Journey of a R to a D. (Found on Facebook)
I am almost 70 years old and have seen many Presidents and politicians come and go. I retired as a High School teacher, and I am a veteran, but I guess other than that, most of my beliefs have been shaped by historical and Sociological references.
I began my political journey as a Conservative Republican. I liked the fiscal responsibility they espoused, and I harbored some anger concerning perceived discrimination as a result of the Civil Rights movement and Title 9 advantages women were being given at the time I graduated from college. Please note, these were perceived discrimination rather than actual in many cases. The Republican Party played into my grievances, and I supported them.
The turning point for me came with Ronald Reagan. With the help of Lee Atwater and Karl Rove, they started the tribalism movement that now engulfs the nation. They used hate to create an “us versus them” mentality that is only growing worse. Reagan single handedly disabled the union movement and convinced his tribe that their taxes should not be used to help individuals unworthy of help. He also energized the cabal of bankers and Wall Street investors along with the top 1% to venture into the political arena in a major way. President Reagan also convinced Americans that private industries always do a better job than government. This is an extremely dangerous principle to sell. Private industry is only interested in profit, not the people they serve. That's why private prisons are failing so badly in this country. They have actually bribed Judges to give extended sentences in order to increase profits. Private security such as Blackwater have been involved in numerous transgressions. Private schools serve only the wealthiest individuals in our society and currently they are attempting to get their hands on government funds. If a public agency is not meeting the needs of the people, we have guarantees in place to correct their deficiencies. We do not have the same oversight on private companies. I think most of us would agree that the U.S. Military creates the finest soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the world. Please note that it's government run. If you disagree with that, I'll gladly accompany you to Camp Lejeune were you can express your opinion to the young Marines there.
President George H.W. Bush then pushed through the necessary paperwork to create Fox news and the talk show phenomenon. This created a Propaganda outlet that drew the wealthiest individuals into the political process in a much more overt way. With all this new money, the Republican Party subverted the southern States by using subliminal racism to gain control of their legislative systems. With that control they began to gerrymander their Congressional districts to insure continued control of the State governments and the U.S. House of Representatives. They realized, however, that other methods had to be enacted since they were losing the demographic race. To try and negate this trend, they passed bills that complicated or made difficult minority voting.
To enforce these laws, which were of questionable legality, the Reactionary Republicans needed to ensure the support of the national courts. Sen. McConnell began this procedure by making all of President Obama's judicial appointments difficult by using the 60% rule and stalling his nominations. He also colluded to change the fundamental makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Now we come to the culmination of all those maneuvers. We have Donald Trump as President. He single handedly gutted attempts to attack global warming. He has alienated what has historically been America's closest allies, and he has endangered the effectiveness of NATO. He has started a trade war that many economists warn as extremely dangerous to the American economy. He has convinced Americans to give the wealthiest individuals a huge tax break while convincing them that helping the poor just enables slackers. He has managed to reduce medical care in this country claiming he had a better solution. He just hasn't gotten around to implementing it yet while millions have lost coverage. He has taken credit for programs implemented by President Obama that saved the economy after the disasters created under President George W. Bush. He has boasted about groping and molesting women. His neglect created a human disaster in Puerto Rico. He has allowed Russian interference to sway an american election. He has impugned the reputation of the American intelligence community. He has convinced his followers that any news he doesn't like is “fake news”, and that he is the only reliable source of information that Americans can trust. He is personally profiting from being President, and he is guilty of nepotism.
I could go on. I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but I can recognize when I'm being deceived. I taught government for many years, and one of the most important principles was that government was responsible for helping those citizens who could not help themselves adequately. The wealthiest among us do not need help. They will flourish regardless.
I'll wrap this up now. I realize many of you will disagree with me, and that's your right. Like I said, I'm old and not the brightest bulb on the tree.
Anon
