I’ve been trying to figure out the Democrats’ strategy for opposing the Criminal-in-Chief. But I have had little success. I guess it is too subtle, deep, and complicated for an average person such as myself to understand.
I would like to ask the Democrats in Congress a question: “What the hell are you people doing?” It seems as if there are only a few Dems on the Hill who have a pulse. Are the rest are off cowering in a corner somewhere? On the surface, it looks like they’re not doing a goddamn thing.
And, we haven’t heard a peep from Kamala Harris, either. I suppose she’s off somewhere licking her wounds. Losing the Presidency to a convicted felon has got to sting. Not that I’m blaming her for the result. Wait - okay, I guess I am blaming her a little. As a presidential aspirant, she has to know where the buck stops.
Then you have Joe Biden out there saying, “I coulda won! I coulda won!” Hate to break it to you, Joe, but no, you could not have won. Not after that debate performance. People were never going to unsee that.
But you know what? There is plenty of blame to go around for the election debacle. No point in rehashing it again.
You know, when sexual deviant Matt Gaetz had to withdraw his nomination to be Attorney General of the United States, I thought perhaps there was a sliver of hope that some of the other unqualified Cabinet nominee asskissers and feebs would fall by the wayside, too.
Wrong again, Norm.
Most of them sailed on through the process. I had hoped the Democrats in the Senate would attempt to gum up the works a bit, and try to make the criminal administration expend some political capital to get these losers through. In other words, take some plays out of Mitch McConnell’s playbook. But I guess that was wishful thinking on my part.
Oh, Norm, you can be so naive!
Throughout the Cabinet confirmation process in the Senate, I couldn’t understand how any self-respecting, democracy-loving Democrat could possibly vote for the most unqualified and ridiculous collection of Cabinet nominees in the history of the Republic. It’s crazy that many of this motley group got at least a couple of Democratic votes each. For chrissakes, even Mitch McConnell voted against some of them! Question: Is this any way to oppose an illegitimate, fascist administration? Answer: No, it is not.
There may be folks who are asking, “So what if they got a few votes from the Democrats? Does it even matter? After all, the bozos were going to be confirmed anyway.” My opinion is that it does matter. Choosing accommodation over confrontation is the wrong message to send. Senate Democrats should want the Republicans to grind out every vote, and bear all the responsibility for supporting incompetent losers for Cabinet positions. Why share the stink?
Hey Democrats, where is the opposition to the fascist takeover? Where are the parliamentary maneuvers? Where are the press conferences on the steps of the Capitol? Where are the filibusters? Why make it easier for them? Did the Democratic Party learn nothing from the brutal tactics of the Republicans? Where’s the fight?
Then it dawned on me. I think I know what the Democrats are doing. They are using the strategy Muhammed Ali used on George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. The Democrats are using the ol’ Rope-a-Dope! That must be it, right?
For those who don’t know, George Foreman was boxing’s powerful unbeaten Heavyweight Champion in 1974. Muhammed Ali was trying to fight his way back to the Championship that was taken away from him in 1967, when due to his religious beliefs, he refused to be drafted into military service during the Vietnam War. He was in his absolute prime when he was stripped of the title and convicted of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. His boxing license was suspended for 3 1/2 years until the Supreme Court overturned the conviction, after which, Ali’s license was reinstated.
By 1974, George Foreman was the champion and he seemed unbeatable. He was bigger, stronger, and younger than Ali. Foreman was a powerful puncher, and he was mean, too. (This was before Foreman did a complete 180 and transformed himself and his image to that of a funny, approachable, nice guy who was a favorite guest on TV talk shows.) Ali, a 4-1 underdog, was not going to reclaim the Heavyweight title by dominating George Foreman physically. Ali was going to have to outthink him and dominate Foreman with his brain. And, that’s what he did.
Ali’s strategy to take down George Foreman was what came to be called the Rope-a-Dope. According to Wikipedia:
As the second round commenced, Ali began to lean on the ropes and cover up, letting Foreman punch him on the arms and body (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope). As a result, Foreman spent his energy throwing punches (without earning points) that either did not hit Ali or were deflected in a way that made Foreman hitting Ali's head difficult, while sapping Foreman's strength due to the large number of punches he threw. This loss of energy was key to Ali's rope-a-dope tactic.
By the 8th round, Foreman was exhausted and frustrated. He was leaving himself wide open for a counter and Ali saw his chance. He suddenly became the aggressor and before the round was over, Muhammed Ali had knocked out the mighty George Foreman and became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World once again. Thanks to the rope-a-dope.
Is this what the Democrats are doing? Are they are trying to rope-a-dope the dope in the White House? Such a strategy would not be without risks. Seemingly, they’re allowing Putin’s Pinocchio to win these early rounds without much resistance.
Honestly, I don’t know if the Democrats are savvy enough to pull off a rope-a-dope. Maybe they believe the felon will overreach due to overconfidence and/or ignorance. Or maybe, the Dems believe that by being patient, as Ali was with Foreman, the Criminal-in-Chief will give them the opening they need to mount an effective opposition. Perhaps the thinking is to get out of his way and give the dope enough rope to hang himself.
Are the Democrats counting on the morons who voted for the Putin-loving criminal to have a “come to Jesus” moment when they realize they’ve been bamboozled by a con man? What will happen when the cultists feel the pain of the idiotic policies they voted for on Election Day? Maybe behind the scenes, the Democrats are actively planning their counteroffensive, hoping to make the FOOL (Fucking Oval Office Liar) look weak and ineffective and incompetent, thereby getting the MAGA morons to turn on him, and ultimately defeating the fascist monster and saving democracy for the United States of America.
Yeah, that must be it.
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Do you have something to say about Rope-a-Dope? Well, then . . .
Hi Norm,
With all the anxiety inducing chaos, it's hard to sit around and wait for someone in the Democratic party to step up. The only people I see speaking up on a regular basis is Jasmine Crockett and AOC. It doesn't surprise me that they are both women of color.
But, the silver lining is that the state Attorneys General are stepping up and suing the pants off the Trump administration...and they're winning. I just heard yesterday that a judge declared all the firings of federal employees were unconstitutional because it was done through the OMB office. He said they can't fire people outside of their own department.
Another judge said that they can't continue to without the money for USAID as it had already been appropriated by Congress.
So there is resistance. But with the breakneck speed of Trump and Elon taking a sledge hammer to federal agencies, it just doesn't feel the resistance is keeping up.
I am currently participating in economic blackout events. There are several coming up for this month and next month. I restacked a note about it yesterday. I believe this is what we need to do, deprive them of as much money as we possibly can. That's the only thing that Oligarchs understand.
My solution: No one should pay taxes this year. They aren't playing by the rules of law, so why should we. Should we pay Musk and the King taxes when they don't paytaxes? We are just giving them our money to pass out to their wealthy Magas to keep the rest of us in line. What say you, America? (Including those on The Gulf of Mexico).