Many readers here at The News Blender are war-weary Never Trump veterans, bearing the scars of three years of hard fought social media battles. We have endured the slings and arrows and are still standing strong on our principles. We established our own little haven on the net and settled in with our band of brothers and friends, our online family.
I have often joked, pointedly at times in the face of tiresome name calling, that my Never Trump brethren are happy here in our wilderness hide-a-way up in the mountains, looking down on the Red and Blue tribes having pillow fights down on the plains. We eat s’mores, have nightly sing-a-longs by the fire, and sleep peacefully at night because we know we made the right choice. It has not been an easy journey, though. We’ve lost previously beloved hangouts on the net and friends – in real life and online. Many of us have family members who have inexplicably gone to the Orange Side. Knowing we are not alone in travelling this rocky road has made the journey easier.
“All you have to do to stay in the good graces of this new political force is to swear Trump is always right. All you have to do is loathe with the fire of a million suns anyone who levies the slightest criticism of Trump. You must compromise everything you believe to praise and placate him. He is President for Life. Bow before Zod. No, thanks. Hard pass.”
Everything Trump Touches Dies
We are not alone, my friends.
Rick Wilson, perpetual harasser of Cult 45 and stalwart Never Trumper, has written a much anticipated book for our times and, seemingly, just for us here at The News Blender: Everything Trump Touches Dies. In his inimitable style, Wilson takes aim at Trumpism and knocks it squarely on its orange butt.
I expected to laugh out loud and I most certainly did. It is funny. From the first paragraphs to the last line, the profound, savage snark will have you giggling throughout. I mean, a book that calls Don’s Wall “Douchehenge” and contains the line “A drunk monkey can understand this, which is why it is an impenetrable mystery to this president” is not lacking in snark.
This book is so much more than just a snarky take down of Grandpa Ranty/Fecal Midas/ Donald the Unready. It is part catharsis for the Never Trump stance, part election autopsy, part savage critique of the Trumpian movement, part love letter to real Conservatism, part history lesson, part guidebook for the future After Trump, with healthy dose of Shining City on a Hill optimism thrown in for good measure. I expected to laugh. I did not expect to tear up, but I most certainly did.
Everything Trump Touches Dies is classic Wilson: profane, withering, no punches pulled, no holds barred, tell-it-like-it-is-for-real. No one in the death spiral orbit of Donald J Trump is immune and Rick lays out his premise with case study after case study of the carcasses left in Trump’s wake. From Reince Priebus to Ted Cruz to the Vichy Republicans to Evangelicals to Clickservatives to the voters who sold their souls for Don the Con – everyone has their deserved moment in the hot seat. With the precision of a surgeon wielding a scalpel, Rick lays bare the breathtaking hypocrisy of the right and predicts the dire consequences of it.
The book, perhaps more than anything else, is a labor of tough love that refuses to give the Trump voter a pass because of their professed economic anxiety or perception that America is changing and leaving them behind. Wilson says, “This isn’t simply some elitist rant. It’s the tough, parental love that Fox and talk radio never gave them. It’s the switch to the backside when they start quoting Infowars unironically, something that might have corrected the conspiracy craziness a lot earlier in the process.” Of course, the people who most need to read and absorb this tough love, won’t.
Much of this book mirrors what we have all been saying to each other for years, now. It is certainly validation for those who have not bowed before Zod, the group hated by Trump supporters even more than any monster that exists on the left, as Rick says. As I said, it is more than that.
Wilson lays out political realities from the expertise gained from 30 years of politicking. As much as the Trump voter wants to deny it, the bill comes due eventually. Tax reform will not save the GOP and neither will Gorsuch. The GOP is due for some time wandering in the wilderness and Rick spells out what they need to do to save themselves.
None of his suggestions are easy. They are essential, though, and start with going back to basics and remembering what has been forgotten.
Return to the Constitution. Drive out the racists and the loons. Become the party of diversity and hope. Rekindle faith in American institutions. Govern like adults.
This might be obvious to that proverbial drunk monkey but more easily said than done. Either the GOP will become that party or it won’t. If it won’t, it will end up in the ash heap of history. As Wilson points out, “a restored GOP can’t fix every institution, but we can start by fixing ourselves”. I would just add, we must start by fixing ourselves.
Rick likens Never Trump to Dunkirk and it is an apt comparison. We aren’t the Resistance. We are principled Conservatives who survived the siege. We lost the battle but, having lived to fight another day, are prepared to fight until the war is won. There is no choice but to fight and win the war for the heart and soul of America.
“Donald Trump, the avatar of our worst instincts and darkest desires as a nation, sits in the Oval Office. I did what I could to stop it. We failed in 2016, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit by as the Nickelback of presidents wrecks my country.”
Everything Trump Touches Dies
He goes on to share a Churchill quote, one that is properly inspiring for the times ahead: “I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.”
Fortunately, we are not alone, and that knowledge makes all the difference for the fight ahead.
Rick’s book is a funny read, for sure. More than that, it is a good read and an uplifting one, if a wee bit profane at times. I highly recommend it to you.
You can purchase Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever online or in bookstores.
You can find Rick Wilson on Twitter.
5 Trackbacks / Pingbacks
Comments are closed.