As MSNBC's Churk Todd pointed out yesterday, in all the pundits' analysis of the results of the midterm elections, everyone has missed the big, magical story that happened:
The caravan has gone missing.
President Trump filled his raucous rallies with frightening tales of a caravan of "hordes of bad people marching toward our southern border," intent on invading our country to do us great harm. He bombarded his crowds with vivid descriptions of "blood-thirsty" MS13 gang members who are "killers." Terrorists from the Middle East. And just the sheer numbers of them "overwhelming your schools, depleting your resources, and damaging your communities."
Where is the caravan now? It seems to have vanished, says Chuch Todd, who goes on to quote some facts. Last Friday, there were 11 mentions of the caravan on "Fox and Friends." On Monday there were 10, and on Tuesday (election day) 9. Since then, they were mentioned once on Wednesday -- and not again since then. Not once. We're saved!
It's a miracle!!! How else can it be explained?
Ralph
PS: But, be wary, Chuck also warns. He says he has a feeling we may hear about them again as the 2020 election draws nigh.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Democrats take control of the House
It's hard for me to feel joy right now, having to accept the defeat of both Beto O'Rourk, in his race against Ted Cruz in Texas, and of Andrew Gillum in his race to be governor of Florida. Both of these men brought a freshness and a spirit of authenticity and compassion and competence to politics.
I'm also sad that, although Stacie Abrams' race for governor of Georgia is still too early to call, she is trailing pretty badly. Maybe she will still pull out a win as the metro Atlanta votes get counted. Abrams is smart, politically adept, knows her way around the Georgia legislature -- and she would be an inspiring first African-American woman ever to be governor of a U.S. state.
However, putting those aside, this was a very good night for Democrats. As of 11:30 Tuesday night, the Democrats have flipped enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives, with some to spare.
The real significance of this is that, come January, Democrats will control the agenda, the budget, and will become chairs of all the House committees. And that means that now they will provide oversight and investigative powers, including subpoena power, over the Trump administration. This is an important constitutionally established function of the House, something Republicans have refused to do with Trump as president.
More about all of this later. Now to bed.
Ralph
UPDATE: With 100% of precincts reporting, the Georgia governor's race now has Kemp with 50.8%, Abrams 48.3%, and Metz 0.9%.
UPDATE #2: Those results do not, however, include all of the absentee ballots nor the provisional ballots. So it is still mathematically possible for Abrams to win; but not very probable.
I'm also sad that, although Stacie Abrams' race for governor of Georgia is still too early to call, she is trailing pretty badly. Maybe she will still pull out a win as the metro Atlanta votes get counted. Abrams is smart, politically adept, knows her way around the Georgia legislature -- and she would be an inspiring first African-American woman ever to be governor of a U.S. state.
However, putting those aside, this was a very good night for Democrats. As of 11:30 Tuesday night, the Democrats have flipped enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives, with some to spare.
The real significance of this is that, come January, Democrats will control the agenda, the budget, and will become chairs of all the House committees. And that means that now they will provide oversight and investigative powers, including subpoena power, over the Trump administration. This is an important constitutionally established function of the House, something Republicans have refused to do with Trump as president.
More about all of this later. Now to bed.
Ralph
UPDATE: With 100% of precincts reporting, the Georgia governor's race now has Kemp with 50.8%, Abrams 48.3%, and Metz 0.9%.
UPDATE #2: Those results do not, however, include all of the absentee ballots nor the provisional ballots. So it is still mathematically possible for Abrams to win; but not very probable.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Every vote counts.
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
No, I don't mean vote four times. But do vote -- and take three people with you to vote also.
We're facing so much effort to suppress the vote that we must fight in the courts and at the polling places. If you are told your registration is on hold, demand to have a provisional ballot. And then do what's required to clear up any problem.
The problem we face here in Georgia, as well as in some other states , is that the Republican candidate for governor is also the Secretary of State, who is also in charge of the whole election process. He has refused to relinquish control of that during the election he is running in, even though some of his policies have been shot down by federal court challenges.
But we have an 11th hour wrinkle. The office of Georgia Sec. of State has issued a statement less than two days before the election accusing the Democratic Party of having hacked into the election registration system.
