Mirror Mirror on the Wall, America….
by @zizii2
…Who’s the ugliest of us all?
In case there was ever any doubt about our unvarnished national character, the conclusion of the Republican Party nomination Tuesday night, laid it bare for all to see. One of only 2 viable political parties within the sole superpower on this planet, that wields thousands of nuclear weapons, decided in a delirious fit of racial and xenophobic apoplexy, to put a madman just one ballot round in line to ascend the presidency!
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Yes, only 10 million Americans actually cast ballots to nominate Donald Trump to be flag bearer of the Republican Party, but with party Chair Reince Priebus’ seal of approval, that outcome multiplies to represent the will of a good half of this country. Let that sink in.
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While the other half of us recoil at the sheer horror that the existential threat of Trump’s endorsed candidacy portends, we’ve seen in the last 24 hours the utter venality of the Republican Party and its media minions on full display. Country be damned. The people be damned. Global alliances be damned. Competency? Who needs that? Wheeeeee, Trump is a giant amusement park rodeo they must ride all the way to the White House. And the hordes fueling this putrid dough of a a candidate? Who cares! Just feed them more bigotry. Nothing matters but naked power. This is one fucking ugly country!
Yet the likes of Andrew Sullivan and Ross Douthat in their respective frantic write-ups this week wonder what happened to CONSERVATISM? Nothing. There is Liberalism alright, whose benefits all Americans want. That is, GOVERNMENT allocating resources, security, and equitable opportunity to its citizens. But there is NO Conservatism: religious, fiscal, social or otherwise in this country. Never existed then, nor now.
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The so-called ideological divide has been one of the biggest hoaxes pulled on us over decades. What we have had then and now, is RACIAL RESENTMENT masquerading as Conservatism. Conservatives want Liberal policies only for themselves exclusively, and nobody else. For decades they’ve never cared about deficits, debt, social spending, subsidized healthcare, Social Safety net, when they were the majority beneficiaries. But a changing demographic reality turned them suddenly into fiscal Hawks and Ayn Randian misanthropes.
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The organizing principle of our society has always been about deploying RACIAL RESENTMENT to mask inequality. We all know too well that without the perennially effective tool of RACE there is no way the wealthy class could have survived this long unscathed by the wrath of those they have fleeced over and over again. No way. The mirage of the American Dream could be kept aloft regardless of the people’s diminishing capacity to ever attain it, precisely because our overlords have been ever ready to shoot Race opiates up our veins.
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So it gets really tedious when pundits both on the Left and right cast about frantically for terms to locate the source of the inchoate anger among large segments of this society. It isn’t rocket science at all. If economic insecurity was the real driver of the angry wave, Trump, bankruptcy king; importer of underpaid undocumented workers; scion of obscene wealth; outsourcer of manufacturing to cheap labor countries; would be the last person they would select as leader of their movement. It’s like chickens inviting the fox to make them safe. Yearning to taste wealth vicariously through Trump doesn’t adequately explain his appeal either.
What he’s done is replicate Prez Andrew Jackson’s populist success in granting public space to his followers to indulge in orgies of xenophobia without consequence. Trump takes it further style wise into the realm of WWE and reality TV razzmatazz. Bigotry as neon blinged showmanship.
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By the way, what are they supposedly angry about? This all began when President Barack Obama, in the face of relentless obstruction, singlehandedly saved this country from the economic abyss and gave us all a fighting chance with access to fundamental healthcare. Healthcare used to be the chief driver of personal and family financial ruin among the Middle Class and those struggling to get into the Middle Class. But what did America repay him with? Racial hatred! Simply because it was the FIRST social policy that was crafted to cover EVERYBODY from the get go.
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No other social benefit began in this country without excluding any group! And thus in 2010, began the reign of AstroTurfed Tea Party of rabid racial bigots, birtherism and Islamophobes. Just recall the spittle flying days of protests against House Democrats going into their chamber to vote for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act!
