The Democratic Party responded by clearing its throat, putting on its most serious expression, and anointing itself as the adult in the room of the U.S. polity, sanctimoniously declaring that it was the true guardian of all that was good and holy in America's political norms and institutions. Yes, if we were just to rewind the tape to January 19, 2016, then all would be restored to sanity, normalcy and decency. No need for any major reforms of our socioeconomic or political systems; their fundamentals were sound. In its mindless worship of status quo-reinforcing incrementalism, the party of FDR, JFK and LBJ chose instead to elevate insider baseball as its M.O. Go small or go consult.
Still, I'll reserve the majority of my ire for the GOP, which replaced its credo of small government, unfettered markets and a "robust" foreign policy with unbridled racial hatred and cruelty towards all but white Christian males. Finally, in American public policy, both foreign and domestic, duty bearers' word matched their deed. It has been an almost refreshing break from the hypocrisy that characterized the bipartisan agreement for the past 50 years to, depending on which party was in power, make either feeble attempts at mitigating or blustery pushes at enabling systemic racism, economic exploitation and global militarism.
Now, thanks to the GOP and President Donald J. Trump we're getting American exceptionalism unfiltered, unplugged and unhinged. And, by chance, and there appears to be a good one, should Trump be re-elected, then this new year and decade will truly herald the end of the American experiment in representative democracy and its all too predictable return to its white supremacist roots and foundational principles.
Happy New Year, let's hope its a better one than 2019.
