Here's the scariest thing about Trump (hint: it isn't about him)

At this point in Trump's presidency I've become accustomed to being shocked on a daily basis by the newest horror inflicted on us by the Liar-in-Chief.

Today, for example, Trump cancelled pay raises for civilian workers in the federal government because our "nation's fiscal situation" can't afford it.

This is the same Trump who regularly proclaims that our economy is the best it's ever been in the history of the United States, and he's the reason things are so amazingly great. And this is the same Trump who pushed for a massive tax cut for corporations, which, along with smaller tax cuts for individuals, will add at least $1 trillion to the federal deficit (that's additional over 10 years; the current annual overall deficit is approaching $1 trillion).

But Trump says the country can't afford to give federal workers a 1.9% pay raise. Corporations get much richer from a massive tax break. Public servants -- nothing, nada, zilch.

Here's the most disturbing thing about Trump's presidency, though. It isn't any of the horrendous things that Trump has said and done since he was elected in a highly dubious fashion, with a lot of help from Russia. 

It's the fact that 85 to 90% of Republicans approve of Trump. 

I find this astonishing. And disturbing.

Trump lies about eight times a day. He had sex with a porn star shortly after his wife gave birth, then tried to cover up the affair. He trusts Vladamir Putin more than he trusts his own intelligence agencies. Etc. Etc. Etc. 

So if you know a Republican, or are one, there's nine chances out of ten that this person approves of what Trump is doing. Thankfully, only about a third of Independents and a tenth of Democrats feel the same way. So hopefully the next elections will send Trump a blunt message: stop with the crap you're doing to this country.

Close to home, obviously Oregon Republicans must be just about as enthusiastic about Trump.

Thus we can expect that 85 to 90% of Republican candidates for state and local offices, whether or not the office is partisan or non-partisan, are just fine with what Trump is inflicting on our country, states, and cities.

Keep this in mind when you vote in November.

Chances are a vote for a Republican is a vote for a Trump supporter. If you don't like what Trump is doing to the United States, then don't vote for any other Republicans -- unless, perhaps, they explicitly, convincingly, and publicly say they disavow Trump's policies.

Comments

[Jim Scheppke]

Good points Brian. It's interesting to watch what you might call closeted Oregon Republicans. This was on display at the City Council meeting last Monday night when Republican Councilors Nanke and Lewis were trying to find every reason possible to vote against a Council rejection of Measure 105, other than just coming out and saying they support Measure 105, which I am sure they do. In Oregon, most Rs, particularly if they are elected officials, can't just come out and say they support Trump. They have to use stealth to support his policies. No one should be fooled.

[tucson]

I like Trump. I think he is the best president since Reagan, maybe better. He's shaking up the status quo. They can't shut him up despite their stranglehold control of the media. I love it. I'm sick of characters like these being in the drivers seat:

July 29, 2018

The 10 Most Destructive Americans of My 8 Decades

By Frank Hawkins

America has undergone enormous change during the nearly eight decades of my life. Today, America is a bitterly divided, poorly educated and morally fragile society with so-called mainstream politicians pushing cynical identity politics, socialism and open borders. The president of the United States is threatened with impeachment because the other side doesn’t like him. The once reasonably unbiased American media has evolved into a hysterical left wing mob. How could the stable and reasonably cohesive America of the 1950s have reached this point in just one lifetime? Who are the main culprits? Here’s my list of the 10 most destructive Americans of the last 80 years.

10) Mark Felt – Deputy director of the FBI, aka “Deep Throat” during the Watergate scandal. This was the first public instance of a senior FBI officially directly interfering in America’s political affairs. Forerunner of James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe.

9) Bill Ayers– Represents the deep and ongoing leftist ideological damage to our education system. An unrepentant American terrorist who evaded punishment, he devoted his career to radicalizing American education and pushing leftist causes. Ghost wrote Obama’s book, “Dreams of My Father.”

8) Teddy Kennedy – Most folks remember Teddy as the guy who left Mary Joe Kopechne to die in his car at Chappaquiddick. The real damage came after he avoided punishment for her death and became a major Democrat force in the US Senate, pushing through transformative liberal policies in health care and education. The real damage was the 1965 Hart-Cellar immigration bill he pushed hard for that changed the quota system to increase the flow of third world people without skills into the US and essentially ended large-scale immigration from Europe.

