{"id":6153,"date":"2018-12-10T02:43:41","date_gmt":"2018-12-10T02:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6153"},"modified":"2018-12-10T02:54:09","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T02:54:09","slug":"some-thoughts-on-the-donald-from-two-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6153","title":{"rendered":"Some thoughts on “the Donald,” from two years ago…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

An April 2016 post:\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>“Is there a new\u00a0Maverick<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in town,” or just another ‘what has been<\/a>?'”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Welcome to the \u201cGeorgia Wasp\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/h1>\n

This blog is modeled on the\u00a0Carolina Israelite<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0That was an old-time\u00a0newspaper<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 more like a personal\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 written and published by\u00a0Harry Golden<\/a>. \u00a0Back in the\u00a01950s<\/a>, people called him a \u00a0\u201cvoice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.\u201d \u00a0(For his work on the\u00a0Israelite<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s now my goal as well. \u00a0To be a\u00a0\u201cvoice of sanity amid the braying of jackals<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more on the blog-name connection, see the notes below.<\/p>\n

In the meantime:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"NickOn November 22, 2016 – 18 days after he got elected – I posted\u00a0Donald Trump \u2013 The new Johnny Yuma<\/a>?\u00a0 That post borrowed from the earlier, April 16, 2016 post:\u00a0 “Is there a new \u2018Maverick\u2019 in town<\/a>?\u201d\u00a0 Which explains the lead photo above,\u00a0about\u00a0mavericks<\/a>\u00a0in general:<\/p>\n

Originally the term referred to \u201cTexas lawyer\u00a0Samuel Maverick<\/a>, who refused to brand his cattle.\u00a0 The surname\u00a0Maverick<\/i>\u00a0is of Welsh origin, from Welsh\u00a0mawr-rwyce<\/i>, meaning \u2018valiant hero\u2026\u201d\u00a0 As an adjective the term applies to someone who shows \u201cindependence in thoughts or actions.\u201d \u00a0As a noun the term means someone \u201cwho does not\u00a0abide<\/a>\u00a0by rules.\u201d \u00a0Either that, or someone who\u00a0\u201ccreates or uses unconventional and\/or controversial ideas or practices.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That post also asked the “musical question:\u00a0 ‘Can you say\u00a0prescient<\/a><\/em>?'”\u00a0 (That question concerned a candidate for president who – in 1998<\/strong> – showed \u201ca malignant understanding of how angry words, more than real ideas, can be deployed as weapons of power.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0And it wasn’t<\/strong> Donald Trump.*):<\/em><\/p>\n

[R]epetition \u2013 invoking the same foul claims over and over \u2013 can transform outrageous lies into popular understandings. \u00a0He blithely changes his facts, positions and personae because he is making it up as he goes along and assumes no one will catch up with the contradictions. \u00a0Beneath the mask of conservative idealogue is an amoral pragmatist.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, we’re now two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, and there are some things all Americans can agree on:\u00a0 First, that Trump\u00a0\u201ccreates or uses unconventional and\/or controversial ideas or practices.\u201d\u00a0 And second, that he “does not\u00a0abide<\/a>\u00a0by rules.\u201d\u00a0 But the question remains whether he is a “rebel,” as the old “Johnny Yuma” TV series<\/a>\u00a0defined that term:<\/p>\n

Yuma faced down intolerance, distrust, greed, confusion and revenge.\u00a0 Despite his rebellious nature, Yuma\u00a0respected<\/strong>\u00a0law and order and despised abuse of power.\u00a0 He stood up for the weak and downtrodden.\u00a0 He traveled alone and was often forced to work alone because he was the only one willing to stand up to the bad guys. (E.A.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It would be hard to say – with a straight face – that Trump “respects law and order,” given his continued insulting of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for example.\u00a0 (I\u00a0<\/em>Googled<\/a>\u00a0“trump insults fbi” and got 2,450,000 results.)<\/em>\u00a0 And it could easily be said – with<\/em> a straight face – that Donald Trump\u00a0personifies<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0“intolerance, distrust, greed, confusion and revenge.”<\/p>\n

