I just found this again after going through some of my old files…evidently it’s one I probably thought I lost to the ether. The date stamp is for my original draft in August of last year. Todays date in July 28, 2018. I wrote it before the election to summarize my disgust for the man who now occupies the White House and why even those of us who did not favor Hilary should vote for her anyway. Hasn’t been a lot of changes in my feeling since then, so it’s a little bit interesting to read my 2 year old essay…. so I’m going to do a little “editing”, or, better yet, “editorializing”. My current self will be written in italics.
This in response to the folks clinging to the idea that electing Donald Trump will be a good thing. For anybody.
Hilarious to me that so many believe that Trump offers HOPE when his famous favorite catch phrase is, ” you’re fired”. Who says he’s going to bring jobs to America and has his clothing line manufactured in eleven different second -and third-world countries paying what amounts to slave labor. A guy who invokes the abolition of “the death tax”, (actually named the “Estate Tax”) which, of course, sounds so sinister but that in reality only affects the top 1% and only taxes them on money they inherit that is over $11 million dollars. Chances are, you won’t have to worry too much about that…I know I won’t be.
You think he’s going to offer a respite from war and terrorism? Right. When every time he opens his mouth somebody new signs up for ISIS. I almost choked when I heard people talking about him being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Sure, after starting a spitting match with “Little Rocket Man” Kim Jung Un in North Korea, he paid him a visit and they became “friends”. Ahaha! The joke is on him. He came back to the States after that visit, claiming to have essentially saved the world from North Korea and their nuclear weapons, and had reached agreements on N.Korea’s nuclear arsenal and stopped it in its tracks. Uhhhh…no. what he did was fall for the Korean’s promise to stop making nukes if the U.S. would stop having military training exercises with Japan, because it made him nervous. So, he stopped our military exercises immediately, while Kim Jung Un laughs and continues to do whatever it is he wants to do, unfettered by obligations to, or allowances for, any sort of inspections to determine his compliance to those “agreements”.
Bullies don’t have real friends–they have “sycophants”, people who leech off of the bully, who praise him and offer tribute, attempting to stay in his good graces in the hope that other bullies will not pick on them. In return, they do his dirty work, and when the bully gains power, they can feel like they have some power also. Anybody ever considered why it is that the people Trump trusts or has kept consistently “in the loop” are his (current) wife and kids? Or why he has a reported 3,000 (yes, that’s three THOUSAND) lawsuits with his name on them across four states? Why nearly every person who has dealt with personally or professionally goes bankrupt or loses their business? Or that he has filed for bankruptcy 11 times (yep, ELEVEN) and bragged about not paying taxes? His revolting charge to “lock [Hilary] up” because she sent emails over a private server or his quest to PROVE that Barack Obama is not legally a citizen and is therefore an illigitimate President are ridiculous in the face of the reputation he has earned over the years. I don’t know, maybe he throws those claims out as a distraction so that we don’t look deeper into his closets, or for some altruistic love of our country, (HAHAHA!) but I know that when the guy who you hire to ghostwrite your autobiography calls you a sadistic sociopath, that it does not bode well for you to be negotiating peace around the world.
His obvious need to appear “strong” and “worthy” of being President have reached dangerous levels. Mental health professionals are hesitant to call him out, but there have been a few, including the 200 or so psychiatrists who signed a letter shortly after his inauguration and sent it to Congress, who recognize and worry over his “daddy issues”, among other things. Is it at all surprising to anyone that he fawns over renown dictators and is giddy at the prospect of “hanging out” with them? Trump’s father and grandfather were well known for their bigotry and their cruelty (there are claims that they were involved with the Nazis and/or the KKK). Is it any wonder that he chooses to align himself with other unscrupulous rich white men or with the likes of Kim Jung Un or Vladimir Putin?
Should we be surprised that his “drain the swamp” battle cry has left those with brown skin or whose financial circumstances fighting for survival, for safety, for fighting for the right to keep and protect their own children, in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? While “the swamp” is filled to overload with rich white men stealing from, or raping or destroying the institutions that have made our nation what it is? Because his administration refused their LEGAL right to petition for sanctuary, parents fleeing the violence of drug cartels or corrupt and dangerous governments have been sent back to those dangerous circumstances, leaving an estimated 800 children languishing in government warehouses without their parents. Children that are as young as 1 year, or as old as 14 years.
His mocking and insulting language to citizens and leaders in our country; the degrading of long-time U.S. allies in his speeches and references; and his rejection of First World treaty arrangements; his embrace of the dictators of Russia, China, North Korea, and Turkey have created doubt and consternation among nations around the world. The Nobel Prize seems to have been pushed off the table, thankfully. This man is no peacemaker.
The whole “Women for Trump” thing really knocks my socks off, but then, maybe it goes back to the sycophant thing, and they can make themselves feel superior by association. It’s doubtful, however, whether Donald Trump would “associate” with any of his supporters longer than the time it takes for them to buy what he’s selling. And women who are flat chested or have a brain, he doesn’t even know you exist.
This still puzzles me…because, as I see it, any woman who has any knowledge of how he speaks to or about or behaves around women would do their best to guarantee that he not become the leader of the free world. Not only has he objectified and harassed (and worse) women for DECADES, his almost 2 years in office has made it very clear that he is not just misogynistic or bigoted, he is a pathological liar….that is, he LIES whether he needs to or not. He LIES about what he has done and what he will do, he LIES about people he knows or doesn’t know, lies about things heard or seen clearly on videotape, then encourages his fan base to distrust the MEDIA because they are lying about HIM! This past week at a rally, he actually uttered the words “Don’t believe the things you see and hear, because it’s all a lie….” It’s no wonder he draws daily rebuke from observers who liken him to George Orwell or Joseph Goebbels. (The Nazi propagandist who said, “A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.”