7) Walter Cronkite – Cronkite was a much beloved network anchor who began the politicalization of America’s news media with his infamous broadcast from Vietnam that described the Tet Offensive as a major victory for the Communists and significantly turned the gullible American public against the Vietnam War. In fact, the Tet offensive was a military disaster for the NVA and Viet Cong, later admitted by North Vietnamese military leaders. Decades later Cronkite admitted he got the story wrong. But it was too late. The damage was done.

6) Bill and Hillary Clinton—It’s difficult to separate Team Clinton. Bill’s presidency was largely benign as he was a relative fiscal conservative who rode the remaining benefits of the Reagan era. But his sexual exploits badly stained the Oval Office and negatively affected America’s perception of the presidency. In exchange for financial support, he facilitated the transfer of sensitive military technology to the Chinese. Hillary, a Saul Alinsky acolyte, is one of the most vicious politicians of my lifetime, covering up Bill’s sexual assaults by harassing and insulting the exploited women and peddling influence around the globe in exchange for funds for the corrupt Clinton Foundation. She signed off on the sale of 20% of the US uranium reserve to the Russians after Bill received a $500,000 speaking fee in Moscow and the foundation (which supported the Clinton’s regal lifestyle) received hundreds of millions of dollars from those who benefited from the deal. Between them, they killed any honor that might have existed in the dark halls of DC.

5) Valerie Jarrett - The Rasputin of the Obama administration. A Red Diaper baby, her father, maternal grandfather and father-in-law (Vernon Jarrett who was a close friend and ally of Obama mentor Frank Marshall Davis) were hardcore Communists under investigation by the U.S. government. She has been in Obama’s ear for his entire political career pushing a strong anti-American, Islamist, anti-Israeli, socialist/communist, cling-to-power agenda.

4) Jimmy Carter - Carter ignited modern day radical Islam by abandoning the Shah and paving the way for Ayatollah Khomeini to take power in Tehran. Iran subsequently became the main state sponsor and promoter of international Islamic terrorism. When Islamists took over our embassy in Tehran, Carter was too weak to effectively respond thus strengthening the rule of the radical Islamic mullahs.

3) Lyndon Johnson – Johnson turned the Vietnam conflict into a major war for America. It could have ended early if he had listened to the generals instead of automaker Robert McNamara. The ultimate result was: 1) 58,000 American military deaths and collaterally tens of thousands of American lives damaged; and 2) a war that badly divided America and created left wing groups that evaded the draft and eventually gained control of our education system. Even worse, his so-called War on Poverty led to the destruction of American black families with a significant escalation of welfare and policies designed to keep poor families dependent on the government (and voting Democrat) for their well-being. He deliberately created a racial holocaust that is still burning today. A strong case could be made for putting him at the top of this list.

2) Barack Hussein Obama - Obama set up America for a final defeat and stealth conversion from a free market society to socialism/communism. As we get deeper into the Trump presidency, we learn more each day about how Obama politicized and compromised key government agencies, most prominently the FBI, the CIA and the IRS, thus thoroughly shaking the public’s confidence in the federal government to be fair and unbiased in its activities. He significantly set back race and other relations between Americans by stoking black grievances and pushing radical identity politics. Obama’s open support for the Iranian mullahs and his apologetic “lead from behind” foreign policy seriously weakened America abroad. His blatant attempt to interfere in Israel’s election trying to unseat Netanyahu is one of the most shameful things ever done by an American president.

1) John Kerry – Some readers will likely say Kerry does not deserve to be number one on this list. I have him here because I regard him as the most despicable American who ever lived. After his three faked Purple Hearts during his cowardly service in Vietnam, he was able to leave the US Navy early. As a reserve naval officer and in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he traveled to Paris and met privately with the NVA and the Viet Cong. He returned to the United States parroting the Soviet party line about the war and testified before Congress comparing American soldiers to the hordes of Genghis Khan. It was a clear case of treason, giving aid and comfort to the enemy in a time of war. We got a second bite of the bitter Kerry apple when as Obama’s secretary of state, he fell into bed with the Iranian (“Death to America”) mullahs giving them the ultimate green light to develop nuclear weapons along with billions of dollars that further supported their terrorist activities. Only the heroic Swift Vets saved us from a Manchurian Candidate Kerry presidency. Ultimately we got Obama.

