I really, really, really would rather not be right. But people are shocked, shocked to find that the Republicans plan to cut Social Security and Medicare.

This has been the GOP/Koch game plan for decades. They have repeatedly raided the trust fund (Social Security and Medicare would be perfectly solvent if they didn’t). They never worry about the deficit when it comes to giving tax breaks for billionaires, but OMG the “entitlements” must be cut because the “deficit” is out of control.

The time to stop this was before #45 was elected; before the Congress was handed over to the Republicans (and even with a Democratic House, they still put DINO Pelosi in charge so nothing’s changed there either); before federal courts were filled with unqualified, right-wing, appointed-for-life judges; before the GOP took over state legislatures and disenfranchised Black, Indigenous, Latiné, Asian, Muslim, women, and LGBTQ people though gerrymandering, voter ID laws, etc.

People keep reacting to what’s going on now like it’s new, or unprecedented, or unanticipated. This all happened deliberately while those very same people weren’t paying attention because they were comfortable, because their children weren’t getting slaughtered on the streets by police, because they didn’t tremble in terror for their lives when they heard a siren behind their vehicle.

I’ve been screaming since Reagan was elected. But no one was listening then and those same people aren’t listening now. (The people who are doing something about this weren’t alive when Reagan left office. They’re out in the streets every night risking their lives to fight against police brutality, white supremacy, and the Gestapo occupation.)

Nine years ago, I warned that we were at a tipping point. But no one listened to that, either.

“Last night the end started.
The only question: end of what?”

Excerpted from “March 10, 2011”.