It’s a party; cry if you want to.
by Keith Thomas
You know, I started out to write
one piece about the upcoming election and ended up with something entirely
different. Presidential elections are just like a party for a huge celebration
of a system of governing that has existed for a couple of hundred years. It’s a
raucous party at times. People can show up that were never expected. It’s also
a party that easily gets out of control like a party held at your parents’
house when they were out of town.
What a show this election party has
been so far! It is salacious and sordid. We may have to come up with new
descriptive words for what is taking place. The full frontal assault on decency
and civility will no doubt continue unabated. After this election we will all
finish up feeling a little more mentally unclean I think. We’ll also end up with a President.
Coming at us from the extremes of
all sides is rhetoric that says you’re stupid or much, much worse if you’re
voting for the other candidate. I don’t find these kinds of arguments conducive
to winning people over to a particular viewpoint or candidate. They aren’t
meant to be. They’re intended to be insulting, a public shaming intended to
keep thoughtful inquiry suppressed. Not that that means anything.
"Truth,' it has been said, 'is
the first casualty of war." [Philip Snowden, 1916.] I’m going to say that
the same holds true for elections especially these days and it applies to all
sides as much as we may want it otherwise.
There are no perfect candidates. In
writing this I had to come to grips with why I told people that I disliked Hillary
Clinton as well as Donald Trump. (My conclusion surprised me. But more on that
later.) I really have no views on the other candidates this time around. My
belief, rightly or wrongly, is that they will be lost in the storm, but at
least they provide voting options. They provide a nice distraction from the
often tawdry big show. I have voted for alternate party candidates in the past.
This time around due to the dissatisfaction of so many of the electorate with
the mainstream candidates I think that it’s quite possible that they could take
in 15% +/- of the vote this time around. Blank ballots could even pick up a
percentage point or two. In practical terms, two of the major contenders for a
“third party”, the Green and Libertarian parties, do not have an electoral path
to the Presidency. They are “get our issues out there” parties.
A lot of people aren’t entirely happy
about the candidate that they will ultimately cast their vote for in this
Presidential election. That is probably an understatement of ginormous
proportions. For many this will be another of the “lesser of two evils” vote
once again. One of the things that we need to do I believe is that we have to put what is taking place
and why we have been conditioned to think of certain things concerning the
candidates and our government in perspective.
First off I believe that it’s
important to ask how our culture in general got to such a toxic state of hate
and mistrust. I am quoting here from Donald Trump’s book “Trump: The Art of the Deal”.
“Even
though the publicity was almost entirely negative, there was a great deal of
it, and that drew a tremendous amount of attention to Trump Tower. Almost
immediately we saw an upsurge in the sales of apartments. I’m not saying that’s
a good thing, and in truth it probably says something perverse about the
culture we live in. But I’m a businessman, and I learned a lesson from that
experience: good publicity is preferable
to bad, but from a bottom-line perspective, bad publicity is sometimes better
than no publicity at all. Controversy, in short, sells.”
What constitutes the truth in this
day and age has become a moving target. What Trump said back in 1987 applies to
our current times as well except our culture has managed to become even more “perverse”.
We have had decades of a constant bombardment of hate and negativity. Let’s
face it, hate sells. Negative advertising in campaigns sells. Personal attacks
sell. The threat of violence sells. Fear of anything that we’re unsure about or
that is foreign to us sells. There is a never ending stream of propaganda
feeding this fear, frustration and ambiguity. Repeat the same lie often enough
by enough people and it becomes the truth. With each passing year finding the
actual truth in the morass of spin and statistics coupled with an endless
supply of speculation becomes increasingly difficult if not impossible.
I am going to quickly interject
here the recent findings of the last Republican Benghazi Committee timed for
release during the election cycle. This is the 8th iteration of this
committee. When you get past all the pontificating here’s the result of over 2
years and an estimated $7 million dollars:
Hillary Clinton is not guilty of any crimes. (This verdict is from some
of the very people that claim that the system is rigged.) All of the theories
and pre-conceived answers were unproved. Oh yes, and our entire government,
including those on the committee, could have done a better job.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are
the presumptive nominees. It would be a huge mistake to think that either one
of them can’t get elected. Seriously, President Obama should not have been able
to get reelected if even a fraction of the negative publicity had been true yet
Republicans managed to snatch a defeat out of the jaws of victory and he was
elected to a second term. In their recognition of that Republican leadership
has doubled down on the strategy that didn’t work last time and is launching a
campaign of hate into the stratosphere.
In this election cycle Hillary Clinton was
staring at the possibility of felony charges over her handling of classified
emails. That possibility is now over or at least should be. The head of the
FBI, formerly respected by Republicans, recommended against filing charges.
Conservatives exploded. Liberals exulted. The rest of us tried to maintain hope
that a long-suffering country’s nightmare is over. I can’t begin to tell you
how sick I am of hearing about yet another of a long list of government officials
screwing up email.
