Tag Archives: 2016 Campaign

Current Election More Revealing Of Character Than Policy.

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There was a time when the debate between candidates and their supporters revolved around issues such as defense spending, tax policy, safety nets, federal deficits and debt. No longer. This election cycle has revolved around character – not just the character of candidates. But that of their supporters.

Here’s a case in point: Someone I know has been agonizing over a health crisis his wife is facing. Yet when he told a long-time friend and Trump supporter, the friend chose to use the situation to score political points by attacking Obamacare. Seriously? In fact, the wife would not be alive today without Obamacare. But his friend failed to consider that. So, instead of displaying a shred of sympathy or humanity, the friend chose to try to score political points!

As bad as that may seem, the example is far from unique.

Emboldened by Trump, people I’ve long known and cared about have made horribly racist statements. I’ve seen them reflexively attack Trump’s victims of sexual assault without knowing the women or the circumstances. I’ve heard them call for the exclusion of Muslims from the US and the deportation of Mexicans. I’ve heard them say that Hillary should be locked up even though they have not taken the time to examine the facts of her supposed transgressions. I’ve seen them repeat vicious, false and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories despite all the evidence to the contrary. I’ve heard them say that they admire how Trump “tells it like it is” even though independent fact-checking organizations have concluded that a vast majority of his statements are false.

I’ve seen these people support a candidate who has bragged about refusing to pay suppliers; who has filed hundreds of frivolous lawsuits out of spite; who calls himself smart for evading taxes; who has encouraged violence; who has embraced the endorsement of the KKK, who has supported the torture of our enemies; who has called for the murder of combatants’ families; and who has stated that our democratic process is rigged so he may be unwilling to accept the outcome of the election. He has even suggested that the only remedy for his defeat is for his supporters to “exercise their second amendment rights.”

Any one of these things would be disqualifying for someone seeking to become a third world dictator, let alone for a candidate for President of the United States.

But what about his supporters – those who have helped Trump attain the nomination of a once-great party? How should we view them? Is it possible to remain friends with those who have revealed themselves to be of such questionable character? Personally, I don’t think so.

I can be friends with those who disagree with me on policy. Indeed, I encourage it. I learn little when I’m surrounded by like-minded people – they simply reinforce the views I already have. I thrive on debate – thoughtful, insightful and sometimes impassioned debate on issues that are supported by facts. But I do not care to engage in relationships with those who hold racist beliefs; those who would deny civil rights to others; those who choose hatred and meanness over respect and kindness; those who would deny aid to families in need; those who place partisanship over country; those who choose unsubstantiated lies over truth; those who care so little for the circumstances and feelings of others that they no longer understand what it means to be human.

In this regard, the 2016 election has done us all a great favor. It has helped us know our families, friends and acquaintances as never before.

The Difficulty Of Disproving A Negative.

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Once again, the Clintons have found themselves in the unenviable position of disproving negatives. Over more than 35 years, the GOP has accused them of wrongdoing and, when they have tried to prove their innocence, they have been labeled liars. According to the GOP, Bill lied about Gennifer Flowers. The GOP claims that the Clintons lied about Whitewater, about Travelgate, and about Vince Foster’s suicide. The GOP accuses Hillary of lying about Benghazi; of Bill’s motivation for meeting with Loretta Lynch. And conservatives are certain that Hillary lied about her use of a personal email server.

All of this has placed Hillary in the unenviable position of proving that she is not a liar. Even when she provides credible responses to the accusations, the GOP claims that, no matter what she says, she cannot be trusted. It doesn’t matter that there were attacks on US embassies in virtually every other administration. It doesn’t matter that both of the Secretaries of State who preceded Hillary also used private email servers during their terms. It doesn’t matter that both Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell deleted their emails from their time with the State Department. It doesn’t matter that the Bush administration funneled White House emails through the server at the Republican National Committee, then claimed that more than 22 million of government emails had been lost. It doesn’t matter that fact-checking services have found that Hillary has told the truth more than any of the candidates in the presidential race.

The unrelenting accusations have worked.

Despite having been the subjects of prolonged investigations costing a sum that must now be approaching $100 million, the only thing the GOP has been able to prove is that Bill was the recipient of oral sex from a young White House intern.

The GOP seems to have convinced much of the public that the Clintons can’t be trusted. Voters have heard the sound bites. They have read the accusations. But they don’t have time to read the explanations. They don’t have the patience for nuances.

Never mind that the last time the US created a budget surplus was under the Clinton administration. Never mind that the economy was booming during those years. Never mind that Hillary repaired US relations with allies that had been fractured during the Bush administration. Never mind that she helped open normal relations with some of our previous enemies. The Republicans and the ratings-obsessed news media have said that she’s a liar. Therefore, many of the voters plan to vote for Trump.

After all, Trump “tells it like it is.” More precisely, Trump tells it the way that angry white people and those disillusioned by decades of congressional gridlock caused by the GOP want to think it is.

It doesn’t seem to matter to them that Trump has resorted to making truthful statements only a tiny fraction of the time. It doesn’t seem to matter that he’s a proven con-man. It doesn’t matter that he gleefully incites racial hatred. It doesn’t matter that he has long-time connections to the mob. It doesn’t matter that he has been accused of fraud with regard to Trump University. It doesn’t matter that he is a misogynist. It doesn’t matter that he has been accused of sexual assault. It doesn’t matter that he has filed for bankruptcy at least 4 times. It doesn’t matter that he has been involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits and counting. It doesn’t matter that the few concrete policies he has proposed are blatantly unconstitutional and would add more than $1.6 trillion to the national debt. It doesn’t matter that many economists are convinced that he would collapse the world economy. It doesn’t matter that the leaders of other nations, including our allies, are frightened at the prospect of a President Trump.

What matters to them most is that Hillary used a private email server as Secretary of State and the GOP said that was wrong. So they’re going to vote for Trump. Un-freaking-believable!