What this appears to be is that a cyber-vulnerability was discovered by a group that tests voting systems for just such vulnerabilities. Of course, their method is to try to hack a system to see where it is vulnerable. The difference is the use to be made of this. Legitimate testing is then duly reported to the authorities; it is not used to alter the results.
Somehow Kemp's campaign has twisted this into accusing the Democrats of something nefarious, although there is no evidence they did anything except pass along information that was given to them about the discovered vulnerability. It's unclear what their supposed motive was -- perhaps to make the Secretary of State look incompetent? That wouldn't be too hard. I'll update this as we get new information.
As of late evening Monday, we're told the GBI is investigating; but they have released no statement; neither has the FBI, if they are involved. Stacie Abrams has denounced this as a political stunt on the part of the Kemp campaign -- and that's where it stands unless and until something turns up as evidence against one side or another. Will it affect the vote? Probably any effect will be more or less evenly split -- those who believe the Kemp charge and those who agree with Abrams that it was a political stunt on Kemp's part.
In the meantime, get as many legitimately qualified voters you know to the polls to cast a legal ballot. Let's overwhelm the attempts to suppress and steal this election. After all, we also have gerrymandering to overcome, which takes even more Democratic votes to win congressional races.
Ralph
No, I don't mean vote four times. But do vote -- and take three people with you to vote also.
We're facing so much effort to suppress the vote that we must fight in the courts and at the polling places. If you are told your registration is on hold, demand to have a provisional ballot. And then do what's required to clear up any problem.
The problem we face here in Georgia, as well as in some other states , is that the Republican candidate for governor is also the Secretary of State, who is also in charge of the whole election process. He has refused to relinquish control of that during the election he is running in, even though some of his policies have been shot down by federal court challenges.
But we have an 11th hour wrinkle. The office of Georgia Sec. of State has issued a statement less than two days before the election accusing the Democratic Party of having hacked into the election registration system.
What this appears to be is that a cyber-vulnerability was discovered by a group that tests voting systems for just such vulnerabilities. Of course, their method is to try to hack a system to see where it is vulnerable. The difference is the use to be made of this. Legitimate testing is then duly reported to the authorities; it is not used to alter the results.
Somehow Kemp's campaign has twisted this into accusing the Democrats of something nefarious, although there is no evidence they did anything except pass along information that was given to them about the discovered vulnerability. It's unclear what their supposed motive was -- perhaps to make the Secretary of State look incompetent? That wouldn't be too hard. I'll update this as we get new information.
As of late evening Monday, we're told the GBI is investigating; but they have released no statement; neither has the FBI, if they are involved. Stacie Abrams has denounced this as a political stunt on the part of the Kemp campaign -- and that's where it stands unless and until something turns up as evidence against one side or another. Will it affect the vote? Probably any effect will be more or less evenly split -- those who believe the Kemp charge and those who agree with Abrams that it was a political stunt on Kemp's part.
In the meantime, get as many legitimately qualified voters you know to the polls to cast a legal ballot. Let's overwhelm the attempts to suppress and steal this election. After all, we also have gerrymandering to overcome, which takes even more Democratic votes to win congressional races.
Ralph
Monday, November 5, 2018
Trump's end of campaign message
photo by Associated Press
President Trump has certainly thrown himself into the final few weeks of the campaign for the midterm elections. Polls open in eastern states in about 31 hours from the time of this posting. Some 28 million people have already cast their ballots in early voting. This is almost 10 million more than at a comparable time in the 2014 midterms early voting.
But what is the message that the president is proclaiming -- by tweet and by rally?
"Be afraid." Be very afraid of the Democrats and what they will do if they take control of the House. And perhaps the real message is to himself: Be very afraid of what will happen in 2020 to my prospects for a second term if the Democrats get control of even one House of Congress.
Because that will give them subpoena power and investigative power. And they will expose what Robert Mueller finds -- and they will hold hearings and lay it all out there on CSPAN.
And, given that, what are the issues that Trump is emphasizing? Not the things he could legitimately call the successes of his time in office: an economy that, for the short term anyway, is looking good. Unemployment so low that need for workers is becoming a problem.