Sadly, the reprieve only lasted for
a couple of nanoseconds before Republican Congressmen and women started talking
about forming a committee and have since done so in order to hold more meetings
and investigations, right up until the election. There’s even enough time for
them to vote against Obamacare, a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act to those whose
lives have been saved by the act, a couple more times before the election. Our
leaders in Congress don’t really trust or have much faith in the government
even though they control the House and the Senate. That seems a little odd to
me but there you are. It turns out that we most believe in government when it
provides the pre-determined answers that we want.
Donald Trump is still facing the
possibility of civil charges over his Trump University scam in New York. (These
charges concerning Trump University have been progressing through the court
system for years. The only reason that they’re hitting now is because his
lawyers have been using delaying tactics.)
We are hearing from the leadership
of both of major parties that people must rally behind their party’s nominee.
That positon says that a political party comes before the country. This is sad.
This is not the United States of Republicans or Democrats. Men and women who
previously said that Donald Trump was a grave threat to our nation are now
supporting him. I used to be a Republican. While I wasn’t a Republican for very
long I was a Republican longer than the current front running and presumptive
nominee of the party. I am now back to being an Independent where I shall
remain.
A dynamic split in both parties seems
inevitable. There has already been some pretty awesome fallout. There often is
during election cycles. The degree to which it has happened is what’s making
this cycle noteworthy. Various groups of supporters and individuals have
already drawn lines in the sand as to their professed positions regarding
possible match ups and/or possible third party candidates. For many these
stated positions will turn out to be flexible when the reality of the situation
that the nation is in solidifies. Many will simply opt out, not only out of the
election but out of parties.
It also seems to me to be
historically demonstrated that states that have voted Republican the majority
of time will continue to do so this election. There is a huge belt of
conservative/Republican leaning states throughout the Midwest. If the Antichrist
ran as a Republican in these states he would still get the majority of the
vote. (I accept that referring to the Antichrist as a he is sexist.) Don’t get
me wrong, there will be some metaphorical rending of garments and lamenting but
when push comes to shove party stalwarts will vote Republican. It is just the
way it is. Now stalwart Democrats might not even admit to the possibility of
the Antichrist being their nominee but if she was they would vote for her.
There is a wealth of information
available regarding the candidates of the two main parties. It is hard at times
wading through the morass of speculation and conspiracy theories versus their
actual history and positions. Both have positions that have changed or evolved
just as our nation has. Videos and audios of them talking in interviews or at
events have been helpful. I prefer the longer uncut videos as opposed to edited
snippets. We also have their written comments although that requires more
sourcing and verification. I believe that the most accurate picture of a
candidate comes before the final push for votes takes place. In the last few
months of an election most candidates are just saying what they think needs to
be said to gain the most votes.
The Grand Old Party (GOP)
leadership is in that proverbial position of being between a rock and hard spot
with no best option of what to attempt next. If they were to deny Trump the
nomination by some procedural maneuver the party would lose a major faction of
his diehard supporters. P.E.R.I.O.D. (I don’t believe that they will. It’s kind
of like the incessant but never acted upon talk about impeaching President
Obama.) If they support him as a nominee many will be risking committing
political suicide from conservative supporters who abhor the vulgarity of Trump
as a man and candidate, leaving them with the prospect of having another major
faction of the party supporting Clinton or a third party candidate. What I will
refer to as the religious right of the party are already divided over Trump.
Whatever scenario goes down the man has already shredded the party.
Tactically the Democratic Party is
making a huge mistake if they don’t understand that part of their base is going
to vote for Trump—probably larger than they will acknowledge.
I don’t need to spend much time on
Hillary Clinton. She has been pounded for the last couple of decades with
practically every accusation imaginable. There are hundreds if not thousands of
sites on the internet dedicated to promoting the afore-mentioned conspiracy
theories and accusations. I get something new every day in my email or web
feeds. It’s just ridiculous propaganda possibly believed completely by those
reading and distributing it. They are true believers.
I was chasing down one of those
“new” conspiracy theories that was going to take down her entire campaign
awhile back and realized that it was in reality one that I had already tracked
down umpteen times before. The old theories have been repackaged, reformatted
and are being marketed as being new again. Nothing has been proven and that
really doesn’t make any sense given the weight of the entirety of all the
accusations and theories.
That’s when I realized that in
reality she hasn’t been convicted or found guilty of anything other than being
human. That’s was when I had the epiphany that I disliked her not because she
was guilty of anything but because I have been pounded with so much negative
material that it just became a part of my thoughts. (It made me think of when I
was stationed in Germany and was listening to a pirate radio station. Someone
had left a station on and I didn’t want to bother with getting up to turn it
off. I wrote home a lot and was there for a couple of hours. The station had a
guy droning on and on about hating white people. It was just “we must kill the
white man, kill the white man” over and over. As I was sitting there writing I
found myself thinking “yes, we must kill the white man”. What? I got up and
turned off the station. Now, it was not the belief that we should kill the
white man that stuck but rather the words, like an ear worm.) Had I been asked
if I had a favorable opinion of Hillary I would have just said no. Now, I have
a neutral opinion.
