Once Again Dear Friends Unto the Breach
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once again;
Or close the wall up with our [U.Southward.] expressionless.
The Battle of Passchendaele was perhaps the most harrowing boxing ever fought. It lasted for under four months, only information technology saw somewhere between a quarter of a meg to half a million killed on each side. That means in that location could well accept been effectually one million dead soldiers from that battle alone, putting a pin in civilians' deaths.
The ground was turned into trenches and the trenches were turned into rivers of mud filled with psychologically broken men, trench-human foot and heaps of dead boys. The air was filled with poisonous gasses now banned by international law. And when mustard gas wasn't in the air, information technology rained hot lead from the mounted machine guns and rows upon rows of infantry. When you imagine the hell that was World War I, you lot're probably thinking of The Boxing of Passchendaele.
At that place'due south no winning something like that. There is simply surviving information technology. America feels like it has had some kind of resolution to the Trump demagoguery and mainstreaming of insane, racist ideas. This isn't so. We had an election, which was going to happen when it happened no matter what. It wasn't a resolution to a struggle between two opposing sides, only a resolution to who will be our next President. It was a World State of war I "victory"; nosotros took an inch of basis.
When it comes to things similar The Battle of Passchendaele, at that place's no telling when information technology will end. When there are no rules to the fighting, no society, merely pure war, one does non fight for a cause anymore; one fights for i'south comrades. There'south no election mean solar day deadline when the state of war will cease. The war never ends until it decides to.
Mitch McConnell and the GOP made their terminal stand up with Trump, and while Trump may be on his way out, the party he remade in his image is still effectually, ready to emerge from its cave like a Nazi Werewolf and fight to the terminal man for the insane shit it believes.
Now the ball is the Democrats' court. Some want war with the GOP that so wronged them. Others want a Marshall Plan for the GOP. The answer is likely somewhere in the centre. Americans similar to be on the same side as other Americans. Nosotros all want that. Nosotros don't want sectionalization. It is thus in our nature to reach out to our American political opponents' "amend angels" and promise against promise.
Remember what Obama said about how he wanted to arroyo governing? He wanted "a team of rivals" and so he could "reach beyond the aisle". How did that plow out? The people sitting beyond the chessboard from him are still sitting at that place, polishing their pieces and getting set to play once more.
I don't think the Democratic party will always take all the answers. It is my fervent hope that the GOP has an auto-da-fé in which they excise the lunatic fringe and decadent leaders from their party and make policy stands that aren't rooted in Ayn-Rand-Think-Tank-ism or what someone'southward imaginary friend said in code to a mayhap-non-real person a couple of m years ago or a complete misunderstanding of subordinate clauses in the U.S. Constitution. A healthy Republican Party will have answers some of the time, which will mean the Democrats will accept to compete for seats and not grow complacent and corrupt for the lack of competition.
Until that day, there'due south a storm coming. And the trenches aren't going to dig themselves.
The GOP doubled down on its shrinking demo a long time ago and it'southward too late to change grade without losing a generation of offices to Dems and independents. Their but promise is to double down once more. The just levers of power Mitch McConnell and his allies have are the ones they've been yanking for twelve years: magical-thinking-trickle-downward-economics-ism, owning-a-gun-solves-everything-ism, and my-angry-God-says-and so-ism. And they volition continue to work those levers of power until they are out of public life.
In that location's not much room for compromise with men like McConnell. I hesitate to say in that location's not whatever room just because I like to live with promise. I like to live with hope, just I'thousand also a realist. I didn't vote for Obama in the 2008 primary ballot; I voted for Hillary Clinton. I felt Obama would fight by the Marquess of Queensbury Rules, and the GOP would fight dingy. I was right.
I saw Hillary Clinton every bit an old boxing-scarred warrior who knew which moves she could do blindfolded, and she'd ground and pound anyone who dared to hold upwardly a Supreme Court vacancy or other reasonable legislation. I voted for Obama in the general in 2008 and 2012, but I never thought he was actually going to close Guantanamo or set much of the system because I knew the GOP would fight molar and nail to finish him.
I don't know if Joe Biden will be willing to grab the GOP by the pubes and tell it to go on board or get fucked, just I take a feeling that's not where his caput is at. Perhaps he'southward right about trying to find consensus again. I applaud him for such positivity.
That said, it's upwardly to the remainder of society to gird its loins for what's coming in January. Trump is no longer relevant. He'south going to rage on his TV shows and no doubt on Infowars, but he's non what'due south at issue anymore; The King is dead, so long live The King. The lesson Trump'due south allies learned from his victory in 2016 was this: the base wants wins at whatsoever price. The ends justify the ways. Fuck democracy if dictatorship ways getting what you want. Make up one's mind what words mean when they don't suit yous. Tell everyone else to suck it when you have power, and cry about the unfairness of it all when you don't have power.
At that place's no both-sides-ism when it comes to today'south GOP and the Democratic Party. The differences couldn't exist starker and the stakes don't become any higher.
The Democrats want to put together some kind of national health care arrangement and then, like every other industrialized nation in the world, nosotros can accept ameliorate outcomes on boilerplate and salve businesses of the need to do things like bake thousands of dollars of auto worker insurance into every vehicle to come out of Detroit. The GOP is trying to relieve Americans of their health insurance during a fucking pandemic.
If that isn't playing dirty for no good reason, I don't know what is. If that doesn't tell y'all that Hillary and Trump weren't the same, or that Kerry and Bush weren't the same, or that Gore and Bush-league weren't the same I don't know what does.
More concerned with the long term? Okay: Trump doesn't believe in climate change, nor do his supporters, who business relationship for most GOP lawmakers and executives. Not assertive your firm is on burn won't relieve it from called-for down.
How most those tax cuts? The GOP and Trump used them to juice the stock markets for a while, but that went kablooey every bit soon as COVID hit. Now the regime is spending coin it doesn't have to prop up businesses it handed money to, who in turn handed it to shareholders, who either put information technology in cash (if they were already very rich) or reinvested information technology only to run across information technology go up in flames (if they were retirees). The GOP still likes those tax cuts. They will want more than tax cuts. Is the economy doing well? Tax cuts! Is the economic system doing poorly? Taxation cuts! Is it a day catastrophe in "y"? Taxation cuts!
Brand no error, the 2021 U.S. Congress will past the political Battle of Passchendaele. Biden tin try to be the voice of reconciliation because that'due south his task every bit President, but it's up to the remainder of the states to don war paint and get gear up to hit below the belt. This fourth dimension it's on. Grab a shovel and get to work because I want a trench with decent WiFi.
Source: https://democracyguardian.com/once-more-unto-the-breach-dear-friends-once-more-a9794c9d40b
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