This one I wrote after the election....(but before the inauguration)

First, let me say that the United States of America is not a democracy.  Never has been.  It is a republic (“...and for the republic  for which it stands.”.)  In a democracy, whoever gets the most votes wins.  With our electoral college and gerrymandered congressional districts, that isn’t the case.  It’s always been that way.  In my book that is not ideal, but it’s what we have and I’m okay with it.  Just don’t call it a democracy.

I believe the president-elect to be a racist, mysoginist, narcissist with very little intellectual capacity or impulse control. Pretty much just the opposite of what I would look for in the character of the person leading the free world.  And if he is not these things, that’s even worse.  He tapped into those feelings to exploit voters, making promises he had no plans to keep.  However, unlike Republicans who fought tooth and nail against anything President Obama was for (good thing he never said anything about Mother’s Day),  I will support the measures and policies that I find positive for the good of the country.  (Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.)   Rebuilding our infrastructure, lobbying restrictions, congressional term limits are some of the things I can get behind.  If he can find a way to improve the Affordable Care Act, more power to him - if it is an improvement.

There are many things I will voice my opposition against however. Banning refugees, a muslim registry, a wall on the Mexican border, restricting the states from experimenting with legalization of cannabis (medical or otherwise) or appointments to the SCOTUS with the sole aim to overturn Roe v Wade (abortion), or Obergefell v. Hodges (gay marriage)  will get my ire up and I will protest in any way I can.  By the way, our military is not broken.  It is the largest and most capable fighting force on the planet by any measure.

I am encouraged by what I see as a softening of his most outrageous campaign rhetoric.  Governing is quite different than campaigning.  But I do wonder how long it will take before his more vocal supporters turn their backs on him when he doesn’t follow through on what fired them up in the first place.  No politician ever elected (in this country at least) has delivered everything they promised.  Realities of governing make compromise essential.  But no politician has ever tapped into the anger and fear of the American public quite like DJT either.

How did DJT succeed in getting elected?  At first he was an oddity and the media ate it up.  Almost every word, every rally, every tweet was covered by the media.  When he started saying more and more outrageous things, “The Media” became enamored and there was little room for any actual news anymore.  But most of the coverage was how bad and outrageous his statements were.  The news “discussion” shows always included a Trump supporter, but they were badly outnumbered and always the subject of derision.  But in pointing out how immoral, impractical, unethical or just plain stupid his statements were, they turned him into the underdog.  America loves to root for the underdog.  Add to that the relentless decades long persecution of Hillary by congress and the FBI and it creates a mistrust of all politicians.  Enter the anti-politician with no political history and a “successful” businessman and people start thinking, “Yea, why not, couldn’t be any worse?”

Another post from October....

It has been brought to my attention that I have been taking the bait on a lot of political post.  In some ways, that makes me as bad as DJT!  The difference is, that I will stop doing so.  It can be so irresistible to try to fight unreasonable opinions with fact based responses.  But it also gets frustrating when some people refuse to accept facts at all costs.  So I am done trying. (It doesn’t mean I will stop sharing posts that I find amusing or meaningful.)

I’ve already voted here in Ohio, so there is no point in anyone trying to change my mind at this point anyway (if that was your goal).  And I know that I can not change yours, so peace be with you and may the all winners on both sides in this election work with each other to solve the serious problems facing our country.

I am a progressive liberal and not ashamed of it.  To me this means -

• Facts matter.
• Everyone should deserves the personal liberty and freedom to live their lives as they choose as long as it doesn’t infringe on someone else’s right to do the same.
• We are responsible as a society to lift each other up, care for each other and to protect those that need it most.
• We should respect each other as human beings.  Fat, skinny, tall, short, male, female, able bodied, handicapped, black, white, native, hispanic, asian, gay, straight, transgender, Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, or whatever category or combination of categories you identify with, all deserve respect. (Sorry if I missed yours.)  Disparaging name calling by anyone to anyone is not acceptable in civilized adult society.  Most of us have left that behaviour behind in grade school.
• We have a responsibility to protect and maintain our one and only planet.
• We have a responsibility to our future generations.
• Education and learning (not always the same thing) should always be encouraged as an investment in our country.
• If something has been repeatedly proven to not work (supply side / trickle down economics, for instance), try something else.

I also believe that a functioning and vibrant conservative party is good for the country.  As a liberal, I may have blind spots when I bring my point of view to solving problems.  Conservatives could bring another point of view and together we should be solving our country’s difficult problems.  Unfortunately it seems that the leading conservative party has been taken over by anarchists that care only about vengeance and stopping any progress whatsoever.  The South (and their sympathizers) have declared war on the Union again.  Not by firing on Fort Sumter this time, but by doing everything they can to make our federal government dysfunctional.  I honestly hope that this will change after the election, but it doesn’t look encouraging.

Going to start posting again....

This was a FaceBook response to a Trump supporter last September. I don't think I ever posted it.

John,

 Not sure we have ever met, but I have enjoyed this morning’s discussion.  You have reminded me, that for a very large portion of the electorate, facts are mostly irrelevant.   Feelings and emotions are what is important.  I will never be able to change your mind with facts since your position is an emotional, gut level one.

If reporting the aftermath of the terrible decisions President Bush made and the disastrous results of the incompetent administrators he appointed (“Heck of a job, Brownie”) is villainizing him, so be it.  9/11 happened on his watch and he chose to ignore any warning signs.  He invaded a sovereign country on false pretenses. The repercussion has led to even more violent Islamist extremism.   He “looked the man [Putin] in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.” Need I go on?

You claim to be able to produce a “laundry list”, but have failed to cite a single factual example, just more hyperbole and opinion.  You certainly have the right to your opinion.  But please recognize it for what it is.

Yes, I will be voting for Hillary this election.  She is not the perfect candidate by any means.  I was a Sanders supporter, and he wasn’t perfect either.  Her views, opinions and world outlook are closer to mine than any other candidate running.  She has well thought out policy plans and positions and I agree with most of them.  She is up on current events and has the experience of working with world leaders.  (Not bribing them.)

I have actually looked at Gary Johnson and Jill Stein as well.  They don’t measure up as well as Hillary.  It is virtually impossible to make any kind of accurate assessment of Donald Trump’s policies and views since they change so often.  But the things he does say are very scary to me.  If he were to be elected and able to carry out even 10% of what he talks about, the world we live in will be a much more dangerous place.  Can you imagine a country where the president decides he doesn’t like the generals in charge of the military and can replace them at whim with generals that agree with him?  We used to call that sort of place a banana republic, not the leader of the free world.

I would guess that you are a supporter of his based on our dialog this morning.  I do understand he exploits fear.  I have actually heard some of his speeches.  He goes on and on, telling you how bad you have it, you are such a victim.  But don’t lose hope.  He and only He can fix your problems; make you feel safe and protect you from the boogie man.  He is a con man plain and simple.   Same trick has been used for centuries.  Problem is, it still works.