The tax cut for corporations and the wealthy didn't do much trickling down for the middle class and working people's wages (netting roughly $120 a month) -- but it sure did please his donors and friends. For example, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson's businesses got a $670 million windfall from the tax cut in the first quarter alone -- set to go over $2 billion for the year. So Adelson has rewarded his Republican friends in Congress with over $100 million in donations for the midterms.
The discrepancy between what Sheldon Edelson got from the tax cut and what his kitchen workers got was somewhere in the range of 1.87 million dollars to 1 dollar.
Let's compare what Trump does seem to think is important to focus on with what people say are the issues that are important to them in how they chose to vote.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll asked people just that: what issues are important influences on how you will vote. Here are the results.
Health Care 78%
The Economy 76%
Reducing divisiveness 69%
Taxes 66%
Border Security 59%
It's almost as if Trump turned the chart upside down. His #1 topic to rev up his base crowd is border security and the "hordes" that he sees invading our country -- the bottom of the people's list, border security. Embedded in that, whether the pollsters meant to or not, is racism. A lacerating, xenophobic, rejection of the Other as inferior, violent, diseased. It's an invasion by those "others," not only taking over our way of life, but destroying it. I'm not sure Trump is racist; but he is using racist memes to stir up his base, for crass political purposes, no matter who gets hurt.
And it's not even true. The narrative of the caravan, the "hordes" of people banded together is a dangerous exaggeration created by the Trump administration for political purposes. It's all part of con game to paint these refugees as dangerous and diseased and set on doing us harm --- all to stoke the fear of Trump's political base for political purposes.
As to taxes, he has made the facile promise of a 10% tax cut to the middle class -- with no plan or any hope of getting congress to do that. It's an empty promise for the election; nothing more. And he certainly is doing nothing to reduce divisiveness in our society; rather, he's the Divider in Chief.
As to the economy, he does occasionally mention how well it's doing -- mainly to give himself credit for the trend that began during Obama's term and, in general has failed to fulfill the promise with which Republicans sold their trillion dollar tax cut for corporations and the wealthy. So they keep that one pretty quiet. Instead, Trump trots out the empty promise of a 10% tax cut for the middle class, while Paul Ryan talks about having to cut entitlements because of the huge deficit that has resulted from their other tax cut. It seems there one message for the campaign rallies, an opposite one for congress.
As to the people's #1 choice, Medical Care, at least for the duration of the campaign, most Republicans and Trump himself have stopped promising to overturn Obamacare. Instead, they're making "Medicare for All" the boogey-man. Now they're giving lip service to "saving coverage for pre-existing conditions" and even having the chutzpah to accuse Democrats of endangering it. But Medicare for All? Too expensive; and, even worse, it will lead to Socialism.
Trump's upside-down rhetoric from what people say is most important to them is odd. Or maybe not. What Trump is really selling is fear. And the promise that only he can take care of them. It's the tactic of nascent fascism and the rising dictator. So he's picking issues that he can use most easily to scare people. And making empty promises that he can't keep on things that benefit most Americans.
Will the con work? We'll know soon. This election is the most important one at least since 1968 -- and perhaps ever further back than that. Because this is, in large part, a referendum on democracy itself. Do we want to keep it? If so, then we have to make some changes from the direction we're heading.
We are at a crisis point. We, the voters, will decide.
Ralph
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Trump on "telling the truth"
I saw a brief segment of an interview with President Trump by ABC News' Jon Karl that was literally jaw-dropping.
ABC played some footage from a campaign speech where Trump says "In this journey, I will never lie to you. I will never tell you something I do not believe."
Karl then asks Trump if he feels he has kept that promise.
Trump's response: "Well I try. I do try. . . . When I can, I tell the truth. And sometimes it turns out to be where something happens that's different or there's a change, but I always like to be truthful."
That was his canned answer. Karl didn't let him off the hook, so he began to improvise, beginning by stating to Jon Karl that "you sometimes say things that are not true . . . about me." And then, Karl pushed him, really quite hard -- especially on his calling journalists "the enemy of the people."
Karl asked him (paraphrased, because I don't have a transcript of this part): 'Don't you ever worry, when you say that we're the enemy . . . don't you ever worry that someone is going to hear you say that and shoot a reporter? You're the most powerful person in the world -- and when you call someone "the enemy," people listen. Why do you do that?'
