J.B. Pritzker has opted out of pretending
Sifting through the noise and constant madness of this American moment is depressing, distressing and dispiriting because it is so unrelenting. Watching Trump and his stooges from the desecrated Oval Office is a reminder of the prescience of every American leader who ever warned about the fragility of liberty. It’s also an invitation to every current leader to meet the moment.
Governor J.B. Pritzker is about to be tested.
It seems that he understands the test, which makes him a unicorn amongst Democrats.
Here was Pritzker warning the country from the Illinois Legislature in February:
He [Trump] is not somebody that you can appease…
…It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.
Here was Pritzker in New Hampshire in May:
Stop thinking we can reason or negotiate with a madman.
Fellow Democrats, for far too long we’ve been guilty of listening to a bunch of do-nothing political types who would tell us that America’s house is not on fire, even as the flames are licking their faces. We need to knock off the rust of poll-tested language, decades of stale decorum.
Here is Pritzker yesterday:
When did we become a country where it’s OK for the US president to insist on national television that a state should call him to beg for anything — especially something we don’t want? Have we truly lost all sense of sanity in this nation, that we treat this as normal?
There is something that should be put squarely on the table.
Is Pritzker deranged? Hysterical? Delusional?
Does he have a penchant for demagoguery and theatrics?
Is he a performance artist?
Or…
Is he right?
Certainly, there doesn’t seem to be much ground for compromise between the possibilities. It is one, or the other.
Either what is happening is happening, or it is not.
It can be seen and felt, or it cannot.
Is Pritzker imagining monsters and conjuring them to gain advantage in a Democratic primary, or is he a leader who sees clearly?
What is it that he sees clearly?
What is it that he knows, and is trying to communicate?
I think it’s simple.
The governor of Illinois is trying to tell the country that time is running out to stop what is so clearly descending.
During the months ahead there must be a clear case made about what must be stopped, and what is worth saving.
Imagining the future is the business of politics. After Trump there will be much work to do because the present he will leave is a miserable place — small, divided and mean. Donald Trump is the petty leader of a great nation, and the small-minded custodian of a giant idea.
Donald Trump is the fruit of a corrupted and cynical system. He is the political equivalent of the brain-eating amoeba. He is a destructive and deadly predator with no limit upon its rapaciousness.
Donald Trump has won two presidential elections.
It is time for Democrats to face that reality. It starts with telling the truth about the dangers that failure has brought to the door.
J.B. Pritzker has opted out of pretending. That’s good for America, and who knows, maybe it will also be good for his presidential campaign, but that isn’t really the point in the moment, is it?
The main point now, in this moment, is the defiance. The defiant leaders are the ones worth rallying towards.
In fact, they are the only ones worth rallying towards.
While everyone was raving about Newsome, I had my eye on Pritzker. He is a caring politician who tells the truth. I would happily vote for him for POTUS.
Another leader we can all stand behind. The next few weeks will be very difficult as it takes only one anarchist, nihilist, false flag or even a guy throwing a subway sandwich to spark a violent reaction from the military, something he has tirelessly addressed. Do not take the bait. Please stay safe!