It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a person with a spine in Congress. Sadly, one of the few true beacons of hope to push back against the oppressive regime that is the Trump administration is a 79-year-old trailblazer and pioneer, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), affectionately known as “Auntie Maxine.”
From day one, Auntie Maxine has been adamant that she had no interest in working with an administration that wades deep in the waters of bigotry, racism and xenophobia.
“My feet are firmly planted on the ground and dealing with the reality of things and what’s happening and what’s going on,” she told The Root shortly after the president took office. “It has not been difficult; I just know that we are now going to have a new president. I don’t care for him, I don’t trust him and I know what I’ve got to do.”
Auntie Maxine has been true to her word, whether it’s been on the House Financial Services Committee, where she challenged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to actually answer her questions—it was this moment that spawned the heartfelt viral Auntie Maxine “reclaiming my time” meme—or speaking out against the atrocities of this administration whenever a microphone is in front of her. She has been adamant about Trump’s impeachment and has constantly referred to the president as a con man.
“Everybody knows who this bully is,” Waters told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Monday, the Daily Beast reports. “This is a dishonorable human. He is a con man. He came to this job as a con man. I call him ‘Don the Con Man.’”
She added: “All I know is this: If he thinks he can stop me from talking about ‘Impeach 45,’ he’s got another thought coming. I am not intimidated by him. I’m going to keep saying that we need to impeach him.”
So Donald Trump’s latest racist dog whistle to challenge Auntie Maxine’s IQ falls on deaf ears because she was hip to who this president was long before he took office.
It’s sad when America’s aunt is probably America’s toughest person and our biggest ally in the fight against blatant bigotry and racism. The president is currently running around the White House buck naked, and not one Democrat is willing to say he’s not wearing any clothes.
Although it’s heartwarming to see Waters so strong and willing to stand in her convictions against a divisive president who runs his administration like a schoolyard bully with unlimited Wi-Fi, it also saddens me that there aren’t more Democrats willing to stand beside Auntie Maxine and call for Trump’s ouster.
As it stands, those on the “Impeach 45” bandwagon are outliers for a more Rodney King, “Let’s all just get along” Democratic vision, which is the equivalent of thinking that the schoolyard bully will understand anything but violence. At some point we’ve got to move beyond reasoning. Auntie Maxine knew that from the beginning, and therefore had no intention of trying to work with this man or this administration.
They say that with age comes wisdom, and that’s the advantage that Maxine Waters has over her fellow Democrats. She’s faced down bullies before and knows from experience that sometimes you have to be willing to put your book bag down and stand up for yourself. I just wish she wasn’t alone.