I’m not sure what compels me to write something this long. It is a rebuttal to 12 things a conservative writer posted about Trump policies and the liberal agenda. I found the post to be interesting insofar as it is an accurate description of the issues that Trump brought into office and of the ideology that supports him; nearly half of the voting public.
I’ve done this before, this compulsion to correct erroneous claims, and I know for a fact that my corrections, no matter how well researched or clearly defined, will not change a single Republican/Conservative mind. I do this to relieve my frustration (a compulsive need to calibrate misinformation), but I offer this to my Liberal friends (Progressives, Democrats, Snowflakes…) to have some language to add to the arsenal to defend our ideology.
Again, it may not amount to a single change of mind or even attitude, but it can’t hurt to have it out there. I’m willing to do the work.
I will post each claim in bold type and reply to each, one at a time. This was posted on Facebook under a name who identifies as “Christian, Conservative, Wife & Mom” but since I don’t know that these are her statements, specifically, I will not publish her name. I have seen this re-posted, however, on many conservative sites.
The post began with:
I’m noticing that there are some folks doing some serious whining about the Trump administration. So I thought I’d post some thoughts:
1) Accept the fact that this is leadership that we (the majority of) working, middle class Americans wanted. We are pulling the economic weight in the country and we are tired of pulling the weight of those that do not contribute.
Right off the bat, this is going to be complicated. I’m not going to argue the “majority” point because a slim majority of voting Americans did vote for the Trump agenda. Trump is the leadership that the winning party chose, no question about that. But the rest of the statement is convoluted. Trump won white, evangelical, working class Americans, but lost the majority of blue-collar, non-evangelical whites and the majority of minorities.
I’ll give the post writer enough slack to keep their point, but less than a 1% shift in the “blue wave” states would have tipped the Electoral College to Harris. This was not the “landslide” Republicans are claiming in terms of popular vote. Harris did, after all, receive 48.3% of the vote. Trump was shy of 50%.
The working class (and the shrinking middle class) do carry the economic weight of this country. But that’s a head scratcher since Republican economic policy has been Supply-Side economics with grossly tilted tax breaks to the wealthy and retargeted funding to their coffers, and that has caused the working class to wonder where their share of the pie has gone.
The egregious conclusion the writer makes, “and we are tired of pulling the weight of those that do not contribute,” is a true paradox because the working class is pulling the weight of the working class precisely because of the channeling of wealth up and not down. What the writer is implying (and she will reiterate that soon) is that poor people are not contributing because, she believes, they are not willing to work. More below.
2) If you haven’t already, get a job. Every business in the country is hiring. And you get paid for the work you do. And the harder you work and the more you learn the faster you will advance, and the more you will earn. It’s an amazing concept.
It sure is amazing. So amazing it doesn’t work. I understand the mythology of the American ideal “Work hard and you will rise to the top” but, unfortunately, that belongs in the basic primer from which it was first written; the one where “George Washington never told a lie.” It fits into our fairytale narrative.
It does have a purpose, however, and that is to give hope and inspiration, from which America really did forge industry, but when we attach it to our policies as if it is fact, there is a very (very) negative result.
According to current data, there is NOT a job for everyone. There are skill gaps, geographic hurdles, and industry fluctuations that cancel any consistently available opportunities in consistent areas. A mill can close leaving hundreds of workers looking for work at another site which is already full. If the writer is saying, “they can work at a fast food restaurant because they are hiring” that is as shortsighted as her financial fable itself. A living wage earner now making less than a living wage will still require some kind of welfare.
If she is referring to the jobless/homeless population (she did not specifically say that, but I have heard the refrain that they are lazy yet buying Cadillacs and eating steak dinners, for decades), I will say, as I have many times, losing a job, becoming homeless, and the paradigm that follows, is real. When someone loses a job, for myriad reasons, factories relocate, downsize, restructure, or consolidate jobs to increase profits, a lateral move can be impossible, even a step down might not be available. Their house is foreclosed and now a family is in a car. No shower, no clean clothes, maybe they can no longer pay for a cellphone- How do they get a job?
They aren’t lazy. And maybe they anesthetize from the sadness of it all and start drinking. It happens. To good people. And maybe, as I’ve seen in the work that I do, there is mental illness and they can’t do one of those jobs for which “every business in the country is hiring.”
That statement from the writer is probably the most ill-informed of her entire post. It is also thoughtless and UN-CHRISTIAN. Therein lies a hypocrisy that is hard to reconcile.
3) Understand that if you are a U.S. citizen, or have already started the legal process to become a U.S. citizen that you are not going to get deported! I don’t care what your favorite liberal media channel says.
The writer has used a very clever tactic, in fact, it’s the Trump rhetorical two-step. Discredit the opposition as evidence to support your position which is also the evidence to discredit your opposition. It works because it doesn’t require data and it’s so easy to remember. But it’s sinister.