Dishonorable Mentions! (Just missed the list)

John Brennan –Obama’s CIA director who once voted for Communist Gus Hall for president. A key member of the Deep State who severely politicized the CIA. Called President Trump treasonous for meeting with the president of Russia.

Jane Fonda – movie actress who made the infamous trip to Vietnam during the war in support of the Communists. She represents hard left Hollywood that has done so much damage to our culture.

Jimmy Hendrix and Janice Joplin – Both revered entertainers helped usher in the prevailing drug culture and personally suffered the consequences. Karma’s a bitch.

Robert Johnson /BET – Helped popularize ho’s, bitches and pimps while making millions on great hits such as “Jigga my Nigga”, “Big Pimpin’”, “Niggas in Paris” and “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.” Many scholars within the African American community maintain that BET perpetuates and justifies racism by adopting the stereotypes held about African Americans, affecting the psyche of young viewers through the bombardment of negative images of African Americans. Who can disagree?

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr./The New York Times – Once the gold standard of American journalism, the paper always had a liberal tilt and occasionally made bad mistakes. As the years have gone along, the paper has slid further and further left and today is virtually the primary propaganda arm of the increasingly radical Democrat Party. Still retains influence in Washington and New York.

George Soros – Jewish former Nazi collaborator in his native Hungary who as a self-made billionaire has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into left wing groups and causes. The damage he has caused is difficult to measure, but it’s certainly large. He has funded much of the effort to kill the Trump presidency.

Frank Marshall Davis - Anti-white, black Bolshevik, card-carrying Soviet agent. Probable birth father and admitted primary mentor of young Barak Hussein Obama.

Frank Hawkins is a former US Army intelligence officer, Associated Press foreign correspondent, international businessman, senior newspaper company executive, founder and owner of several marketing companies and published novelist. He is currently retired in North Carolina. [email protected]

[logan]

Just when I was about to point out that Trump Supporters are often heavy consumers of conspiracy theories. Tucson kindly doubles down to prove my point for me by posting an article from "The American Thinker." A bloated blog posing as a news source that is so far to the right only Alex Jones is further off that cliff.

Every single point in that article has been disproved a million and one times. You are literally cutting and pasting a proverbial "dead horse". Please do your own homework. For example, take a moment to look up this Frank Hawkins. It notes that he is a Associated Press foreign correspondent. Good luck finding any proof of that. Have you ever heard of a writer that works for a major news source having no articles associated with them? The only article credited to this guy anywhere to be found is the one you posted. It was re-posted, as is, on multiple Right Leaning BLOGS, not even news site. That really should have been your first red-flag.

There is no evidence this guy is even real. The only bios that match him are on sites that allow anyone with a internet connection to post what ever they want. If you attempt to search for books written by this "published novelist". You find a Frank Hawkins alright. You want to know what his book is about? "The Boy's Body Guide: A Health and Hygiene Book". And his bio oddly does not match the bio you posted. So it's clearly not the same guy.

My point is, do not count on resources that are less then sincere about their ethics or even their purpose. If you find something you want to believe just do your HOMEWORK. Search for evidence from creditable sources to confirm what you suspect.

https://www.summer.harvard.edu/inside-summer/4-tips-spotting-fake-news-story
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/285760

[tucson]

logan,

Actually, I have no interest in who/what Frank Hawkins is was or will be. It doesn't matter to me. I don't need to do homework nor am I "counting on" the article. I did find it convenient, however, because I share the ATTITUDE expressed about the personalities involved. The article saved me some typing even though I may have said a few things differently if I had written it myself.

For example, I think the writer laid too much responsibility on Hendrix and Joplin. They were more victims of the drug culture than causative factors of it. Also, he holds Hillary, "one of the most vicious politicians", in higher esteem than I do.

[logan]

Tucson,

So you knew it was bull. You admit you don't care if the person or the information is remotely real (or true), but you felt the need to share it because it still somehow made the point you wanted, and, saved you from typing?

That is just... amazing.

[tucson]

logan,

No, I don't think the information is bull, at least not most of it.

For example, I agree with the first paragraph of the article.

For example, Carter was weak in handling the takeover of the U.S embassy which did help place the radical mullahs in power in Iran. He really screwed up.

For example, Obama "significantly set back race and other relations between Americans by stoking black grievances and pushing radical identity politics."

