A year of madness
By
Will Collette
One
year ago on November 8, 2016, almost two thousand (1,906) of our Charlestown
neighbors cast their ballots for Donald J. Trump. They comprised 42% of those
who voted for a Presidential candidate and roughly 30% of the total number of
registered Charlestown voters.
I
only know the name of one Charlestown Trump voter with some certainty, and
that’s Jim Mageau. I am certain he voted for Trump based on his several
full-throated tributes to Trump published in Letters to the Editor columns
(click here
and here
and here).
Pretty
much everyone I know voted for Hillary Clinton, even though many, including
myself recognized her flaws.
We
understood Hillary was far more qualified on every level.
Trump
by sharp contrast had already displayed his mean-spirited ignorance, lack of
self-control, racism, sexism, tolerance for, if not the practice of, sexual
assault, incompetence in business and authoritarian tendencies.
Somehow,
those 1,906 Charlestown neighbors saw something different, something special
enough to convince them to cast their votes for Trump. Some number of them were,
no doubt, anti-Hillary votes.
I
think many people, regardless of their Presidential choice, have been surprised
that Trump has turned out to be even worse than he seemed to be during the
campaign.
At
this point, all but the delusional understand these facts: Trump is really
crazy. Scary crazy. Narcissistic, paranoid, compulsive. A sociopath incapable
of empathy. A compulsive liar. A vicious bully. And that's not all.
Is this what you wanted? |
We
also now know with certainty that he is a Nazi sympathizer because he has said
that some of them are “good people” and he refuses all calls to denounce them.
We
know that, at best, Trump is a Russian patsy if not a tool for Russia’s
unfriendly intentions toward the United States. At times, he seems to be their
agent, passing them US intelligence secrets and doing them no-strings favors.
The
only person on the planet Trump will not criticize is Vladimir Putin. What does
that tell you?
We
also know he has openly obstructed justice.
We know he has used his position to enrich
himself and his family.
We know he
has hired either incompetents or industry lackeys with blatant conflicts of
interests to run most agencies of government. Or he has simply not bothered to
hire people at all.
We know he has deliberately set a course to virtually end environmental protection, workplace health and safety protection, conservation of public lands, public education, green energy, endangered species, food security - even defunding Meals on Wheels.
We know he
is incredibly lazy, physically and mentally. He betrayed his promise not to go
golfing by instead going golfing one out of every four days. At the current
rate, if he serves out his term, he will have spent a full year golfing.
We know he
is intellectually lazy, unwilling or unable to learn basic facts about the
issues and the procedures necessary for him to do his job.
Did anyone REALLY believe Trump would stop golfing? |
We know he
is playing games with our lives and those of millions around the world by
taking us to the brink of World War III.
That’s not me saying that but the
Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker.
I’m
not making any of this up. I am not exaggerating. The record of Trump to date
is perfectly clear.
He
is a nightmare for this country and the globe. He has much of the planet on
edge wondering what crazy thing he might do.
So,
let’s get back to the Charlestown 1906.
Where
are you? Who are you? And how do you feel about your vote now?
It
is expected that people like me, dyed in the wool lefties, will oppose him. But
what about you?
I’d
like to hear from you. I’d like you to speak up.
Babies aren't safe |
If
you have some justification for what Trump has been doing, I’d like to hear it.
If
you don’t like what Trump has been doing, I think you owe it to the rest of
this country to step up and do something about it.
You
voted for him and if you now realize that was a bad idea, you need to act.
Unless
Trump concocts some reason to resign - a distinct possibility - the law
provides two paths to remove him from office: impeachment or removal for
incapacity through the 25th Amendment.
Neither is his daughter |
Despite
the facts and the clear threat to our country’s life and liberties posed by
Trump, politics more than any other factor will drive any serious move
to impeach Trump or remove him through the 25th Amendment.
That’s
where the Charlestown 1906 have their chance, one way or the other. If you
think you did the right thing to place Trump’s finger on the nuclear trigger,
if you like what you have seen over the past year, then shout your reasons why
from the roof tops.
On
the other hand, if this is not what you voted for, I think you owe it to
yourself, your family and your Charlestown neighbors to take action.
I’ve
read a lot of articles that discuss ways to try to reach out to Trump voters.
They
usually say it’s a waste of time because Trump made it clear during the
campaign that he was a megalomaniac, narcissistic, racist, sexist pig, that
Trump voters are probably beyond the reach of logic and facts.
So
lost are they in the swamp of Faux News that they probably have no grasp of how
badly Trump is screwing them by breaking just about every campaign promise he
made.
Without
the hope of getting the things Trump promised, Trump voters are left with a man
who is even more of a megalomaniac, narcissistic, racist, sexist pig than he
showed himself to be during the campaign.
Trump: just the kind of guy who fulfills Jim Mageau's dreams |
I
don’t believe that all of the Charlestown 1906 are that delusional or stupid,
except maybe Jim Mageau.
For a very recent example of Mageau’s mindset, CLICK HERE.
I
truly believe there are some people with the intelligence and conscience to be as
upset about the state of affairs as the rest of us. National polling shows they
exist.
If
you are one of those, it’s time to step up. Speak up. Say that you voted for
the man but now you understand that for the good of the country, he’s got to
go.
Help
the rising movement that aims to remove Trump from office before he blows us
all to hell.