Bernard Goldberg: Is Woke On The Ropes, Thanks to Mr. Trump?

Source:Bernard Goldberg with a look at WOKE in America.

"The cultural pendulum may be swinging back...

Now, onto today’s column…

Is “woke” on its way out now that Donald Trump is on his way back in? Is a seismic shift in American culture just over the horizon?

Ever since hyper-politically-correct culture took hold in America about 15 years ago, if you told a certain kind of joke, or God forbid, wore a red hat that didn’t say “Save the Whales”— you were practically asking to be dragged in front of the woke inquisition — if not get physically attacked.

Rahm Emanuel — the longtime Democratic insider — was on to something when he said, “The woke police don’t even have to read you your Miranda rights.” They don’t need evidence that what you said really was bigoted and mean-spirited. They just need to be offended — or claim they are — and you’re guilty.

But now it looks like we’re at an inflection point. The cultural pendulum seems to be swinging back. And Donald Trump may be why it’s happening." 

From Bernard Goldberg

To answer Bernard Goldberg's question: we don't know yet. I think as long as there are left-wing political movements, that are primarily made up of people who are very young and just in college or just out of college, who are probably rare voters, instead of part-time voters, there's going to be some movement that's either WOKE, or is called something like that. 

And unfortunately there will always be not just a Political Correctness Police, but there will be at least two PC departments in America: one for the far-left that attacks anyone who even criticizes any member, of any minority group in America. And one on the far-right that goes after people who even criticize Donald Trump, or whoever their current cult leader is, or one of their most influential MAGA members. 

As my colleague Erik Schneider said last week: 

"The negative WOKE solution here would be something like to blame the American system and argue that: "It's our racist and materialistic system that are holding people of color and others down. And you won't fix this problem, until you tear down the American system and replace it with something that's just."

I'm with Michael Shermer on this in the sense I don't define myself as WOKE. I much rather find ways to solve problems, than to look at the political calculations of them and try to blame the other side for the problem itself. Which is basically what WOKE has become. The WOKE militants seem to be more interested in exploiting the problems of America and finding ways to blame people they disagree with, including Democrats, then to actually solve the problems that they claim to care about. " 

From The New Democrat

And as far as the fact that Donald Trump got elected President again and that somehow suggests that WOKE was defeated and we're now moving back to a MAGA era... Mr. Trump only won 49% of the popular vote. Which means that more Americans voted against him, then for him. And the first MAGA person who sees this will say: 

"We don't elect our President's based on the popular vote". 

And I would probably say something like in response: 

"Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious". That's not the point. 

Mr. Trump wasn't elected President of the United States to end WOKE or American democracy. He was elected President to bring down the cost of living. That's what most of national polling suggests, at least outside of MAGA. And he was elected to a certain extent to get illegal immigration under control. But not to end American democracy, or throw out the U.S. Constitution and our Bill of Rights. 

But not only that, but House Republicans had a very tight majority already and will have a bare majority in the next Congress. Senate Republicans won back the Senate, but will also have a very small majority in the next Congress, with a solid bloc of Republicans who aren't MAGA members.

I don't think Bernard Goldberg is suggesting that Donald Trump's 2024 election as President suggests some revolutionary change in American politics for the Right. But you would have to ask him that yourself. But Republicans right now would be looking at attempted political suicide, if they even consider going past their mandate and thinking that Americans now want a MAGA republic. What American voters want is for government to work and to do the basic functions of government. Not elect Donald J. Trump as King and all his supporters in and out of government as members of his MAGA royal family. 

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