Trump began to shrink and stumble over his words. I've never seem any interviewer push him quite so relentlessly. Finally Trump said: 'Well, it's all I have to fight back with. Karl counters with: "But you won." Trump: 'I wouldn't be sitting here now if I didn't [lie when I had to].'
In other words, Trump is acknowledging that he lies 'because it works' and sometimes it's all that will work.
The take-away from this: Trump lies when he "has to" to get what he wants. And sometimes he feels that it's his only defense. It doesn't seem to bother him, in the least, that he lies -- and lies about very important matters with national and global effects. It's very simple to him: if it works, then that's what you do. There is no qualm, no guilt, no attempt to explain. It's an expected part of the transactional nature of his amoral approach to negotiating to get what he wants.
Just look at the lies he's told in the last week or so as ways of stoking the fear in his base so they will go out and vote. I suppose this means he doesn't trust that people will vote for him if they aren't scared enough of the consequences.
1. The caravan bringing Central American people -- most of whom seem to be women and children, some of the children in strollers -- is an "invading horde" that will bring diseases and violence into our country. Trump talks about M13 gang members and terrorists in the caravan -- without a shred of evidence.
2. He has ordered 5,200 active duty troops to the southern border to bolster the national guard units already deployed there. And now he says he might send as many as 15,000. And, because we have a law that forbids our U.S. military troops from fighting within the United States unless they are attacked with guns, he plans to issue an executive order to redefine a rifle so that it will include the rocks that are the only weapons the caravan people have -- even if they did want to fight us. In fact, they are coming, hoping to be taken in a refugees.
3. To take care of that, he is also saying that he will not grant asylum to any refugees who enter illegally. Being turned away at one entry point, and then coming in at another entry point, will constitute entering illegally.
4. On the other hand, he has promised a 10% tax cut for the middle class "before the mid-term election," after the $10 trillion tax cut for the wealthy did not prove to help him in the election. When it was pointed out that Congress won't be back in session until after the election, he brushed it off -- well, we'll have the vote after the election. But we will pass it -- this despite a complete lack of enthusiasm among Republican legislators, who want an excuse to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
5. He has floated all kinds of terrible things that will happen if the Democrats take control of the House -- including impeaching him. And he told his crowd that, if they let that happen by not voting, it will be their fault.
6. And ego-maniac that he is, he also told them that he is the most important one in this election. Even though he is not on the ballot, it will totally be a referendum on him. There is some truth in that boast.
7. He has boasted that he will sign an order forbidding transgender people to serve in any capacity in our military. That's not going to happen. The military does not want it. They had already accepted Obama's order to treat them as equals in the military. Mattis will slow-walk it, and Trump will forget the promise.
8. Trump has declared that the concept of birthright citizenship (being born in the U.S. of non-citizen parents) is unconstitutional; and he intends to change the interpretation of the law. This is despite near-unanimous consensus among legal scholars that the 14th amendment applies and has been reaffirmed in that interpretation.
There are probably some more, but that's enough space taken up with more of Donald Trump's lies, distortions, and misinformation. In fact, some newspaper that keeps count says his total number of lies since his inauguration is now over 4,000.
But remember -- the main point of this post is Trump's revelation of why he lies: he does because it works or because he can't think of any other answer. And he feels no hint of guilt or shame about it.
Ralph
ABC played some footage from a campaign speech where Trump says "In this journey, I will never lie to you. I will never tell you something I do not believe."
Karl then asks Trump if he feels he has kept that promise.
Trump's response: "Well I try. I do try. . . . When I can, I tell the truth. And sometimes it turns out to be where something happens that's different or there's a change, but I always like to be truthful."
That was his canned answer. Karl didn't let him off the hook, so he began to improvise, beginning by stating to Jon Karl that "you sometimes say things that are not true . . . about me." And then, Karl pushed him, really quite hard -- especially on his calling journalists "the enemy of the people."
Karl asked him (paraphrased, because I don't have a transcript of this part): 'Don't you ever worry, when you say that we're the enemy . . . don't you ever worry that someone is going to hear you say that and shoot a reporter? You're the most powerful person in the world -- and when you call someone "the enemy," people listen. Why do you do that?'
