The Morning After The Newsgasm

Late yesterday afternoon the Trump Era's axis seemed to tilt once again. The news of Michael Cohen's plea deal directly implicating Trump came minutes after news of Paul Manafort's conviction on eight felony counts. Soon news came of early Trump supporter Duncan Hunter's fraud.

I've started calling events like these "newsgasms." Yesterday afternoon before the news broke I had just happened to buy a bottle of ten year aged bourbon, and I cracked it open last night to watch the news shows with my wife like it was a playoff sports game. I was feeling something I had not felt in months: hope. (The toppling of the Confederate statue in Chapel Hill the day before had already lifted my spirits, so this was a rare multiple newsgasm.)

Now I am sitting in the hard bright morning light thinking about what happens next. Don't get me wrong, I do not have a hangover, either from the news or from the whiskey. Part of me is well aware that prior outrages and revelations from Trumpworld have yet to shake the Republicans' support of him. Trump's allies will follow him to the gates of hell. In regards to family separation, they already have.

Even if this seems like an insurmountable fact of political life, it still must be assailed. As I have said before, the legal system and Mueller are not going to save us. The Democratic Party is certainly not going to save us. Only we can save ourselves. This will all only mean something if we mobilize.

Certainly this means mobilizing for the election, since Trump and his criminal gang will not be held accountable until his enablers are voted out of office. An opportunity is presenting itself at the right time. The Republicans are playing defense, it is time to bring the fight to them as forcefully as possible all the way until November.

There is another and more urgent need for mobilization, however. The Kavanaugh nomination threatens to firmly put the control of the Supreme Court in the hands of people who want to take away LBTQ, civil, labor, and reproductive rights. Kavanaugh is tremendously unpopular, but conservatives have been pushing to control the court for decades and they will do seemingly anything to accomplish that goal, including following Trump to the gates of hell. However, if it is clear that Trump has been directly implicated in criminal behavior, there is a chance that the likes of Flake and McCain can be peeled off, and that's all we need. They will be less likely to chicken out if we are in the streets demanding that Trump not be able to nominate someone who will be judging his criminal behavior. The same goes for spineless Dems like Manchin and Heitkamp who somehow think supporting Kavanaugh will get them conservative voters.

I'm not saying any of this is guaranteed to work, but it beats the hell out of sitting back and watching MSNBC and praying for Mueller or Tweeting fatalistic "I told you so" snark. That will accomplish nothing.

You've probably asked yourself how you would behave in a time of political crisis. Well guess what, now's your chance to find out. Let's get to work.