Through TikTok, Substack, Rural Americans United’s blog, and newsletter, I have made it clear that my ambition is to help progressives, moderates, Democrats, and middle-of-the-road Republicans keep their eyes on the prize: electing a Democrat for President. This has been a great challenge as Trump has held the nation’s attention for a long time, and we have indulged him. Media, social media influencers, and Democrats have been the most ardent supporters of the glorification of his corruption. Why are we obsessed with him to the exclusion of the good in our lives? Anger? Fear? This single-minded obsession has meant that Biden’s astounding accomplishments were but a whisper in the background. Electing Biden should have been as easy as tripping over a log, but clearly, it is not.
Biden ended our involvement in the Afghan war, realigned NATO, signed the Paris Agreement, reversed the doomed policies of Reagan, made the single greatest investment in our country since WWII, brought us out of COVID faster than any other nation, gave us the strongest economy of all first-world countries, raised middle-class pay above inflation, and secured the future of Medicare and Social Security, among other achievements.If the last three years had been about raising awareness and praising these accomplishments rather than wallowing in the filth that is Trump, what do you think the polls would look like? Over half of Americans believe we are in a recession! (Axios), which is impossible to fathom if it weren’t for the fact that Trump has eclipsed all other news for the last three years. (Rural Americans United)
A study shows (Science Direct) that when good people are exposed to bad things, they think and do bad things. Is this what has happened to Democrats? The behavior I see, hear, and read is beyond the pale. My momma raised me better than this. It does not matter if he had a bad night, year, or life; nobody, but nobody, should ever be treated like President Biden is being treated by his own people. A friend of mine used to say, “we eat our own,” and it is true. We are literally living in a time where the phrase “with friends like this, who needs enemies” is a reality because the Trump campaign and MAGA could never inflict this much damage even if they tried; this had to be done by family because you would never treat a stranger this badly.
I hear people justifying their rage against our President by saying that too much is at stake. Too much has been at stake for more than fifty years, starting with the Reagan administration. Democrats fleeing rural America left local governments to MAGA rule, two-thirds of states are run by the right, and the Supreme Court is MAGA-controlled. This did not happen one day last June; it happened because the far-right was organized and prepared while Democrats were “outraged.” The far-right did the work required.
We can still turn this around. Our role was never to convict Trump; it is and always has been to promote Democratic values and the accomplishments of the Democrats for an informed electorate, and let them decide with all the knowledge available. We have done this poorly, but we can still do it. There is zero gain from destroying our party from within, no matter how misguided our thoughts may be that doing damage far greater than the Trump campaign could do to us is wise.
I strongly believe that the torrent of abuse being heaped upon a man who has done nothing but excel at his role and deliver us accomplishments we did not think possible is misplaced rage and fear. Progressives, moderates, Democrats, and middle-of-the-road Republicans, remember who you are and what your momma taught you. Rather than focusing on what will get us to where we need to be, we are denigrating our President—our President! And doing so in a very public way for the entire world to see.
We cannot let the ugly behavior of Trump guide us on how we treat our own and others. Rise above, show your pride, and whatever path the election takes, make sure you give every ounce of energy you have to winning; otherwise, you are supporting the enemy.
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