Had Enough Yet?

Had Enough Yet?

Well. it has finally come down to this.

I thought the breaking point wouldn’t come for another few weeks, not until Congress got back into session and had to fight over the debt ceiling, an infrastructure bill, a new federal budget or, perhaps, take another whack at health care.

Instead, we get the heavily-burdened camel that is the Republican Party getting weighed down just a little bit more, with one thick, possibly final straw named David Duke.

Tragedy comes back to American politics, this time as a farce. A serious one, one that resulted in the death of an innocent young woman and a whole lot of injuries, one that will leave a residue of questions in a proud Southern city, and one that has lots of people looking in the mirror and being forced to face what they see.

But, nonetheless, it is a farce. Who would have believed that the deep passions of some people In Ohio to protect a statue of a confederate general in a park in Virginia could lead to a national resurrection of a neo-Nazi movement?

So, since I try to start all of my blogs with a question - and of course I know most of the answers - let me ask one more. And, let me address it to all the people who, in their hearts, express their political party in two words, not just one. The question: is it time yet?

Let me explain the “two words” thing first. A lot of people say “I’m a Republican” or “I’m a Democrat.” A few proudly say “I voted for the Green Party” and deny any responsibility for the government they helped elect.

But lots of those Republicans and Democrats will also call themselves by some other name as well. Jewish Republicans. Irish Catholic Democrats. Existential Greenies (just a little joke).

In one way, it is a proud effort to express support for two active political groups at once. But, in another, it’s a way of saying “I don’t really fit in.” We may all be Republicans or Democrats, but I know some of you don’t accept me because of my religion or race or some other identity group

Well, here we have a president who seems to be appealing to his base. To me, we have a powerful, spoiled schoolyard bully who can’t admit that he ever did anything wrong, and that all his opinions - no matter how wrong they may be - have got to be supported 100 percent by all the people on his team.

Maybe it’s time for another one of those roundtable meetings where all the members of his cabinet talk about how great an honor it is to serve The Donald.

But, now that our president has run down his list of enemies and has started attacking his supporters - and is insisting on 100 per-cent loyalty to his whims - maybe now is the time for some self-realization.

You can’t be a Jewish Republican. That’s swearing allegiance to two different things. There is only room for one. Now, you can’t even be a Trump Republican. That’s two things as well - time to choose just one!

But his daughter? But his son-in-law? Well, that’s family. And it’s not like they have said anything really harsh about him. Or anything mildly harsh about him. Certainly not in public.

And I know that our president has said he loves the Jews. And he loves the farmers. And he loves the coal miners. And he loves the small businessmen. And he loves small-town fairs in every state where he held a primary.

And, just look at what he has given all those people since getting elected. After all, he’s half way through his first year in office, which is supposed to be the most productive time in a four-year term. Nothing, you say?

Well, there are no road bills. He is working quietly to raise health insurance premiums by building a fire of uncertainty under the insurance market. And, he is working on a really fair, really good tax bill that will raise revenue and lower taxes at the same time.

Raise your hand if you think anyone making less than $100,000 a year will save enough money to buy a car every three or four years because of that tax cut. Raise your other hand if you think that lowering the taxes on a business will mean that the money saved will go into pay hikes for the workers.

And, raise your third hand if you think that the President will bring peace to Afghanistan, that his son-in-law will bring peace to the Middle East, or that his daughter will bring peace to the West Wing.

So, we get back to the question - Is It Time Yet?

In this case, is it time to actually raise your voice. Is it time to call your Congress person and tell them that it’s time to say something about our national problem, and say it loud enough and in a place where it will be heard by  lots of other people.

Or go to a town hall meeting, and point out that all those people running as Republicans haven’t said anything about what is going on in Washington. If they think it’s not important or not appropriate, tell them to run as Independents.

Maybe it’s time for all those Italian-American Republicans and even the few Black Republicans to to let the party leadership know that it better decide what it stands for, and what it will not accept, and do it really quickly.

It’s no longer enough to run against Hillary.