HughBeaumont
HughBeaumont's JournalIn Once Thriving Jefferson County, Voters Look to Donald Trump For Economic Turnaround: Ohio Matters
. . . . . what do I DO with this?Greenberg's sentiment is a commonly held one in Jefferson County, which narrowly voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but backed Trump in November by a whopping 35 points. The area was once solidly Democratic, but has drifted Republican over the years as some say they came to no longer equate the Democratic Party with the interests of the working class. The political shift also coincided with the erosion of the steel industry in the Ohio Valley and the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs.
And before anyone chimes in with "Learn from it", learn WHAT???
That people are STILL getting away with blaming Democrats for Conservative capitalist businessmen failing them?
That I should try and "understand" people who have abandoned reason?
That cutting public education leads to faith-based decision making such as this?
Or perhaps understand why we're not touching the biggest neon elephant in the room . . . why everyone is so ashen-skin petrified of addressing the failures and distribution problems of Re-branded Feudalism in fear of undeserved venom.
"How . . . DARE you criticize Capitalism!!!! Everyone KNOWS it's either this or Totalitarian Warsaw Pact Police States and why do you HATE America, Reagan and Lady Liberty???"
How do we continually lose to people . . .
who are
* morally in the Bronze Age
* economically in the Gilded Age
* culturally in the Antebellum South
and
* technologically in the mid-1990s???
Does this idiot realize that, as far as Congress goes, Democrats haven't been in charge since 2011?
What in THE hell is he talking about - "Democrats have screwed things up royally"??
WHERE??
The center-left President who tried to work with the batshit Republican Insanos in Congress yet got obstructed every time?
The Conservative majority Supreme Court until Scalia's death?
The Senate under Republican control since 2015?
The majority of state governorships and state legislatures under Republican control?
Corporate America? Religion? The Media?
WHERE ARE THESE DEMOCRATS, ASSHOLE?
Lock. Him. UP.
Incredibly Stupid Trumpkin Letters to the Editor Dept: Income Inequality - it's just the way it is!
Fucking moron.The Declaration of Independence acknowledges this: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Fixating on income inequality is divisive and unproductive. America's economic, religious and social liberties have captured the imagination of the world. Economic mobility is magnetic. The ability to pursue your dreams with limited intervention is intoxicating. The focus must be on the elements of opportunity like culture, education, laws, regulations and the enforcement thereof. The Constitution balances individual uniqueness with societal need for tranquility and "general welfare."
Inequality relates most to access to quality education, cultural and family factors and commercial scale meaning globalization contributes to this disparity.
Wayne L. Dancie Sr.
South Euclid
What do you DO with that?
How do you construct a simple economic message without pandering or lying?
To prepare for 2018 and beyond, we're supposed to be canvassing, getting out the vote . . . (snicker) constructing a dialogue with the opposition to try and get them on your side . . .
OK, I'm all ears.
* What is our plan to communicate with the upper-middle and above regarding income inequality and Capitalism's glaring distribution flaw? Are we going to try and persuade the wealthy to ignore lower-costing workers? Are we going to try and persuade them to say no to event-driven algorithms that can replace hordes of workers in one fell swoop?
* How do we tell the wealthy that their greed is ultimately self-destructive without them crying "CLASS WARFARE!!!"??
* What are some realistic solutions for the worker who is going to be replaced by automation/right to work/offshore outsourcing? Expensive-as-hell college (while trying to pay bills in unemployment)? Relocate with no guarantee of a permanent, living-wage job? Try and make do with low retail wages and bad benefits in the face of soaring living/necessity costs? Have them try their luck at the self-employment casino?
* How do we tell the well-conditioned Fox-watcher that pretty much everything that station has taught them about economics is false? Do we have charts and stats at the ready? Do we tell them tax cuts are not a substitute for a living wage and are one of the worst and least effective forms of economic stimulus? How do we say THAT mouthful in one or two words?
* What is our plan to combat the one-sided "Free Trade" deals that leave American workers worse off economically?
