With a Presidential election only five months in the future, folks are donning their political armor, rationalizing excuses that they should re-elect Donald Trump.
I don’t provoke confrontations with friends about politics; I listen when they raise issues, and try to hold my tongue when urban legends and conspiracy theories are advanced to make a point. These people are my friends, and I really don’t want to alienate myself or Charlie from them over matters in which they are invested. I will, however, question stupid pronouncements, as in, “Where did you hear that?” Usually, the friend just “heard it somewhere” (so I guess that makes it true!)
I will vote my way and they will vote theirs. May the best (old) man win!
I do hear quite a bit of “Yeah, but…” rationalization from the Trumpites.
When pressed, many will admit that yes, as a person, Donald Trump is pond scum, but they think he’s better pond scum than whomever will be facing him in November. (I believe that will be ex-Vice President Joe Biden, but who knows what the ballot will look like? Trump may drop out, Biden may croak of Covid-19, Obama could be drafted by the Democrats, etc. Nothing is guaranteed in politics.)
Some of the “Yeah, but…” stuff I’ve been hearing from the MAGA folk along with my observations:
“So much conflicting information out there; you don’t know who to believe” So, on the subject of viral epidemics, you are comfortable believing a hotel developer rather than medical professionals? The conflict/confusion (created by the Administration) is intentional, so that beliefs and opinions can defeat facts. “Fake news” is that information that the propagandist doesn’t want you to hear. The fact that this particular coronavirus is “novel” means that it is a new variant, never before seen by epidemiologists. Therefore, it is taking more time than scientists (or us mortal folks) would wish to figure out how it works and how to defeat it. This does not mean that medical professionals don’t know what they’re doing; instead, they are learning on the fly.
“The Covid-19 death toll is overinflated because everyone dying is presumed to have died from the virus” According to who? Medical authorities worldwide believe the opposite to be true; i.e. that many people who have died at home, or were not tested for the coronavirus, may have succumbed to Covid-19 and were never counted. The actual Covid-19 death toll could be higher but may never be known. Whether 100,000 or 200,000 Americans die from it, the pandemic is serious business and should not be minimized by politicians who want to quibble over absolute numbers. It is a public health catastrophe, pure and simple.
“The cure is worse than the problem” Tell that to the estimated 36,000 people who died (and their relatives) because the Trump Administration wasted January and February denying that the pandemic was a problem. Had Donald Trump taken the early warning seriously, the economic shutdown would have been much briefer and fewer Americans would have lost jobs and businesses.
“My pastor says ‘Don’t watch the news; it’s too depressing’” Religious leaders have always recommended this, because they want you to rely on them for “honest” information (which can’t possibly be biased, right?)
“Twitter is biased against Conservatives” On the contrary, Twitter helped elect Donald Trump. If there is a problem with this social media platform, why does the President use it constantly? By the way, does the management entity of Twitter have “free speech”, too? Why should the Twitter company be limited on its opinions when Twitter customers can say whatever they want to say, even if it is incorrect or an outright lie? Freedom of speech includes telling anyone, even the President of the United States, that they are out of line.
“Voting by mail causes massive fraud” This is a red herring tossed out by the G.O.P. to help suppress voting in elections. There is no proof that voting by mail is any less viable than voting in person. President Trump votes by mail, as I do, along with all military servicemen stationed overseas. All states offer absentee ballots: two-thirds of the states offer them to any voter, and one-third of the states require an excuse (even a lame one) for not voting in person. Voting by mail increases citizen participation in elections, which should be a goal shared by all political parties. Why doesn’t the G.O.P want more citizens to vote?
“The Chinese are responsible for…” When trying to shirk responsibility, blame someone else. Capitalism is responsible for American jobs lost to Chinese industries. Period, end of discussion. The coronavirus started in China, and the latest Atlantic hurricane started in the Azores: so what? We had advanced warning of the hurricane and precautions were taken. Similarly, we were warned of the spreading epidemic in January (like everyone else) and our country chose to ignore the warning for two months. That’s not China’s fault. Now, President Trump’s undies are in a bind over China’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s semi-democracy. Hong Kong is a Chinese city, part of the Chinese nation. It is not entitled to special treatment, even though Western powers want that to be so. America has as much right to demand democracy in Hong Kong as China would have demanding a communist government in San Francisco’s Chinatown. This whole bruhaha is another diversionary tactic by the Trump Administration to rally MAGA fans by appearing to be “tough on China”.
