Inauguration observations, and the radical left

As Donald Trump’s inauguration approached, I watched on both social and mainstream media how some on the left, sadly, even Jews on the left, left their senses.

Ushering in the new administration by sitting shiva as if someone had died. Fasting while saying Yom Kippur passages. Rewriting a centuries-old prayer that asks God to give government leaders compassion and wisdom, because Trump was one of those leaders.

Such mishigas for the too-hysterical progressives, and their publicity hounds and gullible followers.

And one would think that even on Inauguration Day, the mainstream press would try to have a modicum of decorum, and not be so transparently prejudicial, but alas, it was not to be.

I watched ABC News for the most part and felt the discomfort myself as a reporter on the mall asked a couple of African American Trump supporters, two clearly flabbergasted ladies, how they felt being black with so many white people around. Classy.

Another reporter thinking she was interviewing young Trump supporters tried to embarrass them by asking how many of them, I think it was six, voted. They answered that none of them did. They were too young and in high school. With more questioning, the silly reporter became surprised when only one of the six said she liked Trump. The others did not. One even supported Bernie Sanders.

Earth to ABC News, not all people who attend inaugurations, support the one taking the oath. Some people just want to be present when history is being made. But the blind can’t see.

A grim-faced Hillary Clinton was lucky to be sitting next to former President George W. Bush. The quick-witted W cracked the sad Hillary up a number of times, as Bill scoped the dais for available and not-available women.

Donald Trump’s inauguration speech was done in his in-your-face style. That was how he started his run for office. That was how he campaigned. That was how he accepted his nomination. And that was how he took the presidency. There is an old saying, “You dance with the one who brung ya.” And so he did.

But will he govern like that? His VP pick and his cabinet nominees are not that way. You have seen Mike Pence in action for a little while now. Do you think he is as blunt and gruff as Trump? In fact, he is quite the opposite, very composed. Nikki Haley? Rick Perry? Even the former general James Mattis is sedate.

And will Trump be the tough guy, as his persona has been, or will he be the gracious leader, who thanked Bill and Hillary Clinton at the post-inaugural lunch, praising them and showing respect?

Will he eventually grow a thicker skin and not feel he has to answer every slight with a midnight tweet – the incessant defensiveness providing fodder to those wishing him ill, or will he just let some things go?

And will he keep his promises?

ABC’s wild-eyed Terry Moran said Trump’s “America First” message “carries with it overtones of the 1930’s when an anti-Semitic movement saying [sic], ‘We don’t want to get involved in Europe’s war, it’s the Jews fault in Germany…’” Wow. I didn’t see it that way at all. But what would I, a child of Holocaust survivors, know? Moran must know better.

I was so proud of Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center here in Los Angeles, who gave one of the benedictions. His reading included the following, “Bless all of our allies around the world who share our beliefs. ‘“By the rivers of Babylon we wept as we remembered Zion… If I forget thee o’ Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill (Psalms 137).”’

In only a few seconds, Rabbi Hier both reprimanded the past president, sitting right behind him on his left, and charged the new one, sitting right behind him on his right.

Move that embassy to Jerusalem, Israel, Mr. President. And soon, please. I will hold you to it. We will hold you to it.

Ah, the touchy-feely left. Interestingly, when a Democrat becomes president, those on the right don’t riot. And they don’t beat up high school students on the left who happen to watch their protests.

Left-wing fake news did not let up. Making the rounds, not just on social media, but even on different TV programs – on Friday night, I changed the channel at a commercial to see what the unfunny, sour grapes, Stephen Colbert was up to, my action doubling his audience – was a side by side picture of Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration crowd and Trump’s.

Of course, the Trump pic was taken well before the ceremony started so the picture showed some emptiness. I watched the inauguration and knew the picture was crap.

The truth? Obama’s first inauguration when history was made – the first African American becoming president, hell, if I wasn’t so far away I might have gone too – garnered 1.8 million, his second, 1 million. Trump’s may very well have had what was predicted, 800,000 or even more, no official numbers yet.

