Tag Archives: “blue wave”

Hey Democrats — Listen UP!!!

Posted on by under Election 2018, Political commentary

As a left-leaning, liberal-thinking independent voter, I have had serious reservations regarding the ‘blue wave’ that everyone is talking about.  It is a theory that democrats will win big in November simply based on the fact that Trump and his sycophants in Congress are doing such a horrible job that all sensible voters will vote in a democratic candidate … any democratic candidate.  For months, I have said that it wasn’t enough, that the democratic party needs cohesion, that the candidates need a solid, respectable platform.  I have called for the DNC to find and support candidates who are ‘squeaky clean’, who carry no baggage that would give the GOP an opening for mud-slinging and under-handed shenanigans.  Last night I found my sentiments echoed by Anthony Zurcher, a journalist for the BBC.

“One of the ongoing criticisms of Democrats since Barack Obama moved out of the White House is that the party has been defined by what it opposes, instead of what it wants to do.

They’re not Donald Trump. They’re against travel bans, border walls, trade wars, financial and environmental deregulation, corporate tax cuts and repeal of the Obamacare health insurance system.

But what are they for? What are their ideas?”

It’s true.  Think about it … we know exactly what the GOP stands for because they are loud and obnoxious about it.  They will defend to the death their 2nd Amendment rights, they applaud Trump’s vision of a wall along the southern border, they want immigration stopped, they want environmental regulations removed on businesses, especially the fossil fuel industry, and the list goes on.  There is no doubt what they stand for.  But ask the average person what the democrats stand for, and the answer would likely be … the opposite of all of the above.  They know what they are against, but they don’t know what they are for.  Which, of course, is not quite true, but one could be forgiven for thinking it was, given that the democratic party as a whole is not speaking above a whisper these days.

“We’re not going to win if we spend all our time bemoaning that he’s there. He’s there. And we have to offer an alternative.” — Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar

“People ask how come you’re not offering alternatives. And I say we are.” – Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown

During a recent “Ideas Conference”, democrats tried to zero in on the party platform …

  • Minimum wage increases
  • Expanding public schooling
  • Ethics, reform and oversight
  • Dismantling the oligarchy
  • Guns, the environment and health care

That’s it … that is what comprises the core values of the democratic party.  Okay, I am on board with all of the above, but there is so much more.  And why are the three arguably most important issues lumped together at the very end???

My concern is that this election will devolve into a mud-fest.  I am also concerned that for democrats, it will become a single-issue election:  gun regulation.  While gun regulation is certainly among the top concerns today, if it is allowed to become the central focus, I’m not sure how well the democrats will fare, for it is also the single most contentious issue on the docket, with far too many being told by the GOP that democrats want to abolish the 2nd Amendment and ‘take all your guns’.

While political ideologies do have a base platform, the day-to-day issues tend to be reactionary.  In this, the era of Trump, they are typically a reaction to whatever horrific thing he has most recently said or done, and there is no dearth of material on which to react.  But this gets us nowhere, it pulls us down to the level of the GOP, and it won’t win elections in November.

The Democratic Party stands for many things:  social & economic equality, social programs, labour unions, affordable college tuition, universal health care, equal opportunity for all, consumer protections, and environmental protections, to name a few.  This, then, is what the candidates need to be focusing on, the message they need to be getting out.  It will help that Trump & Co are making a mockery of our government, and the anger that generates will certainly play a role, but it is not going to be enough to carry the day.  It is absolutely essential to the continuation of this nation as a democratic republic that the demographics of Congress be changed.  The current majority in both the House and the Senate are naught but sycophants, book-lickers, who will bow to Trump’s will and who will fight to keep the madman in office, for he is their job security.

Please, democratic candidates, focus on the issues rather than simply being the “anti-Trump”.  Trump will, I firmly believe, help sink his own boat as well as that of the GOP, so leave him to it, and focus on presenting a united, sensible, humanitarian front. It is easy to argue against every single thing Trump has done or will do between now and November 6th, but there is a bigger goal here, and to achieve it, we must do better than to be the “Party of No”.

