Yesterday, Donald Trump accused Germany of being controlled by the Russians.  More shocking was he did it with a straight face.  Maybe he should finally get that Emmy about which he constantly whines.  To paraphrase Buffalo Springfield, it’s not paranoia but irony that runs deep.

This morning, Trump laid out a broad agenda for his one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin.  When asked about Crimea, he focused on construction projects Russia has completed–bridges and a sea port–to solidify its de facto annexation of the region.  He was quick to remind everyone the taking occurred “under Barack Obama’s watch,” but failed to mention the sanctions Obama imposed to punish Russia or the fact that several members of his campaign and administration had done everything in their power to undermine the economic pressure to get Russia to reverse or at least cease its aggression in eastern Ukraine.

Which brings me to the title of today’s post, an obvious play on a phrase in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s ode to military devotion to duty in spite of the odds The Charge of the Light Brigade.  Why this particular poem?  Because it refers to an event during the (drum roll) Crimean War.   Irony does run deep.  The most often quoted lines refer to the arc of enemy artillery into which the British cavalry rode.  Cannons to the right of them, Cannons to the left of them…

Sadly today, such eloquent words would not be reserved for the brave but for those who retreat from duty.  To paraphrase Tennyson, as we face a precarious time in American history when democracy and the rule of law are under siege daily and valor should be the order of the day, we are not surrounded by cannons but cowardice on both the right and the left.

The sins of comission and omission on the right are obvious.  A self-proclaimed “tough guy” in the White House who has become the antithesis of Theodore Roosevelt, talking bigly and carrying a soft stick (if any at all).  Ask former Mexican President  Enrique Peña Nieto how Trump did not even raise his oft-stated demand our southern neighbor pay for his border wall. A chief executive who has yet to tell a subordinate to his or her face, “You’re fired.”  And tomorrow Trump will totally avoid London proper for fear of a 20 foot helium balloon of “Baby Trump” straight out of a Macy’s parade in Bizarro World.

And it does not stop at the White House gates.  The occasions on which the GOP Congress or the religious right have failed to call out the administration for any actions regardless of how racist, xenophobic, cruel, unconstitutional or un-Christian are well documented.  Last week, radio talk show host John Fugelsang challenged a self-identified “hardcore Christian” to quote any Bible verse which would support Trump policies.  The response.  Crickets.

I would not expect anything less from a party that chose the 1964 Civil Rights Act to reinvent itself as the champion of white America.  A less obvious and greater disappointment comes when my own party of choice chooses political expediency over moral imperative.  Two examples.

In 2016, following the death of Antonin Scalia, Obama was given the same opportunity to leave his mark on the Supreme Court Trump enjoys today.  As Eric Levitz points out in a June 28 article in New York Magazine, Obama’s selection of Merrick Garland was a mistake.  Levitz asks us to imagine the outrage if a GOP-controlled Senate had refused to consider, not a moderate white male, but a true progressive and more importantly the first black female justice.  Consider how much more energized liberal, African-American and female voters would have been.  It would have been the cause célèbre for Democratic candidates in November 2016.

Which brings us to the 2018 mid-term elections.  Much is being made of the pressure on Democratic candidates in red states to support the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  As Parkland students would say, “I call BS.”  Joe Donnelly (Indiana), Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota), Doug Jones (Alabama) and John Tester (Montana) all know, in their hearts, Kavanaugh’s confirmation is problematic on many levels.  But they are concerned they need Trump voters to survive in December.

They are half right.  They do need some (not all) of those who voted for Trump, but their approach should not be by supporting bad nominees or policies.  It should rely on their ability to explain to their constituents why they should cast ballots to oppose the Trump and GOP agenda.  How tough is it to convince someone they have or will be laid off because of an unnecessary trade war with our allies as well as our adversaries?  Or that the GOP budget includes major cuts to transfer payments, a major source of income in rural states?  Or that they will once again lose their health insurance as the result of a pre-existing condition?  Or their access to information on the internet will be controlled by those who provide the service?  Or that pro-choice is not pro-abortion?  Or that you honor police and first-responders when you take military-grade weapons out of the hands of those who wish to do them harm?  Or that we can have secure borders without a wall or separating babies and toddlers from their parents?

As I have written on many occasions, legitimate polls, bar none, show the majority of Americans agree with progressives on virtually every major issue facing our country.  If an incumbent Democratic candidate cannot translate those attitudes into votes, perhaps it is time to find someone else who can.  Democratic voters in Queens did exactly that when they chose Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over Joseph Crowley.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP