Fascist? What Fascist? There is No Fascist.

Thanks a lot, Kamala. Here we sit, just weeks away from the ascendance of Orange Hitler, the forever destruction of 'Our Democracy' and the end of the Republic, and the best you can manage is:

Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.

Whaaaat?

It's been only about a fortnight since the following exchange took place at a CNN Town Hall:

Anderson Cooper: You have quoted General Milley calling Donald Trump a fascist. You yourself have not used that word to describe him. Let me ask you tonight: Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?

Harris: Yes I do. Yes I do. And I also believe the people who know him best on this subject should be trusted…they have endorsed my candidacy, and the reason why is a legitimate fear, based on Donald Trump’s words and actions, that he will not obey an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

And this little exchange, in which you talked up the morality, probity and patriotism of "the generals" and those "who know [Trump] best" at the same time as you suggest we should fear their former boss's lack of all three with a suggestion of treason thrown in for good measure, is one of the less inflammatory portrayals that you and your ilk have been throwing around for the past almost-decade. "Fascist." "Hitler." "Stalin." "Mussolini." "Dictator." "Russian Asset." "Racist." "Sexist." "Hater." "Traitor." You get the idea.

I mean, I thought you'd at least take a beat and acknowledge that we're all hurtling down a one-way track to oblivion, or worse. (What could be worse than oblivion? Well, there's always The Handmaid's Tale.) But, no. Suddenly the ground has shifted beneath us all, things are just a bit "dark" at the moment, and we must all start making stars and flinging them into the air. (Perhaps a government program to provide all citizens with a package of construction paper and a pair of scissors [dull and with rounded tips, of course] is in order):

There's an adage a historian once called a law of history, true of every society across the ages. The adage is, only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here's the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.

To be honest, I was hoping for a more word-salady oration, but I guess "there's an adage a historian once called a law of history, the adage is..." will have to do.

Nice work from one of your staffers, BTW. The original (refreshed through the years by Charles Beard and Martin Luther King, Jr.) is from Thomas Carlyle, in Past and Present, 1843:

As dark misery settles down on us, and our refuges of lies fall in pieces one after one, the hearts of men, now at last serious, will turn to refuges of truth. The eternal stars shine out again, so soon as it is dark enough.

But "here's the thing," Kamala: Carlyle was talking about the "eternal" stars and the "eternal" truths that shine on us--umm--eternally. They're already there. We don't have to invent new ones. At times of darkness and tribulation, all we have to do is look to the eternal verities and they will save us. Altering them to suit ourselves or to conform to twenty-first-century faddishness will not.

But, I digress.

What I really mean to say is, how can you come to terms with someone like Donald Trump? Someone who’s Hitler, a “fascist,” a “dictator" a "traitor," and so much more? How can you peacefully and responsibly turn the country over to such a person? Especially since your own administration contains so many who are on record as saying the same such things about him, and more, and worse?

The only way it works, I think, is if you fess up and admit that all of your party’s--and the media's--hysterical bloviation–from the Steele dossier to the lawfare, to the impeachments, all the way down to “Trump calls for Liz Cheney to be put in front of a firing squad” for the past eight years has been a "nudge-nudge, wink-wink," phony, gratuitous, self-serving, and cooked-up sham, for no purpose other than to retain your desperate stranglehold on power.

Miraculously disappearing the federal lawfare against Trump is a good start. Reining in Letitia James (who apparently missed your memo) would be another useful step, as would be sorting out Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, and Judge Gormogon (speaking of secret societies). Oh, wait....

Let the gaslighting begin!

From today's Telegraph: Australia’s ambassador in Washington deletes old posts calling ‘destructive’ Trump a ‘traitor’:

Australia’s ambassador to the US has deleted comments he had previously made online about Donald Trump, criticising him as “destructive” and a “traitor to the West”.

Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister, said his remarks did not reflect the view of the government and he was “looking forward” to working with the president-elect.

Dr Rudd, who scrubbed his social media days before Trump’s election victory, wanted to “eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued,” his office said.

"Misconstrued." LOL. I guess that's one of the personal stars that he's chucking skywards, hoping it will stick.

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, said it was “good to speak” with Trump on the phone about “strength of the Australia-US relationship in security, Aukus, trade and investment”.

A 2017 video that has resurfaced showed Mr Albanese had said that Trump “scares the s--- out of me” and he would approach him with “trepidation”.

They may be among the first. But I don't expect they'll be the last.

Meanwhile, over on the other side of the pond, one political leader isn't having any of it, has focused her attention on the matter, and has managed to get such remarks from her opposition written for all time into the parliamentary record:

What a contrast. Keir Squirmer.

Suddenly, even I am seeing stars.