What's Tony Thinking

How To Take on Trump

How to take on Trump? A question for which few have had a good, or at least productive, answer. But I liked what Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, had to say in a recent interview.

“We’re producing more energy than ever before in this nation. We have the strongest economy in the world, and we are beating China for the first time in decades. More people went to work this morning in America than at any other time in our nation’s history. So I’ve got a message to Donald Trump and all his negativity and his whining: Stop sh*t talking America. This is the greatest country on earth, and it’s time that we all start acting like it.”

Make the case for America. Point to the positives. Call people to pride, patriotism and hope. Enough of the complaints, the grievances, the whining and the pessimism.

Call Trump out for his negativity, his “this is the end-ism.” And most of all for being such a whiner. Tag him “Donnie — Not a Winner, a Whinner.” ‘Everyone is out to get me,” really isn’t that appealing.

Life is always full of challenges and problems. The question is not how to escape them, in this case, to be delivered by some pseudo-strongman. The question is what are we going to do about the problems we face?

But here’s the dirty little secret (only its not really a secret) on this matter of pride and patriotism: the Democrats have plenty in their ranks who are, to use Shapiro’s words, “sh*t talking America.”

In truth, American pride and patriotism has probably been more of a Republican and Red State thing, at least in my lifetime. Although, in a weird way: “we love American, but we hate our government.” “Our nation, right or wrong. But politicians, government employees? Shoot ’em.”

In some ways, Obama was an exception to the Democrat’s American ambivalence. He was forever saying, “Only in America is my story possible.” Even as a double-entendre it was on balance bullish on the U.S. of A.

So Shapiro’s bracing call, “This is the greatest country on earth. It’s time we started acting like it,” is also an appropriate challenge to his own people and his own party.

It needs to be directed toward the woke, the progressives and the liberals. Dem’s, at least many, also need an “attitude adjustment,” pretty much along the lines of Shapiro’s rebuke of Trump.

I wonder how Gov. Shapiro’s, “This is the greatest country on earth. It’s time we started acting like it,” would go down at his Party’s upcoming National Convention? I wonder how it would go down on elite college campuses and at progressive churches?

Well, while we’re dispensing “attitude adjustments” on these matter, I am probably due for one of my own! Idealistic about America as I kid, disillusioned by Vietnam and, of late, hardly optimistic. But disillusionment means seeing your illusions for what they are . . . illusions. It doesn’t mean giving up.

And, by the way, “Happy Flag Day: June 14.”