Mueller report not the end of the world

For 17 years, starting in the 1970s, Southern California woke up to the lively morning-drive radio show “The Ken and Bob Company.” Day in, day out, hosts Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur had one theme: Don’t worry, EGBOK. “Everything’s going to be OK.” Thousands of listeners, including me, wore EGBOK buttons to work.So here’s my message to Democrats who’ve spent every day since release of the Mueller report weeping and gnashing their teeth: EGBOK. This is not the end of the world. Everything’s going to be OK. In fact, this may turn out to be a big advantage.Of course it was disappointing to see Robert Mueller prematurely wrap things up in a way that seemed to, but did not, clear Donald Trump of any wrongdoing. Mueller did not say there was no collusion; he just said he couldn’t find enough evidence to charge Trump with a criminal conspiracy. Same on obstruction of justice. Yes, Trump tried to interfere with the FBI investigation, but Mueller cowardly concluded he wouldn’t be able to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump did so with criminal intent.Still, at least according to Attorney General Bill Barr’s four-page summary of the Mueller report – which is all one has seen so far – it was neutral enough to allow Trump to gloat: No collusion. No obstruction. Exoneration. And soft enough to drive many Democrats to despair.Again, EGBOK. It’s not time to despair, it’s time to move ahead. On two fronts. First, by recognising that it was a mistake to put so much faith in Mueller in the first place. Indeed, expectations for Mueller’s final report had soared so high that anything less than slapping handcuffs on Trump and frog-marching him off the golf course would be considered a big letdown. As a result, for months Democrats held off figuring out how to dump Trump in 2020 because they counted on Mueller, swooping down some like deus ex machina, to knock him out of the box before the campaign even got underway.Now Americans know that’s not going to happen, so on to the second priority for Democrats: building a strong case against Trump based not on suspicion of collusion with Russia but on the severe damage he’s done since taking office, including: gutting environmental protection, inciting white nationalism, fanning the flames of racism, junking the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal, stealing money from schools for children of soldiers to pay for his wall, and bloating the national debt.On that front, Trump did even more damage this week. For 10 years, Republicans had vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, and replace it with “something” – even though they never came up with any plan of their own. As late as last week, the Trump White House insisted it wanted to preserve the good parts of Obamacare while trashing all the rest. Now even that fig leaf is gone. The Trump administration suddenly reversed course, joining a lawsuit brought by several red states to junk the Affordable Care Act in its entirety.That means Trump and the Republican Party are now full square for getting rid of all the provisions of Obamacare Americans have come to love. Yes, protection for pre-existing conditions. But also free preventive care, mammograms and checkups; lower premiums and co-pays for Medicare; allowing children to remain on their parents’ health plan until they turn 26; no limits on lifetime benefits. All gone, if Republicans have their way.Which is a political bonanza for Democrats. In 2018, they won 40 seats in the House, in both liberal and more conservative districts, promising to protect people’s healthcare. Now, thanks to Trump, they can again run on healthcare in 2020. On healthcare, the most important issue in the country, the difference could not be more clear: Democrats are for it; Republicans are against it.Meanwhile, Trump’s not out of the woods on the criminal front, either. More than a dozen investigations are underway by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the New York Attorney General, the District of Columbia Attorney General and other jurisdictions – enough to keep prosecutors busy, and Trump nervous, for the next two years.Bottom line: Democrats can forget about Robert Mueller and forget about impeachment. They’re now free to focus on building a case to beat Donald Trump the old-fashioned way: by clobbering him at the ballot box in November 2020. EGBOK.* Bill Press is host of a nationally-syndicated radio show, CNN political analyst and the author of the new book, Trump Must Go: The 100 Top Reasons to Dump Trump (And One to Keep Him), which is available in bookstores now. You can hear “The Bill Press Show” at his website: billpressshow.com His e-mail address is: bill@billpress.com Readers may also follow him on Twitter at @bpshow.