Thursday, July 23, 2020

We have met the enemy

     When I put down the title for this post, I imagined my own idea of the type of voter who put tRump over the top in the last election.  The stereotypical tRump voter is supposedly a white man or woman with a high school degree or less, toiling away at a dead end job which barely pays the bills.  He or she also realizes they will never have the life their parents told them was their right and they are blaming it on "demonrats" and shadowy conspiracies which exist to hold them down.   Also, did I mention the casual racism the republican campaign passively encouraged by not condemning its racist candidate.
     The trouble with this neat package is the evidence is against it.  The median tRump voter is far wealthier than the median Hillary voter.  Clinton won big among those making less than 50,000 per year.   Of course the republican median voter is based on votes from those making order of magnitude more than $50 grand.  But there is a huge cohort of baby boomers who voted for republican candidates.   So much for peace, love and understanding.   Many of my contemporaries want what Cheetolini supposedly promised;  a return to the 1950s when women and people of color knew their place and the white man ruled his family and country.
     Now we are in the era of George Floyd, Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin.  Most of us see and understand the suffering endured on a daily basis by minorities in this country.  Even the elderly, one of the most reliable republican voting blocs are becoming increasingly uneasy with tRump's callous disregard for their vulnerability to Covid 19. 
    Yes, their will be reactionary voters this fall who would prefer to see the country burn rather than accommodate minorities and immigrants and they look like us.  We need to match their intensity and vote for the America most of us still believe in, a land where all are free, equal and enabled to pursue happiness.

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