Trump began to shrink and stumble over his words. I've never seem any interviewer push him quite so relentlessly. Finally Trump said: 'Well, it's all I have to fight back with. Karl counters with: "But you won." Trump: 'I wouldn't be sitting here now if I didn't [lie when I had to].'
In other words, Trump is acknowledging that he lies 'because it works' and sometimes it's all that will work.
The take-away from this: Trump lies when he "has to" to get what he wants. And sometimes he feels that it's his only defense. It doesn't seem to bother him, in the least, that he lies -- and lies about very important matters with national and global effects. It's very simple to him: if it works, then that's what you do. There is no qualm, no guilt, no attempt to explain. It's an expected part of the transactional nature of his amoral approach to negotiating to get what he wants.
Just look at the lies he's told in the last week or so as ways of stoking the fear in his base so they will go out and vote. I suppose this means he doesn't trust that people will vote for him if they aren't scared enough of the consequences.
1. The caravan bringing Central American people -- most of whom seem to be women and children, some of the children in strollers -- is an "invading horde" that will bring diseases and violence into our country. Trump talks about M13 gang members and terrorists in the caravan -- without a shred of evidence.
2. He has ordered 5,200 active duty troops to the southern border to bolster the national guard units already deployed there. And now he says he might send as many as 15,000. And, because we have a law that forbids our U.S. military troops from fighting within the United States unless they are attacked with guns, he plans to issue an executive order to redefine a rifle so that it will include the rocks that are the only weapons the caravan people have -- even if they did want to fight us. In fact, they are coming, hoping to be taken in a refugees.
3. To take care of that, he is also saying that he will not grant asylum to any refugees who enter illegally. Being turned away at one entry point, and then coming in at another entry point, will constitute entering illegally.
4. On the other hand, he has promised a 10% tax cut for the middle class "before the mid-term election," after the $10 trillion tax cut for the wealthy did not prove to help him in the election. When it was pointed out that Congress won't be back in session until after the election, he brushed it off -- well, we'll have the vote after the election. But we will pass it -- this despite a complete lack of enthusiasm among Republican legislators, who want an excuse to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
5. He has floated all kinds of terrible things that will happen if the Democrats take control of the House -- including impeaching him. And he told his crowd that, if they let that happen by not voting, it will be their fault.
6. And ego-maniac that he is, he also told them that he is the most important one in this election. Even though he is not on the ballot, it will totally be a referendum on him. There is some truth in that boast.
7. He has boasted that he will sign an order forbidding transgender people to serve in any capacity in our military. That's not going to happen. The military does not want it. They had already accepted Obama's order to treat them as equals in the military. Mattis will slow-walk it, and Trump will forget the promise.
8. Trump has declared that the concept of birthright citizenship (being born in the U.S. of non-citizen parents) is unconstitutional; and he intends to change the interpretation of the law. This is despite near-unanimous consensus among legal scholars that the 14th amendment applies and has been reaffirmed in that interpretation.
There are probably some more, but that's enough space taken up with more of Donald Trump's lies, distortions, and misinformation. In fact, some newspaper that keeps count says his total number of lies since his inauguration is now over 4,000.
But remember -- the main point of this post is Trump's revelation of why he lies: he does because it works or because he can't think of any other answer. And he feels no hint of guilt or shame about it.
Ralph
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Hate in America -- people killing people
This was posted on HuffPost by two of its writers: Andy Campbell and Sebastian Murdock.
"A man executed two black people at a grocery store, but didn't engage a white man outside because [he said] 'whites don't shoot whites.' A Donald Trump supporter and apparent anti-Semite who looked up to white supremacists sent bombs in the mail to the president's opposition [all liberal Democrats]. An avowed anti-Semite walked into a synagogue and killed 11 people after screaming, 'All Jews must die!'
"This was one week in American hate. . . . The only difference between this week and the last is that a few of the angry, hateful people under that banner decided to go out and act on their hate. . . .
"Initially lost in that news cycle was a shooting at a Kroger in Kentucky on Wednesday. That two people died in a shooting at a grocery store wasn't a huge surprise -- 96 people are killed by guns every day in America and hundreds more are shot -- but later it became clear that this particular shooting was a little different.
