The Economist recently published an article titled, “The debasing of American politics,” where the author stated, “By normalising attitudes that, before he came along, were publicly taboo, Mr. Trump has taken a knuckle-duster to American political culture.
” He has normalized bigotry, racism, misogyny, and antisemitism. He, and many of his followers, are a postcard of many of the things that are wrong with America.
It appears that those on the side of Mr. Trump want a society where ignorance and stupidity are valued over intelligence, wisdom, and education. A world where if you went on to college, or heaven forbid, post-graduate studies, you are an out-of-touch elitist who lives in an ivory tower. If you mention the title or subject of a book you read to better understand your political opposition, you will be labeled as faux intellectual and a pompous ass because seeking out knowledge is taboo. If you are a veteran, you are to be praised—until they find out you are a liberal veteran, then you are to be mocked, and told that you could not have possibly served, or that you are a holier than thou veteran because you mention your status to them.
While I was in Germany I had several Germans tell me that Trump was another Hitler. If the people of a country who actually had a Hitler, tell you that you listen to them. They could not understand what had happened to American politics, how the Republican Party seemed less interested in governing, and more interested in the obstruction of government.
I met a British gentleman who told me flat out that Trump would end America. The world is watching, our children are watching. We have allowed facts to go out the window, and rumors, innuendo, conspiracy theories, and thirty years of baseless investigations, i.e. witch hunts, into the Clintons that have found nothing other than the former president cheated on his wife. These witch hunts, and that is what they have been, politically driven witch hunts that have wasted billions of tax payer dollars, have found nothing. I can understand being against someone because you oppose their political beliefs. I can understand not voting for someone because they are a vile human being, i.e. Trump, but I cannot understand this ginned-up hatred over Hillary Clinton. She is not a bad person, she is not evil, she is not the devil incarnate, nor is she the Antichrist.
If you don't like Secretary Clinton, tell me why without going onto the myriad of political driven investigations and conspiracy theories. Tell me which of her policies you don't agree with, tell me why you think she is unfit to have access to the nuclear codes. But don't tell me she is dishonest, especially if you are supporting her opponent, a man whose own lawyers and accounts would only meet with him in pairs because he lied so much. Do not bring up Benghazi. There is nothing there—eight Republican-led investigations, and not a one found that she did anything wrong. If you bring up emails, then you must acknowledge that Rice, Powell, and several members of the Bush administration are guilty of the exact same thing—funny how there was never any outrage from the right about that. Do not tell me of the sexual indiscretions of her husband, he is not running for office, and I am fairly confident in saying, that she likely did not condone them.
I know that for the most part, I am preaching to the choir here at Daily Kos; however, I also know that conservatives do read what is on the front page. I have seen their quickly hidden and banned accounts. So this is for them—if you want to support a failure of a man who lost money running a casino, and could not sell booze, or steaks to the American public; if you want to vote for a man that treats women as objects, a man who brags about sexually assaulting women; if you want to vote for a man who can be baited by a tweet to have access to the nuclear codes; if you want to vote for a man who has done nothing in his life, a man who does things only for himself, a grifter, then by all means do. History will not look kindly on your vote, and that vote says far more about you than you realize.
This is your George Wallace moment—do you stand in the schoolhouse door as the supporter of the worst presidential candidate in American history, or do you speak out against him, and how he has brought out the worst in America.