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We have not recovered since! Majorities of our Democratic lawmakers paid the price at the ballot for voting to give us all HEALTHCARE!! In subsequent elections our party lost over 900 legislative seats throughout the country, 31 governorships, several chambers turned veto-proof right wing fiefdoms, plus US senate and House majorities. Yeah no good deed goes unpunished!
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Except now the hordes have nominated the Godfather of birtherism, excess perverted appetites, and Know-nothingism, to inch him closer to the nuclear codes. We as a society have outdone ourselves. Like drunken revelers at a rave party we’ve carried a hachetman barreling through all the firewalls to be our king, driven by racial resentment. I say “WE” because whether actively, or passively by failing to vote to counter the rise of this fetid stench in our midst, we have contributed to the metastasizing Trumpian cancer in our body politic. Now we have reached the last line of defense, Hillary. That’s too much to ask one individual to save us from collective doom.
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I weep.
The Obama Diary 
Thank you, zizi
Brilliant zizi thank you. We are NOT going to forget the birtherism or anything else.
We are not going to forget any of it.
Video: Children Talk Barack Obama
For one set of young Americans, Barack Obama is not only the first black president, he is the only president they know. For them, and for now, Obama defines what it means to be the nation’s chief executive. These kids, more than most, are secure in their impressions of the man and what he has meant to the country they will inherit.
What an amazing piece, zizi2. Thank you.
Excellent essay, zizi! Brava! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
You have nailed it, Zizi.
While the other half of us recoil at the sheer horror that the existential threat of Trump’s endorsed candidacy portends, we’ve seen in the last 24 hours the utter venality of the Republican Party and its media minions on full display. Country be damned. The people be damned. Global alliances be damned. Competency? Who needs that? Wheeeeee, Trump is a giant amusement park rodeo they must ride all the way to the White House. And the hordes fueling this putrid dough of a a candidate? Who cares! Just feed them more bigotry. Nothing matters but naked power. This is one fucking ugly country!
Began with Palin in earnest. Pretending that that woman was qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency?
What did they expect?
They coddled and ki-kied as Trump peddled birtherism…
But, are surprised that he won?
I’ve said it from the beginning – he doesn’t speak in dogwhistles, and he’s not talking to a SLIVER of the GOP.
The GOP and their MSM enablers hid behind the dogwhistles, and they’re upset because he doesn’t speak in them, which is why they tried 50000 different ways to tell us that there’s another reason for Trump’s support, outside of the racial /ethnic resentment that he peddles in completely.
THIS is who they are.
And, if you don’t understand WHY you need to be out there voting in November..
then there’s no hope for you.
Thanks, Zizi, and congratulations to Rikyrah on first. I can’t wait for the California Dem Primary to be finished so we can all ask Bernie Sanders to get on board with the first woman to be elected President.
As an antidote to all the ugliness, have you all seen the current edition of Parents Magazine featuring the adorable Curry family?
I weep with you my sista!
This is beautifully written. Thank you ziz!
Thank you…Thank you…for this powerful essay….
this part especially…
The organizing principle of our society has always been about deploying RACIAL RESENTMENT to mask inequality. We all know too well that without the perennially effective tool of RACE there is no way the wealthy class could have survived this long unscathed by the wrath of those they have fleeced over and over again. No way. The mirage of the American Dream could be kept aloft regardless of the people’s diminishing capacity to ever attain it, precisely because our overlords have been ever ready to shoot Race opiates up our veins.
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and this exposes Sanders…because for one who is focused on income inequality…he has never spoken on this…never…because his own white privilege won’t let him…and this what none of those purists have ever addressed….for the same reasons….
Awesome essay zizi….
one more thing…folks of color knew this…we were not fooled by the rhetoric…too much is at stake..
Yep, one of the comments that kept coming out of Bernie’s camp was that when black folk get to know Bernie they will vote for him. We know Bernie, we’ve always known Bernie. Bernie isn’t some complicated math problem that we in the African American community couldn’t solve. We peeped Bernie’s game the moment he opened his mouth, or when he sat is ass up in Washington for 25 years and didn’t say a goddamn thing other than to talk shit about President Obama or his policies.
Amennnnn to the 3rd power!
Co-sign!
WORD WORD WORD EVERY WORD
This right here.
PF, thank you for this comment. It, too, is powerful.
smilin…Right on …Right On….we are indeed soldiers …up for the challenge!
The BEST essay I’ve ever read at TOD, and anywhere else on precisely the State of the Union as of 5 May 2016, @zizii2.
Thank you!
It’s truly ALL ON THE LINE on 8 Nov 2016 like it hasn’t been since 12 April 1861.
So sweet. Steph Curry is such a great man. Love him.
Thanks, JER. That’s what I was looking for.
❤
WOW Zizi!! Thank you for this amazing piece. I learn so much from everyone here every day. Grateful to all of you.
LOL the “Obama Coalition” won’t hold. This is utter bullshit!
Yesterday for the first time in history a black mayor was elected in Norfolk, Virginia. He defeated a well established local sheriff who was suppose to win. Sheriff used crime scare tactics labeled by others in media as TRUMP-ESQUE. Mayor-elect Mr Kenny Alexander http://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/local/kenny-alexander-s-win-in-norfolk-was-a-racial-milestone/article_7556c726-5484-5c4e-bdee-a3c8352e0bc5.html
Additionally, in my SUPERWARD 6 we defeated another crony and buddy of the sheriff. It wasn’t suppose to happen either.
Adrian won famously and here campaign headquarters victory party was located in a gay restaurant/bar! Ms. Andria McClellan – 46, community volunteer, planning commissioner, political upstart ( Hillary folks should keep an eye on this one!)
http://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/local/upset-in-race-for-norfolk-s-superward-seat-ushers-in/article_47e032ba-2c05-57cf-8dfc-b24e1f50a40a.html
The party is only just beginning folks. Trust and believe me.
Thank you for sharing. I hope this happens in my state. Such talent perking up through the ranks in the model of Barack Obama. They are starting to vie for office and the old cronies are going to wonder what hit them. Can’t happen too soon.
Please, everyone bookmark this essay and refer to it as we move through the general election. We’re going to need every last word.
yaaaaaaaaaaaybo
Zizi, sis!
Par excellence!!!!
For TOD twitter brigade, please let’s also focus on the Senate races:
Tammy Duckworth (vs @MarkKirk)
@TammyforIL
tammyduckworth.com
Maggie Hassan (vs @KellyAyotte)
@Maggie_Hassan
http://maggiehassan.com
Patty Judge (vs @ChuckGrassley)
@pattyforiowa
http://www.PattyJudgeForIowa.com
@Ann_Kirkpatrick (vs @SenJohnMcCain)
kirkpatrickforarizona.com
@KatieMcGintyPA (vs @SenToomey)
http://katiemcginty.com
@Ted_Strickland (vs @robportman)
tedstrickland.com
thank you….
I should add
Russ Feingold (vs @SenRonJohnson)
@russfeingold
russfeingold.com
I just read up on Sen Reid’s candidate and she is vehemently against TPP. GRRRRRRR.
Of course she’s against TPP, why take the time and read it for yourself when you can just fall in line with every other politician that’s against it and not make waves.
I think they are all taking this position so that they can get elected. Will be interesting to see their stance on the TPP change if they win.
I understand that, but it would have been refreshing to hear a candidate speak their true positions while they are running. Kinda like when President Obama was running for office he told us his true positions on everything and did not deviate. I understand how the game is played, you state one position and then run towards another position once elected.
Totally agree Don. I love PBO for his honesty and trustworthiness. He is one of a kind.