"Gregory Alan Bush allegedly shot a black man in the back of the head at the grocery store, shot him several more times as he lay on the ground, and then walked outside, where he shot and killed a black woman. There wasn't an official motive on the books as of Saturday, but a witness who was armed at the time told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Bush uttered 'whites don't kill whites' as he passed by 'nonchalantly.' Later it was revealed that he'd tried and failed to enter a predominantly black church minutes earlier.
"Suddenly, this regular American shooting story because a regular American hate story too. And then on Saturday, American hate came full circle.
"An anti-Semite named Robert Bowers allegedly walked into a synagogue in Pittsburgh, screamed 'All Jews must die!' and then shot and killed at least 11 people and wounded more.
"Scans of Bowers' social media activity -- mostly on Gab, a hub for the likes of violent neo-Nazis -- reveal that he despised Jews and subscribed to various conspiracy theories about a migrant caravan in Mexico. His anger and anxiety, fueled by the idea that Jews were bringing immigrants into the country to displace white people, ended in what's being called the 'deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.'
In his last social media posting, just before entering the synagogue to kill Jews, he himself drew the parallel of the Jews-as-outsiders and the "invading hordes" from the South in the rhetoric from President Trump and others. It was clear from his last statement -- "I'm going in" -- that he felt called to this mission as a duty.
"Bowers' hate was the same as the others.' It was blind; it was given tacit endorsement through violent rhetoric coming from our pundits and our president; and it had a strong community in which to fester and grow. His act capped off a week in which hate showed what it is truly capable of in America."
* * * * *
"This was one week in American hate. . . . The only difference between this week and the last is that a few of the angry, hateful people under that banner decided to go out and act on their hate. . . .
"Initially lost in that news cycle was a shooting at a Kroger in Kentucky on Wednesday. That two people died in a shooting at a grocery store wasn't a huge surprise -- 96 people are killed by guns every day in America and hundreds more are shot -- but later it became clear that this particular shooting was a little different.
"Gregory Alan Bush allegedly shot a black man in the back of the head at the grocery store, shot him several more times as he lay on the ground, and then walked outside, where he shot and killed a black woman. There wasn't an official motive on the books as of Saturday, but a witness who was armed at the time told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Bush uttered 'whites don't kill whites' as he passed by 'nonchalantly.' Later it was revealed that he'd tried and failed to enter a predominantly black church minutes earlier.
"Suddenly, this regular American shooting story because a regular American hate story too. And then on Saturday, American hate came full circle.
"An anti-Semite named Robert Bowers allegedly walked into a synagogue in Pittsburgh, screamed 'All Jews must die!' and then shot and killed at least 11 people and wounded more.
"Scans of Bowers' social media activity -- mostly on Gab, a hub for the likes of violent neo-Nazis -- reveal that he despised Jews and subscribed to various conspiracy theories about a migrant caravan in Mexico. His anger and anxiety, fueled by the idea that Jews were bringing immigrants into the country to displace white people, ended in what's being called the 'deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.'
In his last social media posting, just before entering the synagogue to kill Jews, he himself drew the parallel of the Jews-as-outsiders and the "invading hordes" from the South in the rhetoric from President Trump and others. It was clear from his last statement -- "I'm going in" -- that he felt called to this mission as a duty.
"Bowers' hate was the same as the others.' It was blind; it was given tacit endorsement through violent rhetoric coming from our pundits and our president; and it had a strong community in which to fester and grow. His act capped off a week in which hate showed what it is truly capable of in America."
* * * * *
There's a little more to the stories that tie all three together. According to the right-wing conspiracy theory. the supposed wealthy Jew who is funding the "caravan" of Central American people who are about to "storm our borders" is none other than the wealthy donor George Soros.
George Soros was the intended recipient of the first bomb mailed by the Trump supporter who sent all the bombs to Trump's opponents. And now -- as Trump's pre-election 'October surprise' to scare his base into turning out to vote -- President Trump is sending 5,200 U.S. troops (in addition to legions of national guards) to secure the southern border against these "hordes" of "terrorist" and unknown "Middle Easterners" to terrorize our land and spread disease (Laura Ingraham suggested smallpox and leprosy) amongst us.