If we're talking "reasonable Americans" and not "Batshit racist hyper-fundie wingnuts" (sorry, that's a disease requiring a long-term cure), you might be with them on foreign policy and domestic rights issues.
Economics is quite a different story. As we've seen, people without hope need someone to tell them everything is going to be OK . . . even though it's painfully obvious that more than a few things regarding labor issues, benefits and future employment prospects for them and their children are NOT OK. People without hope rely on faith . . . even if that faith is with a labor-stiffing real-estate billionaire.
I'm at a loss as to what to tell those without hope. I don't know what to tell them. Forget brevity; I know how corporate America (that corporate America that now fully runs our country, public AND private) IS. They were never about doing what's right for their employees.
That's the challenge: An economic message that allows them to remain complacent, doesn't blame Republicans or the rich, gives them hope for the future and doesn't bore them within one minute's time.
Anyone got a road map to that pot of gold?
The GOP treats health like they treat careers and livelihoods:
Repeal; with no viable or sustainable replacement and leaving us holding the bag. 
Is America's default position "Republican . . until you work REALLY hard to convince me otherwise"?
Stock Markets perform better under Democratic administrations.Jobs gained - again, Democratic administrations.
Government spending . . . yep, we win there too.
Consumer confidence. Economic Growth. Unemployment. Democrats, AGAIN.
So why, why, WHY does America CONTINUALLY want to put people in office that continually destroy societal and economic progress?
It seems to me that we have to work SO ridiculously harder to convince the American voter that we're better for them than Republicans do by pretty much just showing up.
I'm saying this as one who wasn't exactly on board with Hillary: In a choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, there's NEVER been a bigger gap in qualification. In voting HISTORY. This could NOT have been a bigger "DURRRRRRRRR". COME on.
Also, in light of all the evidence presented above, how did they make so many electoral GAINS since 2010?
It's as if America as a whole looks at us and says "I'm sorry, but you can put up all of the evidence of better economic performance and other things . . . I don't CARE. I just don't LIKE your party. I JUST DON'T TRUST YOU. I like Republicans better. That's my default and I'm not changing. I see THEM as leaders and YOU as Communist-sympathizing weaklings. Give me multiple reasons why I should vote for you."
Am I WRONG on this? Or am I blaming the wrong people? We cannot possibly suck THIS bad at campaigning . . . can we??
Did "the economic message not resonate", or is it that we just didn't want to LIE to them?
Here's the rub with trying to "understand" a Trump voter.
Their concerns were portrayed as "primarily economic", right?
What I'm gathering from all the political/news commentators and comments sections was that they wanted someone to tell them their jobs are returning, their talents are necessary, and there would be no need for them to get additional skills to improve their lives (even though they seem to have no issue telling minimum wage earners this . . . over and over and over and over again).
Problem is, the phenomenon of job dearth and labor movement was primarily caused by A) Conservative businesspersons acting ON CHOICE to please major shareholders and cost-cut until they're operating threadbare or close entirely and walk away with millions and/or B) Conservatives getting tax breaks and tax cuts from Republican politicians which allowed them to either offshore jobs to cheaper climes or perform stock buybacks and fire their workers.
In short, they wanted someone to LIE to them, and Orange Lincoln Rockwell was that liar.
There was never a chance that ANY politicians could make jobs return, because they generally don't have the power to do that. Greed, automation and offshore outsourcing ain't going to be put back in their tubes. Their plights center around the conservative businessperson doing what a fiscally conservative businessperson does - look out for #1 (and numbers 2-13, depending on how big their boards are).
See, you cannot tell them this, because THOSE Conservative businesspersons are their HEROES. It's the same reason we have to work so painfully hard to try and convince them of our message as opposed to the other side that "middle America" sees as THEIR ideal.
They see themselves as "one lucky break from BEING Donald Trump" rather than "One missed paycheck from living under a bridge".
THAT'S the problem.
Profile Information
Member since: Fri Aug 13, 2004, 03:12 PMNumber of posts: 24,461
