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Republicans' presidential contest? Just a very bad Netflix show
Before my readers begin chastising me because they think I run in Democratic circles or espouse Socialist dogma, may I remind them that I have sometimes supported and voted for Republicans. Many of my friends are Republicans; in fact, most of my friends are Republicans, many of whom I would be more than happy to support if they were to run for political office, not because they’re my friends, but because the people I refer to as friends, care about their community, and would always act in the best interest of their community.
Those are the kinds of people I hang around, whether they be Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, Undecided, or Whigs.
Never have I witnessed a campaign as ugly and as negative as this one, and I’ve only been voting since 1976, the year I became eligible to cast a ballot, which I recall proudly casting for Jimmy Carter, who of course went on to a long distinguished career as a Sunday School teacher in Plains, Georgia.
To the best of my limited recollection, 2016 is the only election year that stands out in the whirlpool of American history as a year when presidential candidates casually refer to each other as liars, nasty persons, and the crème de la crème: pussies.
Running for president used to be cool? Candidates on both sides of the aisle were often statesmen, guys and a few women, who may have battled it out on the Senate floor, but at the end of the legislative day would happily shared a bottle of bourbon and a good story.
That’s how it used to be … a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away.
Remember 40 years ago when then President Ford referred to then candidate Carter as a liar and a lightweight who had no right to run for dogcatcher, much less president of the United States? Certainly a highpoint of the campaign was when Ford wondered out loud if his southern rival was a true American, born in this country and rather was instead was a citizen of a foreign nation, naturally making him ineligible to serve as President of the United States?
Well Ford was incorrect. Carter was indeed born in Georgia, which in 1976 in fact gained membership in the United States, the fourth state to be so honored, in 1788. Ford was probably thinking Carter was born in Texas, a natural assumption since many people think of Texas as not only another country, but in some cases, another world - and requires a passport to enter.
Of course we don’t remember because none of the above happened, and to the best of my recollection, and no doubt recorded in the annuls of American history, neither candidate in that race referred to the other as nasty, vulgar, a liar, or a… pussy, but instead each ran a fact-based, issue-based campaign, Ford, from his perch in the White House, and Carter from a softball field somewhere in Georgia – remember, the fourth state admitted to the Union.
How times have changed, particularly in this Republican field that early on in the campaign, with its 17 candidates. could easily have fielded a football team, with a few players left over. These mostly middle-aged males (and one female) could never have won a game though, and have done so much head-butting during the campaign that most of them will no doubt suffer serious brain damage.
I’m not sure the millions of sane voters of America will allow a Donald Trump to be president, but so far he’s managed to ignite passions in some voters, many of whom seem intent on putting him in the White House, which would be akin giving the keys to your truck to Gary Busey - an “Apprentice” alum by the way.
Trump, as of this writing, is now the most quoted man since Yogi Berra, and he makes just about as much sense. The following are several of his observations from the campaign trail, quotes from the Republican front-runner, who a week ago, convinced nearly 240,000 South Carolinians to vote for him as president. Do these supposedly evangelical, Christian, Trump supporters agree with such statements as these?
“He’s a lying guy, a really lying guy. Some people misrepresent. This guy is just a plain-out liar.”
−said Trump of fellow Republican Ted Cruz
“My only worry about South Carolina is that my opponents lie. Especially Cruz. He’s the single biggest liar I’ve ever seen.”
−Really? How about the guy that told Trump six months ago that he held the qualifications to be President of the United States?
“He’s a pussy,”
−a remark Trump repeated from a supporter during a rally that referred to Cruz.
The list grows.
“I will be the greatest jobs’ president God every created.”
−Now even Jesus has to send his resume to Trump.
“If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
“I get along with the middle class and the poor people better than I get along with the rich people.”
“I would just bomb those suckers, and that’s right, I’d blow up the pipes, I’d blow up the refineries, I’d blow up every single inch, there would be nothing left.”
−said Trump in referring to ISIS
“Look at that face.”
−he said referring to fellow Republican candidate Carly Fiorina, in a not so subtle slap at her looks. Has Trump walked past a mirror lately?
“You could see blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
−he said referring to Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly following a debate in which she questioned the presidential candidate.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…they’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some I assume are good people.”
“I like people who aren’t captured.”
−responded Trump when asked a question about Vietnam war hero John McCain, a former prisoner of war.
“I love the poorly educated.”
−Enough said
One gets the point. Based on recent experience, the list will expand as the campaign moves forward, which will continue to turn this election season into a presidential joke, which at some point will wind up as a question on Jeopardy.
Imagine if you will Republican hero Ronald Reagan repeating such nauseating and obnoxious language in the throes of a presidential campaign?
Didn’t happen, and would not happen. While I never voted for him, I liked the guy. He was honest and unlike many politicians today, Reagan worked with the other side − and achieved results.
George Will, a conservative columnist, who pens columns for the Washington Post, most of which I don’t read because he uses a lot of big words, requiring me to consult a dictionary, reminded me recently in one of his columns about Trump’s often-cited search for President Obama’s true homeland.
In 2011, when Obama was faced with a blistering barrage of “birthers” who claimed he was in fact a native of Kenya - and not Honolulu, despite a birth notice published in the Honolulu newspaper and a birth certificate, Trump sent investigators to Hawaii (by the way, Hawaii is also a state and entered the Union in 1959) to dig up the “truth.” At the time, Trump said on national TV, “They cannot believe what they’re finding.” Five years later and Trump’s investigators are presumably still digging because Trump refuses to acknowledge that the President is in fact a citizen (refer to statement above about Hawaii actually being a state).
And like all his other pronouncements, from bombing the crap out of ISIS to his “birther” allegations, nobody seems to press him.
During the first seven months of Trump’s campaign, the pundits and the experts have repeatedly predicted Trump’s demise, but instead, he grows stronger. His followers, who cram arenas and meeting halls and routinely harass demonstrators who disagree with the Republican candidate, are akin to those who might possibly themselves, follow the teachings of a false prophet, hoping that in the end all will be good with the world – only if we place this man in power where his charm and his business acumen will help us to “win” again.
