"America Was Always Great."

I've watched as Democrats have stumbled about the past couple of months trying to find slogans, catch phrases and other simple ways to connect with voters in the coming mid-terms. Mostly i come away uninspired by their lame efforts. Little seems to resonate or stick with me.

That was until yesterday. And damned if it didn't come from the mouth of one of our left leaning politicians or any one of their genius hired strategists. Nope, it came from inside a massive church amidst a sea of elected officials of both stripes.

As i was watching live, it took my breath away. I had to stop and replay it, over and over again. It was music to my ears, because it was what so many of us believed from the get-go. Unfortunately, when the bellowing by the bombastic one is non-stop, we forget what we know and let him set the stage.

That rug was pulled out from under him, and done so by a mere mortal, 33 years of age and a female to boot. Kudos to Meghan McCain for putting the exclamation point where it belonged. Thank you for telling us what we knew but let the bully try and make us forget. Thank you for over-riding the hyperbole and letting common sense prevail in an era where there is so little.

Let me be clear; it should become the rallying cry for the mid-terms and beyond. It's simple, clean and elegant. It plays into what so many of us know to be true. It's not about party, but about country. It screams, no politician is our savior, we hire them, they work for us.

Meghan simply told us what John had learned over the years: America was always great.

 

Sorry to play devils advocate on this one, but I doubt that slogan would work. America was always great if you were a white male, not as much for minorities and women. You just can't say we were great when slavery existed. It may be tiring to always hear that reminder, but it's the truth we can't ever gloss over and say...yeah but everything else. I'm not trying to put a damper on your enthusiasm, just know that this is what many young democrats and progressives have been saying since that slogan popped up.

 

Not to disagree with your statement Cynthia, but the qualifier of "young" seems to be the operant word in the attitudes you attribute to these democrats and progressives.

Many of us who have achieved the perspective of advanced life experience would probably be more inclined to agree with "old" Bill P.

 

I disagree with you on that. At 65 I have advanced life experiences too. It’s not only a young attitude. I only pointed out the young aspect to say that we need young people to survive this. America has always had great aspects but we’ve always had big problems with equality. I’ve seen it, I’ve lived it.

 

I don't disagree with you.

My point is this: After 50 years of marriage, my wife finally realizes that I am not perfect. But she still thinks I am great !!

(and she still hasn't given up on her quest to help me achieve that elusive perfection)

 

I think Ms McCain's statement was totally inappropriate. It hit me like a pie in the face.
Another thing I must say is why so many "Lying Ins"? Two rotundas and 2 churches. And who payed for all of them?
As far as I can determine, even JFK only had one (1).
I liked John McCain, but the past week was like a 4 ring circus.

 

Absolutely love these kinds of discussions. So i am clear, i posted the opening the way i did on purpose. I listed Meghan's age, 33, and the fact she was a female on purpose. Didn't need the qualifiers, but i expected i would get some push back. And i was careful not to suggest we are better than anyone else because it is subjective and over the years we have had more than our share of problems/issues.

One of my favorite clips of all time was from the Netflix show The Newsroom, when Jeff Daniels answered the question what makes America the greatest country ever? If you have never seen it, you can watch it here. It's only relevant because Meghan didn't say we were the greatest country, she simply reflected back what John believed, America is great.

In my mind, her words always will be the most powerful dis of the man/child we now have in office. The very notion that a single human being can make our country great might be the biggest con job ever perpetrated on the American public. Hell, think about it this way, no politician living or dead has been the reason America is great. Not because of our founding fathers, not because of Honest Abe freeing the slaves, not JFK or Ronald Reagan, they were important parts of our history, nothing more, nothing less.

Yet Trump stands at rally's. tweets non stop and brags on Fox continually about how he is the greatest. No, he's not, and except for his followers, he is despised by far more, than the number who "love" him. Meghan's eulogy destroyed Trump's braggadocio and bluster without once saying his name . The differences she laid out about her fathers attributes exposed the Donald for the small and petty man he is. Best of all, she did it in a room filled with the very politicians that are supposed to be there to provide the checks and balances of an abusive and self-serving ego maniac, but have turned a blind eye to it all.

