This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I wrote the other day about the incredibly bad news that Donald Trump wants to be president again.

Then, I read a piece in The Atlantic Magazine that underlined in spades my concern.  So, I post it without any additional comment.  None is needed.

From The Atlantic:

“Almost 30 years after a cult leader caused a disaster in Waco, Trump rallied his own political cult — and the location cannot be a coincidence —in that same Texas city.

“The Waco tent revival featured the usual Trumpian cast of grifters, carnies, and misfits, including the fan favorites Mike Lindell and Ted Nugent.  Most of the former president’s speech was, of course, about himself and his many grievances, and the crowd reportedly began to thin out somewhat early.

“And yet, in Waco — the first rally of Trump’s 2024 campaign — Trump proved he is still capable of doing shocking things that once would have been unthinkable.

“Moments like the Waco rally should be all over the news, for three reasons.

“First, Trump fatigue is real, but the personality cult around Trump avoids it by cherry-picking what Trump says and does.  Putting Trump on blast isn’t going to convert new people; if anything, we learned from Trump’s COVID press conferences as president that he does a lot of damage to himself by talking too much.  

“Second, Trump and his minions, especially elected Republicans, are experts at pretending that things didn’t happen the way we saw them.  Ask a GOP official about Trump’s offensive statements, and you’ll likely get, ‘I didn’t see that,’ ‘I don’t read his tweets,’ ‘I’ll have to check into that,’ and other squirts of verbal helium.

“Media and citizens alike should hold those elected representatives and other officeholders to account.  Ask them point-blank if they support what Trump said and if they will support him as the nominee of their party.

“Third, we need to confront the reality that Trump is now on track to win the nomination yet again.  In 2016 and 2020, we were facing the most important elections in modern American history, but that was before Trump incited an insurrection and invited every violent kook in the nation to ride to his defense.  

“2024 is epochally important.  Trump has left no doubt that he is a violent authoritarian who intends to reject any election that does not restore him to power, that he will pardon scores of criminals, and that he will never willingly leave office. This should be said every day, in every medium.

“If we are to walk ourselves back into an authoritarian nightmare, let’s at least do it without any pretenses.”

I, for one, won’t talk that way.

Or, if you prefer, consider this quote from late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel who, as he usually does, offered his nightly riff.

“Trump chose Waco because it’s a powerful metaphor for his campaign: He’s going down in flames, and he’s taking his cult followers with him.”