Which Side Are You On?
There’s a divide in Progressive circles between those inside-the-Bubble types who seem to think Trump’s stumbling towards some kind of self-destructive crash-and-burn, and the rest of us who can see that he’s more likely to maintain that disruptive momentum for a long while yet. He’s going to be the Troll In Chief for a few more years at least, exhausting his foes before he exhausts himself (or his friends).
Inside the Bubble, old faithfuls like The Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Occupy Democrats, etc., are still coming up with headlines and (non-)stories about how Trump’s on the verge of being impeached (any day now!!!), or how some idiotic Facebook meme or leftist media figure just absolutely destroyed Trump (“Neil deGrasse Tyson just torched Trump with 8 epic tweets” — uh, right). The more mainstream media fixate on Trump’s compulsive behaviour and apparent missteps, and mistake them for something that’ll make much difference — to his erstwhile supporters or in the broader world of elections and power. A classic example: “Donald Trump Exposed As A Hopeless Conspiracy Theorist By Basically Everyone Who Matters” — a typical HuffPo headline to an article that entirely misses the point that “everyone who matters” is quite different in the HuffPo / Progressive universe than in the universe Trump voters inhabit (where, basically “everyone who matters” has already confirmed Trump’s views).
Outside the Bubble, people can see that nothing’s fundamentally changed since the election: the electoral processes and math are still the same, and Trump’s supporters are still lopsidedly influential. They mostly like what he’s doing, they’re pleased by the way so many people and groups and countries are offended — and, given the ruthless gerrymandering of the various electorates and electoral processes, their support and approval is pretty much all that matters. It’s more than enough to keep him and his fellow-travelers in power at state and federal levels for the foreseeable future. Add a probable terrorist attack or two — or a war — in there somewhere, and you’ve got a recipe for long-lived power.
Face it: he’s probably not going to destroy himself, at least any time soon. And, unlike in the endlessly-condescending Progressive imagination, his supporters and fellow-travelers aren’t suddenly going to wake up on the road to Damascus (or while reading Facebook) any time soon either. The pervasive idea on the Left that Trump supporters don’t (yet) “get” him and the effects of his actions but will one day get it (and be so awfully sorry…) seems to have blinded a lot of Progressives to the fact it’s the Progressive side that largely doesn’t get reality here. As they didn’t during the election, of course. And so many Progressives keep fighting the last election instead of the next one (the left can be so reactionary in this part of the world).
Unless and until the electoral process and gerrymandering are changed, the triumphalism will triumph, in style and in substance. Trump will just go on speaking power to truth — and enough people will approve of it to keep him and his epigones in power, almost regardless of the consequences.
But changing the electoral system is a hard, unglamourous, long-term slog, and a lot less enjoyable and self-pleasuring than self-righteous outrage or showy fist-pumping resistance or smug knowing condescension, isn’t it?
So which side of The Bubble are you on?
