The Trump Effect and White America

Little did Hillary Clinton know that when she called some Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables" during the 2016 presidential campaign she would be opening up a Pandora's box that has now emboldened those people to embrace themselves as Trump's adorable deplorables. Now if you look up the word deplorable, it means:  shockingly bad in quality...along with disgraceful, shameful, wretched, atrocious.  I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to think of themselves in that manner but perhaps it's because they don't really understand what the word means or they simply don't care because they see Donald Trump as their champion, their savior, so to speak.  These are the people who live in FEAR.

There's a new study out that says white people who fear democracy may benefit marginalized people (like Blacks, Hispanics and other immigrants) would rather give up democracy to keep their white privilege.  This study connects white American intolerance and support for authoritarianism.  Whites, according to the World Values Survey, say they would rather have a military style rule of government than to have people of color or immigrants living next to them or socializing with them in any way. 

The irony of this is the fact that the white population is continuing to decrease as more and more of the races continue to mix.  Meanwhile, the GOP has pigeon-holed itself into being the Party of the angry white male and his "submissive, I do as I'm told" wife.

 George Washington said in his farewell address in 1796 that political parties could allow cunning, ambitious, unprincipled men rise to power and subvert democracy.

Can you say DONALD TRUMP, STEVE BANNON, STEPHEN MILLER?

As Thomas Paine said it back in 1776, "These are the times that try men's souls'"

Donald Trump Has Brought Out the Worst in America

This isn't meant to be another one of those bash Donald Trump blog posts.  This is, instead, a commentary on the negativity his campaign has sparked.  

Racists have come out of the woodwork like roaches in the dark.  For the most part, these supporters would be classified as poor whites, angry because they can't advance with little or no education and the majority of them would also be identified as angry white males.  They have taken off their hoods, jumped on his bandwagon, taken off their hoods and are leading the "make America great" campaign.  They have gotten behind a candidate who spews some of the nastiest comments and behaved in such a manner that has to embarrass any decent, conscientious, law-abiding white person in America.  

People like 78-year-old man John Franklin McGraw of North Carolina have felt free to assault non Trump supporters at presidential candidate's rallies.  "The victim deserved it.  The next time we see him we might have to kill him," is what McGraw was quoted as saying.

Instead of denouncing the violence, Donald Trump has dismissed it and stirs up his avowed racist followers with comments like: "Laziness is a trait in blacks.  I believe that."  

And what about that endorsement from the KKK?  Trump refused to renounce white nationalist David Duke when Duke said on his radio show that voting for any other candidate other than Trump was "really treason to your heritage."

I am still trying to understand how so many other viable candidates in the republican party allowed a Donald Trump to become the eventual nominee. Perhaps this is the after affects of the Tea Party movement.  Believe me, I would've voted for Mark Rubio over Hillary Clinton for sure!

Does being white and privileged automatically make you a racist?  Perhaps it does since they are not, nor do they ever have to be, exposed to what life is like in the 97 percent of America.    Perhaps others finding out that they didn't earn their fortune legally and, if truth be told, they are no better than the common criminals who steal just to survive.  Perhaps fear of losing their wealth or having more of a level playing field is more than they can bear.

Donald Trump has brought out the worst in white America, whether it was intentional did it or not.   

So why do white americans get behind a candidate like that? They have to know he won't do anymore for them than he'll do for us.  At the bottom is at the bottom---black AND white.

Perhaps Donald Trump gives them hope just like President Obama gave us.

It's Not Surprising that Millennials Don't Trust Hillary Clinton

Recently, I've been reading quite a few articles about the impact Millennials could have on the upcoming Presidential election.  One would think the choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be a no-brainer but that's not necessarily the case.  

Mrs. Clinton made history when she became the first female presidential nominee of a major political party. While I did not personally vote for her in the primary, I was happy to see her win the nomination as a major accomplishment for women everywhere. 

I am a Baby Boomer just like the Democratic candidate but I am siding with Millennials when it comes to what I think about her. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this year indicated that 53 percent of all voters rated her poorly when it comes to her honesty and being straightforward.

Iowa native and former Bernie Sanders supporter Taylor Gipple actually confronted Mrs. Clinton while she was on the campaign trail and said, "I've heard from quite a few people my age that think you're dishonest..." 

