The Witness Chronicles, August 16, 2024

Trump doubles down on the attack dogs

Photo by Pawel Chu on Unsplash

Everything That is Wrong With the Trump/Vance Campaign

“Trump adds five new campaign advisers as he attempts to find attack lines against Harris”, ~

~ Headline from The Guardian, August 15, 2024

That headline pretty much sums it up. If the attacks are failing, hire more goons to come up with new ones. Right now I am at a loss for words for how utterly stupid this is and how much it tells us about the lack of imagination on the right.

As I wrote that last sentence, I realized that imagination might be the key to this election. The ability to imagine a better future for the country, to use that vision to lay out a path to that better future, and the imagination to implement it.

A lack of imagination and creativity is the key messaging difference between the campaigns. One is built on stimulating the collective imagination of American voters and the other on suppressing it by creating a vision of hopelessness.

Joe Biden tried to tell that story of the future but it had bypassed him and we knew it. The despair over his candidacy was not based on a lack of respect, it was based on it no longer being his time. And he did the right thing.

It’s no longer Donald Trump’s time and has not been for years, but he cannot admit it because that would require him to show true self-knowledge. His life has always been a construct but any imagination he once had is gone and he can only fall back on what worked in the past.

But reality doesn’t care about the past. As Paul McCartney famously said when asked for the millionth time about a Beatles reunion, “You can’t reheat a soufflé”. Wiser words were seldom said. But wisdom comes from learning from experience and Donald Trump is incapable of learning anything.

Hiring five ‘experts’ at the last minute sounds like a recipe for failure to me. It’s easy to imagine these guys gumming up the works with their ‘expertise’ and committee think. It’s like those nightmare business meetings where everybody gets to express their opinion.*

*There are already reports of infighting over these additions.

They seem to never end and rarely produce solutions. But that is where the Trump campaign finds itself. Locked in a feedback loop looking for that one insulting theme that will revive a campaign devoid of ideas.

Ideas require imagination. And putting those ideas to work requires wisdom. You can’t just farm them out to a cadre of gurus. But that, apparently, is the best the right can come up with.

Speaking of the right, that group of House members known as the Freedom Caucus has been noticeably silent since Biden dropped out of the race. It’s as if the Harris/Walz campaign has sucked the air out of the room. Biden was, frankly, an easy target.

I should note that the House is in recess until mid September and then they have an incredible amount of work to do to keep the government open after October 1st, when their constant stalling runs out of time. Under Mike Johnson’s leadership they have passed exactly zero bills to keep the government afloat, since the last postponement.

This is bigger picture stuff. If the government defaults just one month before the election, the Republican Party will be in serious trouble, not just Trump but both Houses of Congress, as it will give Harris and the Democrats a huge weapon at the last minute to remind us of their incompetence and Trump’s constant blockage of any progress.

On top of that, all those House members who have done nothing are running for re-election this year. So, with just six weeks to go they will be desperately trying to keep the government open or risk a much bigger disaster in November.

Do you see a theme emerging here? I hope so because it is screaming at me. These guys can’t think ahead, can’t adapt, can’t imagine a different playbook or outcome. And it is not catching up to them, it has caught up.

It’s the classic case of arrogance and a hardened belief system falling to pieces when things change. Unfortunately their incompetence will adversely affect all of us if they bring down the house of cards upon their heads. So, yes, bring in more attack dogs.

It’s not going to help.

Note: I decided a long time ago not to write about RFK Jr’s run for President and it was the right decision. His most recent action, trying to trade his supporters for a Cabinet position in the Harris administration, verifies what I have always thought, that he is just another sad narcissist desperately seeking attention. The man needs help.

If you are reading this on Medium, I am leaving the platform at the end of August. Here’s why. You can continue to read me by subscribing, free or paid, to my newsletter.

This is from a reader supported newsletter. Please consider helping out by upgrading to a paid subscription or donating a small amount through Buy Me A Coffee, a site for small financial contributions. Thanks, ME