"And, I - I've... lost my breath several times during this exciting moment here. Will you pardon me just a moment? I'm not going to stop talking.... I'm just going to swallow several times until I can keep on."

 


 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

tuned in about midway. couldn't endure even a whole minute. shut it off, went to bed. said a short prayer for this planet of ours.

Valerie Long Tweedie said...

I read somewhere that the debates don't change very many people's minds about who to vote for but Trump was so blustering and bullyish and insulting to Chris Wallace, I can't imagine anyone seeing him in action wouldn't be afraid of his leadership. Sure, he will keep his die-hard religious constituency but I should think swing voters would have been convinced to vote for status quo Biden. As someone who leans toward a more 99% agenda and was wavering in my conviction to vote for Biden, I now am definitely voting for Biden.

This was a great piece, Karen. Extremely entertaining and quotable.

Jay–Ottawa said...


See how bad Trump is? One of our commenters was moved to prayer, and the other decided to vote for TLOTE. Go, Joe!

Mark Thomason said...

Mention should also be made of Biden having senior moments, starring off to the side, from which Wallace had to save him by jumping in.

The Hindenburg was confronted by something that can't fly on its own.

Seeing the one does not justify nor excuse the other.

Valerie Long Tweedie said...

In reference to Biden's senior moments - Yes, but I am convinced that Trump is also in the early stages of dementia.

My dad and his cousin - similar age - both had Alzheimer's at the same time in their lives. My dad, fortunately, was very sweet and gentle as the disease progressed His cousin - who had always been such a nice guy - became violent, difficult and argumentative. If I have to choose a president with mental issues at least, Biden has the mild variety.

Jay–Ottawa said...


Big news: Trump has Covid-19. Timelines indicate he may have been positive on debate night. If Biden tests positive, will there be an on-time election?

Kat said...

I don't think those people would be purchasing a bronze plan. Depending on how low their income was they would be directed to Medicaid or advised to purchase a heavily subsidized silver plan. If they lived in a non medicaid expansion state, they might have to purchase a plan. Of course they could purchase a bronze plan even more cheaply, but the out of pocket costs would not be subsidized.

There is more here. I used this when helping a friend.
https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/

Valerie Long Tweedie said...

I wondered the same thing, Kat.

Unfortunately, like Boris Johnson, Trump and Biden will receive the very best treatment and will survive - thus they will remain unsympathetic to the plight of the working class. The worst case scenario would be for Trump to get a mild case because then he will simply say, "I had it and it wasn't that bad."

What a strange year! I feel like the U.S. is topsy turvy.

At least Trump won't be able to stir up his supporters for awhile. The Minnesota rally was a nightmare with his followers chanting, "Lock her up!" in reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar being a Somalian refugee. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/10/01/fascism-trump-riles-minnesota-supporters-racist-attack-somali-refugees

Carol said...

As far as conquering the Covid 19 virus I wish Mr. Trump and his family well.

Now, as to that hilarious debate, Joe Biden simply didn’t know to handle himself. Even Obama, I believe, would have stopped in the middle of Trump’s ramblings to say, “When my opponent has finished his tirade, I will answer your question, Mr. Moderator.” Even Mr. Wallace had a hard time straight facing through it all, what with Joe’s responses.

I never intended to vote for Joe Biden in the first place given his position on the wars, health care, education and all the rest; neither can I abide his running mate. I still believe Bernie Sanders was playing his political game, claiming Biden is his good friend and a wonderful person.

I have the luxury of voting my conscience as a citizen of Massachusetts so I will cast my vote for the marvelous Bernie in November.

Kat said...

Valerie,
"Our" country says it all, doesn't it? The crew has never given Omar a days peace, have they?
When he came rolling through our state, he was crowing about "nobody" getting covid-19 and the only people dying are elderly people with heart conditions. Nice.
This is wishful thinking, but my greatest hope would be that he becomes gravely ill, survives, and comes out a changed man and sets about atoning for his sins by helping the most vulnerable and bringing the country together. I can dream!
All this is awful, but my big fear is what comes next in this recession. The Republicans have shown who they are. Even facing reelection, they refuse to fund the cities and states and extend unemployment benefits. I know they spent Obama's first term grumbling about the stimulus and bitching about SNAP waivers, and the 99 weeks of unemployment eligibility, but I thought that was at least in part a function of them being the out party!
I also don't believe our bureaucracy can survive another Trump presidency, whether it is the EPA, NLRB, OSHA, FDA, HUD etc. he has been destroying and demoralizing life long civil servants.
I have no illusions about Biden. I don't think most people voting for him do. In a way, this is probably a good thing.