Sunday, August 21, 2016

I Will Always Tell You the Truth. And Other Lies.

Which, of course, is an absolute lie, no matter who says it. But the fact that it was Donald Trump, all-of-a-sudden apologizing and blabbering on about how in the heat of a campaign he might have said some nasty things about, oh, African-Americans, women, Hispanics, judges, pollsters, etc., makes it doubly ironic and self-defeating.

This is the Trump Pivot; the moment in the campaign where he gets serious and presidential and wants to be judged by what he says from this point forward and for us lowly voters to forget what got him the Republican nomination in the first place. That would be hate, accusation, blame, xenophobia, denial, sexism and blaming the victim. The only thing that would make his standing worse in the eyes of many Americans is if he publicly insulted the family of a fallen United States soldier because of some ethnic slur or ignorant remark.

Oh, wait.

And then the first issue he publicized was Hillary Clinton's health. Which turns out to be rather fine, thank you very much. And that came straight from her doctor. But I guess if you're going to deny climate change, you might as well double down and dismiss all scientific inquiry. So go ahead and smoke, right?

There will be no Trump Pivot. His new Breitbart-led campaign will be the height of cynicism and chock full of the right's 1990 greatest hits list, which includes the Clintons murdering Vincent Foster, trying to manipulate the money supply and all of the other untruths that the fringe has been dying to run on since 1994. Dump in a heavy dose of Benghazi and e-mails, and you pretty much have the Trump campaign's tactics right in front of you. It's the campaign the far right has wanted to run since the Reagan era began, but the party kept nominating politicians who actually had ideas. Not good ones, but actual governing experience. With Trump, they have their perfect front man--a huckster who only cares about spreading his name and enough ignorance to just say stuff and hope that it leads the news cycle.

The truth will unfortunately have to wait its turn, if it comes at all.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

2 comments:

  1. Bob:Great post.

    I am working towards a solution to one of our most serious problems, congressional gridlock.
    See:
    Vote for Bipartisan Politicians. PLEASE!
    Regardless of your party affiliation, we urge you to vote for bipartisan politicians this fall.
    -Americans, like us, are desperately needed to reform our political system. We need to vote for people running for congress who will work together, work towards compromises, and enact legislation in the best interest of America. Radical positions are to be avoided, if we want our congress to be able to work together for us.
    -OUR HOMEWORK is to find out about the voting records of all politicians in our own voting districts. Then, vote for those are most likely work across the aisle to “do something”. It is time we speak up and take action as individual Americans and elect reasonable politicians who are willing to work for us. Also, we must encourage others to do the same.
    The Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy have produced a non-partisan ranking of how often each Member of Congress works across party lines. Read about the Bipartisan Index in the Roll Call op-ed "Reviving the Lost Art of Bipartisanship" and The Hill op-eds "Real conservatives and real progressives can get things done" and "Bipartisanship in Congress: Some progress, still a long way to go" by former Senator Richard Lugar and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy Dean Edward Montgomery. Check their website out for more details: http://www.thelugarcenter.org/ourwork-Bipartisan-Index.html .
    -We must send a strong message. That is: AMERICANS VALUE BIPARTISAN BEHAVIORS.
    -We are not advocating firing all of congress. Keep the ones who are willing to work together for the public interest. Consider all parties, Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
    -This will not be easy or quick!
    -The GOOD NEWS is that we can begin to fix a big part of what is wrong in America this fall.
    -Let us know if you agree and whether you are willing to join our cause.
    -If not, please let us know why not. Thanks.
    John L. Casey, Whitehouse Station, NJ
    Karen Topper Hostetter, York, PA
    Susan Arnett Hutyra, Waco, TX
    Woody Miller, Louisville, KY
    James J. Povall, Lebanon, NJ
    Helen Sanford, Bordentown, NJ
    Doreen Sekora, Somerset, NJ
    Mavis Strain, Capitol Heights, MD
    Lewis Wetstein, M.D., Interlaken, NJ

    ReplyDelete
  2. click here for a .doc version with links to more details: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5htjd81ugxuwqwr/Vote%20for%20Bipartisan%20Politicians.docx?dl=0

    ReplyDelete