\"WoodstockBut we were talking about “thoughts from two years ago.”\u00a0 And another tidbit from two years ago came in the November 30, 2016 post,\u00a0\u201cI dreamed I saw Don Trump last night<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

I wrote of the irony of Trump being seen as a hero by the average blue-collar worker.\u00a0 Then I imagined a future folk singer – a “dulcet-toned lass” – comparing Trump to Joe Hill<\/a>, as immortalized by Joan Baez<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Woodstock<\/a>.\u00a0 (“I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night<\/a>…”)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>The post cited a pre-election article saying if Trump lost, the “millions of Americans supporting him will feel more isolated and disillusioned than ever before.”\u00a0 Which raises the question today<\/em><\/strong>, “Are those millions of Americans better off now that Trump got elected?”<\/p>\n

[M]illions of Americans [have] looked to Trump to save them. \u00a0These folks \u2026 the\u00a0angry, white, blue-collar workers<\/strong>\u00a0who are outraged or terrified that America has become some topsy-turvy multi-cultural nightmare where a hard-working man cannot make a decent living \u2026 will emerge from this circus worse off than before [had Trump not been elected…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Put another way, has Trump “stood up for the weak and downtrodden?”\u00a0 Has he\u00a0delivered the goods<\/a>\u00a0for the millions of “angry white blue-collar workers” who looked to him for salvation<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Or – instead –\u00a0Is this (just)<\/a>\u201cdeja vu all over again<\/a>?”\u00a0 (Another post from 2016.\u00a0 That one noted\u00a0the “brittle, bitter climate of distrust in national politics today: \u00a0the loss of civility amid endless personal accusations, the stalemates that develop on issue after issue when both sides are unable to approach the grounds where reasonable compromise can occur.”\u00a0 And that was in 1998!)\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And about that name,\u00a0\u201cthe Donald<\/a>.”\u00a0 It turns out it got started by\u00a0Ivana Trump<\/a>‘s “broken English,” then got a boost – from all people – a writer at The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I noted that nickname in a May 12, 2017 post:\u00a0 “He\u2019ll be impeached within two years<\/a>:”<\/p>\n

If Trump turns out to be as bad as people expect \u2013 based on how he presented himself, both in his campaigns and in office \u2013 fully 75% of the country could be strongly against him by the time of the mid-term elections in 2018. \u00a0Which could turn out to be a single-issue race.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"SealThe prediction – based on analysis by a number of pundits – hasn’t yet come to pass.\u00a0 Though in some respects the 2018 mid-term elections were<\/em><\/strong> a single-issue race, at least for the\u00a0House<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, consider the post,\u00a0Trump is like a box of chocolates<\/a>,\u201d from November 13, 2016.<\/p>\n

It first quoted Professor Allan Lichtman, who predicted in September 2016 that Trump would win the election.\u00a0 But he went on to say Trump would be impeached, but\u00a0not<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by Democrats.\u00a0\u00a0The Republicans \u2013 he said \u2013 would much rather have Mike Pence as president, as \u201cfar easier to control.\u201d<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t want Trump as president, because they can\u2019t control him.\u00a0 He\u2019s unpredictable. They\u2019d love to have [Mike] Pence \u2013 an absolutely down-the-line, conservative, controllable\u00a0<\/strong>Republican\u2026 \u00a0\u201cPence in the White House would put a more trusted establishment Republican in the job.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That hasn’t come to pass either, but that post went on to ask:\u00a0 “In light of Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0chameleon<\/a>-like\u00a0shifting\u00a0political positions<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 especially since last Tuesday \u2013 will he eventually be seen as an ‘effective elected official,’ or a\u00a0funhouse showman<\/a>?”<\/span><\/p>\n

The jury’s still out on that one…<\/p>\n

But the part I remember was the “Gump-like” surprise of the election itself, which led one well-known American icon to ask:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAre you telling me\u00a0Donald Trump<\/b><\/a><\/em>\u00a0just got elected president?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

