Maybe this is the "pivot"

So the word of the week is "normalize."  Various politicians of either party and media outlets large and small are said to be normalizing Donald Trump's behavior out of their own craven instinct for self-preservation. And, of course, the normalizers are those who can afford to be.

Oprah Winfrey, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, said Trump's recent visit to the White House gave her “hope” and suggested he has been “humbled” by the experience. The Guardian’s Simon Jenkins told his readers to “calm down” and that Trump wasn’t the “worst thing.” His college, Nouriel Roubini, insisted the Oval Office will “tame” Trump. People magazine ran a glowing profile of Trump and his wife Melania (though a former People writer accused Trump of sexual assault). The New York Times’ Nick Kristof dubiously added that we should “Grit our teeth and give Trump a chance.” The mainstays—Washington Post, New York Times and CNN—while frequently critical, are coving Trump’s transition as they would any other. President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have all issued statements recognizing Trump’s legitimacy and pleading we give him a chance.

Overall there’s a creeping sense that we’re stuck with Trump and we should make it “work” in some type of do-goody liberal appeal to patriotism.

But this is wrong, both tactically and ethically. Trump isn’t normal and he should never be treated as such, regardless of what President Obama and Clinton and Sanders say. These people are politicians, bound by a different covenant. The media, namely progressive media, is subject to no such charge. The overall message of normalizing Trump is that you can steamroll women, LGBT people, the disabled, Muslims, and people of color, yet everything will be okay so long as you win. Indeed, when asked if he thought his rhetoric had gone too far, Trump responded, “No, I won.” This is the logic of a fascist, and liberals are acquiescing to him by pivoting to “Trump as our kooky uncle” normalization mode.

As long as it isn't you they're coming for, you can afford to be smarmy.  Oprah has all the money in the world, can "retire" from whatever it is she does, and will probably live for as long as medical science can keep a person breathing. The rest of us have to worry about Medicare going away. 

Paul Ryan has been pushing to phase out Medicare and replace it with private insurance for several years. But now it's real with unified Republican government. He just said he will try to rush it through early next year while repealing Obamacare.

But hey let's "give him a chance," right?  If only you poors would observe the same rules of civility that your betters can afford to put on, none of this would have happened.  That was basically the theme of the Clinton campaign anyway.

And now they can even afford to take the random pronouncements of the unstable con man at his word. 

NEW YORK—President-elect Donald Trump said he would consider leaving in place certain parts of the Affordable Care Act, an indication of possible compromise after a campaign in which he pledged repeatedly to repeal the 2010 health-care law.

In his first interview since his election earlier this week, Mr. Trump said one priority was moving “quickly” on President Barack Obama’s signature health initiative, which Mr. Trump said has become so unworkable and expensive that “you can’t use it.”

Yet, Mr. Trump also showed a willingness to preserve at least two provisions of the law after Mr. Obama asked him to reconsider repealing it during their meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Mr. Trump said he favors keeping the prohibition against insurers denying coverage because of patients’ existing conditions, and a provision that allows parents to provide years of additional coverage for children on their insurance policies.

How? He doesn't know. More to the point, he doesn't give a shit. 

Trump is going to govern the way he campaigned. He's just gonna say random shit. One day he'll be for something. The next day not so much. If you remember watching the debates he sometimes managed to change positions multiple times within the span of a single sentence. It's weird that we're suddenly reporting on the random contradictory shit Trump says from minute to minute as if it has real policy implication. That's what comes with "giving him a chance," I guess.  Maybe this is finally the "pivot."

Nothing he says makes any sense. That isn't going to change. So it doesn't make any sense to watch him for cues as to what the policy will actually be. Today he's not so much gonna repeal Obamacare. Yesterday he definitely would. Tomorrow he'll tell us he's going to give us a big beautiful thing called Trumpcare. You will love it. It will be Medicare privatization, though, because nothing Donald Trump says means anything. He's not "flip flopping" he's just running his asinine mouth.

Congressional Republicans will figure this out soon enough. And they'll just go ahead and pass whatever. They can repeal all of Obamacare, some of it, or just pass a bill changing what it is called. Trump will sign whatever they give him, probably while simultaneously telling us he's against it that day.

Donald Trump is an idiot game show host who doesn't actually give a shit about anything. The Republicans who control both houses of Congress  and most state governments and, soon, the Supreme Court can do whatever they want now. All the while the media and your beloved "opposition" leaders will congratulate themselves on having given the con man a chance.  This is the circus we're signed up for.  Good luck everybody.