The Dismal Legacy of Donald Trump

     Rodolfo Rodriguez, 92, is an American citizen who was brutally beaten on the 4th of July in Los Angeles--first by a woman with a cement block, then by four men who joined in the attack.  The woman  falsely claimed Rodriguez tried to “touch” her toddler. As she beat him, she demanded that he go back to his own country.

     Mia Irizarry, an American citizen who had purchased a permit to rent a picnic area in a Chicago park to celebrate her birthday, was verbally harassed for wearing a Puerto Rican flag shirt.  The man who berated her was yelling “you should not be wearing that in the United States of America”.  Of course, Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S., and its residents are citizens--though based on the pathetic response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, one would never guess that to be the case.

     Srinivas Kuchibhotla was murdered in Olathe, Kansas last year.  The gunman also wounded a co-worker of Kuchibhotla’s, and a man who had come to their aid.  Kuchubhotla was a legal Indian immigrant working for the tech firm Garmin.  His killer repeatedly yelled “get out of my country” before opening fire.

     The list of similar incidents is voluminous, and is growing daily.  The common denominator?  Donald J. Trump (and the Republicans who enable him).  Hate crimes spiked following his election; attacks against Muslim, South Asian, Sikh, Hindu, and Middle Eastern communities alone were up by 45% in 2017.

     Donald Trump is recognized world-wide as a paranoid narcissist.  He ought to be accorded similar recognition for his well-known history of racism.  Decades ago, Trump’s real estate company sought to avoid renting apartments to African-Americans, and in reference to black employees at his casinos, he noted that “laziness is a trait in blacks”. 

     His recent history continues to be equally vile.  He launched his 2016 presidential campaign with a speech disparaging Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists.  In 2017 he said 15,000 immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS”, and that 40,000 Nigerians would never “go back to their huts” in Africa after seeing the United States.  He often refers to prominent African-Americans as “unpatriotic, ungrateful, and disrespectful”.  He has labeled Puerto Ricans who criticized his Administration’s embarrassing response to Hurricane Maria as “politically motivated ingrates”.  He has stood with white supremacists (“some are very fine people”), and has shown that he believes one’s immigration status determines their humanity (“these are not people, these are animals”).  Mr. Trump has taken the low road at every turn, from embracing Infowars to enabling QAnon.  As founder and chief purveyor of “fake news” (“Obama is not a citizen”) he’s been driving a wedge between Americans and reality for years now, and his xenophobic vision of America is inciting racist violence.

     It may be possible, with time and considerable effort, to undo the damage his disastrous policies and judicial choices will have inflicted on the country, but the real legacy Donald Trump will leave behind is another matter.  He chose, with malice and forethought, to let loose the genie of hatred, racial division, and violence.  The question before us is if that genie can ever be contained?  

Choose Adam Cote for a Democratic Victory in November

Let’s cut to the chase:  if Democrats are serious about winning back the Blaine House this year, then they’ll vote for Adam Cote in the June 12th primary.

As a candidate, Adam is proposing a progressive and transformative agenda:  the establishment of a human capital investment fund (to ensure continuous/effective workforce training), job creation that targets every corner of the state, a single-payer healthcare system, and a determination to see Maine powered 100% by renewable energy within ten years (which would ensure good jobs and the prospect of becoming the nation’s first renewable energy “exporter”).  These are only a few highlights of a comprehensive program.

Adam has demonstrated leadership skills over the course of 20 years with the Maine Army National Guard serving in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and 16 years in the private sector as a small business entrepreneur and Renewable Energy attorney.  He’s not likely to be impacted by rhetorical headwinds in Augusta.

