Notebook: Big changes ahead
EDITORIAL MUG: Larry Anderson
That rumble you hear in the distance is Democrats beating a hasty retreat. The recent election proved a repudiation of all things liberal. American common sense is back in fashion and long overdue.
Things are suddenly different. Sure, Democrats have lost elections before, but not like this. They kicked over a hornet’s nest of public scorn. Contempt has replaced uneasy tolerance for goofy ideas, and patience with their corruption and failure has vanished. We wanted better and will have it. Cries of “USA!” are common again and welcome.
We have a president now who doesn’t have to check with his handlers before speaking. Trump says what’s on his mind and means it. This is clear even a few days into his administration as lefties head into the sunset. It is refreshing, this renewal. Trump leads an empowered movement, and early polls are positive.
By contrast there is a dearth in Democrat leadership these days. Biden exited the presidency with miserable approval and a nation gone grumpy. Kamala Harris is done despite contrarian spin. Nancy Pelosi is 84. No one cares what she thinks anymore nor is she in a position of power. Chuck Schumer continues to sing the same old liberal blues, but he sounds like a has-been and is. The Clintons are ghosts. Even Obama has faded. The old liberal guard is done at last, and the void is obvious and deserved.
Eventually, new liberal leadership will assert, but who will it be? Gavin Newsom, in my opinion, is all done in California after watching its greatest city go up in flames. AOC has ambition, but she’s foolish, out of step, and disliked. Several governors of liberal reputation are simply too far left. No one in the Senate comes to mind except John Fetterman who may be teetering on conversion. The Squad is wrecked. It’s puzzling who could emerge, especially since the Republicans have leaders galore, a healthy mandate, and a president who resembles Godzilla tearing through Tokyo on Saturday night.
I suspect whoever shows up will be closer to Trump in thought than Joe Biden. Trump has reminded us that it is okay to be American, to be a patriot, and to be successful. Anyone echoing the America is terrible theme will fail and should. We are a good nation too long neglected.
Democrats must adapt their message or they will fade because the days fouling the nest are done. Trump put his wounded ear to the ground and crafted a strategy. Liberals listened to no one and failed. A new leader cannot reiterate old doctrine, impersonate past political figures, or be a phony revolutionary. He or she must bring freshness and a plan for change that is sensible rather than designed by miserable ideologues who don’t understand what they have.
Old divisions cultivated along racial and gender lines must end if Democrats want life. Class warfare should be replaced by a more common denominator of mutual advancement based on work and determination. As a whole, we must strive to succeed with confidence defined by fairness, not the delusions of an elitist liberal class. Merit is again the yardstick.
Democrats thought they could win this last one no matter how crazily they behaved or who they nominated. Now they know better, or should. Meanwhile, standing in their path like a Colossus is a formidable man with change on his mind, a mandate in his pocket, a flag on his lapel, and a better haircut. May he live long and prosper while we cheerful deplorables await further developments.
Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator.