Zizi…Thank you, thank you, thank you for this powerful essay.
I too weep with you.
Your written words have helped to assuage the ache in my heart and the knot in my stomach..both of which arose on Tuesday night.
Wow!
Holy, Smokes, Zizi. This Piece is One Heck of an Article. It is the TRUTH!
Thanks for this Post.
Hello TOD. Congrats to all the Gold ⭐ winners since last night…….starting with this Brilliant Post.
5-5-16
WH Presser with Josh “The Voice” Earnest is LIVE, now at the Podium……already 😉 in Progress.
Great read, zizi, one of the best columns I’ve read anywhere in a very long time. I’m still trying to digest it though. You have me feeling a certain type of way that brings back memories of reading Malcolm X or Frantz Fanon.
Very, very powerful article Zizi. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
zizi……powerful! truthful!
I’m going to keep hammering at these people until they ACT
Meta, thank you for stating the Zika situation clearly. Wish I could retweet a million times.
And there you have it, America, you’ve seceded control of all of our national security intel to a thrice divorced, thrice bankrupt bigot game show host.
We are in a whole brand new territory here. I can’t imagine entrusting Big Mouth Trump with even the slightest level of classified briefing, held in close regard for our nation’s security. UGH UGH UGH
God help us – we walk wide-eyed into the end days. Love you all, see yo on the Other Side.
Meanwhile, this fuckwad is not in the WH yet, and there are lunar cycles to be noted and energy to be distributed! That said: New Moon tomorrow, Friday 6th May, 16.41 Taurus. 3:29pm Eastern, 12:29pm Pacific. We have a brilliant Transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun to look forward to on Monday as well, worth hanging around for!! All Things Must Pass. Keep you the Heart, stay focused and unafraid. ❤️🌹🙏🏻🌹❤️
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, Pamela I love the way you seamlessly go from fuckwad to talking about lunar cycles. I have a feeling you are hell on wheels.
GA Meta.
@ByronTau asked Josh Earnest today whether PBO would invoke this executive privilege, saying that Sandy Berger urged WJC to do so with GWB, and that HRC e-mail server issues might jeopardize classified info.
Of course Josh Earnest isn’t going to say so, but I’m sure he (and every sane American) share my thoughts:
Yeah, I saw that question to Josh today. It makes my skin crawl to think that the United States has to brief a clown like Trump. It goes against everything the Nat Sec team stands for.
Its going to be both funny and sad watching a President Trump humiliate and browbeat these privileged assholes that sit front at center. Well, not so much sad, because at one point President Obama gave them all the respect one would hope a President would provide to the WHPC. But they did not accept the respect he valiantly tried to give them, so now if Trump becomes President they will have to eat every piece of shit that he serves them and eat it while smiling.
Don, do you seriously think those idiots care? They have no shame, and would gladly smile and accept whatever humiliation a President Trump dishes out to them. They were the same incompetent news entertainers that cowered under Cheney/Bush constant disrespect of them and their professions.
LOL, I know, jewelz, but sometimes I hold out hope that idiots won’t idiot all the time.
Good for you, Rikyrah.
zizii2: Your words blaze and dazzle and awaken the world with the sizzling, linear, deep and powerful truth. You have woven history and current events, insight and righteous knowledge into the Big Picture which my people just Do Not Want to See. We can’t not see it anymore. Thank you for this masterpiece of words. Thank you for the mirror. Thank you for the brilliant assessment. You have done a great thing in writing this and it is heavy but essential and a privilege to read it. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” comes to mind. This is the truth. By knowing it, we as a nation can stop the race for the cliff and begin, finally, being one nation with liberty and justice for all. Thankful for you and TOD, the place to find truth and inspiration.
More announcements today!!
He’s straight up trolling.
Meta, there’s no level of vulgarity which this twisted man won’t descend. He is utterly and completely repulsive.
