Rural Routes/Margot Ford McMillen

Keep Fighting

Days after the election, a sweet meme came to my attention. Mother and daughter, with daughter asking, “But what if they lose?” and mother answering, “Then we keep fighting for the rights of all people.” Daughter: And if they win? Mother: Oh, Dear Girl, it’s the same answer.

It’s possible, dear reader, that you’re feeling a little confused right now. A little like “this is not the life I was promised.” Maybe, like me, you find yourself agreeing with one pundit one minute and another with an opposite point the next. Especially as Next President walks back his statements. Example: First he spends a lot of time and energy making sure he can defeat abortion on the federal level, then he tosses the question back to the states.

How about RFK Jr., vaccine denier, nominated to lead Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? WTF?

For those of us that trust vaccines to allow us to live normally, it’s between silliness and travesty. RFK Jr. clearly doesn’t know any polio survivors (like my friend Karen), stricken before there were shots. Karen lived with pain and disability all her life.

Next RFK Jr. says our food system is toxic. And, almost as the words leave his lips, there’s a massive recall of organic carrots because of E-coli, the second such recall in a few weeks. That puts me on RFK Jr.’s side.

The yard signs have come down but we remember that rural folks played a big part of voting Trump in, even though Project 2025 promises to vanquish the agriculture subsidy system. Begone, corn and soybeans, soybeans and corn, begone. RFK Jr. wants to “fix the food system and address the obesity crisis at its root.” Well, yeah. Quit subsidizing sugar. I’m for that!

If nothing else, Next-POTUS’ cabinet picks of the last few weeks have proven he can stay in the news. Every app from Amazon Mobile to Reddit to X has multiple horrified “Can you believe it?” pages. For N-POTUS, outrage keeps his name in the light. And if the nominations fail, that’s more news. And another win as he announces the next ridiculous pick. The only non-win for this old codger is when he’s ignored.

As gut-wrenching as it is, I’ve been occupied the last couple of weeks reading predictions on who will be the key players in the next administration and whether N-POTUS will try to fulfill his campaign promises. Or should we call them threats?

Some campaign announcements become self-fulfilling prophecies. Immigrant families facing deportation will leave rather than risk their families being split up. Others will leave fearing jail or detention.

As for Trump’s plan to fire federal employees who he believes are working against him, those “deep state” folks are already job hunting. And pardons for the 1,500+ people arrested after their actions against the government on Jan. 6, 2021 will be no surprise. N-POTUS will, of course, pardon himself, unless the Democrats pardon him as they leave office.

Note to Joe Biden: Don’t.

When Trump pardons himself for federal charges none of his supporters will bat an eye. He’ll fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who has been prosecuting him. Smith has already been working on his departure and winding down the prosecutions. A case in Georgia might be a fly in the Trump ointment … it’s on hold now, not settled, and the prosecutor has been re-elected. Go, Georgia!

And his state convictions on felonies in New York are potential snags. The Secret Service has reportedly worked on how to protect him if he’s in prison.

We’ll see.

Among things he can do without anyone’s approval is Drill, Baby, Drill. As he reverses climate policies, however, there will be blow-back. Can we make him walk back those threats and support green energy? After all, Elon Musk, electric car guru, is a new BFF. Trump can thread the energy needle and allow wind and solar projects to move forward. He’s threatened to re-open the Arctic wilderness to more drilling after Biden ended Big Oil’s leases. Weighing options, N-POTUS can walk it back. The outcome depends in large part on environmental protestors. A mass of criticism can change his mind.

The most dangerous statements from N-POTUS are his threats against international order. Settling the war between Russia and Ukraine in one day can only mean abandoning Ukraine, and abandoning NATO soon after. This grim outcome will allow Russia to re-claim its old territory, one chunk after another. Will we watch silently?

And then there’s Israel, a war on which Trump has been mostly quiet but his picks are fans of Netanyahu. Palestinian voters that supported Trump are, according to Reuters, “upset.” There will be no call for cease-fire under this administration.

What do we do? Oh my dear, it’s the same answer. Keep fighting for the rights of all people.Resist. Demonstrate. Stand up for the truth.

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, December 15, 2024

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