On Ukraine, Trump, and Thunberg — the view from the Left

If you want to see advanced Trump Derangement Syndrom, Ukraine fantasies, and Greta Thunberg worship, just take a stroll over to my real-me Facebook page.

Trump DerangementIt’s been a long time since I last shared with you the view from the Left, as seen through the eyes of my friends on my real-me Facebook. (For those new to this blog, since I grew up, went to school, worked, and raised a family in a Democrat stronghold, I have lots of Progressive Facebook friends.) As always, to preserve my friends’ privacy, I’ve made inconsequential changes to the wording of their posts. These changes do not change the substance in any way.

The first post that caught my eye was one entitled “CNN: WH Admits Ukraine Call Record Was Moved To Special Classified System,” with my friend adding the comment that “It’s a cover up!” Were my friend as well-read as he thinks he is (for he is nourished on a steady diet of WaPo and New York Times), he would know that that a Deep State leak of a call between Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Canada early in the Trump presidency necessitated a new, more secure server. Without that secure server, no foreign leader could ever again speak with any confidence to any American president. So, not a cover up, but a move forced upon the White House by sabotage.

Another friend actually posted to Facebook links to both the transcript and the lawyer-drafted “whistle blower” letter (although it’s important to know s/he’s not really a whistle blower, because s/he wasn’t reporting on his/her own work and everything was hearsay), and even highlighted what he felt were the important parts. This sparked a discussion about the fact that the transcript was so short — it must have been Nixonian, right? With the 18 minutes excised, of course. My friend politely pointed out that, ever since Watergate, there are no tapes of White House calls; there are just hand written transcriptions that are then compared and collated.

The most interesting comment was from a person who said she’s worn out from Trump’s shenanigans and no longer cares. Trump’s shenanigans? Russia, Russia, Russia. Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Racism, Racism, Racism. . . . Whose shenanigans?

Another person, purporting to quote Trump, pulled a Schiff and made up words for Trump: “I have no secrets and anyone who says otherwise should be executed!” At which point her friends threw in such comments as “He’s a dictator!” and “He’s a disgraceful idiot!” Dangle fake news in front of them and it’s like a red dot before rabid cats.

Then there was the person who simply typed: “My God, but Trump is dumb!” His friends immediately chimed in, concluding that Nixon was way better than Trump, both as a patriot and an honest man.

Two friends celebrated the fact that people are abandoning Trump — apparently unaware that those abandoning him are NeverTrumpers who had already professed their distaste for Trump or Deep Staters who were holdovers from the Obama administration. One person was so carried away by the notion of Trump abandoned that he actually imagined that every Senator will fall in line with the Democrats over Ukraine-gate.

One of the most common things I see when I scroll through Facebook is that the favorite epithet gay Progressives have for Donald Trump is “turd.” Am I reading too much Freudian stuff into that choice of insult?

Then there’s the friend who quoted approvingly from Paul Krugman who asserts that “Impeaching Donald Trump is good for the economy.” Krugman’s argument is that impeachment damages the economy during normal administrations because normalcy goes out the window. In Trump’s case, however, things are so abnormal that everyone will be happier and more productive if Trump is paralyzed by impeachment. This is the same Krugman, of course, who asserted so confidently, “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.” Let’s just say that I’m not taking stock tips from Krugman.

It’s not just impeachment frenzy that’s aroused my friends. Greta Thunberg is out there too. My favorite in this category was the friend who took umbrage at Trump’s sarcastic comment that Thunberg seemed like a bright, happy child.

My friend, who’s lived through the failed human population bomb, the failed death of the Amazon, the failed anthropogenic climate freezing, and is now refusing to recognize that anthropo-moronic climate warming is a hoax too, was horrified that anyone could question Thunberg’s insights. A cold, heartless world, wrote my friend, has destroyed Thunberg’s childhood happiness and made her future dark.

I happen to think that the cold, heartless entity here is Thunberg’s Leftist mother who’s using her emotionally-damaged daughter as a weapon to advance the end of capitalism. . . but, hey, that’s just me.

My friend may have been mad about Trump’s lack of respect for Thunberg’s breathless, quivering outrage and imaginary facts, but her friends, writing in the comments, were even more angry. Here’s a sampling of their feedback:

  • Trump is a stupid dick.
  • Seeing Trump attack an innocent child made my f***ing blood boil.
  • Trump shows that money doesn’t mean brains.
  • I want to see Trump’s dirty a** kicked. He should be sliced and diced.
  • Thunberg has more character in her little finger than Trump in his whole body.
  • Trump’s a skeezy orange f*** who trolls those who won’t worship him and kiss his tiny hands. He even had the bad character to attack Romney!
  • Trump’s a scumbag to dare attack that visionary child who’s much more informed and intelligent at 16 years than he’ll ever be. And how dare he attack California’s auto emissions limitations and simultaneously declare California to be an EPA hazard?
  • He’s a psychopath!

My friend and her friends were also all united in concluding that Thunberg is a saintlike visionary who’s every utterance must be treated with the utmost respect and cannot be subject to challenges from any adult. To her credit, one claimed, she’s another Hogg.

As a bonus, it turns out that Thunberg’s hysterical, depressed, angry, maniacal, demagoguery makes for good death metal:

It’s clear from reading Facebook that the Leftists I know, as well as their friends, hate Trump today with the same passion that drove them from the moment he entered politics. Nothing will change their minds. They will do anything and believe anything to destroy him. If Trump is to win in 2020, it’s got to be from a combination of high conservative voter turnout and strong independent support.