Frank's Musings

The people who watch CNN and MSNBC, those who read the New York Times and the Washington Post, or who listen to NPR, are not enough to outvote Trump supporters. Apparently,there are enough viewers of Fox News and other reactionary news sources, plus those who rely on social media or casual palaver for their news who do vote to give Trump a ticket to the White House. If there is a majority of citizens in the right combination of states to win an electoral college majority in opposition to Trump, it will take a well-designed campaign to get them to vote in November and defeat the Donald.

The arguments that must be presented to them should focus not only on policy; but just as importantly on the reason we prefer to live in a democracy. It is not sufficient that the ultimate authority over government policy and action rests with the people; it is even more important that the people exercise that function.

Our nation has become so wealthy that many people are content with the way things are. They do not believe that active participation in government is required to assure that it carries out the will of the majority whose interests it was created to serve.  Like the ancient Romans, they are easily controlled with consumerism and diversion.

The primary desire of the contented citizenry of America has decayed into delightful entertainment. That is what Donald Trump is good at. In fact, it is the only policy goal he has. If the Constitutional electoral process is the only method we have to limit his presidency to a single term, then his opponent’s election campaign must win on the entertainment scale.

It will require an unusual opponent to defeat a person who has captured the presidency of the US solely because he satisfies the voters’ need to have their minds taken off critical affairs of society and state. We won’t rely on a few good men or extra-constitutional means. We need an imaginative strategy for managing the tools of communication in order to mobilize the public to recognize and act in its own best interest and install effective far-sighted, broad-minded leadership.