Nothing Lasts Forever

You know what I love about politics?

Nothing lasts forever.

For years, Donald Trump had the Republican endorsement game down to a science.

He’d point at somebody and say:

“That one.”

And Republicans would go:

“Absolutely, sir. Should we vote now, or would you like us to wait until you’ve finished your Diet Coke?”

For a while, a Trump endorsement wasn’t really an endorsement.

It was more like a papal blessing with a red hat.

Candidate comes walking out:

“Ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump has endorsed me!”

Republicans:

“WE DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT WE LOVE YOU!”

Trump could’ve endorsed a golden retriever.

“Folks, tremendous dog. Beautiful dog. Nobody retrieves like this dog.”

And the next morning:

Senator Air Bud — 62 percent.

But something interesting is happening.

Some Republican voters are apparently discovering something absolutely revolutionary:

They can pick their own candidate.

Holy shit!

Democracy!

Who knew?

Trump backed Catalina Lauf in Florida.

She lost.

He backed Cory Mills.

He lost.

His candidate for governor in Wyoming lost.

And suddenly the kingmaker is discovering a terrible flaw in the whole kingmaker business:

The peasants get ballots.

That’s inconvenient.

Because Trump’s political superpower has never just been winning.

It’s been the belief that he always wins.

That’s the magic trick.

It’s like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat for ten years.

Eventually somebody in the audience goes:

“Wait a minute… I think there’s a rabbit compartment in that table.”

And once you’ve seen the compartment, the trick isn’t quite the same.

Now, let’s be clear.

Trump still wins a hell of a lot of these endorsements.

This isn’t:

“MAGA IS OVER!”

No.

That’s ridiculous.

But it may be something more interesting.

Republican voters occasionally seem willing to say:

“Thank you for the recommendation, Mr. President.

We’ll take it under advisement.”

UNDER ADVISEMENT?!

Six months ago that was political treason!

And my favorite part is what politicians do after their candidate loses.

They immediately explain how they didn’t really lose.

That’s the greatest tradition in American politics.

“I endorsed him.”

He loses.

“Well, actually, I never really liked him.”

Wait a minute.

You endorsed him!

“Yes, but privately I thought he was terrible.”

Well, that’s reassuring!

Apparently an endorsement now means:

“I publicly believe in this person whom I privately hope drops out.”

That’s not an endorsement.

That’s a dysfunctional marriage.

“Cory and I are very happy together.

We haven’t spoken since February.”

And here’s why I think this matters.

For years we’ve been talking about American politics like there are three people in the country:

Trump.

The Democrats.

And 340 million extras.

Every morning we wake up:

“WHAT DID TRUMP SAY?”

Then:

“WHAT DID THE DEMOCRATS SAY ABOUT WHAT TRUMP SAID?”

Then cable television brings in twelve people to discuss what everybody said about what everybody else said.

And meanwhile the American voter is sitting at home going:

“Does anybody want to know what I think?”

Apparently…

they’re starting to tell us.

And that’s healthy.

Republican, Democrat, independent—I don’t care.

I want voters who think for themselves.

Because democracy isn’t supposed to be:

“Who’s your leader?”

It’s supposed to be:

“What’s your judgment?”

I don’t want Donald Trump telling 75 million Republicans how to vote.

I don’t want the Democratic establishment telling 75 million Democrats how to vote.

I don’t want billionaires doing it.

I don’t want corporations doing it.

I don’t want some political consultant who’s been wrong since 1997 doing it.

I want something radical.

Citizens.

Imagine that.

A country full of people who actually pay attention.

Read.

Ask questions.

Show up.

And vote for the person they believe deserves the job.

Because maybe the biggest political story isn’t that Trump’s endorsement is getting weaker.

Maybe it’s that the individual voter is remembering that they’re stronger.

That’s the part everybody forgets.

Politicians don’t actually give us power.

We loan them ours.

And every couple of years, they have to come back and ask if they can borrow it again.

Maybe we should start checking their credit.

“I’m sorry, Senator.

According to our records, you’ve made a lot of promises and missed several payments.

We’re going to need a co-signer.”

And THAT is where the Truth Party comes in.

We’re not looking for another kingmaker.

We’re not looking for somebody else to tell you what to think.

We’re trying to create something much more dangerous to the political establishment:

People who think for themselves.

Because the real political divide isn’t always Republican versus Democrat.

It’s not left versus right.

Increasingly, I think it’s something much simpler:

Citizen versus spectator.

The spectator watches the king.

The citizen remembers:

We don’t have kings.

That last line is where I’d stop dead and let the room sit with it. Don’t immediately explain it. It gives the whole comedy piece somewhere serious to land.