“Democrats want the economy to tank” Amazingly, citizens who vote Democratic have lost jobs and businesses just like Republicans during the pandemic-induced economic meltdown. We’re all in this together, regardless of political party, religious preference, race, or income class. No one “wins” when the Nation experiences a deep recession or depression. In fact, citizens at the lower end of the economic totem pole suffer more in recessions. Minorities and low wage earners typically vote Democratic, so they have the most to lose if the economy suffers: homelessness is a very real prospect for them.
“If we let Covid-19 run its course, we will develop herd immunity” Our Nation didn’t let measles, smallpox, chickenpox, or polio run their course to develop herd immunity. Herd immunity will occur when a large portion of the population (80 percent plus) have been vaccinated. Until that time, the coronavirus will continue to ravage the population in its current or mutated form. No medical professional believes that herd immunity will be accomplished passively (i.e. by letting it run rampant), and that is not advocated by epidemiologists.
“President Trump is treated unfairly by the Press” All Administrations receive scrutiny from the Press, whose job it is to ferret out what is really going on behind the scenes. The Bay of Pigs fiasco, the end of the war in Vietnam, Watergate, Bill Clinton’s sex scandal, etc. were brought to the Nation’s attention by professional journalists. As the Washington Post’s masthead says, “Democracy Dies In Darkness”: citizens need to know what their elected officials are doing or not doing. President Trump is a big target, because he is so outspoken (via Twitter), because he bullies and threatens perceived opponents and the Media, and because his Administration bumbles and fumbles along in incoherent fashion. This is red meat for reporters; Donald Trump is his own worst enemy. If he did a better job, there would be fewer scandals to report. Go, heal thyself, Sir.
“The Chinese haven’t been transparent about Covid-19” That’s a beauty. Donald Trump manages the most non-transparent Administration in the history of Presidential administrations. White House visitor logs are unavailable to the Press, inspector generals are fired for investigating corruption and wrongdoing, Administration employees and Cabinet members are ordered to ignore Congressional subpoenas, and Trump appointees are subject to Non-Disclosure Agreements so they can’t blow the whistle on wrongdoing. Actual Federal whistleblowers have been fired or demoted for tattling on Administration officials. Lying to the public has become an art form at the White House: four Press Secretaries who couldn’t lie well enough to satisfy Donald Trump were fired. Bottom line: the inscrutable Chinese could learn a thing or two from our President about (lack of) transparency.
“Black Lives Matter protesters are far-left extremist groups” Actually, they are American citizens who are angry, for the most part, about systematized police misconduct against minorities. The Trump Administration has stoked the fires of class warfare and white-on-black racism for the past three years. The President himself has made numerous offensive comments of a racial nature and has overtly sought the support of white nationalist groups. A week doesn’t go by when an African American’s civil liberties are violated by law enforcement in every State in the Union. When George Floyd, a black man, was murdered (note: we all saw the video on TV) by a Minneapolis policeman this week, the President described rioters as “thugs” and threatened to rain down bullets on them. The applicable moral here (Attention: Mr. Trump) is “You reap what you sow.”
“If we allow the economy to re-open, it will bounce right back” This is the optimistic mantra of President Trump, but it is an opinion not shared by experts at the Federal Reserve, CEO’s of the largest banks in the United States, and the World Trade Organization. Most experts expect a deep recession that will last several years and, possibly, more. Many businesses will not recover, and unemployment will probably not achieve single digits until an effective and safe Covid-19 vaccine is created and a mass immunization program is implemented. This means that modest recovery will probably not occur until 2021, possibly late in the year. The President’s boosterism is obvious “whistling in the graveyard”, designed to make people disbelieve what their senses are detecting: bad times ahead.
“Yeah, but…”