So the awful day has arrived. You can march and chant and annoy the police. You can raise a banner in rebellion or a prayer to Heaven. It really doesn’t change much. I know a few mayors are talking about ignoring uncongenial federal laws or policies like it’s 1859. Chuck Shumer talks so much about “the resistance”, I’m starting to picture him in a beret with a sten gun. So many are claiming to be “terrified”, I have to look out the window for signs of a zombie apocalypse. The departing president, who wielded his phone and pen like an orb and scepter, speaks darkly of “the fragility of democracy”. Liberals turn to Wikipedia to look into that “federalism” thing. Conservatives ponder the complicated stew of threats and opportunities he presents for their cause. Other countries are puzzled, wondering if the translator missed something.
Me, I’m choosing to be optimistic. But I do have a few questions:
Will anger at Trump spawn a reinvigorated Left movement the way Obama begat the Tea Party?
Will Paul Ryan become the most influential House Speaker since Henry Clay?
Will we depart NATO, leaving Europe to their own enfeebled devices?
A menagerie of Democrats have been posturing grandiosely during the cabinet hearings in preparation for the 2020 election. Will the identity politics of Cory Booker eventually prevail over the class resentment of Elizabeth Warren, or will Bernie Sanders’ combination of charm and emancipatory math get him the nomination now that the Clinton machine has been junked? Where are the young Democrats?
Conversely, will a chastened GOP empire strike back?