HOPE

In the backdrop of Trump's horrid bigotry, something wonderfully American happened in Louisiana Saturday night ...

Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash

“I'd like to extend heartfelt congratulations to my friend Chasity Martinez on her win tonight. I look forward to working with you for the good of the people in District 60. And to every voter, regardless of how you cast your ballot, I remain committed to this community — its families, its future ... To serve where I can, listen and help move our district forward. I express my deepest gratitude to everyone who played a role in this extraordinary journey. This experience has been truly life enriching and I want to acknowledge the collective effort that made it so special. Sending love and blessings to all.”

These soaring words were articulated by Republican Brad Daigle in the moments after losing to the Democrat, Martinez, in the Louisiana House District 60 race Saturday night.

I share them with you, because I really wasn’t sure Republicans gave speeches like this one anymore. Their petulant leader, after all, is the sorest, most pathetic loser in American history.

I found Daigle’s full remarks on Facebook this morning, and they immediately brought my temperature down about 28 degrees, and in the neighborhood of something approaching normal.

As you well know, my friends, the bad news comes at us seemingly by the hour these days, and keep us burning hot to the point of unhealthy.

There’s not a day that goes by I am not raging at the odious Donald Trump and his revolting, nasty cult who so gleefully pour gasoline atop the bonfire they have started in America.

They delight in hurting us, because that is what sadists do.

You pay attention and care at your own risk ...

So I had intended to sit down and write extensively (again) about the racist monster atop Daigal’s party, by underlining in bold print that it simply has to be completely unacceptable to have a hardcore bigot inhabiting the people’s White House.

Trump’s sickening depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes Thursday night, was grotesque racism in its rawest, ugliest form. It is not just a vulgar reflection of him, but the people who vote for him.

Because while the intention of Trump’s deranged video was to kneecap the Obamas, who tower over him with their grace and dignity, it was also meant to feed racist, red meat to his starving, single-issue political base, to keep them in his corner and always drooling for more.

If we are to believe this disgusting hate does not reflect all, or at least most, Republicans, then why haven’t all, or at least most Republicans come out strongly against it?

With very few exceptions, their silence has been disgusting. They are disgusting.

The classy Obamas have not directly responded to the most overt racist attack by a president against another president in American history, but as a white man I damn sure will.

The dead-inside Trump makes me sick. He is unfit for office — a lifeless, broken-down old bigot. He is the very worst among us.

I spit on him.

Anyone who has even the slightest inkling of what separates good from evil, should be calling for his immediate removal. It is not good enough to stand aside and say nothing. Silence is an endorsement of the worst kind of evil there is, and if we can’t hold the line on at least that much, to hell with us …

I’ll let those comments stand until the next time America’s most notorious bigot goes lower, because as we are all so painfully aware by now, it is his singular talent.

Now, just a few words on that stunning Louisiana race Saturday night that temporarily at least, lowered my temperature by providing one of those flickers of hope that have become so damn hard to see the last decade or so ...

Martinez, who describes herself as “a mother and community advocate,” was just the latest Democrat to roll to a convincing victory in a special election in a district the orange bigot won.

Trump defeated Kamala Harris here 56%-43% in 2024. Last night, Martinez blew past Daigle by an astonishing 62%-38% margin. That is a whopping 37-point swing, and follows a similar 31-point swing last Saturday in a Texas special election.

These kinds of shocking results have been commonplace the past year and signal a Democratic wipeout of Republicans in this year’s midterms. I believe the Democrats will flip at least 50 seats in the House, and take back the Senate.

This is why, of course, there is all this talk of America’s sorest loser doing whatever he can to poison those elections.

Well, those elections will happen, and I’ll have plenty to say about that later.

Today, I want to end with what transpired between two Americans most of us have never heard of, in a political district most of us couldn’t name, in a state many of us have never visited.

Once upon a time, deep in the heart of Louisiana, two candidates fought hard to get elected. The people peacefully voted, and waited for the result. When the counting was done, the winner thanked the voters and her opponent, and the loser did the most American thing there is and gracefully conceded to the winner.

Everybody lived happily ever after.

That used to be an America story, and Saturday night it was again.

(D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here.)