Nothing short of madness
Leading up to our 1976 Bicentennial, a national marketing campaign got Americans excited about our 200-year anniversary. My history teacher praised our “oldest continuous government in the world.” But then almost immediately following the bicentennial, the Republican Party began systematically destroying our Democracy.
They installed their puppet, Ronald Reagan, a former Hollywood actor who effortlessly delivered hateful propaganda with scripted lies like, “The Government and welfare queens are the problem.”
Our system of government is now approaching 250 years. Or is it? Cheat Justice Roberts has rendered our founding documents unrecognizable, killing key protections, like changing gun rights from a “Well-Trained Militia” to individual rights, gutting the Voting Rights Act, and taking away the Right to Privacy ending Federally legalized abortion.
Due to Citizens United, billionaires now own the GOP, and they also bought the Fourth Estate while they were at is. The Save Act would allow those billionaires to legally steal elections.
Although Roberts’ SCOTUS ruled in favor of the 5th Amendment Right to Due Process on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and some of Trump’s own conservative judges are upholding the Constitution, Trump is ignoring the rulings while continuing to gut Congressionally established Federal programs, effectively seizing control of all three branches.
In 2024, Republicans stuck with their unhinged convicted felon candidate. Imagine if Democrats had united behind our successful INCUMBENT president Biden instead of abandoning him after one debate (Obama’s second run first debate was also a disaster).
Imagine if the Democrats had blasted Trump’s cognitive decline on repeat, highlighting his dismal crowds, incoherent speeches, molesting microphones, talking about Hannibal Lecter and Haitians eating the dogs, eating the cats?
Imagine if we had fought GOP lies about the economy as viciously as they spewed them. Like the Canadian campaign message, “Elbows Up!” what if Democrats had used “Bottoms Up!” meaning, “Cheers to Biden’s bottom-up Keynesian economics, disproving Trickle-Down economics, and making our economy the envy of the world!” The GOP dusted off Reagan’s MAGA slogan. What if we dusted off “It’s the economy, stupid!”
Imagine if Democrats had rolled out a plan for a huge 250-Year Anniversary Celebration to give Americans something to get excited about in 2026, to counter the dark Project 2025.
But there is still hope. Democrats have regained momentum. The media is finally reporting on Trump’s madness, as well as the growing protests. J.B. Pritzker is making powerful well-publicized speeches. Eric Swalwell has produced a groundbreaking new movie with activist actor Sean Penn.
In this interview with Jim Acosta, Penn asserts that Trump will try to destroy the WORLD rather than let it go on without him after he dies. Many of us have been saying for years that Trump will try to take us all down with him.
Swalwell and Penn’s new movie “Words of War” and other powerful messaging can help rally the whole country to put our democracy back together. We’re in uncharted territory. But that’s what got our founding fathers (and mothers) here in the first place.
Chicago native Lorraine Evanoff earned her degree in French from DePaul University then became a Certified Financial Manager. She worked as a finance exec in film production for seven years in Paris, then in Silicon Valley during the dot-com era, and later for various Hollywood production companies, notably as CFO of National Lampoon. She is currently living in Los Angeles with her husband.