John wasn't perfect. I never voted for him. What you had to respect was, he often admitted his mistakes. Compare that to the loudmouth that just says anything and when it doesn't work out or isn't true, just blames someone else; or worse yet whines about how unfair life is. And this from a man who never once had to set foot in a grocery store because some one was always there to do it for him.

Damn, you guys get my juices flowing. I want desperately to see good, qualified candidates, from either party. Women and men of character, willing to fight for their beliefs, yet understand compromise is most often the best possible scenario. Candidates who know they aren't going to make us great, but they are there to help us remain great. Therein is the power of her words, the summary of what John McCain believed in and even after he was gone was reminding us, we are great because of something far more than Donald Trump or any politician for that matter.

 

I am grateful to be a citizen of the USA and always have been. "Born in the USA"
Do you ever wonder why so many people from other countries want to come here?
FREEDOM to do want we want. Say what we want. Live where we want and on and on.
Even tho some people do not choose a good path. They have the choice.
"God Bless America!"
Have I quoted too many songs?

 

Being a simple man of simple means peg, i have a very simple question: Was America great before Donald Trump was elected?

 

We have always been great but were being "Used". We have often gone to help other countries in times of disaster.
How many have come to our aid?
Trump said something to the effect that we are no longer the "Piggy Bank of the world".
I think he is doing a good job and the dems are so jealous they can't see straight.

 

So you buy into the Trump mantra the black guy from Kenya ruined the country?

 

Wow. That's a new one for me. Jealous is definitely not the emotion Democrats feel. Fear is more like it. He's just said he thinks protests should be illegal. I guess he has forgotten, or never knew, that our county was built on and made great by protests. FIRST amendment, dude. ... "the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

 

Welcome to Crazytown. The new normal now that that black guy from Kenya is gone and we are great again.

Personally I can’t wait to get my hands on Woodward’s new book. Before that, I can bide my time with the New York Times article written by a highly placed Trump inner circle member. Damn, only in America eh?

 

Tomorrow is sure to be Tantrum Thursday.

 

Bill you may know everything that is in Woodward's book by the release date.

we will know the author of the NYT op ed as soon as trump's next firing. I think it is Sessions, Pence or Conway.

 

I was stunned to see Pence's name yesterday as a possibility. The other name being thrown around is Dan Coates. In reading the piece in the NYT, it appears as if it isn't just one individual, but a collective of folks determined to keep Crazy Town from getting out of hand. Trump is infamous for his tirades and it's not surprise there is push back from normal adults being subjected to his childish antics. I've long said the republicans would be far better off with a solid politician leading them than a deranged angry guy intent on winning at any and all costs.

So true on the excerpts in Woodwards book fix, but I like supporting authors by purchasing their work. If the Donald truly believes it is "fake news," sue his ass into oblivion. Of course when one has audio of interviews, the table stakes in the game rise to levels that would make even Trump's head spin.

 

I doubt Pence. Conway would know to lodestar it.

 

Pence is sneaky and (politically) smart. He would have someone on his staff write it.

 

Imagine that, plaid shirt guy was tossed from the arena. Guess he didn't fit the profile of the goofy MAGA hat wearing, tie and sport coat wearing dolts he strategically places behind the podium. That and the couple of black guys with the signs proclaiming blacks for Trump. And don't forget the big-breasted women with their t-shirts stretched tight reading Tarts for Trump, or whatever they say across their chest. In fact, the shirts should be imprinted "boobs for a boob." Sorry, my bad, guess i don't buy into peg's saying eh?

 

Woodward book , Fear, downloaded during the night. ( from Audible). I am 6 chapters in but Trump is still a candidate expecting to lose. The book is detailed and very well written.
Reminds me somewhat of Bill O'Reilly's history books, giving details: dates/ times/ locations.
I was going to save this book for my drive from Seattle to SC, but started reading it at 6 am this morning.