What rubbish. The people in the caravan are mostly women and children, running away from violence in their own Central American countries. There is not one scintilla of evidence that they are being paid to do this. Maybe some liberal groups have provided some humanitarian aid, like food and water. But the George Soros-paid horde is a complete fiction.
Well, at least Trump's October surprise wasn't a nuclear attack on North Korea. Now, if we can just survive these next seven days . . . what? The hate will go away? Not likely. Not with Donald Trump sitting on the golden throne.
What rubbish. The people in the caravan are mostly women and children, running away from violence in their own Central American countries. There is not one scintilla of evidence that they are being paid to do this. Maybe some liberal groups have provided some humanitarian aid, like food and water. But the George Soros-paid horde is a complete fiction.
Well, at least Trump's October surprise wasn't a nuclear attack on North Korea. Now, if we can just survive these next seven days . . . what? The hate will go away? Not likely. Not with Donald Trump sitting on the golden throne.
Ralph
PS: As I read back over this, the level of conspiracy theory is rather arcane -- which makes me think that it's not far-fetched that this same mentality might come up with a conspiracy with Russians to help him win the election.
PS: As I read back over this, the level of conspiracy theory is rather arcane -- which makes me think that it's not far-fetched that this same mentality might come up with a conspiracy with Russians to help him win the election.
Monday, October 29, 2018
Trump incapable of being the "comforter in chief" in a time of tragedy.
Top analytic reporters at the New York Times, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, have contributed an important piece of analysis concerning the most recent shooting tragedy and President Trump's response. Here are some excerpts from their article, published in the Times on Sunday. It's titled: "Analysis: For Trump, Dutiful Words of Grief, Then Off to the Next Flight."
"Even some supporters call him tone-deaf, and critics say his fire-and-fury style has fueled a toxic moment in American history, while defenders bristle at what they consider opportunistic attacks by opponents interested only in tearing him down.
"The deaths of 11 worshipers [at a synagogue] in Pittsburgh revived questions about what signals Mr. Trump has sent, intentionally or not, to the most radical fringe elements of society. As the president notes, members of his family are Jewish and he has been perhaps the staunchest supporter of Israel to sit in the Oval Office. Yet his castigation of 'globalists,' seen by some as code for Jews, and his attacks on George Soros, the billionaire financier of liberal causes, have unsettled Jewish leaders.
“'These words are like sparks to the gasoline of disturbed minds,' said Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official running as a Democrat for Congress in New Jersey. 'These words can kill.'
"Mr. Trump’s team rejected any linkage between his language and the acts of isolated extremists. . . . Vice President Mike Pence told NBC News. . . 'I just don’t think you can connect it to acts or threats of violence.' . . .
"The president has made clear he does not see national harmony as his mission. He mocks the notion of being 'presidential,' and the crowds at his rallies egg him on, eager for him to 'tone it up' rather than 'tone it down,' as he puts it. He reads the dutiful words of unity and grief . . . that aides put in front of him, but he refuses to stick to the script. His people want a fighter, in his view, and he plans to give it to them. . . .
"Inside the White House, advisers veer between resolve, resignation and resentment — struggling to get Mr. Trump to do and say what a typical president might, frustrated that he does not always heed their guidance and bitter that his critics are piling on. Sometimes they take it upon themselves to do what he will not. . . .
"Urged on by his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, the president made plans to travel to Pittsburgh this week. But he saw no reason to dispense with his campaign schedule or adjust his message. Within minutes of expressing outrage at anti-Semitism at a rally in Illinois on Saturday night, he attacked Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California who had been targeted in last week’s spate of bomb scares. . . .
"By Sunday morning, Mr. Trump was attacking another opponent who had been sent a bomb, 'Wacky Tom Steyer,' the liberal California billionaire leading a campaign to impeach the president. . . .
"By the end of the day, he was lashing out at the media again. 'The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country,' he wrote. 'Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!' . . .
"Mr. Kushner insisted that his father-in-law 'is not anti-Semitic' but merely 'careless in retweeting imagery that can be interpreted as offensive.' . . .
"Mr. Trump had already voiced frustration that the attempted bombings diverted attention from his closing message during the campaign. With Mr. Trump indicating he will not cancel his rallies, some in his party braced for a split-screen week that they feared could drive even more moderates away . . . [with images of] the president hurling bolts at Democrats while funeral services are held in Pittsburgh.