If It Worked For Trump …

Posted on by under Election 2018, Political commentary

So many of us have high hopes for the mid-term elections in November.  The republican candidates, democrats say, are running scared of that big “blue wave” — the vast majority of voters who will vote the democratic ticket simply because Trump has been such an abomination, a failed experiment.  And it may well be that the GOP is running … well, if not exactly ‘scared’, at least nervous.  And so … they have developed a strategy:  emulate Trump.  If it worked for Donald Trump in 2016, it can, they believe, work for them in 2018.  What they fail to consider is that in more than a year of Trump, many of us have soured on him, seen him for the brash, crass monster he really is, and we will do everything in our power to ensure there are no more like him.  But, am I right? 🤔

Mike Braun, the Indiana candidate for U.S. Senate, is parroting Trump’s rhetoric, speaking of ‘draining the swamp, disparaging the Mueller investigation, and even calling for those tired old chants of “Lock her up!”  Sheesh … when will they realize that Hillary Clinton poses no threat and leave her alone? Indiana, in fact, appears to have three locos running for the senate seat, and the other two are just as bad as Braun.  Todd Rokita proudly slaps on a red “Make America Great Again” cap in a new ad as he promises to “proudly stand with our president and Mike Pence to drain the swamp.” Oh, puh-leeeze.  And in the spirit of Trump, the third candidate, Luke Messer, refers to Rokita as “Lyin’ Todd”.  Anyone else feeling sick yet?

The other thing the republican candidates fail to consider is that Trump did not actually win the election … Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.8 million, even though Trump had help from the Russians, from gerrymandered districting, from social media, and from Jim Comey’s ‘October surprise’.  Were it not for the machinations of the electoral college, Trump would still be sitting in Trump Tower sucking his thumb and whining about how unfair it all was.

Don Blankenship, running on the republican ticket for U.S. Senator from West Virginia, says, “We don’t need to investigate our president. We need to arrest Hillary,” in one of his campaign ads.  Funny thing about that … Blankenship himself spent a year in prison, being released less than a year ago. Like his hero Trump, he also has almost no experience in government, but is a coal mine operator.  Think on that one for a minute … coal mine owner … senator … oh the opportunities for corruption! Interestingly, I have heard Blankenship referred to as “the most hated man in West Virginia”, as well as “the next Roy Moore”.  I may have to do a profile on this one …

In Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn, who is hoping to fill the seat being vacated by Bob Corker, brags about her ‘shooting skills’ and the gun that she keeps in her purse at all times, and then promises to “stand with Mr. Trump every step of the way to build that wall.”

So, one might think that if the republicans are going to push forth with the same messages of hate and violence that Trump did, democrats, being above all that, have yet another thing in their favour, yes?  But don’t jump too soon.  Democratic strategist Philippe Reines is advising democratic candidates to put away Michelle Obama’s slogan of “When they go low, we go high”, and instead get in the pig pen and slough around with the rest of the bunch.

“Trump never says, ‘I’m not dignifying that with an answer. He has no dignity. He leaves no attack unanswered. I spent 15 years recommending ignoring stupidity. ‘It has no legs. Don’t give it oxygen. There’s no pickup.’ I was wrong.”

My personal opinion is that no, Mr. Reines, you were not wrong, that at the end of the day, a strong platform coupled with grace, dignity, kindness and compassion win the race.  But am I right?  🤔

Republican political strategist, Frank Luntz, claims, “Today the goal is linguistic. We are no longer rewarding policy; we are rewarding rhetoric.”

That, my friends, is frightening.  It says that the voters don’t care about, don’t consider policies and platforms, but merely how the candidate speaks.  And the louder, the more brash, the more foul language and threats, the happier the voters are.  Have we really become such an ignorant, shallow nation?

Republican Josh Hawley, the Missouri attorney general who is running for Senate, has degrees from Yale and Stanford. He clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.  One might expect him to be an intellectual, well-spoken, right?  Yet in a recent speech, he copied Trump almost word-for-word when he claimed there is a big conspiracy between Hollywood, Wall Street, and democrats to rig the system against the republicans.  Say what???

Mid-term elections typically cost the president’s party some seats in Congress, as people are finding the fatal flaws in the president and his policies.  I think that effect should be multiplied this year, as we are caught up in a tangled web of corruption and lies that center around the president.  But, am I wrong?  🤔  Are enough people still enamored of a ‘man’ who consistently lies, cheats and steals, a ‘man’ with a loud and vulgar mouth who cannot even string a few words into a coherent sentence?

Throughout Trump’s 2015-2016 campaign, he never once spoke of actual policies, but rather his ‘policy’ was verbalized in the form of a threat.  A threat to rid the nation of Muslims.  A threat to build a wall to keep our Mexican friends out.  A threat to roll back regulations that were protecting our environment.  A threat to pull out of the Iran deal, the international trade agreements, and the Paris Accords.  A threat to destroy the democratic values that we once held dear.  If the GOP candidates follow in Trump’s footsteps, they should not be able to compete successfully, for we have seen where Trump’s threats have led us.  But … am I wrong?  🤔