I could be wrong, but I haven’t seen reports from the “liberal media” that legal immigrants are being deported. I have seen reports of legal immigrants who are frightened of being deported, and with legal Green Card status who are frightened, and I’ve seen reports of legal immigrants grieving over family that has been deported, but not of those who are a U.S. citizen.
The writer uses a trope to support her conclusion: “The legal process to become a U.S, citizen.” Yes, there is a legal process, but that is what liberals (for the most part) have been trying to address. It is a process that even Republicans in the past recognized as flawed. There is no time frame and hopefuls have waited years only to be rejected in many cases.
The part of the writer’s argument that I find most shameful is the blatant disregard for human dignity. Many immigrants are fleeing for their lives hoping for refugee status and many are desperate to work and to provide for their families. I don’t care what your favorite conservative media channel says, the evidence that most immigrants risk coming to the United States is to find good work. They are not here to be criminals. Overwhelming data supports that.
And as for the claim often made that they are taking jobs from citizens, look again. They are taking jobs that Trump’s “majority” doesn’t want; migrant farm work, and support jobs that wouldn’t otherwise be filled. Look no further than the mandatory deportation of illegal migrant workers in Georgia and Alabama, where the jobs then went unfilled and millions and millions of dollars in crops were lost.
4) Tariffs are a bargaining chip. When you are in business you make deals, and sometimes you have to play hardball. That’s how you get the deals you desire.
Not a completely full of shit position, only a partly full of shit position. Historically, taxes on foreign imports have been appealing to political leaders. They’ve always been around as a tool to protect domestic markets from cut-rate goods. They can also nurture local manufacturing and workforce. However, they also depend on a War of Attrition. That’s the hardball part and how you get “the deals you desire.”
When tariffs are imposed, the other country retaliates and costs get passed to the consumers, thereby increasing inflation. If no one backs down, a trade war ensues and the casualties are those working class Americans the post writer covets. Wealthy people, for whom Trickle Down economics are manna from heaven, don’t feel the pinch. The price of eggs is hardly a concern and they can wait out playing economic chicken. 90% of America can’t.
5) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects you from discrimination by age, sex, race, etc. DEI openly violates this. Democrats want you to believe the opposite is true because they value your vote more than your quality of life.
Nothing like being told that what I believe is not true. And this is a real conundrum because I have to tell the writer that nothing they believe is true.
First things first. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 intended to protect Americans from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, but white business owners, in particular, claimed that this was not constitutional, and the repercussions of that resistance continued, resulting in amendments to expand the understanding. If understanding of equality and compliance to it were understood as clearly as the post writer claims then why was there a Civil Rights Act at all given the fact that we have a 13th and 14th Amendment? But hold onto your MAGA hats! President Trump wants to change the 14th Amendment in order to exclude “naturalized citizens.”
The point being that prejudice and discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex, and national origin” continue to exist systemically and institutionally, and the need for Titles, Amendments and new Acts have been incumbent upon us.
DEI has no devious intention, it is entirely about quality of life. If diversity, equality and inclusion are threats to anyone, then those people are clearly the reason we need to be vigilant and continually enforce the inalienable rights of human beings.
6) It’s not the governments money, it’s your money. You should absolutely give a damn about where it’s spent.
Finally! Something we can agree on! It is our money. Unfortunately there are 165 million of us paying taxes to fund justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and posterity, and we aren’t all going to agree on how it’s spent, are we? And since our Founders created a Representative Democracy in order to curb the tendencies of a mob ruled majority, we have a Constitution that represents the minority voices, as well.
I agree, we MUST be mindful of, argue over, and give a damn about where our money is spent, and that is why we have to support our charter and it’s check and balance system of government with three branches. You know…the one 1800 Trump supporting conservatives tried to overthrow a few years ago?
7) We are not the World Bank. If other countries need help they should raise their own finances. I don’t recall receiving any hurricane relief from India or China.
Damn. I thought we might get on a roll with another agreement, but this one is so warped it’s hard to know where to begin. I’ll start with a concept of “great” that I’ve been led to believe we need to be again. Greatness means generosity, compassion, humanitarianism, as well as prosperity from the blessings of liberty.
The United States is the richest nation on earth. We have interests in every corner, as well as, historically, an interest in the Goodwill of Humankind. As a result we have been the greatest source of aid to nations that do not have our wealth or resources or resolve to be a benefactor. It’s something I have been most proud of as an American.
The selfish, shortsightedness that the writer displays (that echoes the policy and rhetoric of the President and his party) is shameful, in my view, and completely contrary to greatness (and betrays her professed Christianity). It’s also erroneous. Other nations do come to the aid of nations, even to the United States. The U.S. does provide more assistance than any other nation and as the world’s wealthiest nation, that’s only appropriate, but that’s also only in total numbers. In terms of GNP the U.S. gives around 0.2% whereas among all wealthy nations the average is 0.4%. Five countries, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, exceed 0.7. So, in a real sense, the United States is not the most generous.
