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| Flushing could influence the 2016 presidential election--at least, metaphorically. |
I kind of like Gary Johnson. I think he’s honest. Indeed, he has an endearing honesty. He’s the sort of person I could be friends with. His “Feel the Johnson” hats are cute and he wants to legalize pot. I really think he’s a cool guy. But he is not smart enough to be President (When asked a question about Aleppo which is at the center of the civil war and refugee crisis in Syria, he said, “What’s Aleppo?”) Nor does he have a chance of winning. I’m afraid that those who want to register a protest or endorsement by voting for Johnson will help Trump the most.
And I feel very strongly that Trump should not win.
Even
now, I’m embarrassed that someone like him has gotten as far as he has.
He panders to the basest emotions of mainly a certain group of
voters — non-college-educated white men who fear that Caucasians will no
longer be in the demographic majority in the next 20 years. They
probably won’t be but I say, so what?
No
matter what you think of Hillary Clinton, she is smart, she has years
of experience, she is a hard worker and she is much better than Trump on
so many levels. Clinton and Trump are neck and neck. This boggles my
mind! How could so many people be stupid enough to be conned by Trump?
Because he is truly a con artist. It reminds me of the story about the Emperor’s New Clothes.
His tactic has been that if he tells lies often enough, people will
believe the lies. After all, if you’ve heard something so often, then it
must be true.
“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” This
quote (or some version of it) has been attributed to Donald Trump, Nazi
propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler. I don’t think any
of them are responsible for this quote, but their philosophies are
evident in what they do say:
“The final key to the way I promote is bravado. I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do. That’s why a little hyperbole never hurts. People want to believe something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular.
“I call it truthful hyperbole. It’s an innocent form of exaggeration — and a very effective form of promotion.” (Donald Trump in The Art of the Deal)
Although
Trump’s quote is more about exaggeration, his campaign practices
encompass both exaggeration and lies. It is unfashionable and unwise
these days to compare someone or someone’s actions to Hitler, but I will
go there because this quote from Hitler’s memoir reveals so much:
“All this was inspired by the principle — which is quite true in itself — that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes.” (Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf)
Consider the five-year birther lie, the big lie believed by so many, the lie that sought to disenfranchise our first African American president — and then read the above paragraph again.
Although
Trump has no control over his supporters, KKK David Duke’s support for
Trump is frightening and they both use some of the same scare tactics.
On his website, David Duke repeatedly writes about black on white rape: “That is more than 100 White women raped by Blacks every day.” Trump also uses the fear button frequently such as when he talks about illegal Mexicans, “They’re rapists.”
Yes,
I believe Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are good people — much better
than Donald Trump. But what happens if we vote for them? Even one or two
percent of third-party voters could decide the outcome of the election.
Who knows — maybe in another election I might vote for Johnson or Stein
(who I agree with on many things). But it is in this election that is
so close and the stakes so high that no one should throw away a vote on a
third-party candidate. I am appalled that a bully demagogue actually
has a chance to become one of the most powerful people in the world.
This election is like no other election in my lifetime. And I’ve never
felt as strong — or as fearful — as I am this year.
Unpopular
as it is to say, I like Hillary Clinton. More important, I believe she
is the most qualified candidate. This November I’ll be voting for
Hillary Clinton.
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http://davidduke.com (hate-filled site)
