Toto Leads the Way!

 

Lost in the mists of time was the original intent behind L Frank Baum's purpose as a political allegory. He meant it to be a commentary on American politics at the turn of the century. There is a lot about agrarian versus urbanism in it. For example, the Scarecrow represents the farmer, and the Tin Man the industrial worker. The stuff about gold and silver (the slippers were originally silver, not red) related to the disputes about what should back the monetary system.

L Frank Baum's harshest criticism was reserved for politicians. They were blustery and full of falsehoods, serving, in the end, their own self-interest. They were frauds, snake oil salesmen, and grifters, promising everything and delivering nothing.

The chief fraudster is, of course, the Wizard of Oz. He has somehow managed to elevate himself to almost deity status. He hides behind smoke and mirrors, people believing he can do anything.

This illusion is shattered when Toto pulls back the curtain, revealing the wizard as a charlatan. He is nothing, a nobody, an empty suit.

Now is the time for a new Toto.

And that new Toto is...

Letitia James, New York Attorney General.

I don't know what will happen today. Will Trump engineer another delay? Will he continue to evade accountability?

I don't know. I hope not.

But whatever happens after this, the curtain has been pulled back. We've seen enough that even his most ardent supporters have to admit he is a raging fraud. He does not have what he's been telling people he has. Everything is smoke and mirrors.

His lawyers plead that he does not have it and no one will bond him for it. Trump contradicts them by saying he does have $500 million in cash.

Somebody's lying. Guess who's my nominee?

He does not own what he says he owns. Much of his property is mortgaged for more than it's worth.

He's not rich. He's just playing a mammoth shell game, moving from one overinflated loan to another, spinning so fast that he hopes no one will notice how little is there. 

Not anymore. Thanks to our modern-day Toto, even the most resistant can finally see him for what he is.

Oh, he'll continue to blow smoke. He'll try to get away with fakery like the Wizard of Oz did—fake medals, diplomas, and ticking clocks. He'll use tennis shoes painted as if they were gold, NFT cards with AI images, and beg limited-income supporters to send him the money they need to live on.

But we all know now. The curtain has been pulled back.

We now must pay attention to the man behind the curtain. Not the myth, but the man.

The misogynist, racist, adjudicated sexual abuser, narcissist, grifting conman, the Wizard of Nothing - Donald J Trump.