Throughout the course of the primary campaign, at candidate events and forums, there’s been an expectation shared by a number of people that Janet Mills--by virtue of her lengthy tenure in Augusta--”deserves” to be the Democratic party standard-bearer, that it’s “her turn”.  I assumed we were participating in an election, not a coronation.  I was, of course, pleased to see Attorney General Mills butt heads with the Governor on several issues (among them the availability of Naloxone, and the use of tobacco settlement funds for Medicaid expansion); it’s reassuring when a public servant does his or her job on behalf of the people.  However, I worry that independents Alan Caron or Terry Hayes, and whichever LePage wanna-be the Republicans anoint, will have plenty of issues to choose from in attacking Ms. Mills should she win the primary. For example, until the NRA recently provided her a lifeline by “awarding” all 7 Democrats an “F” grade--prior to this Ms. Mills had consistently been given “A” grades.  She’s simply not qualified to lead on gun issues.  Likewise, her record on matters involving tribal sovereignty--specifically clean water issues, demonstrates positions more in line with Governor LePage than with mainstream Democrats.  However, what concerns me most is her failure to put distance between herself from the disgraced former NY State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.  He hosted a lucrative fundraising event for Ms. Mills in Manhattan, and--to my knowledge--she has yet to return the thousands of dollars the event netted her. Hardly a #MeToo moment.

Adam Cote is a  fresh face on the political scene.  He offers new leadership, and he's not weighed down by "baggage".  His broad appeal will help bridge differences, and facilitate a genuine discussion of the issues. Maine voters deserve no less.

I had the good fortune of getting to know Adam for a short while, and I learned that his honesty is rooted in integrity, not in some political strategy.  This quality of character won’t vanish once he’s in the Blaine House, but it’s up to each of us to make sure he gets there.

Vote Adam Cote for Governor on June 12th!

See Ya Paul Ryan!

     In the era of make-believe-President Donald Trump, any good news is a welcome event, so the announcement by Paul Ryan that he’ll be retiring in January of 2019 is fantastic!  The phrase “Good riddance” has rarely seemed more appropriate.

     However, listening to a few of the news reports and reading several opinion pieces has been disconcerting.  They paint the picture of a guy who “struggled” to hold onto his principles while wrestling with Donald Trump for the soul (?) of the Republican Party. 

     While it’s true that Ryan occasionally objected to a few of Trump’s more outrageous comments throughout the Republican primary season in 2016, and he called him out during the fall campaign following the release of the infamous “Access Hollywood” video (“I am not going to defend Donald Trump.  Not now, not ever”), he was quick to change his tune after Trump’s Electoral College victory.

     Paul Ryan saw a golden opportunity to pursue his long-cherished agenda:  destruction of Obamacare, privatization of so-called entitlement programs, and re-shaping the tax code to benefit the wealthy and corporations.  In order to attain these goals, he willingly sold his soul (?) to the Antichrist.  He refrained from additional criticism, and instead praised Trump’s “leadership” (???).  He enthusiastically embraced Trump’s use of identity politics--playing on white privilege and resentment.  It became difficult to distinguish the lackey (Mike Pence would be the handmaiden) from the Antichrist himself.

     As he prepares his slow departure, Ryan touts his accomplishments--in particular pointing to the tax bill.  Several days ago, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the deficit is expected to reach $1 trillion in 2019, courtesy of the Republican “tax cut”.  That’s a nice legacy to leave the next generation, Mr. Ryan.  This piece of legislation passed (last December) without a single Democratic vote.  It locks in permanent tax cuts... to corporations (down from 35% to 21%).  By contrast, middle class tax cuts were given an expiration date of 2026!  And though most middle-class Americans were projected to receive an average payout of $930 (tantamount to 1.6% of their average income), the real bonanza will be enjoyed by the top 0.1%, who’ll receive an after-tax gain of $193,380.  You’ve performed your duties for the privileged few well, Mr. Ryan, but you’re leaving behind a country that has never been more polarized--economically or politically.  You should be ashamed of your behavior--though given the fact that you were barely able to keep your racism in check during the eight years of the Obama presidency, nothing you do is all that surprising.

     Yours is a sad story, as well as a cautionary tale, though I’m certain you’ll be raking in tons of cash by spinning it otherwise.  Don’t let the door hit you on the way out... see ya Paul!