Where did you lose your way, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer? We used to be fans of yours, but no more.
There is no excuse for this -- not "bipartisanship," not "doing what's right for my state," not "go along to get along." Her peek-a-boo visit to the White House earlier this month could have been dismissed as a one-off. Not any more. Welcoming the Malignant Fascist to Michigan where he's celebrating his disastrous 100 days in office is a disqualifying display of political incompetence and disregard for the existential struggle we're in with American fascism.
The hug at the airport
The appearance on stage
LGM's Paul Campos has it right:
This is so nonsensical it’s hard to know where to begin. Whitmer is term-limited as a governor, so I suppose she thinks playing kissy-face with Donald Fucking Trump will play with the five remaining centrist pundits writing for national publications in regard to the 2028 presidential race, but if she does her political instinct meter has snapped in half.
No Republican EVER does anything like this, and for good reason. At the precise moment that rage against the Trumpist machine is reaching incandescent levels all across America, Democratic governors like Whitmer, Newsom, and Polis are apparently astonishingly tone-deaf.
Of course, that's enablers Gavin "Podcast" Newsome and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. Unfortunately, when the time came to resist the fascist coup taking place all around us, Democrats like these, Sen. Chuck "Strongly Worded Letter" Schumer and hugely disappointing Sen. John Fetterman didn't get the memo or just simply didn't have the spine. When a majority of Americans see the Malignant Fascist as a "dangerous dictator," and you're ostensibly a Democrat and you're playing nice with him, you need to get into a new line of work.
We prefer our Democrats to be like Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker or Maine Gov. Janet "See You in Court!" Mills, or Sens. Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamie Raskin, and Jasmine Crockett, to name a few.
Fighters, not huggers.
(Photos: top, via LGM; bottom, Alex Brandon, AP)
🤨 from Wikipedia:
ReplyDelete"What is the difference between a statesman and a politician?
In most respects a statesman is the opposite of a politician. Politicians are thought of as people who will say or do anything to get elected or to gain power. A statesman is someone who does everything for the common good of the people he or she represents."
That difference is getting clearer all the time! But, one can be politically savvy without giving up statesmanship. For example, I think AOC is hoping to take Schumer's seat in the Senate and that's a good thing. She hasn't had to give up her good works for her constituents to follow her ambitions...she is blending the two! 👏
Cognitive dissonance doesn't begin to cover the acts of too many Democratic politicians when interacting with the ongoing GOP autogolpe and "clueless" only beings to describe the sternly-worded-letter officials.
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