Discounting the lies (which is the discount of the century) the biggest reason the Trump administration gets away with so much evil is because the American public simply can’t keep up with the volume. That includes political junkies like me. It is simply a case of too much information in too small a time. I’d like to take what seems like my weekly stab at “decluttering”. Let’s explore.
Monday night we had the “Battle of El Paso” where the sitting President of the United States held a dueling rally within less than a mile of a former three term member of the House of Representatives and failed Senate candidate. The lies came fast and furious from Trump. He held his event in a venue that holds 6,500 but claimed to have 35,000. Even Paul Ryan could handle that arithmetic – well maybe not. Estimating crowd size is far from an exact science but Beto O’Rourke appears to have drawn about 9,000; which is about what Trump drew if you count those denied admission to the venue by the Fire Marshall. In fact O’Rourke may have actually outdrawn the sitting President, but I’ll be kind and call it a draw.
By the way, I salute El Paso’s law enforcement. Having two such groups in such close proximity is a recipe for disaster. It appears the only documented incident of a crime was at the Trump rally where one of the MAGA boys assaulted a BBC cameraman. Maybe that’s when the crowd should have shouted “Lock him up.” Sorry, that is asking too much from that crowd.
Trump gave us a preview of what his big lie will be for the 2020 campaign. “Build the Wall” has become “Finish the Wall”. Note there is no longer any call and response about Mexico paying for it. An honest version of the call and response would be Trump shouting
“Start the wall” and the crowd saying “We’ll have to pay for it.” Unfortunately the only thing Trump and truth have in common is that they both start with “T”.
Riddle me this one Mr. President: If the economy is doing so great why are a record number of Americans 90 days behind on their car payments?
Speaking of the Trump Tower Tax Cut, the National Debt passed the $22 trillion mark and continues to rise; so much for Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn’s “Tax cuts pay for themselves.” It was a tad under $20 trillion when Trump took office. Admittedly I’m not obsessed with the National Debt but I guarantee you Trump and the Republicans will be when social safety net spending is proposed.
Trump took hypocrisy to a new low when he called for Representative Ilham Omar of Minnesota to resign over comments she made that were perceived as anti-Semitic. Almost immediately after a rebuke from Democratic leadership led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi she apologized. Trump’s actions make me think of old saws about pots and kettles along with people who live in glass houses. Perhaps it’s just my senior citizen memory but I don’t recall any scolding Trump received from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. After years of white supremacist actions the Republicans finally stripped Steve King of his committee assignments earlier this year and King is fighting the action.
In 2016 Trump said he was the law and order candidate. I guess that doesn’t apply to corporate polluters. Late last week it was reported that EPA civil penalties ($69 million) were the lowest in over 25years. Civil cases both started and completed in 2018 hit a ten year low. The overall inspection rate was half of what it was in 2010. Maybe there is just so much less pollution going on. I’d bet on something along the lines of there is no speed limit when there are no police patrolling the road.
On the undocumented workers front things got worse for Trump. The undisputable evidence is mounting that Trump’s golf clubs have been employing undocumented workers for years at multiple locations. The e-verify program is free so the cost of checking documentation couldn’t have been a factor. (The clubs in question were not enrolled in the program despite Trump’s campaign rhetoric.) Color me a skeptic but I’d bet on greed being the motivation.
In Trump’s continuing pay-to-play scam, last week it was revealed that T-Mobil executives seeking merger approval booked more than 50 nights at Trump’s DC Hotel. That is more than previously reported. I’m sure it’s all innocent and the executives just wanted to be frugal by avoiding the expense of an Uber to the White House.
Far from covering everything I hope I at least put a few things in perspective and got them to your attention. The sad part is I will undoubtable feel the need to repeat this exercise many more times before this administration has vacated 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. (By the way it’s a short walk from Trump’s DC Hotel.)
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