I am not a fan of the Clintons. But
as I reflect back, the reality is that for all the years, make that decades, of
pounding vilification against the Clintons with the focus shifting to Hillary
in the last decade, they have never been convicted of any crime. There are
those I know that will say that they are just that devious and crafty at not
getting caught. There’s also that they are just not guilty. Either way they
come out being better than anyone that has tried to take them down.
Hillary Clinton has taken
everything that has been thrown at her. She’s still standing and she’s still
trading punches and she wins. Otherwise she wouldn’t still be here. Trump has
never been through an experience like this other than the primary. This is his
first time in the ring. He made it to the bigs without going to the minor leagues.
He was the Don Rickles of the Republican Party primaries. He didn’t have to
know anything. He only had to put on a good show.
Donald Trump maintains that he’s a
counter-puncher and only hits back in response. What he does is he provokes
response. For example he will lash out at Hillary Clinton over her husband’s
infidelity in order to get her to engage him in scandalous debate, despite his
own marital infidelities. He excels in such debate. He doesn’t mind wallowing
in the mud as long as he can drag his adversaries down in there with him. If
they won’t get in the pit with him he just splashes the mud up on them.
I know a number of veterans
supporting Trump. Why? Obviously I am not one that is. For me he is a fortunate
son draft avoider. He started off with a 1Y, received 4 deferments for school
and then got a medical deferment before receiving a high number when the
lottery started. Why support a man that made the decision not to serve the
country during such a difficult time? I would have more respect for him if he
had opposed the war for religious or other convictions like Muhammad Ali. He
certainly didn’t play the ‘Man Card’ then and that would have been a great time
to do it.
Yet he’s a war monger. Not only is
he an advocate of war but he advocates committing war crimes. He denigrated
Prisoner of War Veteran John McCain and said that he preferred those that
didn’t get captured. (Yet McCain is supporting Trump.) Well, if you don’t serve
you certainly don’t have to worry about getting captured. I’m not sure that
people realize that was an insult to a lot of POW veterans of numerous wars
from a man who avoided service.
Whatever happens at this point
Donald Trump is going to end up one of the most hated men in America. His ego
may let him relish that. I’m not sure that he’s ready for the level of hate
that he has directed at others being aimed back at him.
I can’t really say for sure that
Trump is a racist even though much of his rhetoric leans that way. I also know
that he has no control over who chooses to support him. Whether anyone likes it
or not it does seem clear that those that are racists are also drawn to his
campaign. One of telling points though for me was when he singled out his
Afro-American supporter in the crowd at a rally. The guy really stood out in
the crowd. Trump does have the support of a few minorities but by and large he
is the white person’s candidate. Perhaps a better way to say it is that the
majority of his support seems to come from white people. It’s just the way it
is.
I do want to pull from Trump’s book
some items that I believe apply to the man that he is today.
“If there’s one thing that I’ve
learned about the rich, it’s that they have a very low threshold for even the
mildest discomfort.” [Pg261]”
“Barron is a member of what I call
Lucky Sperm Club. He was born wealthy and bred to be an aristocrat, and he is
one of those guys who never had to prove anything to anyone.” [Pg 236]
“The other thing I do when I talk with
reporters is to be straight. I try not to deceive them or to be defensive,
because those are precisely the ways most people get themselves into trouble
with the press. Instead, when a reporter asks me a tough question, I try to
frame a positive answer, even if that means shifting the ground.” [Pgs 57-58]
“Even in elementary school, I was a
very assertive, aggressive kid. In the second grade I actually gave a teacher a
black eye—I punched my music teacher because I didn’t think that he knew
anything about music and I almost got expelled. I’m not proud of that, but it’s
clear evidence that even early on I had a tendency to stand up and make my
opinions known in a very forceful way. The difference is now that I like to use
my brain instead of my fists.” [Pgs 71-72]
I am biased about teachers. There
are a number of teachers in my family. I can’t imagine throwing a punch at a
teacher at any age. Trump didn’t get expelled so that pretty much confirms
being a member himself of the Lucky Sperm Club. Even though he said he wasn’t
proud of punching his teacher, he still made it a positive statement about
being strong.
I believe that Donald Trump would
do the same thing for America that he has done for the Republican Party. He
would tear the country apart.
What should we look for in a
President? There are a lot of different answers to that question, but here are
some suggestions:
·
Recognition of the importance of the office (worldwide
there are only a handful of leadership positions of countries that wield as
much economic and military power as the United States. The President is the
most recognizable representative of what we are as a nation whether we like it
or not.)
·
Leadership skills: Respectful in dealing with
others. Able to build a consensus.
·
Knowledgeable grasp of the intricacies of
government. Education. Experience.
·
Humanity
·
Honesty
·
Compassion
·
Grace under pressure
·
Common sense
·
Ethics
·
Moral, physical and mental strength
·
A servant’s heart
People have strengths and
weaknesses in different areas. I don’t believe that any of our current
candidates rise to the level of being evil and all of them are flawed. In
aspiring to the highest elected position in our country, I would certainly want
the candidate I vote for to bring a lot more to the table than what I have to
offer and come closer to the ideal than the other candidate(s).
In consideration of all these
things, then, I have decided to cast my vote for Hillary Clinton.