And past the point, when is TOD going to stop repulsing me as I scroll down for good news? I fear coming here anymore, every day is a puke fest with these rabid miscreants featured. I know info is needed but can it be done without the insults of having to use brain bleach afterwards, people?
@NYDailyNews 3 minutes ago
.@realDonaldTrump will want to run for the border after his offensive #CincoDeMayo tweet http://nydn.us/21B6UKH
This is one of Josh Earnest’s finest moments:
Brilliant job by Josh.
Good for Josh. He puts them down so beautifully…..do they even realize that he makes them AND Congress look like fools?
Sadly the media NEVER reports what Josh says – they only attend to ask their bigoted questions, take not notice of the answers.
Can you imagine sitting in prison with a life sentence and your counselor or case manager walks up to you and tell you to pack your bags you’re going home?
Man oh man, I am just so thrilled for these people. I was reading some of their rulings and it’s just a horror show. Thank goodness PBO stepped in.
Oooopsie
Zizi, you have an amazing ability to cut through all the delusions and hypocrisies and get to the core truths. You laid it all bare here and exposed the sick racism that’s been used as a tool to bludgeon white America into complicity in their own destruction. Trump is the putrid byproduct of the bigotry that’s sickened people’s minds and dealt crippling blows to both our society and the concept of democratic government. I don’t know how long term recovery is possible unless whole generations die out and we finally achieve a minority/majority that is politically aware and actually votes. In the meantime, we have only the small shoulders of Hillary Clinton to carry the burden of sanity and if we don’t put every possible effort into supporting her, we will all go down.
I want every American who is repelled by this insanity to read this essay and post it in a prominent place so that when their feet are tired and their voices hoarse from canvassing and phone banking, they’ll take new heart from being reminded of what’s at stake. You’ve performed an important public service today and I thank you and bless you for it.
This is excellent, zizi. Thank you.
President Obama:
Karen Finney lost her dad today. 😦
Simply stunning essay, zizi2.
Breathtaking in its lyrical, insightful analysis of where we are today.
Frustrating that we have no way to make these truths known to MSM.
Here are my tweets on the subject (condensed to accommodate Twitter character limitation):
more…
Posted this before, but is example of GOP/MSM explicitly avoiding a hint of the underlying *racial resentment* that unites Sanders and Trump supporters:
Brava zizi!!!!
NEXT: Former Vice President Al Gore holds a ‘Convenient Truth’ discussion on climate change at the 2016 Climate Action Summit in Washington, D.C. – http://www.msnbc.com/live-online/watch/next-gore-on-climate-change-progress-680141891807
I await your essays with baited breath, zizi, for I know you will always bring truth no one could possibly deny. Lie to themselves if they want, but every word is provable. You speak for me in mega-doses! Thank you !!!!
NOW: Bernie Sanders Attends a Rally in S. Charleston, WV – http://abcnews.go.com/Live?stream=1
New post.
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/05/05/a-nation-of-second-chances/
Hello everybody.
Thank you all so much for your compliments. Yeah I wish I didn’t have to write this. I am spooked. As an immigrant, this is not what I ever imagined America would descend to. But we’ve got work to do. Like many others I did not support Hillary in 2008, and have written tough stuff here about her and her hubby. I did not openly support any of our Democratic Party candidates this primary season, and waited passively to vote Dem in November.
No more! I’ll vote for her in KY primary next week then work my ass off to get Hillary elected in November. Trump is extinction level threat. Don’t wanna have to find out what his reign of terror will be like. Dangerous corporate is just treating this nightmarish prospect like a video game. They have nothing to lose. Many of us do.
Thank you, Zizi! This essay is brilliant. You have spoken the truth ever since Christopher Columbus stole this land from Native Americans, we have resorted to persecuting groups of people. So the few could control the masses, for power or wealth.
Awesome… What more can I say?!?
Thank YOU! Zizi
yo
Thank you for this brilliant piece, zizi.HZ