Readers: this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020).  Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution.  More about the Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1.  List and general description of entries to date.

Note: most entries are formatted as conversations.  Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.  Profile of characters.  You’ll catch on quickly.  Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.

Scene: Coffee shop near Jordan’s office, Washington, DC.  Series starts Entry #262.

Matt:  “You know what else I think caused people to say, ‘enough of Trump’?”

Jordan:  “What’s that?”

Matt:  “Actually two things…and both are fundamental to building long-term relationships with friends, business colleagues, constituents…in fact, building a relationship with anyone.”

Jordan:  “Consistency is one fundamental for sure.”

Matt:  “You’re right.  And Trump was consistently inconsistent.”

Jordan:  “His base might have found being consistently inconsistent as a positive attribute but few others did.”

Matt:  “Rhetorical question, I know, ‘How do you develop a relationship with someone who’s all over the map?’  One day left, one day right, one day up, one day down…I mean, how do you work with such a person?”

Jordan:  “Answer to your rhetorical question, ‘You can’t work with them.  You can’t work with them because you don’t know where they’re going and sometimes even where they’ve been.’   Congress, White House Staff, agencies, business leaders, international leaders, and the public all got tired of ‘Trumpong.’”

Matt:  “What did you call it, Trumpthong or Trumpong?”

Jordan:  “That’s funny, Trumpthong.  I don’t even want to think about that.  Anyway, the word is Trumpong, which is what I call Trump’s version of strategic ping-pong.  The never-ending back-and-forth.  Change your position day-to-day, sometimes even during the same day.  Then bounce back to the original position.  Back-and-forth just like ping-pong.”

Matt:  “I like that word, Trumpong.  What do you think was the second reason for people starting to take back control?”

Jordan:  “What I found annoying personally…and apparently so did a whole bunch of other people left and right…was Trump’s severe case of mythomania.”

Matt:  “Mythomania?  Is that yet another made-up word?”

Jordan:  “No, mythomania is a real word.  I learned about it from a great website, www.wordsmith.org.  The site has a word of the day.  Some words you’ve hear of, some words you haven’t.  The site also includes the etymology of the word, which I always find interesting.  Mythomania was a featured word fairly early in the Trump Administration…maybe late summer 2017.  Anyway, if I recall correctly, the word has been around since the early 1900’s…long before the Donald.”

Matt:  “Exactly what does it mean?  Just what you think it should mean?”

Jordan:  “Yep, an abnormal tendency to exaggerate or lie.”

Matt:  “Great word, mythomania.  I need to remember that.”

Jordan:  “Well, am I close to what you were thinking about as the second reason for what triggered people to start taking back control?”

Matt:  “I like your reason better than mine.  I was focused more on events than a pattern of behavior.   Your idea that the constant Trumpong mythomania apparently just started to wear out people.”

Jordan:  “Not all at once, of course.  Over time more and more people felt like the model for one of Evard Munch’s paintings.  They just couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to scream.”

Matt:  “So after the screaming, people decided to vote differently…in the 2018 mid-term elections Republicans lost more House and Senate seats than usual for mid-terms.”

Jordan:  “And, behind the scenes, the long-time professionals in the federal agencies began to regain control.  The professionals prevented a lot of potential damage that Trump appointees wanted to inflict.”

Matt:  “Wasn’t that why Trump got elected?  Change Washington, and especially some of the agencies?”

Jordan:  “Until the Revenge Revolution, a lot of the public never understood fully the extent to which the professionals protected the role of the agencies.  The professionals were the guardian of the public interests.”

Matt:  “Hard-core Trumpsters might look at their behavior differently.”

Jordan:  “True, but hard-core Trumpsters aren’t running the show any more.  They got thrown out by the Revenge Revolution.  I’m still convinced many of the hard-core Trumpsters were brainwashed.  Their support of Trump’s policies was often contrary to their own best interests.  The hard-core never seemed to understand the consequences of the proposed policies.”

Matt:  “So over time…and actually it wasn’t that long…more and more people tire of Trump’s severe case of mythomania, there’s a larger than normal turnover of House and Senate seats, Trump gets taken out of office…and then we have the Revenge Revolution.”

Jordan:  “I think we’ve created an abridged version of why people started to take back control…and then what happened as a result.”

Matt:  “Each one of the sections could be a worth a couple of books…and 1-2 semester class or even a public lecture series.”

Jordan:  “There you go, Matt.  Writing and lecturing about the Revenge Revolution should keep you busy for the next 10-15 years, maybe longer.”

Matt:  “What about the Revenge Revolution articles Greenie is writing.  She seems to be trying to address some of the same issues?”

Jordan:  “So, why don’t you two work together, already?”

Matt:  “Good idea, Jordan.  Thanks.  I’ll get in contact with her.  Now, I’ve got to run.”

Jordan:  “Enjoyed it Matt, as always.  Keep me posted on progress with the book.  Come by any time.”