I watched the New Hampshire debate last night, or at least as much as I could stand of it. New faces doing the same old liberal pontificating. Depending on which news source you read, watch or listen to, either Klobuchar or Sanders or Buttigieg or Warren was the winner. Or loser.
My question is winner or loser of what? The whole thing is a verbal beauty contest. It's about presenting pseudo impassioned points of view on education, healthcare, immigration, the environment and all the other usual liberal causes while at the same time destroying the opponents position on the same issues, and most importantly, doing it all without mispronouncing a word or misspeaking on anything that would give the politically correct vultures an opportunity to pounce. And speaking of losers, where did Nancy Pelosi get the idea that she is the goddess and guardian of American politics?
I don't have to watch the debates to learn about a candidate's stand on issues. There are phone callers and door bell ringers who are eager to educate me. The door bell ringers are usually a team of two and for some reason are normally very young ladies; girls actually. They parrot the words they were taught to say. They tell me about the virtues of the candidate they're championing and the candidate's stand on the "important issues of today." They tell me about the evils of prejudges against women, races and LGBTGIA. I just nod and smile. I don't tell them that if there were an organization called SWAM (straight women and men) I would join it. Several times over the years I have been told that I am too intolerant; that I should, "...welcome change and celebrate diversity." I don't understand why seeing a man dressed and acting as a woman is cause for celebration, or how that enriches American culture. But I don't say that to the young ladies.
They tell me that their candidate will fight to stop discrimination against blacks. I want to ask them what their candidate will do to stop the black actions that feed discrimination. When a white cop shoots a black, the black 'community' (I hate that word community...everything is a 'community' these days) rises up in protest under the banner of "Black lives matter." But when a black shoots a black, which happens hundreds of times every night in cities across the country, where are the protesters then? There are many educated, professional and successful blacks in this country. Why aren't the black doctors, lawyers, politicians, celebrities and athletes marching arm-in-arm through the high-crime areas and at least talking to these gang members? Why isn't Dwayne Johnson and the hundreds of black millionaire football and basketball players out there threatening to kick their butts if they don't get their acts together? Why is it always 'whiteys' responsibility to make things all better?
If I was the mayor of a city, I would do everything I could to get regulations passed that establish strict curfews, and limiting the number of youths who could congregate at any time. And for anyone caught violating those regulations, they or their parents would be subject to a hefty fine. And for anyone caught, convicted and sentenced to jail for a crime, guess what...their mother or other close relative would be occupying the cell next to them. I think that would cause even the most hard core gang member to think twice before pulling out a gun. But I don't say that to the young ladies.
Another thing I don't say to them is that I understand their enthusiasm for what they're doing, but that at their age they have no concept of human history or motivation or agendas, that they are being naively guided by nothing more than the usual youthful taste for excitement and adventure. To put it bluntly, they don't know their ass from page two. But I don't tell them that.
My political leanings are conservative. In the first presidential election that I was old enough to vote in I voted for Barry Goldwater, and have voted Republican, though often begrudgingly, every time since.
I dread the upcoming election in November. I keep hoping, as I have for every presidential election, that a man or woman will come forward who has the intelligence, objectiveness, maturity and managerial skills to effectively deal with the problems of this country, while at the same time returning the dignity and respect to the office of the president and this country that hasn't been there for many years.
Donald Trump ain't it. He's turned the office of presidency into a circus. In my view Trump is the second most idiotic president this country has ever had, following only George W. Bush, who in my opinion should have been tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity along with several of his staff. The singer/actor Harry Belafonte once described Bush as "Arrogance wedded to ignorance." I don't normally care what celebrities think or say but I believe that is an accurate description of Bush and comes very close to nailing Trump, whose strengths seem to be Twitter wars, insulting and firing people who don't share his opinions, and self promotion.
I don't know what I will do in November. There is no way I would vote for any of the Democratic candidates but I can't see myself pushing the Trump button. Two names that won't be on the ballot but that I could vote for would be Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice, both of whom I respect and who were smart enough to jump ship when they saw what Bush was like.
This election is going to be like being asked to make a choice between cancer or heart disease. It's a lose-lose anyway I look at it.