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* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of<\/em>\u00a0Maverick (TV series) \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 See also\u00a0Donald Trump \u2013 The new Johnny Yuma<\/a><\/em>?\u00a0 (From November 22, 2016.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>And “Is there a new \u2018Maverick\u2019 in town<\/a>?\u00a0 (April 26, 2016.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 The “angry words” candidate who wasn’t Donald Trump.\u00a0 It was actually Newt Gingrich, as detailed in the November 12, 1998 edition of Rolling Stone<\/a>\u00a0magazine.\u00a0 See the May 9, 2016 post,\u00a0Is this \u201cdeja vu all over again<\/a>?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 The November 8, 2016 post:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019ll be impeached within two years<\/a>.”\u00a0 It includes a screwed-up image to the right of the opening paragraph that I wanted to delete but couldn’t figure out how.<\/em><\/p>\n

Other past posts from 2016 -considered for inclusion herein – included:\u00a0 From September 15: \u00a0Donald Trump and the Hell\u2019s Angel<\/a>;\u00a0from November 8: \u00a0\u2018Mi Dulce\u2019 \u2013 and Donald Trump \u2013 made me a Contrarian<\/a>; and from November 22:\u00a0Donald Trump \u2013 The new Johnny Yuma<\/a>?<\/em><\/p>\n

I wanted to close the post with the\u00a0Calvin and Hobbes [cartoon] for July 07, 1995<\/a>, but couldn’t cut and paste it.\u00a0 The punch line was “enmity sells,” and it seems to have been an on-the-mark foreshadowing of Trump’s style of governing.\u00a0 \u00a0(Check it out yourself…)<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Forrest Gump (1994) \u2013 IMDb<\/a>, as featured in\u00a0\u201cTrump is like a box of chocolates<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0See also\u00a0Forrest Gump \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, and\u00a0Life is like a box of chocolates \u2013 Wiktionary<\/a>. \u00a0The latter indicated that the book \u201cNorwegian Wood<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>by\u00a0Haruki Murakami<\/a>, first published in Japanese in 1987, and in English in 1989, has the following: \u2018Just remember, life is like a box of chocolates.’\u201d \u00a0(I.e., that quote was published some seven years before the movie.)<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0The\u00a0Israelite<\/a>. \u00a0Harry Golden<\/a>\u00a0grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.\u00a0 Thus the \u201cCarolina Israelite.\u201d\u00a0 I on the other hand am a \u201cclassic 67-<\/strong>year-old \u201cWASP\u201d \u2013\u00a0White Anglo-Saxon Protestant<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0and live in north Georgia.\u00a0 Thus the \u201cGeorgia Wasp.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Anyway,\u00a0in<\/strong>\u00a0North Carolina Harry\u00a0<\/em>wrote and published the \u201cisraelite\u201d from the 1940s through the 1960s. \u00a0He was a \u201ccigar-smoking, bourbon-loving\u00a0raconteur<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0(He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the \u201cIsraelite\u00a0<\/strong>would be done as a blog.\u201d \u00a0But what made Harry special was his\u00a0positive outlook on life<\/a>. \u00a0As he got older but didn\u2019t\u00a0turn sour<\/a>, like many do today.\u00a0 He\u00a0still got a kick out of life<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 For more on the blog-name connection, see \u201cWasp<\/a>\u201d and\/or\u00a0The blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An April 2016 post:\u00a0\u00a0“Is there a new\u00a0Maverick\u00a0in town,” or just another ‘what has been?’” * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * Welcome to the \u201cGeorgia Wasp\u2026\u201d This blog is modeled on the\u00a0Carolina Israelite. \u00a0That was an old-time\u00a0newspaper\u00a0\u2013 more like a personal\u00a0newsletter\u00a0\u2013 written and published by\u00a0Harry Golden. \u00a0Back in the\u00a01950s, people called him a \u00a0\u201cvoice of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6153"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6153"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7884,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6153\/revisions\/7884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}