For example, the New York Times has "slid further and further left and today is virtually (one of) the primary propaganda arm(s) of the increasingly radical Democrat Party.

For example, I think what he said about Lyndon Johnson is correct and factual.

For example, John Brennan has heavily politicized the CIA.

I could comment on the rest but remember, I'm lazy about typing.

I wouldn't put Jane Fonda on that list. She was a player for a while, but not all that important in my view despite playing around with the Viet Cong and their cannon.

In regard to Frank Marshal Davis being the "probable birth father" of Obama and Bill Ayers being the ghost writer of "Dreams of my Father". Those claims I know nothing about, but sound sketchy to me... There. I conceded something.

[logan]

Tucson,

You are of course entitled to your opinions. I think we have to say our perspectives, experiences and clearly how differently we value *quantifiable* information is so far apart that it seems silly to continue trying to get on the same page.

[tucson]

Don't miss this one. Here is another copy-pasted article. Don't know who wrote it. Both rightists and leftists, conservatives and "progressives" can relate, I think. Very good analysis, not inflamatory partisan rhetoric..

It's called “Give me an asshole who can play …”

(You should be able to guess right away who the asshole is.)

This is a famous quote from iconic drummer, Buddy Rich. Buddy only wanted the best on stage with him. He didn’t care about their “moral character” or if they were pleasant to be around. He didn’t even care if he, himself, liked them. He hired only guys who could burn the room down with him …not boy scouts who were mediocre. Hence, the famous quote.

President Donald Trump appears to be in trouble. A series of confessions and convictions, of and by people around him, are casting a strange, dark light on his presidency at the moment. There is a perception (at least) that shady stuff has gone on around this guy. And when shady stuff constantly goes on around someone in charge, you have to conclude that the guy in charge is okay with shady stuff.

Has he hung around tax evaders and money launderers? Clearly. Did he pay off porn stars and Playboy Playmates to keep their dalliances quiet? I think we can safely conclude that he did. Is he a petulant child in the Twitter-verse? One hundred percent. Does he say things in public my mother would slap me for saying? Literally, everyday. Did he conspire with a foreign power to win an election? Maybe. Will any of this make a difference to his supporters? That’s a complicated answer. Let me explain …

I have a theory that all presidential elections are reactions to the sitting president at the time. I’m old enough to remember Jimmy Carter getting elected (in large part) because he was a wholesome, moral breath of fresh air in an atmosphere of corruption and scandal created during the Nixon years. I was only a kid, but I distinctly remember entire churches being excited to go out and vote for an openly Christian man for president. Then, after four years of that disaster, I remember those same people breaking speed limit laws to get to the polls to vote for Reagan as fast as they could.

The conditions that created a “president Trump” kinda started with Bill Clinton, who led to George W Bush …who led to Barack Obama.

By the time we got to him, Mr Obama was going to be the antidote to incompetence and corruption and war mongering and, yes …even racism. But a very strange thing happened during Mr Obama’s presidency. Racism didn’t end. Corruption didn’t end. Wars didn’t end. And incompetence might’ve actually gotten worse. My full day of talking to the customer service agent at the newly created healthcare exchange, did NOT leave me confident.

And what was discovered during Mr Obama’s 8 years, was that in a free market nation, over-taxing, over-regulating and a leader who constantly berates the business community and supports policies that place more emphasis on celebrating the “diversity” of people groups than on law and order for every individual, and foreign policies that take everything but the nation you’ve been elected to lead into account, simply doesn’t work.

What was also exposed in those 8 years was how feckless and weak Republicans had actually become in their opposition to such things. And with candidates literally talking openly about socialism and nationalizing private institutions, a guy like Trump comes along and promises to re-set the foundation of the nation the way Americans understand it …and the way they want it. Is he really that much of a surprise?

I talk occasionally about the fourth revolution. And Donald Trump is the leader of it.

If you’re appalled at the lewd behavior of your president, you’re behind. That ship sailed when one was getting blow jobs by an intern half his age, in the Oval Office …AND. NOBODY. CARED.

If you wish your president was decent and measured and refused to return fire at his critics, you’re behind. We already had that guy and he was called a war criminal, who should be tried at the Hague (Rosie O’Donell’s public announcement) and “retarded” (Chris Rock’s word – DEFINITELY not mine), someone who should force his daughters to go to war (Matt Damon’s suggestion) a monster who deliberately broke the levies in New Orleans to drown black people (Spike Lee’s claim) and on and on and on …AND. NOBODY. CARED.

