(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Daffodils Have Emerged. And the Trump Flags are Blooming. Again. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-20 Always a Welcome Sign... One thing I will always remember about my Grandmother was her love of springtime. Thanks, in part, to her influence, I eagerly await the emergence of the daffodils each year. That wonderful symbol of hope and renewal that breaks ground while everything else is still brown. We decided to head into a more rural part of Missouri for a little weekend getaway. Just an hour or so away. We were down this way in 2020, and the Trump merchandise was everywhere. Flags, hats, enormous banners draped over fences, and someone had even built something that resembled a Trump “altar” by the side of the road. It was not too surprising given the area and the intensity of that contest. But in 2023, 20 months from the election and a year before the primaries, I had hoped to see some dimming of the intensity. If that’s the case, it certainly doesn’t show in the display of Trump swag. These folks don’t have a lot of cash to spare, but they seem to be willing to spend it to promote their improbable hero. I see the guy with the roof-sized “Trump Won” banner has purchased a new one. The house with the confederate flag now has two Trump 2024 flags flying from the bed of his pickup. There seem to be more Gadsden flags now, too. We saw banners advocating making liberals cry again, Fuck Joe Biden Flags, and on and on. It is painful to see. These people are so far gone. I know there is a belief that Trump will have a hard time winning the nomination again, but you certainly wouldn’t know it by a drive through rural Missouri. He may lack the money of big Republican backers, he may be under indictment (we hope), he may have lost his energy level and darkened his makeup a few shades, but these people still seem to be with him. And I just don’t see it changing, other than by the slow slog of demographics reducing their numbers. In addition to our observations from the road, we encountered a bit of a reaction to Nikki Haley’s announcement. This particular woman is a Trump-supporting, home schooling, gun-toting, anti-vaxing, mega-maga-church attendee. She observed, quite simply, that women are too emotional to ever be President. Just wow. She’s sticking with her guy. The entire ecosystem around this culture is nearly impenetrable. (Apparently 45 never had any trouble controlling his emotions.) Unfortunately, I think we’ll be seeing Trump heading the Republican ticket again. That’s all pretty depressing, but any alternative that could win the Republican nomination would probably be just as bad. And that would only happen if all the anti-Trump Republican forces align around one candidate, and that doesn’t seem likely. The trends are in our favor, demographically and as evidenced by the results of the 2022 election, but there’s no time to waste in getting ready for what’s likely coming our way. The Democratic party needs to be 100% aligned around another win. No infighting. We need the best possible candidates in all 50 states. We need to add new swing states with investments in North Carolina and Texas. We need to beef up Nevada, which was closer in 2022 than it should have been. And we need to hold Wisconsin, which is a little scary. Yeah, Trump will probably lose again. By 7 million plus a few more million in demographic shift. But given the consequences, we can’t take any chances. Another electoral vote inside straight could happen. I’m not looking forward to yet another ugly, racist, sexist, violent campaign from Trump. But, from the looks of it, that’s exactly what we’re going to get. It’s going to be a long 2 years. Hang on. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/20/2154061/-The-Daffodils-Have-Emerged-And-the-Trump-Flags-are-Blooming-Again Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/