Trump: “I alone can fix this.”
Is this guy running for president or dictator? #RNCwithBernie— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 22, 2016
Good question, Bernie. I didn’t watch Trump’s speech live, but from viewing the highlights and reading the transcript, Trump’s Mussolini-class confidence in himself as the only cure to the country’s ills struck me too. This isn’t the way a believer in small “d” democracy thinks or behaves.
Of the many stupid and frankly crazy reactions Republicans have had toward President Obama’s public pronouncements, one of my least favorite has been their ransacking of speech transcripts to count the number of times the president said “I” or “me” — to demonstrate how uppity he is, I guess.
Think they’ll parse speeches for “I” and “me” now that they’ve nominated a clinically diagnosable narcissist as their standard-bearer? Nope. Trump is the arsonist selling fire protection. He sows chaos and anger to sell “law and order.”
But as clownish as the GOP convention was, and as dark, dystopian and distorted as Trump’s vision of America is, the Republicans will almost certainly get a bump in the polls from being the focus of a week’s worth of media coverage, much of it undeservedly positive.
Let’s try not to pee down our legs when that happens, okay? Instead, let’s work our asses off to keep Trump, his pack of parasitic kin and his legion of goons and henchmen away from the White House. Let’s keep in mind that we have a much better story to tell — and far better people to tell it.
I happen to think Hillary Clinton will be a great president. In the 25 years or so I’ve followed her career, our views on every issue haven’t always aligned. But she’s running a truly inclusive campaign that will build on the progress the Democratic Party has made under President Obama’s leadership.
And when Clinton speaks on policy, it’s readily apparent there’s a keen mind at work there — even if you don’t agree with a specific proposal. Contrast that with Trump, who possesses only the will to power and the cunning to advance his personal glorification in the handiest manner.
The Republicans told many lies during their convention, but one thing they said was true: This is now a binary choice — Trump or Clinton. After considering the four-day hate-fest in Cleveland, now more than ever, I’m with her.