Feigning Relevance 2/22/21

Political Thoughts by Richard Bleil

Another news story was published today (the day I wrote this blog) on how Biden is fighting to get out from under the shadow of Trump.

Seriously? The only reason the shadow of Trump remains is because the press insists on keeping him in the spotlight. He lost the election. Time to move on. Let it go.

My readers might be thinking that I, now, am doing the same thing. Okay, I’ll accept that criticism, although frankly I feel like this is more a piece about the press than it is about Trump. The Republicans have been complaining for four years that the press (that they called the “liberal press”) has been presenting stories that feed into their agenda. And, frankly, they’re right. The press is a business; they publish articles to increase readership and bring in more advertising revenue, so, yes, they publish what they believe their readers’ want to read. But, for me, I’m tired of reading about Trump.

In a recent press conference, even Biden said he is tired of talking about Trump. Biden is working hard to undo some of the damage that Trump has done, and I think we’re all fully aware of the harm to American diplomacy, treaties, our standing as a world leader, our relationship with NATO and WHO already. I don’t care what Trump has done in the past; I’m more interested in the efforts of Biden. I want to know the direction Biden is taking us, and to keep an eye on him as I’m not certain I will agree with everything he has done and is doing. But if we keep looking backwards to the buffoon who preceded him, how can we expect to look forward to the progress, or damage, that is being made today?

Okay, there are some things relating to Trump that are newsworthy. I would like to see news about the lawsuits and legal challenges he is facing today. These are relevant because they deal with current and upcoming events and, frankly, I would like to see him brought to justice. But what is not news is how he wishes to remain relevant and the leader of the Republican party. It’s not news that the Republican party is imploding because of his influence. The Republicans had two opportunities to impeach him and make him a non-threat to the party, and twice, on very shaky grounds, they elected to keep him politically viable and give him bragging rights to claim he has been acquitted even though he has not, either time. He has been impeached twice in the House, period. The Senate requires a 2/3 vote to actually overturn a House impeachment which did not happen in either trial. What the senate did NOT do is vote to remove him from office (or keep him out of politics), but if Trump was acquitted, then we have the right to say that Clinton was acquitted, as was Andrew Johnson. All of these presidents were impeached by the House, but not removed by the Senate. If a Republican claims Trump was acquitted, I recommend shooting back, “as was Clinton”. THAT will be fun!

If Trump goes after McConnel, or other Republicans, I don’t care. They as a party voted to keep him in office, and this all becomes internal politics in the Republican party. We are not aware of the politics in the Democratic party, so why are we suddenly so focused on the internal politics in the Republican party? Let them implode. Let the party die. It’s not important to me and I won’t feel sorry for them facing the destiny they themselves supported and enabled. If Republicans are trying to justify their votes on the impeachment, I don’t care. I know what they did, and their actions speak louder than their mouths ever could. Let them get voted out; the nation will be better without them.

Do you want to give us news? Remind us, when election time rolls around, of how these criminals voted. That’s news with a purpose. Don’t tell us about the temper tantrums of a man who is only relevant because the news is still feeding us ridiculous stories that is no longer news. Even the word “news” implies the stories are “new”, so why are we still reading about ancient history? Let Trump disappear into obscurity, along with the Republican party and the congressional Republican representatives. Let a new conservative party rise, one based on reason, heart, and truth. Now THAT would be news!