If you wish your president was upstanding and righteous and said all the right things, you’re behind. Mitt Romney already ran. AND. NOBODY. CARED.

If you wish your president was a humble and honorable true public servant, without moral blemishes, you’re behind. Bob Dole (a man who gave his right hand to his country) and John McCain (a man who gave both arms to his country) already ran. AND. NOBODY. CARED.

Donald Trump was the last branch to grab before the nation hit the ground. But he has changed the game in some ways. Nobody believes a nice guy can get it done, anymore. We’ve had nice guys …and nothing changed.

Cutting taxes and repatriating a trillion dollars was the right thing to do. And it’s working. And only a guy who doesn’t give crap about what people think of him could’ve gotten it done. Moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was the right thing to do. It sends a message to the rest of the middle east and, in turn, creates a stability hard to quantify. Presidents on BOTH sides of the aisle have promised to do it. It should’ve been done decades ago. But only a guy who doesn’t give a crap about what people think of him could’ve gotten it done.

Taking Kim Jong Un on …head on …is looking like it was the right thing to do. But only a guy who doesn’t give a crap about what people think of him would’ve even attempted it.

While Mr Trump’s lawyers and campaign people were perp-walking in and out of ivory towers, a teenaged girl in Iowa – as middle-America a place as you can find – was being murdered by someone in the country illegally. That creates real world fear for Americans everywhere. We have enough fear of our own citizenry, breaking our own laws. And reasonable Americans don’t think it’s UNreasonable to ask people wanting to come to our country …to sign the hell in. They don’t see how that makes them racists. It simply doesn’t compute. And the only elected leader giving them any cover is the flawed president.

So, did Donald Trump collude and conspire with Russians to win an election? What the media and his opponents (and even a lot of Republicans) STILL don’t or can’t or won’t understand is that it doesn’t matter. He didn’t have to collude with anybody. He was going to win either way. He had millions of Americans at “build a wall” and “cut your taxes” and especially at, “I don’t give a crap what people think.”

Donald Trump may get impeached or arrested or disgraced or unseated or whatever. But what people had better realize is that if he’s gone, a large percentage of the population will be looking for something or someone JUST like him …to replace him. There’s too much at stake; too many socialists on the horizon, too many empty suits looking for lifetime political gigs, too many “nice guys” with great smiles and weak spines, to take anymore chances.

We just want an asshole who can play. And with the economy roaring and North Korea neutralized and ISIS basically contained and defeated, it appears that despite all the weirdness that surrounds him, he can, indeed, play.

P.S. And now …. the lowest unemployment in our adult lives; the new deal with Mexico re. trade - and the one to soon follow with Canada - and other countries; the highest stock market ever; etc., etc., etc. Impeach him for lack of morality ? Go ahead !

[logan]

To think, telling you "I think we have to say our perspectives, experiences and clearly how differently we value *quantifiable* information is so far apart that it seems silly to continue trying to get on the same page." Could actually inspire such an epic, discombobulated diatribe. I mean most people would have seen my short reply as just another polite way of stating "Let's agree to disagree".

I guess I should just be extra clear about it. Lets. Let's agree to disagree and give Brian his blog back.

[tucson]

Hey logan,
The blog would be almost empty of comments without our discussion which is what the blog is for, although I admit long copy-pasted opinion is probably not preferred. But sure, adios.

[NotEvenWrong]

Oh great, another website taken over by Russian bots posting opposing views under different user names.

Do svidaniya!

[Skyline]

This thread (comments, NOT the article) is the best and most informative exchange in the history of Salem Political Snark.
So much truth, honesty and down to earth common sense.
How refreshing, Logan and Tucson!
Thanks for bringing reality to this glass house!!

[stephina]

Never expected Donald Duck
in this position

Some High Level Shrinks said he has a brain tumor

Groping feels fine by Evangelicals now and porn too

How many 1%_ters . are living in Salem ?

The total destiny of Trump and USA will depend on the new judge

Steph

[Sven]

Concerning Alex Jones & Trump theories
Trump could easily win all elections by "solemn" disclosure on extra terrestian agreements

Same on moon landings but to much negatives hereSven L