(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



My Personal State of Well Being is in Inverse Proportion to the Political Fortunes of Donald Trump [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2022-09-08

Like many of you, I follow the news of Donald Trump obsessively. I do so in spite of the fact that I know it is not good for my mental health. But I can’t help it — or at least that is what I tell myself.

On one hand — my hard core, visceral side wants to hear the worst possible news for Trump. I relish news that indicates his downfall. I enjoy consuming damaging, sensational news items like the Cassidy Hutchinson testimony, the August 8 Mar-a-Lago FBI search, and the latest updates on the Georgia election interference investigation. Whenever I come across such news, I start to entertain the idea that just maybe — perhaps in the not too distant future — Donald Trump’s entire world will begin its inevitable decline.

But then suddenly, reality hits back. John Eastman pleads the fifth. Liz Cheney’s Trump-endorsed candidate wins the Wyoming primary. Trump’s longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg, chooses jail instead of offering testimony against Trump. And of course, the latest news; namely, an unqualified, partisan, lame duck appointed Trump justice grants Donald a major reprieve by ordering this Special Master nonsense.

Somehow, someway — through good news and bad -- Trump still seems to hang around. I don’t get it. I’ve never understood the lure of such bombastic people with inclinations towards the assholish. If I were the all-being-master-of-time-space-and-dimension, I would not allow such people to exist.

But alas, I am a mere mortal with limited influence, and that is probably a good thing. The facts are undeniable. Trump’s continued omnipresence in the news is exacting a tremendous drag on the Republican Party. His endorsement of such extremist, unqualified candidates as Hershel Walker, JD Vance, Blake Masters, and Mehmet (don’t call me wizard) Oz have made winning the senate a viable reality for Democrats. Ten weeks ago, before these Trump-endorsed GOP candidates won their primaries, political pundits gave the Democratic little chance of holding onto the Senate.

Trump’s presence in the news, at least in this midterm election time horizon, is a good thing for Democrats. In the wake of the January 6 hearings, the fake elector investigations. and the Mar-a-Lago documents scandal, Trump’s popularity continues to decline. His supporters are louder than ever — that fact remains true. But the people willing to cast a vote for him grows smaller by the day. Democratic strategist embrace the fact that Donald Trump remains a major presence in the news cycle. Donald Trump is a major obstacle for Republicans to confront when they least need him. Republicans would much rather be talking about pronouns, inflation, gas prices, and college loan forgiveness. Put simply, Trump is the elephant in the room that no one can ignore

In the meanwhile, I can take solace in the fact that Donald Trump won’t be around forever. I don’t have any actuarial table handy, but I presume that the life expectancy of overweight seventy-six year old rageoholics is not measured in decades. I can endure the existence of Mr. Trump a bit longer, provided that his presence hastens the disintegration of the Republican Party.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2022/9/8/2121314/-My-Personal-State-of-Well-Being-is-in-Inverse-Proportion-to-the-Political-Fortunes-of-Donald-Trump

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/