Has Donald Trump Made the Divide Between Left and Right Worse?

The terms u201cLeftu201d and u201cRightu201d first came into use during the French Revolution of 1789 when members of the National Assembly divided into supporters of the king to the president's right and supporters of the revolution to his left. The rallying cry of the French Revolution was Libertu00e9, u00e9galitu00e9, fraternitu00e9 (liberty, equality, fraternity) a phrase that encapsulates the principles espoused by those opposed to authoritarian rule and massive wealth inequality.Trump may not consciously intend to polarize these two groups within the American population, but his promotion of right leaning policies and authoritarian power dynamics has prompted a balancing response from the left.

This could be seen as an immune response from the body politic, devised and created by the founding fathers to guard against a return to dictatorship. America, like France, is the child of revolution. Within six years of Americau2019s rejecting the British crown the people of France embarked on their own revolution against the monarchy.

The brotherly connection between the two countries being celebrated in the 1886 dedication of the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the USA from the Government of France.How things have changed in recent years! Trump believes it is his God given right (as the u201cchosen oneu201d) to rule by fiat from the White House.

He also enacts economic policies that increase the bottom line of his corpulent cronies and take from the needy even the crumbs that fall from the masteru2019s table. His tax cut for the rich, for example, has done nothing but increase wealth inequality yet he continues to siphon funds from social programs, designed to support those in need, and wastes them countering an imaginary u201cMexican Invasionu201d.He longs to destroy the New World Order created by his political adversaries (as illustrated in the image), but goes way beyond that by effectively declaring war on the foundation principles of America itself.

Politically speaking what is America other than the corporate manifestation of constitutional precept? And yet he thumbs his nose at the constitution, the law and the judiciary. His rallying cry is u201cMake America Great Againu201d when what he is actually doing, by unraveling 243 years of progress, is making America 18th Century England again.

By repeatedly trashing the two term limit of the 22nd amendment and by continually obstructing the constitutional responsibilities of congress, he has become the very person the constitution was formulated to confront and is, as such, its enemy. Americau2019s foundation is that of the French revolutionary left, but he aligns himself with those who acquiesce to, or posses, authoritarian power (Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin and Jair Bolsonaro) rather than u201cWe the peopleu201d. He characterizes the very organs of societal conversation (the free press), canonized as they are in the first amendment, as u201cThe Enemy of the Peopleu201d, but it is self-evident they are only at enmity with him and the regressive cortege he trawls.

In making this pronouncement, he seeks to deprive the electorate of an informed vote and to set them awash in the river of lies that spews from his titian noggin. All of this enables his perfidious course. He views his inauguration as the dawn of a Trumpian dynasty and continues to groom his daughter Ivanka as successor for the office of the president, thus echoing the conventions of hereditary feudalism.

What choice does the left have but to bulk up, gear up and oppose this threat to the founding fatheru2019s vision? The terms left and right may have evolved in meaning over the centuries but the metaphor remains current.In creating the cartoon above, Ben Garrison evokes the Biblical tale of Samsonu2019s return to God given power.

After defeat by the Philistines at the hand of his tattle telling wife, he commits the ultimate destructive act against his enemies by demolishing the temple of their god, and killing the 4000 people carousing on the roof. It didnu2019t end well for him

· Other Questions

What will happen if Democrats win the midterm elections by a landslide on November 6, 2018? How much power will Trump lose?

First, we have to decide what a Landslide is.While the entire House is up for grabs, only 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election, and the vast majority of seats up for contest are held by Democrats.The House could go Democratic and hard in a Blue Wave.

This would create a scenario where government is rendered ineffective. The House would not pass any of Trumps agenda. Trump would not sign any of the Houses legislation.

So nothing would get done, and both parties would blame each other for the failure. Given no other options, the House would begin investigating Trump hardcore, making the Mueller investigation look like a friendly chat in comparison. Expect day after day of news reports of the latest congressional inquiry.

Trump would rapidly start hating his job, because it wouldnt be fun anymore, and hed start lashing out at the House of Representatives in specific and Democrats in general. His base would eat his tweets like manna from heaven, and everyone looking for adults in government would be seriously disappointed for the next 2 years. Impeachment would come up, but then wed come up to the other house of Congress.

The Senate has 33 seats up for reelection. 24 of them are Democrats. That leaves 9 Republicans.

Those Republicans include:Jeff Flake. Hes retiring. His seat is rated Toss-Up.

Roger Wicker. Hes running again. His seat is rated Safely Republican.

Cindy Hyde-Smith. Shes running again. Her seat is Safely Republican.

Deb Fischer. Shes running again. Her seat is Safely Republican.

Dean Heller. Hes running again. His seat is rated Toss-Up.

Bob Corker. Hes retiring. His seat is rated Leans Republican.

Ted Cruz. Hes running again. His seat is rated Likely Republican.

Orrin Hatch. Hes retiring. His seat is rated Safely Republican.

John Barraso. Hes running again. His seat is rated Safely Republican.

If the Democrats won all their seats and took both Toss-Ups on the R side, theyd have 51 seats. If they exceeded expectations and won the leans Republican election, theyd have 52 seats. To go so far as to get 53 seats, theyd have to defend all their seats (!

) and win the Likely Republican seat in Texas. To get above 53 seats, theyd have to win one of the Safely Republican seats. Its not unexpected.

A solidly safe seat in Alabama was won by a Democrat, of course. However, the absolute best the Democrats could do in this election, in the utterly unprecedented case of winning every open seat, is 60 votes in the Senate.60 votes isnt bad, mind you.

Its a Filibuster proof majority. But its not a Veto-Proof majority. That has several implications.

There will be no legislation passed that Trump doesnt want. If Trump plays the same game hes been playing so far, Democrats Bad, so anything the Democratic House and Senate passed would be Bad, and Trump would Veto it, and short of 6 Republicans joining this unlikely 60 vote caucus, nothing will get passed. Period.

See the blame game with the House. Impeachment is off the table. Dems would need 6 more votes from the Republican side of the aisle to get rid of Trump before 2020.

The 60th vote (no, lets be serious, the 53rd vote) would come from states in which Republican senators represented the state as little as 2 years ago. Well have more Cornhusker Kickbacks and Louisiana Purchases (see: Nelson and Landrieus votes on the ACA), and more watered down legislation by the Democrats, just to get past the Filibuster. These would do exactly what they did in 2010 demoralize Democrats and motivate Republicans.

These wins will come at the expense of 2020. (Democrats are stupid here. 2020 is super-important, given redistricting.

They should be playing the long game, and should have been playing it since 2012. I wonder, however, what is their 5 year plan, let alone their 10 and 20 year plan.)There are some advantages here to even winning 51 seats.

Democrats would be able to stop Trump from appointing any more far-right votes. A loss of one of the Liberal justices might be met with Democrats saying either appoint one of our choices, or we hold it for after 2020. However, unless the vote for Kennedys seat can be delayed until after the elections (not likely, McConnell would simply hold lame duck sessions to appoint a Right-winger, as this has been THEIR 10 year plan since it became clear Bush was going to lose them 2008), the damage is already done on that regard.

Also, Trump wont get any more of his legislation through, but the damage done from not dealing with the Peoples Business will be an albatross hell try to hang around the Dems neck (and the Dems around his neck). The circus is coming, it will be three-ringed, and there will be waaaaay to many clowns for comfort. Be ready