Once a POTUS, Always a POTUS

I’m Redefining the Word

It has been a couple of months since the disastrous 2024 Presidential Election. And I still find it hard to believe that we’re about to inaugurate an actual criminal as President of the United States. Fuck. What a stupid thing a plurality of voters have done.

I guess if I’ve learned anything from this horrible debacle, it is to never underestimate the general, pervasive ignorance of the American voter. Just look at the awful people that get voted into offices all around the country. And now, there’s going to be a convicted felon in the White House. What the hell happened? We all know the guy is not a good person. A candidate’s character used to matter. Not anymore.

I do not have the energy or brain power to figure out how we’ve gotten so far off the rails. In the run-up to the election, I did not see it as being a choice between differing policies or promises or records or philosophies. No, I had it boiled down to a contest between right and wrong. And, wrong won.

It is for others to identify the lessons to be learned from such a disaster. In the aftermath of the election, I read a few of the election postmortems, and while I thought Kamala Harris would have made a fine President, I do not believe she or her team should be immune from criticism. I would say there is plenty of blame to go around.

I mean, yes, there is a heaping, steaming pile of voters out there for whom the price of a dozen eggs is more important than keeping a lying criminal scumbag from taking up residence in the White House and embarrassing America in front of the whole world. And Harris was always going to have a difficult time peeling off enough of those voters to make a difference. I won’t pretend to know what the Democrats could have done differently. But, I do know they need to get better at politics.

So, what now? Strangely enough, I’m not totally frightened about the next four years. I do believe there will be tough times ahead, and I believe there will be constant political chaos for the foreseeable future. (Based on what we’ve seen in the past, I’m not really going out on much of a limb with that prediction.)

But, we’ve entered tough times before and we made it to the other side okay. We’re strong enough to get through this. We cannot just roll over, though. None of that “obey in advance” bullshit. There is much work to be done to keep the sonofabitch from damaging America any more than he already has.

And, don’t forget there are still a hell of a lot of us who will not allow ourselves to be run out of our own country. We will not quit, we will not obey, we will not give up. If they think they can steamroll over all the 160+ million eligible voters who did not vote for Orange Jesus, they’ve got another think coming. I know, I know, talk is cheap. It’s easy to talk big while staring at a computer screen. We cannot just do nothing, though.

Actually, I believe it’s possible the new administration will crash and burn with little or no help from the opposition, due to their own incompetence. Just look at the appalling collection of toadies, cronies, and sycophants who have been proposed for the Cabinet, and other important posts in the new administration. It is quite the gathering of conspiracy theorists, sexual deviants, TV hosts, science deniers, Russian propagandists and lame-os. Admittedly, the proposed Cabinet’s collective IQ did get a boost when the Matt Gaetz nomination to DOJ surprisingly went down in flames.

The only qualification for these positions seems to be how much orange ass one is willing to kiss. Government experience is not a requirement. Competence is not a requirement. The parade of grossly unqualified orangenosers lining up to fill these vital positions is more ridiculous than an SNL skit could ever be.

Rather than governing and doing what is best for America, the main job of the Cabinet will be to keep the addlebrained man-baby in the Oval Office from pitching his daily fit. And keeping those 5 gallon buckets of bronzer he uses so much of, from being tariffed.

Expect the lies to continue, of course. Putin’s Pinocchio knows no other way. Probably the best course of action is to assume every single thing the guy says is a lie. You’ll be right almost every time.

Putin’s Pinocchio. (photo credit: www.thedailykos,.com)

The truth is our economy has been doing better than the right-wing podcasters have been saying. Unemployment and inflation are down, illegal border crossings are down, the stock market is up. Just watch, as soon as he takes office, the Criminal-Elect will use the same numbers to tout how great he is doing, because that is what he does. The same as he did when Barack Obama handed him an excellent economy that he used to give sweetheart tax cuts to himself and his wealthy pals, and add a shit-ton to the national debt. We’ve seen this obvious con before. Don’t be fooled.

I hope the Democrats in Congress have learned something about how to stand in effective opposition to the party in power. I do not often praise Congressional Republicans, but they are ruthless in fighting for what they want. Are Democrats willing to get down and dirty to stop the Regressive agenda? That remains to be seen. Taking the high road is all well and good, but there will be times when giving the Republicans a dose of their own disgusting medicine will be required. Will the Democrats get in the mud and do what needs doing?

Will the Democrats follow this guy’s playbook? It would serve the Republicans right if they did.

Calling the Criminal-Elect a liar is akin to making a grand pronouncement about the sun rising in the east every morning. It is something that everyone knows. It certainly is not news.

His strategy, I have to admit, is very effective. He throws an overwhelming amount of shit at the walls, knowing at least some of it is going to stick. The continuing gullibility of Americans who believe what he says is not surprising. However, it is quite disturbing.

Last month, the Criminal-Elect did something totally unexpected, though. He let the truth slip out! It was shocking! In an interview with Time magazine (yes, it is still in business), he tried to wriggle out of his definitive campaign promises to bring down grocery prices, claiming it will be “difficult” for him to so. Contrast this with what he was slinging on the campaign trail (compiled by Arthur Delaney of HuffPost):

“Prices will come down,” he said during a rally in August. “You just watch: They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast, not only with insurance, with everything.”

“We will end inflation and make America affordable again, and we’re going to get the prices down, we have to get them down,” he said at a rally in September. “It’s too much. Groceries, cars, everything. We’re going to get the prices down.”

“We will cut your taxes and inflation, slash your prices, raise your wages and bring thousands of factories back to America,” he said at a Georgia rally in October, reciting a line he used in speeches at several other events.

He also specifically promised to get gas prices down: “I will cut your energy prices in half within 12 months.”

See? He unambiguously said he would bring prices down. There were no maybes, no possibly-s, no “I’ll try like hell-s”. No, vote for him and prices would be coming down and they would be coming down fast. It was one of the main messages of his campaign. Question: When has he ever shown even the slightest inclination to actually do the hard work of governing? Answer: Never.

And then, when NBC’s Kristin Welker asked the Criminal-Elect if he could guarantee that his proposed tariffs would not cause prices to go up, he weaseled, “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow.” Lots of unequivocal boasting during his giant campaign of lies, now it’s like, “Welp, damned if I know what’s going to happen.” He hasn’t even taken office yet and he’s already backtracking on the campaign bullshit.

Be careful not to step in the Criminal-Elect’s campaign promises.

Is it unfair to bash him when he hasn’t even had the opportunity to implement his plans yet? I would point out that I am not criticizing his plans, dubious as they may be. I am criticizing the Criminal-Elect for saying one thing while campaigning and saying something different after the election. It’s the old “bait and switch” he became so good at in the world of business.

Perhaps the Criminal-Elect thinks his good buddy and trusted Co-President, Elon Musk, has all the answers. After all, Musk’s net worth is like a gajillion dollars, so he must know what he is doing. The fact that much of that net worth has come from sucking the government tit is beside the point.

Let us not forget that Co-President Musk has not won any elective office. And, I can’t help but wonder why he’s in this country in the first place. (Caution: Sarcasm Ahead.) Shouldn’t he go back where he came from like all the other foreigners who are poisoning the blood of us proud Americans? (End Sarcasm.)

Isn’t it hilarious that the some of the MAGAs are suddenly coming to the realization that Co-President Musk is an immigrant to this country? And he, in fact, has been promoting a program to admit more immigrants to the USA through the H-1B visas? And the MAGAs are saying, “Hey, we are against immigration! What the hell’s going on?” Are some of them thinking they have been . . . lied to? Hahahahahaha! Serves their dumbasses right.

Co-President Elon Musk (Artist’s rendition. All rights reserved.)

Some years ago, I decided that the name of the criminal who won the most recent election would not cross my lips ever again. The name ban extends to writing or typing his name, as well. I will have no trouble calling him “POTUS”, though. However, I will not be using the generally accepted meaning of the acronym POTUS - President Of The United States.

I believe I have mentioned this in previous writings - when I use POTUS, it will stand for Piece Of Totally Untruthful Shit. Just because he won the election doesn’t mean he is any different than he was before. He was a lying piece of shit then, and he is a lying piece of shit now.

Yes, I’m still angry.

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