As an African-American baby boomer, I have yet to hear her address issues I am most concerned about. It's like she's straddling the fence.  I get the impression that she is taking the black vote for granted because many of us feel a vote for Trump sets the clock back 75 years.  Mrs. Clinton wants and NEEDS our votes but she also doesn't want to alienate her white middle-of-the-road constituents by saying anything that would sound appeasing to us.  I still haven't forgotten how she courted white blue collars in South Carolina while seeming to alienate US.

And let's go back to her campaign against President Obama in 2008:  (courtesy of the Huffington Post) 

By May, after most observers had already concluded that Barack Obama had clinched the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton was still trying to undermine his candidacy by arguing that he wasn’t getting enough support from white voters. She put that argument in the most explicit terms yet: “There was just an AP article posted that found how Senator Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans is weakening again, and how the, you know, whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me … I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on.” Clinton’s comments not only made the case that a Black candidate could not appeal to white voters; they also played on nasty stereotypes about Black people and other people of color by equating “white Americans” with “hard-working Americans.”

Perhaps she needs to take a chapter out of President Obama's book for winning elections and realize you can draw more flies with honey than with BULL--.  Transparency is important.  Inclusiveness is critical to America's continued greatness as a nation.

Bernie could still be a write-in.

Baby Boomer Journalist is Dead

Tim Russert, Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News and host of Meet the Press, died today of coronary embolism at the age of 58, NBC has confirmed.

He was apparently at work when it happened. According to Tom Brokow, Russert and his family had just returned from a vacation in Italy where they were celebrating the graduation of their son.

Not to make light of his death, but as a fellow journalist I can tell you the newsroom is a VERY STRESSFUL place. It's a wonder more journalists don't succumb as a result of the daily grind.

Russert's untimely death hits home because he wasn't that old. He was a baby boomer, like me, in the prime of his life. I'll never forget the Meet the Press episode where he pointed out the "lie" Hillary Clinton told about her 1996 trip to Bosnia. Clinton had said, on multiple occasions, that her plane had to make a "corkscrew" landing due to danger and that she had to run off the plane because there could be sniper fire. These statements were false, and Russert produced video of Clinton repeating these statements four different times.

Unlike many journalists who are only out to make a name for themselves, I felt Russert was trying to make a difference and was fair-minded. These days journalists like that are hard to find. He will be missed by those of us who appreciate good, quality journalism.

The Legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton

When the Democratic Presidential Primary campaign began more than a year ago, I was excited over the idea that America had a chance to make history. In spite of the number of candidates in the race, I was certain Hillary Clinton would be in the running. In spite of the rumors that circulated about her as First Lady, I was still rooting for her as a fellow baby boomer woman. I have shown her no ill will.

BUT---

With the help of the media, Senator Clinton has turned into a ruthless, vindictive, politician. Riding on her husband’s coat tails, she attempted to pimp the Black vote. When that didn’t work, she turned her backs on them and went for the whites with no education. (That’s how she referred to the reason why she won in West Virginia and Kentucky)

She has been a chameleon throughout this campaign---changing her campaign strategy to whatever will win her votes. And what is alarming even more so is the way some fellow baby boomer women are behaving about this campaign. I have read nasty posts from women who threaten to vote for the Republican or not vote at all if Hillary doesn’t win the nomination.

Yes, I do believe she has been unfairly depicted on occasion. There have been some awful things said about her by the male press but when she turns around and gives them more ammunition to work with, what is one to think? To bring up the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as a reason to stay in the race is ludicrous and suspicious.

So what will be the legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton after this campaign is over. I’m sure her supporters will say she was a fighter right down until the very end. That may be true but that fighting spirit has done more in the past several months to destroy the image of women and the Democratic Party than the Republicans could ever do. I’m sure Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson and the good old boys are thanking her for her tenacity.

But the bigger picture here is: What does this really say about the baby boomer generation? You don’t see young people (under 35) running around acting as hate mongers over a presidential primary. Yes, baby boomers are the generation who took a stand on many causes like civil and women’s rights, and the war in Vietnam----but what are we now?

Take a look in the mirror and you might see YOUR PARENTS.