The Final Nail
AJ Robinson

Not long ago, I wrote an article in which I declined to use the phrase, nail in the coffin, as I felt brick in the wall most appropriate. Now the former works best. The date, 31 January 2020, will live as a day of infamy, the day the United States of America official died.

Am I too harsh?

I take the health of my nation seriously. It’s one thing to have a corrupt president. We’ve had quite a few, but it’s something else to have a corrupt Senate, media and a good chunk of voters.

That’s why America has died. Do I really have to re-hash their act of treason? Not only has the Senate, the media and the Republican base acknowledged Trump committed the crimes for which he’s charged, he has admitted them, repeatedly. Confession usually results in conviction, if a lighter sentence.

What’s the response? Crickets. No, it’s worse than silence, it’s acceptance. It’s saying it’s okay for Trump to do what he did, which means he’ll do it again and, maybe, already has done it again. Does anyone have any doubts?

Some applaud the idea. For me, the big transgression isn’t blackmailing Ukraine, it’s the obstruction of Congress, the charge no one seems to talk about. Think about that.

Trump has openly boasted of not yielding to Congressional oversight; screw the Constitution. Bill Clinton testified under oath, during his impeachment trail and the Republicans of his era were ready to throw him out of office for ostensibly consensual oral sex. Trump brags of withholding documents and preventing witnesses from testifying. The reaction is cheers and approval.

Let’s be clear here. We are now saying the president has absolute power to do anything he wants, only that he has no oversight. Where will that lead?

To begin with, the Great Orange will go after everyone that opposed him. Who knows how ugly that will get? He’ll also win re-election, easily.

Trump will lose the popular vote. In certain key states the vote may be razor thin, but he’ll win the Electoral College. His Ass-Kissers, oh, excuse me, the Republicans, even Moscow Mitch will win, too. Given voter suppression and apathy, perhaps half of all voters will stay home; the hacking done by Russia and, perhaps, other nation stations will continue to have a role. That’s how Trump wins: lie, cheat and steal.

The Democrats might hang onto the House, but what of it? Trump will be free to do whatever he wants, which means grinding the nation into dust, enriching himself and then walking away from the ruins of our once-great country to live a life of luxury. His minions will cheer him at every point.

Meanwhile, the deficit will grow by several trillion every year, Trump will pack the Supreme Court and the federal courts. Anyone not an old rich white man will get the shaft.

Farms will fail. Jobs will evaporate. Poverty will spike, and hate grow.

I apologize for being so blunt, but what else is left to do? I know many people have their hopes pinned on the Blue Tsunami this November, but I have zero confidence in the Democrats pulling it off, for the aforementioned reasons and the fact they won’t call him and the Senators out on their acts.

Why they won’t call out the corruption, I do not understand. I could easily come up with a dozen political advertisements to use against Trump. I can virtually guarantee none of them will be aired.

Hey, Democrats, if you’re listening, here are a few ideas. Trump taxes; children in cages; doing nothing to help with healthcare; obstruction of Congress; the wall, the tax cut going to the rich, income inequality using a nice apple pie to illustrate it, the growing deficit, helping ISIS to get stronger.

Didn’t he have a secret plan to defeat ISIS in thirty days? Instead, he pulled our troops out of the area, turns his back on our allies, the Kurds, and hundreds of ISIS terrorists escape. Let’s see, what else? Oh, easing clean water rules; does the name Flint ring any bells?

Have a glass of Flint water.

Would you be happy if our water was as it is in Flint? Manufacturing jobs going overseas, easing pollution regulations, the trade war, not getting us out of any wars and almost getting us into another with Iran. Shall I continue? Not a pretty picture, is it?

Bill Maher recently ran a very simple political advertisement on his HBO show. It was nothing more than clips of Trump babbling incoherently while trying to give various speeches and it brilliantly showcased Trump is a low-grade moron. You think the Democrats will run something similar? I doubt it. Why? Again, I have no clue.

Trump will run advertisements underscoring his great tax cut and how it saved the country from ruin. No one will call him on it or point out that the rich got everything, well, at 83% of the benefits. He’ll talk about the low unemployment rate. No one will mention most jobs pay so little the average person needs three jobs to survive.

Trump will take credit for saving healthcare, but not bring up how he’s trying to throw out the protection for people with pre-existing conditions. Think anyone else will? Nope.

Trump will say he did wonders with China on trade and negotiated a great replacement for NAFTA, despite doing neither and, again, no one will call him on it. He’ll proclaim his wall is nearly done, which is vital as another caravan of disease-infected drug-smuggling terrorists is poised to attack our southern border mere days before the election. None of that is true and a portion of his impregnable wall just fell over in a strong wind.

How will the opposition and media respond? Crickets. They’ll also be endless advertisements connecting pretty much the entire Democratic party to widespread corruption in Ukraine. All of it false, all of it lies, but the media will report it, daily, if not hourly.

Fox News will do countless specials on it. As for the Democrat candidate, he or she will spend all their time answering inane questions from the media based on whatever absurd thoughts pop into the mind (sic) of Trump. Tough questions for the Great Orange, not a one.

The Democrats will be raked over the coals for even the slightest perceived misstep and grilled on every detail of their tax plan, health plan and so forth. The cries of socialism, communism, rationing healthcare, confiscating guns, government takeover, class warfare and so forth will dog that person at every turn. The Democrat looking tired, tripping while getting in a car or claimed to be near death.

Bernie is too old. Biden is a sexual predator and his son corrupt. Warren is too emotional and a communist. Buttigieg is gay, which means Trump will pander to the lowest crudest homophobes by constantly making fun of his name: “Do you want Pete Butt-a-gag as your president?”

Anything Trump does, the Republican senate and his minions will agree to support. Just today I saw memes online ridiculing Trump for thinking the Kansas City Chiefs, who won the Superbowl, are from Kansas, not Missouri. How do you think republicans in Congress are defending him on that one? Oh, I’ve seen some of the convoluted word salads they’ve come up with to explain it. George Orwell would be proud of their Doublespeak.

So, yes, the final nail has been driven into the coffin of America, land I love. You might think that means I’m depressed or even contemplating moving to Canada or something. No, I’m not.

I remember something I learned from my dad, something related to carpentry. Here it is: you can pull nails, even a great many of them, if you just have a stout hammer and a strong arm. Yeah, American is in trouble, we’re in a Second Gilded Age where people like Trump will have absolute power, but I remember my history.

Americans may catch on.

The American people have an odd tendency to put up with a great deal for a long time and then something happens. A defining moment occurs, such as 9/11 or the attack on Pearl Harbor; Thomas Nast does his famous comic about Boss Tweed. Then the people get their dander up.

Therefore, here’s to the future, may I live to see my nation rise like a phoenix from its ashes to once more be great.