“'The events of the last week have rendered these rallies an even bigger double-edged sword,' said David Axelrod, the former senior adviser to Mr. Obama. 'How do you call for unity in one breath and whip up the crowd into a state of rage about perceived enemies the next?' . . . ."
* * *
"For months, Republican officials have complained privately that President Trump lacks the ability to confront moments of crisis with moral clarity, choosing to inflame the divisions that have torn the country apart rather than try to bring it together.
"It took the importuning of his Jewish daughter and son-in-law to craft a powerful statement of outrage at anti-Semitism after Saturday’s slaughter at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Then Mr. Trump went back into partisan mode, assailing his enemies. By the evening’s end he was tweeting about baseball, and on Sunday he went after another foe. . . .
"Even some supporters call him tone-deaf, and critics say his fire-and-fury style has fueled a toxic moment in American history, while defenders bristle at what they consider opportunistic attacks by opponents interested only in tearing him down.
"The deaths of 11 worshipers [at a synagogue] in Pittsburgh revived questions about what signals Mr. Trump has sent, intentionally or not, to the most radical fringe elements of society. As the president notes, members of his family are Jewish and he has been perhaps the staunchest supporter of Israel to sit in the Oval Office. Yet his castigation of 'globalists,' seen by some as code for Jews, and his attacks on George Soros, the billionaire financier of liberal causes, have unsettled Jewish leaders.
“'These words are like sparks to the gasoline of disturbed minds,' said Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official running as a Democrat for Congress in New Jersey. 'These words can kill.'
"Mr. Trump’s team rejected any linkage between his language and the acts of isolated extremists. . . . Vice President Mike Pence told NBC News. . . 'I just don’t think you can connect it to acts or threats of violence.' . . .
"The president has made clear he does not see national harmony as his mission. He mocks the notion of being 'presidential,' and the crowds at his rallies egg him on, eager for him to 'tone it up' rather than 'tone it down,' as he puts it. He reads the dutiful words of unity and grief . . . that aides put in front of him, but he refuses to stick to the script. His people want a fighter, in his view, and he plans to give it to them. . . .
"Inside the White House, advisers veer between resolve, resignation and resentment — struggling to get Mr. Trump to do and say what a typical president might, frustrated that he does not always heed their guidance and bitter that his critics are piling on. Sometimes they take it upon themselves to do what he will not. . . .
"Urged on by his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, the president made plans to travel to Pittsburgh this week. But he saw no reason to dispense with his campaign schedule or adjust his message. Within minutes of expressing outrage at anti-Semitism at a rally in Illinois on Saturday night, he attacked Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California who had been targeted in last week’s spate of bomb scares. . . .
"By Sunday morning, Mr. Trump was attacking another opponent who had been sent a bomb, 'Wacky Tom Steyer,' the liberal California billionaire leading a campaign to impeach the president. . . .
"By the end of the day, he was lashing out at the media again. 'The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country,' he wrote. 'Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!' . . .
"Mr. Kushner insisted that his father-in-law 'is not anti-Semitic' but merely 'careless in retweeting imagery that can be interpreted as offensive.' . . .
"Mr. Trump had already voiced frustration that the attempted bombings diverted attention from his closing message during the campaign. With Mr. Trump indicating he will not cancel his rallies, some in his party braced for a split-screen week that they feared could drive even more moderates away . . . [with images of] the president hurling bolts at Democrats while funeral services are held in Pittsburgh.
“'The events of the last week have rendered these rallies an even bigger double-edged sword,' said David Axelrod, the former senior adviser to Mr. Obama. 'How do you call for unity in one breath and whip up the crowd into a state of rage about perceived enemies the next?' . . . ."
* * *
As I see it, there's an even larger problem than Trump's communication style and his prioritizing planned campaign events over national tragedies.
Trump does not see himself as the president of all the people. He is the president of his base and others who will vote for him and be loyal to him.
That is the core problem in this presidency. I don't think he is going to change. We will have to change congress on November 6th, taking away some of the power he now has. And then change presidents in 2020. That means: Go Vote!!!
Ralph
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