The low-information voters, racists, and homophobes who voted for Trump have had a fantastic week gloating over their “victory” in this past week’s presidential election. Keep gloating, folks: if you think for one second that Donald Trump is going to follow through with all of his grandiose campaign promises, think again.
In fact, he’s backpedaling on some of his supporters’ pet issues, and despite the sad fact that the GOP controls both Houses of Congress, he’s already facing detractors and potential opposition from members of his own party.
One thing that is now patently obvious: all of those who voted for Trump because he’s a “political outsider” have been played for chumps. Based on his short list for Cabinet positions, Trump is the ultimate “insider” – and his Administration will make Tammany Hall look like a paragon of honest politics.
Choices for Treasury Secretary include former former Goldman-Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Those choices are a reflection of his intention of dismantling Dodd-Frank, allowing Wall Street banksters to once again engage in the type of casino gambling that led to the Crash of 2008 and subsequent taxpayer-funded bailout. Get ready for a replay.
Candidates for Secretary of Health and Human Services include Florida Governor Rick Scott and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, both of whom have made no secret of their contempt for the poor.
Oh – and remember the fiasco that was “No Child Left Behind”? His top pick for Secretary of Education is Williamson Evers, who served under George W. Bush. Looks like our kids are going to be subject to pointless and expensive testing once more while actual learning goes out the window.
At the same time, one of Trump’s picks for Secretary of Agriculture is Sid Miller, who has pushed for junk food in public schools. We will all mourn for First Lady Michelle Obama as once again, ketchup will be considered a vegetable.
And by the way, all of you who like the great outdoors and enjoy visiting our National Parks – Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Interior is no less an august personage than Sarah “Drill, Baby Drill” Palin. We don’t have to tell you what that could mean.
This leads us to Trump’s energy policy. As someone who considers global climate change to be a “myth,” the President-elect plans to pack the Department of Energy with high-powered executives from the fossil fuel industry, starting with fracking magnate Harold Hamm for Secretary. Hamm is calling on Trump to slash all regulations on oil and gas production while Trump himself has announced his plans to dismantle the EPA.
Get ready for a sicker and more polluted world. One would think Trump’s kids don’t have to breathe the same air the rest of of do.
On the subject of illness, Trump supporters and GOP leadership has been salivating at the opportunity to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which their candidate declared he would throw out completely. This has caused a great deal of fear among the many whose very lives depend on Obamacare.
Well, now it turns out that Trump actually likes parts of the ACA and may compromise. His change of heart may have to do with a long conversation with President Obama himself, as well as the social, economic and political repercussions that will surely result from a repeal. His flip will most certainly bring him into conflict with Congressional Republicans who want to see it eliminated – that is, unless he changes his mind yet again.
And what about his promises to deport all those “illegals” and force Mexico to build a wall along its northern border? Unfortunately for Trump, there are some serious legal, economic and logistical obstacles standing in the way of that agenda – as well as opposition from GOP moderates.
When it becomes patently obvious that Trump’s mouth has written checks his body can’t cash, those who supported and voted for him will surely turn on him as rabidly as they opposed Hillary Clinton.
We’re in for a rough ride for the next few years – there’s little doubt of that. But it’s going to be just as rough for Trump and his misguided and delusional supporters. We Progressives stand to lose a great deal of what we’ve won under the Obama Administration these past eight years, and we have a hell of a fight in front of us to hold on – but the good news is, we may have a lot of help in that fight from Trump’s own party and his followers once they realize they’ve been sold a bill of goods by a billionaire con man.