And he’s going to reconfigure the tax code to be more fair? Fair for YOU? Ahahaha! That’s rich. (Even if you are not!)
Oh, the tax code….that lovely piece of legislation that Paul Ryan has been dreaming about since he was a frat boy in college….that line of demarkation between Democrats and Republicans…that worn out excuse for rich people to pay less taxes than those who actually work for a living…yep, he “fixed” it. So while the top richest people in the country get a permanent tax break, those who work for a living will see an added $5-$10 in their paychecks for a couple of years. After that, it’s back to the way it was.
And as for the whole “Make America Great Again” thing…just saying it suggests that he doesn’t think America is great already–that’s a hell of a position to be in to negotiate trade deals and peace treaties. And a hell of a position to take about the country you want to lead.
Yeah, so, MAGA. I guess it depends on how you qualify or quantify greatness. But you only have to look at the history of the U.S. to see what has “made America great” in the first place. But when you are a candidate for the highest office in the land, it’s probably smarter to think about what is good in the country, rather than what a terrible place it is.
I’m no Hillary fan–I am, I admit, much further to the left of her politically and she doesn’t appeal to me personally. I also believe that she is as slippery and loose with facts as any traditional, old-school, glad-handing politician has ever been. What makes me (reluctantly) prepared to vote for HRC is that her knowledge of how the world’s GOVERNMENTS work in relation to ours is almost unparalleled. Will she “keep us safe” in the Donald Trump-I’m-your-Daddy way of bluster and bluff? No. I think she will require as much from us as a strict schoolteacher or coach, and that will be important as we move forward into each new century. Is she a criminal? I certainly don’t know, but eight Republican committees investigating her every move and decision have said no. And so has the head of the FBI. Do any of us know more about her than those guys? I don’t think so.
Has Hillary made mistakes? Of course. Have you? But when the mistakes you make become evident, the whole world isn’t watching and celebrating your failure. And how many times have you had to make life-or-death decisions that can potentially alter the lives of millions? She has. And whether you like her or not, or agree with her or not, the decisions she’s made have been made in the attempt to better the lives of those less fortunate: Sick kids, working mothers, abused women the world over have her to thank for fighting to set things right. Has she done those things for political gain? Probably. But how is that in any way comparable to Donald Trump’s decisions? Decisions he’s made in his attempts to better his own life while screwing the people he works with? His bankruptcies? The bankruptcy courts have been very busy with working people having to declare bankruptcy, especially during the meltdown of the housing market, in order to protect what little they can save. After you or I declare bankruptcy, it takes at least seven years to “clean up” our credit. No realtor wants to hear from you, Visa & MasterCard have a big red “B” next to your name in their books, and even Home Depot won’t allow you a credit card. And God help any one of us if that bankruptcy involves money owed to the IRS or a college tuition loan–those are structured specifically to not be included in any bankruptcy claim. Of course, we still don’t know exactly how Mr. Trump has been able to claim to be both a multi-millionaire and bankrupt 11 times, because he refuses to release his tax records, something almost every candidate for President has done since Herbert Hoover. But the exploitation of his own privilege is well documented…if we can’t see the official documents, we can certainly follow his shenanigans via the media. Yet, I’m thinking he probably wouldn’t have a problem getting a Home Depot credit card.
Hillary Clinton’s detractors are quite careful to point out her relationship with our current President, inciting fear of “more of the same”.
For those who object to Obama’s “professor in chief” way of governing, I wonder what kind of governing–if any–are you looking for? A free-for-all? “The Purge III”?
And if you believe that you like Trump’s bloviating bully persona in dealing with his enemies, what do you expect he will do to those in THIS country who cross him? Do you think he will tolerate anyone even questioning a policy or trade deal that he wants passed? Or that he will keep his temper in check when the House or Senate refuses to back a favorite program? Which is even more likely to happen to him than even Obama, since even his own party politicos despise him!
Yes, there are many working in the government who are Republicans, and who despise him, justifiably, for his bloviating lies and his rash decision making, not to mention his ignorance of the law and his apparent dismissal of it, at least for himself. Sadly, this flabby, weak, ignorant cheesepuff in DC is still the biggest bully on the block, and a loud-mouthed bully he is, and those folks in Washington who want to stay in Washington dare not cross him; his arrows are fiery and he has excellent, destructive aim.
So, the notion of Donald Trump as a bright light of hope is simply ridiculous. People have complained for 7 years about racial tension in the US “since Obama became President”. Do we think that promises to prevent people from entering our country based on their religious faith, or to build walls to keep “undesirables” from crossing the border, or disavowing our wounded or imprisoned soldiers for “getting caught” is going to make our country greater? Will he be willing to do what it takes to encourage and enable more of our children to strive for and reach the American Dream? Or will he simply drag us down to his level, shrinking the middle and working class to be small enough to drown in his gilded bathtub?
Obviously, the citizens of this country have been bamboozled by the hype and abrasive language of the least qualified president to ever hold the office. And some have realized what a mistake it was, others are digging in their heels and following their leader blindly. We are the land of the free, certainly, and we are free to choose our leaders. But when the land of the free begins to change, under this administration, into the land of the bigots, misogynists, and xenophobes, we may lose that proud distinction.
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