An optinion article by
Harmon L. Walker, Political Action Chairperson
Three Village School Retiree Association
This article is being written about week before November 6th and the election of 2018 will either strengthen the political reality of 2016, by Trump holding the control of both Houses of Congress, or point the way to greater conflict and division, within our political system and country, with a victory by Democrats in the House of Representatives. Either of these outcomes is not very desirable, if you want to see greater stability and harmony flow from the election of 2018! Can we maybe gain some insight from the past behavior of President Trump and his enablers over the last two years, which might be a harbinger of behavior to come?
Has President Trump been a Unifier or Divider, bringing the disparate segments of our society together? By his own admission, the President recently conceded that he needs an opponent to focus his thoughts and to rail against when he rallies with his fans. He even gives his opponents usual adjectives to describe them. Crooked Hillary, Low IQ Waters, and Sleepy Biden are just some inane descriptors that this president uses to diminish and label his opponents. A unifier is not who he is! His policies, directives, and announcements, all show that he supports the interest and values of the minority of those Americans he wants to represent and who made him President. Name-calling is necessary to the process of division because it distorts reality and gives weight to that distortion in the eyes of his enablers and supporters. When the President called Democrats evil, it was a very small step for John Flanagan, the top Republican in the NYS Senate to portray NYSUT as part of the “forces of Evil” that “want one party rule.” The last time I looked, I thought Democrats were the inclusive party that valued diversity and welcomed mostly all to their banner. We can expect that the President will not become a unifier of all Americans.
Also, the President, during the last ten weeks of this campaign, has increased his attacks on the free press and has blatantly resorted to lying about what the Republicans stand for or will do for the American people. Hopefully you remember the assertions by Republican candidates and the President that they will protect the American people from insurance companies rejecting people with preexisting conditions. What!...Trump’s Department of Justice is in court right now to allow insurance companies to exclude writing insurance policies for those with pre-existing conditions. Many Senate Republicans like Ted Cruz (R-Tx), Rick Scott (R-Fl), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo), on the campaign trail before November 6th, are saying that they will oppose allowing insurance companies to exclude Americans with pre-existing conditions. These are the same Senators who voted against Obamacare which prohibited insurance companies from excluding those Americans with pre-existing conditions! This is self-evident hypocrisy! We are reminded of the old adage that says, hypocrisy is the compliment that vice pays to virtue. The next two years without resistance from his own enablers, attacks against the press will continue along with prevaricating when expedient! This will allow the President to consolidate his personal power by cowing those within his own party to accept his lead on issues, without question or much opposition. The election of 2020 will be the party of Trump against the Democrats.
If the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives on November 6th, Democrats will be able to institutionally check and investigate Republican policies and presidential actions, which could cause much consternation on the right. The President has shown in the past that he likes a good fight and the legislative proposals to the President’s programs, and policies concerning taxation, immigration, healthcare, women’s reproductive rights, and economic initiatives, will provide a rich source of issues for such debate. The election of 2018 will not alter what the President values most which is conflict, not compromise.
As you have read this article, and the results of the 2018 elections are known…are you hopeful that we as a country are on the better pathway to constructive unification? If not …why not?