There exists a notable equivalency between the Trump and Hillary supporters, a generous coating of teflon and blinders that selectively ignores the spoken word.
Faux pas, outright lies, and the revolving door of ever shifting positions are of little consequence – it’s campaign season and the truth be damned when it comes to the two most untrustworthy candidates.
The focus isn’t on integrity, it’s primarily about being a woman in the case of Clinton and being an “outsider” when it comes to Trump.
If these are the most important criteria for their respective supporters it seems to make little difference who the candidates are as outsiders and women abound thoughout the population and the country could possibly be better served by picking one at random from any community in the nation.
Prior governmental service in and of itself isn’t a guarantee of integrity, and if all you have to offer as a resume is being an outsider that isn’t enough either.
I recently watched an interview between Trump’s senior camapign adviser and a journalist, at one point Trump’s adviser pins Trump’s support in part to people working harder and making less.
He also has exported manufacturing jobs for Trump centric items, clothing etc by having these products made in China.
No argument here about the existing inequity, but unless anyone has forgotten Trump is on record as being opposed to a minimum wage increase so how does that translate to resolving the issue of working more and making less?
It doesn’t, and that’s where the blinders come into play.
In fact all the Republican candidates are making the same pitch and all equally opposed to a wage increase.
Hillary’s makeover as a self proclaimed “progressive” fails to resonate with the recorded history of her previous “public service”, so much so it’s child’s play to connect the dots – and again that’s where the blinders come into play.
If in part the qualifications and definition of conservative Republicanism are corporate cronyism then Clinton by any standard is the “lite” version of a Republican.
I believe in diversity, but I also believe diversity should be honest, if warts exist they should be acknowledged, if questions arise they should be addressed in a truthful manner and to hell with whether doing so is deemed politically correct or not.
If not then it no longer is about diversity and opinion, it segues into subterfuge and or blatant pandering – which I suppose in the vast majority of instances could be a metaphor for politics and candidates.
Thomas Jefferson said ” “I tremble for my country when I think we may in fact get the kind of leaders we deserve.”- if you look at the front runners and Jefferson were alive today he would be shaking in his boots.
If either Trump or Hillary are elected what will result will truly be deserved as the result of an electorate that focuses on sound bites and gender rather than substance and integrity.
The problem though is that everyone else will be dragged into the quagmire.
There will be those who offer the mea culpa of voting for the lesser of two evils – I submit it is better to vote one’s conscience than be coerced, better to vote one’s conscience rather than vote for the percieved “winner” who actually is a loser.
This country has a history of electing losers, and in doing so repeatedly elected the leaders they deserved. I submit as a people, as a nation, we deserve something better than loud mouthed bigots or chameleons with ever changing colors.
Perhaps now more than any other time this election shouldn’t be predicated on “vagina monologues”, or as Susan Sarandon wisely pointed out, “genitalia” – nor should it be predicated on a “businessman” with a history of bankruptcies, exploiting undocumented workers, and settling lawsuits who lacks the ability to keep his foot out of his mouth.
Since Elizabeth Warren has expressed no desire to seek the presidency this time around I say Bernie Sanders now and following him Elziabeth Warren, in what would be the beginning and continuation of returning government to the people – the “change” so much lip service is paid to.
James Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States, 1877
Additional related thoughrts:
Conservatives have generated a fair amount of currency related to
Benghazi and Hillary’s emails, and there are valid grounds for doing
so sans the additional bs they attach as “riders”.
They do this as though a politician lying, in this case Clinton, is
a singular event while ignoring the lies of the Bush adminsitration
about WMDs in Iraq.
So how do you go about evaluating the severity? Should it be based
upon body count, after effects, monetary cost, betraying an entire
nation of people, or the all consuming lack of integrity?
Difficult questions and I don’t profess to have the answers – I offer
the opinion that such lies rend the fabric of a nation. They undermine
a sense of well being, confidence, and even morale in demonstrating that
government controls, not the people, and that absolute power corrupts
absolutely.
It further demonstrates that the mainstream corporate owned media has
it’s own agenda reflective of ownership – that a free press whose obligation
is to disseminate the unvarnished truth is an anachronism rather than the
norm.