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In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s the deal —
I will give Donald Trump the space he needs to see what he does with it. In doing so, I promise to give him and those of you who supported him more respect than any of you ever did. I will become part of the loyal opposition, the once noble concept that the Republican Party abandoned during the Obama presidency.
I expect Trump and his supporters, especially his most ardent ones, who flood my wife’s Facebook page with their continuing assault on Hillary Clinton, to stop piling on. The election is over. Leave her alone! Clinton is someone who gave more of her life to public service and the rights of children than any of you out there. Stop your hateful comments about the Obamas. This president ought to be thanked for saving us from going off an economic cliff. He wasn’t perfect.
You’re preferred candidate won’t be either, and I mean no disrespect because President-elect Trump is my guy, too, for the next four years. Call off the most vile elements of Trump’s supporters who are out on the streets painting swastikas and intimidating minorities.
I have always valued true conservatives such as David Frum. How about if you begin valuing true liberals? Stop thinking “liberal” is a dirty word.
I promise not to become an obstructionist the way the Republican Congress acted the last eight years. Unlike Mitch McConnell, the Republican Majority Leader in the Senate, my top priority will not be to stop Donald Trump from getting re-elected in the next four years. My top priority will be to keep America great. Republicans will now have to learn to govern instead of obstruct. Donald Trump and the Republican Congress will now become accountable for what kind of America we will have for the next four years. I intend to use this column to support programs that will improve the lives of Americans. But there is another side to his deal.
I intend to oppose Mr. Trump with every fiber of my being if and when he tries to privatize or cut Medicare and Social Security, looks to remove those regulations that help protect our environment, and does anything that injures the most vulnerable in our society — measures that would also harm those of you who supported him.
You want peace on the streets? So do I. You want a better America? So do I. We will, no doubt, have our differences on the path forward. But I pledge to argue my side with respect (and sometimes humor). I expect you to do the same.
Deal? Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving.
See Tom Cardella and Paul Jolovitz on Monday Night Kickoff, Tuesday night at 6 p.m. streaming live on WBCB-TV with a guest from the Philadelphia Eagles. SPR