Furthermore, more than 150 countries and international organizations have offered the U.S. assistance for natural disasters.
8) Drill, baby, drill. Want to know why? Because we have it. Are electric cars the future? Not in their current form. There is way more oil in the ground than lithium, and guess where most of that is? China. Want food prices to come down? Then energy costs have to come down. And that means oil, gas, coal, and nuclear. Unicorn farts and liberal tears won’t power your car!
Wow. A lot there to unpack. I may need to fill my lungs with unicorn farts for this one. I was under the impression that everyone more or less understood that oil has significant downsides. Like environmental damage from oil spills, air and water pollution from drilling and the destruction of natural habitats as well as the release of greenhouse gasses that are exacerbating climate change and negatively impacting ecosystems and human health. Maybe I was just listening to liberal media. And scientists.
Maybe the best thing to do is take the writer’s proclamations point by point. Are electric cars the future? Hopefully. The argument should center around the technology and reducing the emissions created by initial manufacturing of batteries and not around the abundance of oil over lithium. Oil is in abundance, but it is also undeniable that it is a finite resource.
Not caring about the future is not a responsible way to care for the present.
Where does lithium come from? Most comes from South America and Australia. The U.S. imports mostly from Chile (maybe she got to “Chi-” and assumed “na” the rest of the way). China does produce lithium batteries.
The misconstrued information probably comes from the fact that Tesla batteries are contracted with a Chinese company. But this is apples and oranges. Bringing energy prices down can help reduce prices elsewhere and the best way is energy innovation, time-based electricity rates (smart meters that allow customers to program their usage) and policies that increase the availability of renewable energy.
Drill, baby, drill, says nothing more than “I don’t give a shit, baby, I don’t give a shit” about future generations.
9) The economy and the security of the country are far more important than your feelings, get over it.
I’ve got nothing here. I think they were just venting.
10) There are men and there are women. Simple as that.
I do have a lot to say here. There are men and there are women, that is true. There are all types of men and women. Some have more of this, some more of that. I’m not trying to be flippant, but to say nature is complicated so “let it go.”
Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define a person as male, female, or intersex. Those characteristics are defined by chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs.
Where there is a disconnect, misunderstanding, conflict, is from defining “gender.” Gender is a social construct to describe a person’s identity and the roles of a man, woman, non-binary, or other gender individual. Gender can be influenced by social norms, expectations and personal experiences. Therefore, while sex is based, from a scientific perspective, on biological factors, gender is more fluid as it is influenced by more fluid contexts; social and cultural.
I have ZERO expectation to change the post writer’s view of this, or the millions of people who also struggle with any understanding outside of their own social, cultural, and physical context, but I would point to the fact that many things are not understood until they are. There are absolute truths that have yet to be absolutely understood or accepted. Some appear as so, then dissolve into history, others ebb and flow. But to castigate human beings for not aligning with your definition or your confinement of freedom, contributes to nothing positive. Simple as that.
11) Education is to establish a learning core that prepares a child for the real, working world. Anything else is wrong.
There is nothing wrong with that statement except the implication at the end. I am certain they are implying that our public educational system is betraying their 10th tenet; that there are only men and women. There is a fundamental misunderstanding here and it has morphed into a conservative cause celebre.
The fallacy is that the public school system is teaching sexual biology that contradicts the “only men and women” concept. I am not in every school or privy to every curriculum, but after raising 5 children who attended different schools, I am pretty clear on their experiences as far as school philosophies and curriculum were concerned.
In every situation, the schools were not attempting to indoctrinate any student with what the writer would likely call “liberal sexual ideology” but were trying to be a safe haven for differences. There were legislative mandates to comply with, but most commonly the conflicts arose between students identifying differently and the societal norms others students subscribed to. Teachers and school policies tried hard to protect students and to make materials available to persuade acceptance. That is not indoctrination.
My criticisms within that reality are reserved for some teachers who allowed bullying because of the ideological differences they held that left vulnerable students alone or subjected to chastisement. THAT is wrong.
Finally….12) Donald J Trump is the President of the United States and he won by a landslide- both the popular vote and the electoral vote. Get over it.
Finally…I can’t get over it. The country I love has fallen into a pit of demagoguery in a celebration of ignorance. It has adopted a doctrine of selfishness and obstinance that places its most treasured tenets of freedom, equality and humanity, in jeopardy.
Donald J Trump is the President, I cannot deny that, and he won by a sizable electoral college margin. My hope for the future lies in the post writer’s own cross-eyed view that propagates a system that will ultimately collapse from the weight of its own lies.
Trump did not win a popular “landslide.” The margin between those who dream of a strong, compassionate, innovative, America and those who wish to believe only the white, non-secular, fairytale of the not so distant past, is not that wide.
Now, can I get some sleep?
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