Say what you will about the Tea Party scam, but at least that grift hinged on the promise of major socioeconomic and political change.
The self-styled “resistance” to President Trump will launch money at anything that is even remotely anti-Trump. It doesn’t matter how stupid, impractical, futile, or low-quality the thing is. If it’s anti-Trump, or simply the opposite of Trumpism, it qualifies for thousands of resistance bucks.
We’re talking real money. We’re talking five and six figures.
Anti-Trump activists have, for example, raised nearly half-a-million dollars for Peter Strzok, the anti-Trump ex-FBI agent whose pillow talk with his mistress compromised the bureau’s investigations of Hillary Clinton’s email server and Russia’s alleged election interference.
As of this writing, the “Friends Of Special Agent Peter Strzok” GoFundMe page has raised approximately $401,035.
Never mind that Strzok is an unethical, irresponsible, and unprofessional wreck of a toxic former FBI official. He doesn’t like Trump. That’s good enough!
But there’s much, much more where this resistance money suck comes from. Here are nine of the worst examples in no particular order:
9. Andrew McCabe
The attorney general fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on March 16.
The resistance responded immediately by throwing $554,520 at a GoFundMe page for McCabe, who didn’t even lose his pension.
Reminder: The DOJ fired McCabe after the inspector general reported he had “inappropriately authorized the disclosure of sensitive information” to the press. The IG also found McCabe lied to investigators about the unauthorized leaks.
8. James Comey’s book
Former FBI Director James Comey released a memoir in April. He titled it A Higher Loyalty (groan). The resistance gobbled it up, buying 600,000 copies in a single week. The New York Times billed it as an instant “blockbuster.”
It’s an enjoyable read — if you can look past the fact the book is 300-plus pages of overwrought preaching. There’s not even a whiff of new information in the book. I’ve read it, and it is not good. It’s definitely not 600,000-copies-in-a-single-week good.
7. Michael Wolff’s stupid book
This is more of the same, but worse. Entertainment blogger Michael Wolff released a titillating White House “tell-all,” Fire and Fury, in January. Trump critics everywhere couldn’t buy it fast enough. It sold roughly 200,000 hardcover copies in its first week on sale. By April, it had sold more than 2 million copies.
That the book contains many obvious factual errors and baseless innuendo did not matter. It reflected poorly on the White House. Of course it deserved thousands of resistance dollars.
6. Jon Ossoff
Democrat Jon Ossoff’s chances of winning Georgia’s 6th District were slim from the beginning. He didn’t even live there, as his opponent, Republican Karen Handel, often reminded voters.
Slim chances didn’t stop anti-Trump forces from turning the race into the most expensive in U.S. history.
Democrats spent an astonishing $30 million to lose Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. This is six times the amount spent by Handel, who now serves in Congress.
5. RGB action figure
Anything to boost morale, I guess. A product design company, FCTRY, raised a remarkable $613,705 to launch a Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg action figure.
I’m not sure what else to say about this.
4. Elizabeth Warren action figure
FCTRY also raised $161,206 to back the launch of a Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., action figure.
Who are all these people with disposable income, and how do I make friends with them?
3. Trump Bites
Cartoonist Bill Plympton raised $66,610 this year for a “series of short animated films based on actual Donald Trump audio clips.”
The cartoons include this one where Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin make out on their first date.
Never mind that it’s kind of homophobic to suggest that Trump’s praise for Putin must mean the U.S. president is gay. Never mind those new Russia sanctions. Take that, Drumpf!
2. Trump Rat
Someone proposed making a giant balloon that looks like a rat, and at the same time also looks like Trump. Enough people think it’s worth $10,090 “to help bring this project to life.”
“Do not underestimate the value in ridiculing and taunting psychopaths, sociopaths, narcissists, antisocial-personality disordered, kleptocratic bullies,” the project’s creator said.
Also, don’t underestimate the willingness of stupid people to throw money directly into the toilet.
1. Baby Trump
And here’s the sequel to the Trump/rat balloon.
Someone dreamed up a giant balloon that looks like a baby. It also looks like Trump.
It was apparently worth $23,748 to the resistance to make this happen.
“Thank you so very much,” the GoFundMe organizers said on July 18 after they surpassed their original fundraising goal. “We are indebted to your patriotism and will continue to fight for our democracy and the American values that make us GREAT!”
Fighting for democracy, one performative act of resistance at a time.