By the way, Bill Clinton had 800,000 and 250,000 in 1993 and 1997, respectively. And the weather was sunny for Clinton in 1997 and not rainy as it was for Trump.

As an aside, I don’t think Trump should have had his press secretary make a statement in the press briefing room on Saturday about the crowd size. The over-sensitivity needs to stop. Let the surrogates carry this water outside the White House.

Many hyper-sore losers loved the crowd size nonsense, but well, they needed to grasp at anything to feel better as they found themselves in the political wilderness, swearing they would never even try to go along or get along, “refusing” or “resisting,” if you will.

There were Women’s March protests all over the world on Saturday. Good for those demonstrators exercising their democratic rights. Washington, DC’s gathering had the most attendees, perhaps half a million.

I actually watched the proceedings. The out-of-touch with Middle America Hollywood radicals claimed they were America as they vented their rage at the man they consider a coarse and vulgar, violence-promoting fascist, by acting like coarse and vulgar, violence-promoting fascists.

It was nice so many brought their small children to hear and see the profanity and hate, much of it on handheld signs. That will teach the youngsters tolerance!

Even former Secretary of State John Kerry showed up. He thought it was an anti-Israel rally.

What might have confused him is that one of the three march co-chairs, Linda Sarsour, is an Israel-hating, BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel) supporting, violence against Israeli soldiers encouraging, terrorist backing conspiracy theorist, and more.

And get this, people. The Women’s March organizers put out a list of 27 honorees who “paved the way” for the march and of all people, Hillary Clinton was not on it! Looks like Sarsour, a Bernie Sanders supporter, was mad Hillary had the class to attend the inauguration, so she was dissed. Sheesh, the poor woman just can’t win for losing. Literally.

To the many thousands of fine, respectable participants, who wanted to have their voices heard in an urgent yet dignified way, you may think you did, but your mouthpieces didn’t do you any favors. Your own pilgrimages and assemblages would have been enough to speak volumes without the venom spewed in your name.

I don’t know what happened here in Los Angeles or other cities, but from what I could tell, there may have been much more love than hate. I hope that was the case.

As happens, otherwise decent human beings have become and remain unhinged. I am not speaking about the way, way-far left, the anarchists, those who want a revolution just to have one, or the Hollywooders as mentioned above. They are not decent.

I speak of good people on the left, who have lost all sense of sanity and proportionality. For some, who mourn as they do without crossing into an alternative universe, that’s OK; many on the right did the same all through Obama. But to those who have sunk into the depths of a contemptable abyss, you are doing the exact opposite of what will help you regain power.

As you continue to complain about Trump in every way imaginable, how unfit he is, how Obama and his family were such fine examples, and were so wholesome and honorable and wonderful, on social media you post nude pictures of his wife, you viciously attack his children – even his 10-year-old son, and worse, you use sensitive Holocaust, rounding-up-minorities-for-genocide, symbolism, and other related beastliness, to compare Trump and his cabinet to the Nazis.

Even as Trump has surrounded himself with perhaps the most pro-Israel cabinet and group of advisers ever assembled by a US president, and it’s about time, you are still trying to convince Jews not like you, that he is an anti-Semite. And we are still not buying what you are selling. Frustrating, isn’t it? So you call us bigots too.

And you know what? You have only yourselves to blame. You and your hero Obama, who you continue to creepily deify, did this. You gave us Trump.

Your looking down your nose, elitist, sneering condescension, your selfishly pushing everything to the left, so far, that tens of thousands in the rust belt, white voters who cast their ballots for Obama twice, felt left out and had had enough, and decided the election in favor of the ultimate populist outsider.

I didn’t want Donald Trump. I criticized him plenty, and I didn’t vote for him. (Or her either. I wrote in my preference.) And I am wary. But I am also hopeful. All of us need to be willing to at least open the door a crack, even if we didn’t get what we wanted.

You “refusers” and “resisters” need to ratchet things down a bit. If you keep it up, if you continue to race bait, if you force your party to go even further in the direction that threw you into exile, the only way you will recover is if the new president doesn’t deliver. Because if he does, you may make the barren wilderness your home for a long, long time.