“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”
― Mark Twain

The entirety of the Trump era is despised by 55% of Americans – deeply, and it’s only getting worse. But I suggest that we may be looking at this wrong. Trump’s dark side has been slowly revealed and with it we realize just how much more work we need to do – and how deep his dark side goes.

When a crack forms in airplane wing it immediately gets repaired. When you have blood streaming from your eyes you probably seek medical attention – fast. And here we are – cracks in America being exposed and the fairness we thought America stood for is running a 104 degree fever.

What has Trump done for us? He has extinguished  the bright light that our country has shined on the world for many decades. In its absence we now see the foundational disrepair in critical need of a fix. It’s on us to make sure this is done. Democrats have been showing up everyday with their tools and sleeves rolled up ready to get to work only to meet Republicans with twisted party loyalty like Mitch McConnell and Steve Scalise.

Republicans have been dismantling American’s strengths for decades. But Trump doesn’t have the intelligence, or staff, to perform his corruption as previous successful Republican’s like Reagan and Bush. While the goals are the same – the presentation from Trump has been transparent with little effort to wrap policy in colorful titles like “Right To Work.” His one attempt “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” has been a complete disaster. So much that Republican’s would not even mention it while campaigning in 2018.

In my humble opinion, here are the actions of the Trump Administration that begs for our attention:

Trump: Trump’s response to Charlottesville showed the core of his philosophy: the preservation of America’s traditional hierarchies of race. AKA, the support of White Supremacy.
We need to: change the conversation showing why a diverse population is a strength, not a weakness. Actively pursue Nazi’s and White Supremists as terrorists with the full force of the law. Begin a national conversation, as uncomfortable as it might be, that continuing this level of racism is devouring our country, will take generations to overcome, and if we do not actively engage and change how we relate to each other we will decline further as a nation.

Trump: Enthusiastically supporting Stephen Miller’s racist and unethical separation of families seeking asylum.
We need to: Write into law “To separate children from their parents is an offense against nature and civilized society” and remedies to any policy that crosses that line.

Trump: “I have the absolute right to pardon myself”
We need to: Define the powers of the Office of the President, write them into law, and enforce them. Define and limit the powers of Executive Orders, National Emergency declarations to bypass Congress, and return the sole right to declare acts of war to Congress as our Constitution demands.

Trump: Trump’s lasting effect on America after he leaves office. For example, on February 7, 2019 Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send 44 of Trump’s court picks to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.
We need to: Term limits on lifetime appointees would limit the lasting affect of an impeached president. Trump and McConnell have made it obvious for us – we need Congressional ability to repeal lifetime appointments and a clause that if a president is impeached, so are all of their appointments.

Trump: Overriding 25 failed security clearances of family members and staff despite “disqualifying issues” in their backgrounds, including concerns about foreign influence, drug use and criminal conduct.
We need to: Create a non-partisan panel that reviews security clearances to determine if they were done properly and, if so, blocks the individual from receiving clearances from the president and/or the State Department.

This is obviously only a snippet and could go on for hundreds of pages. We are in dire shape. And I find it deeply troubling that nearly half the country has dedicated themselves to only watching Fox News and blaming Democrats for everything while willfully basking in propaganda, purposely glossing over obvious issues that affect all Americans.

Jim Francis was one of the former Democratic Louisiana 1st Congressional District candidates who ran against Steve Scalise.