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 (see link at top of page). You’ll catch on quickly. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.

Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC.  Conversation began Entry #289.

Jordan:  “So, you two want my guidance whether ­­­­­­­­­articles about the Revenge Revolution should include content that is clearly not politically correct?

Greenie:  “You got it.”

Jordan:  “Why not just lay out the truth? Really, what’s the downside?”

JC:  “What about the backlash from all the evangelicals?  And the screamers on Fox News?”

Jordan:  “What about them?   Since the Revenge Revolution, Fox News has become a non-entity.  As far as the hard-core Trumpsters, they are never going to change no matter the evidence against Trump.”

Greenie:  “In that same vein, I’ve never heard an evangelical openly question their religion.  OK, maybe a few question openly…but they’re rare birds.”

Jordan:  “That’s my point.  Your articles will not change the hard-core’s mind so why be concerned?”

JC:  “We were trying to be more diplomatic post revolution.  Won’t laying out the bare facts open old wounds?”

Greenie:  “I think Jordan’s point a good one.  See, Jordan, I gave you a compliment.”

Jordan:  “You’ve made my day.”

Greenie:  “Seriously, we need to be straightforward.  Not vicious but no sugar-coating content.  Otherwise, key lessons from the revolution will get lost.”

JC:  “Being straightforward should make the writing much easier.”

Jordan:  “Greenie, you know better than I, but isn’t crafting an objective article oftentimes more difficult than say a pure opinion piece?”

Greenie:  “Yes, and often maddeningly so.”

JC:  “Now that we’ve agreed not to be pc in the articles, I’ve got a related topic we probably should write about.”

Greenie:  “Whadda mean ‘we’ Kemosabe?  Who’s writing these articles?”

JC:  “OK, you are…but I’ll help draft this one.  We need an article or two focusing on how the lack of Republican leadership in the House and Senate enabled Trump’s craziness.”

Jordan:  “An example is…”

JC:  “Cabinet nominees.  Most of the first round of nominees: (i) lacked any experience for the job; (ii) were intellectual lightweights; (iii) and/or were known scumbags.”

Jordan:  “Maybe this article will need to be a bit more pc.”

JC:  “Why?”

Greenie:  “Good question.  Why?  If the article is about lack of Republican leadership in the House and Senate, why hold back?  Mitch McConnell did the country a major disservice by not squashing some of the cabinet nominees.”

JC:  “Think back to the Trump transition.  Was there one…maybe two cabinet member nominees who were highly qualified or didn’t have a clear conflict?”

Jordan:  “What about General Mattis as Secretary of Defense?”

Greenie:  “Qualified, probably.  But he never should have been allowed to head DOD.  This country has a long history of civilians being head of the military.  He might have been one of the few adults in the room, but having a general at DOD set a terrible precedent.  It was like having the fox guard the henhouse.”

Jordan:  “What about Rex Tillerson?”

Greenie:  “The guy had been awarded some medal by the Russians.  Look, I have no qualms about the head of ExxonMobil, or another oil company, working with the Russians.  But don’t take the guy and put him in as Secretary of State.  At State, he needs to protect American interests and not be concerned about personal or company interests.  Making him Secretary created an immediate and obvious conflict.”

JC:  “Did the Senate leadership know the Russians meddled in the election?  Of course.  McConnell had been briefed by Justice.  Even the public knew.  Yet, still no pushback by McConnell or any other Republican senator.  Why?”

Greenie:  “The list of incompetents goes on and on.  Try Ben Carson.  What did an alleged brain surgeon know about running HUD?  Maybe because he saw some HUD housing growing up in Detroit?  He might have lived in some HUD housing.  But so what?”

JC:  “DeVos to be head of Department of Education was another lightweight.  During the Senate hearings, Betsy, bless her little heart, couldn’t answer the most fundamental questions about how the education system works.”

Greenie:  “Then, of course, we have “Mr. Lie-Under-Oath” himself.  At Sessions’ confirmation hearing to be Attorney General, McConnell had to know he was lying.”

JC:  “Jordan, do you think McConnell could have stopped many or all of these nominations from going through?”

Jordan:  “Maybe not all but he could have stopped most.  McConnell could have worked behind the scenes telling Trump that nominees with an obvious conflict or no experience in the field should be changed.  He needed to make clear to Trump that without some different nominees, there would be a series of embarrassing ‘no’ votes by the Senate.”

Greenie:  “But McConnell didn’t tell Trump.  So Trump took the upper hand, berated McConnell publicly and McConnell shrank like a violet.  In the process, McConnell became an enabler for Trump’s wacko behavior.”

JC:  “What about Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House?  The House doesn’t approve cabinet nominees.”

Jordan:  “True, but the House has oversight and investigative powers in many areas.”

Greenie:  “From my perspective, Ryan lost all credibility when he allowed the committee investigating Russian meddling to disband.”

JC:  “Wasn’t the decision to disband really up to the committee chairman.  What was his name…Nunes?”

Greenie:  “The Speaker of the House appoints many of the committee chairs.  Ryan could have gotten Nunes replaced with someone willing to pursue the investigation.  It’s possible…and we need to check this for the article…it’s possible Ryan could have appointed Adam Schiff, a Democrat to lead the investigation.”

JC:  “Wouldn’t that have been suicide?  The Speaker is elected by the party in the majority.  Ryan would have lost his speakership.”

Greenie:  “True.  But if Ryan had done so, he would have set an example that what is good for the country is more important than what’s good politically.  And Ryan likely would have been remembered for generations as a hero.  Instead, like McConnell he caved and became an enabler for Trump’s wacko behavior.”

[Note: within a few days after this entry was published, Paul Ryan announced he was not going to seek re-election to the House in November 2018.] 

(Continued)