By Butch Freedman
“Time and Tide Wait for No Man.” Geoffrey Chaucer
We were all holding our breath, scared that our hopes and dreams might once again be shattered as they were in 2016 and 2024. But it was not to be this time. The country woke up from the nightmare of the last two years and delivered a complete repudiation to the corruption and cruelty of the failed trump administration. The Senate and the House are both back firmly in the control of decency. Trump’s lackeys were almost entirely swept out of office, and largely because of his own stupidity and narcissism. Just one example of many: the decision to endorse the unpopular and criminal Ken Paxton in Texas because the incumbent refused to completely bend the knee. The result—for the first time in decades, Texas has both a Democratic Senator and Governor. But enough crowing. The results speak loudly for themselves.
But what now?
We still have to wait until the new lawmakers are sworn in, but plans can and will be made now. First on the long list of remedial actions, I believe, should be putting a hard stop on ICE. Cut their funding, establish new boundaries, prosecute those who have allowed the carnage that ICE bullies have wreaked on innocent people.
Next in line should be a revisiting and implementation of the War Powers Act, which trump and hegseth brazenly ignored. Only Congress has the power to declare war. It’s well past time to bring an end to trump’s undeclared and illegal war in Iran.
Sure, there are many areas that need to be investigated and bad actors who should be held to account, but maybe we put those on hold for a bit so as not to get tangled up in endless legal wrangling and instead concentrate on restoring health care and finding solutions to the vast economic hardships trump’s policies have caused. Let’s not allow vindictiveness (though understandable) to be the guide. Sure, maybe trump could actually be impeached and removed this time around, but why bother. History will clearly make that call, and removal might make him a martyr, and leave us with the equally despicable J.D. Vance.
It’s also important in this well-deserved moment of victory, to remember why this win was possible. Aside from the glaring failures of trump and those who supported him and kept him in a bubble of adoration, the credit must also go to those concerned citizens who right from the start declared their unwillingness to live under such a brutal and corrupt regime. The “No Kings” rallies let us know we were not alone in the fight. Remember now the righteous stand against ICE in Minneapolis, at the cost of good men and women’s lives. What preceded Tuesday’s complete victory were thousands of acts of bravery and resilience and a willingness to speak truth to power, even as that power refused to take notice.
“The chickens have come home to roost.” But we must remain vigilant. The evil emperor still has two years left in office and you can be sure he’ll try to do everything possible to continue to enrich himself and his family and disrupt the will of the people. The leash is on now, let’s make sure we keep it tight.
