An Open Letter to My Friends Who Support Trump

An Open Letter to My Friends Who Support Trump – and the Modern Republican Party

By Scott Stephen

Since the Civil War, there has been no greater political divide than in America today. Keeping a friendship alive with someone in the opposing party is quite challenging.  I count many Republicans among my good friends, relatives and business associates. Some of these folks have been extremely loyal to me over the years.

If you’re my friend, I truly love you whether you’re a Democrat, Green, Republican or Libertarian. And I generally avoid political discussion with friends who have opposing views unless I sense those opinions are not deep rooted. Despite my efforts, I have lost a few friends along the way mostly due to Facebook posts which offended some individuals. Many of these same lost friends had themselves posted political articles that often bothered me but it has been my policy not to comment on a friends post unless I agree with it or in cases where the information is false and/or has been debunked.

It’s very difficult to associate with someone on a regular basis and not touch on politics, since politics touch every aspect of our lives. Social media has made this more challenging. Until recently I have abstained from making political posts on my primary FB page. But the nomination and eventual election of Donald Trump has pushed me over the edge. I feel (like so many) that this is a critical turning point for our nation and not in the right direction.

When George W. was elected I was disgusted and angry. If you travel internationally like I do, you know first-hand what it’s like to have a bumbling idiot in the White House (George Bush 2001-2009). The respect from international community towards the United States was tremendous during the Clinton years and again during Obama’s tenure. But the Bush years seem so tame in comparison to today. Now I’m literally terrified of what might happen to the United States in the coming years. Whether or not you voted for Trump, it is likely we all lost this election. America lost, people of all nations lost and the Earth lost.

So as much as I value our friendship, I’m going to risk alienating some of you because if this article causes even one Trump supporter to re-think their support for our new president elect, then it’s worth losing a few friends in the process. I’m going to state some FACTS here that other writers seem to be hesitant to point out. If you’re adverse to facts then this may not be the article for you. But despite the overload of FACTS I hope my Trump supporting friends will read this to the end anyway, though I am not counting on it.

I could list more than one hundred reasons why you should be as afraid as I am, but I’ll limit this to just ten. In those rare cases where a Donald Trump supporter actually reads these statements, I leave you a simple question following each of these ten items.

10 Reasons to Rethink Your Support for “The Donald”

1.     Lying (Trump’s complete disregard for the truth)

My dear friends: based on the research of bi-partisan Politifact, only 15% of the statements made by Mr. Trump have proven to be “true” or “mostly true.” Add in “half-truths” and he gets to a whopping 30%. By comparison, statements by outgoing President Barack Obama have proven to by 75% “true,” “mostly true” or “half-truth.” Public officials should be held accountable for speaking the truth with just a small margin for human error. Trump is way beyond any possible margin of error. He is simply lying to us and sadly his followers believe the majority of what he states is true. 70% OF WHAT DONALD TRUMP SAYS ARE LIES!

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/

Trump Supporters: Are you okay that the majority of what Trump says are lies? Truth no longer matters to you?

2.     Treatment of Women

My dear friends: Trump is on camera bragging about how he can and does grab women by the pussy because he has such stature and fame that he can get away with it. Numerous women have come forward claiming he sexually assaulted them. So here’s a guy who was caught on camera claiming he sexually assaults women but he’s now denying that he ever actually sexually assaulted any women. 42% of women voted for Trump. Shocking! His biggest females supporters were non-college educated white women (64%). This is the candidate of the religious right. There is something really wrong with that. For most of us, we are in a state of shock that a man with his character is holding our highest office.

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/all-the-women-accusing-trump-of-rape-sexual-assault.html

Trump Supporters: So which is it? Is The Donald insecure to the extent that he needs to boast to his friends that he is so powerful that he can have his way with just about any woman, including going beyond what is legal, OR does he actually grab women by the pussy (and too many other accusations to name here) as stated by numerous women? It’s one or the other.

3.     Bromance with Putin and Russian Hacking of the U.S. Election

My dear friends: A common statement from Trump on the election trail was “the election is rigged.” Yes, it was rigged but clearly in his favor. The facts are now clear with the bipartisan investigation into Russian hacking of our election and their attempts to make Trump victorious. The Trump victory was shocking to pollsters and just about everyone following the campaigns. It’s not far-fetched to assume this may have been the reason he defeated Hillary.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-cyber-idUSKBN14Q1T8

Trump Supporters: How do feel about this “bromance” between Trump and Putin and have you considered there might be some ulterior motives on the part of both of them? And if it becomes clear that the election tampering affected the outcome, do you think there should be another vote?

4.     Billionaires Running the United States

My dear friends: Governments are not for-profit businesses. Proper governing (among other things) includes keeping citizens safe and creating a business environment with regulations that ensure everyone has a fair shot at success. Historically, the United States has been the world leader when it comes to entrepreneurship and a healthy robust middle class. Until recently, we’ve been the shining example of good governing. Certainly we’ve been far from perfect but perfection doesn’t exist.

Upon those rare occasions when I ask my friends why they support Trump, the majority say he’s a successful businessman and they believe that will translate into good economics for the U.S. Do we really want the most elite, wealthy individuals running our nation? If so, why not just bypass an election and go right to the top and offer the position to Bill Gates (top net worth in 2016). If he declines we can move onto Jeff Bezos (#2) and then Warren Buffett (#3). How about Mark Zuckerberg running the country? Charles & David Koch or Sheldon Adelson? They’re in the top-20 with much more wealth than the Donald. So they must be eminently more qualified, right? But there is no basis in fact that more wealthy individuals are better at governing. They are very good at creating capital. In a capitalistic society that preaches “winner take all” and “no second place,” where the only thing that matters is the value of your stock, this isn’t a great environment for fairness, liberty and justice for all. It is a recipe for a rapid decline in the middle class and the makings of a second or third-world country. The rich and powerful just expand their empires and this is likely to happen with Trump and his entourage in power.

Those of you that have spent any time in developing nations (third world) know that those nations are ruled by powerful political families expanding their wealth and power while citizens are left with only scraps. Typically they have extreme poverty and almost no middle class. That’s exactly what our founding fathers did not want to happen here. In these developing nations it is very rare to find individuals without great family wealth getting into positions of power. There would be no Barack Obama, who came from almost nothing, brought up by his single mother.. There would be no Bill Clinton, who was also from a broken home. No Jimmy Carter, who was a rural peanut farmer. These men were shaped by their experiences growing up with modest means. It’s not surprising that their policies tend to support the poor and middle class to a greater degree than their Republican counterparts.

FYI: Donald Trump’s wealth is greater than all our past presidents, combined! On top of that, he’s appointed the wealthiest cabinet, by far, in history. They will now likely use their position in public office to better their own interests. And that will be at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Trump Supporters: Are you comfortable having a highly privileged person in the White House who has never lived a life anywhere close to yours. Do you feel his policies will move you forward and bring you more opportunity?

5.     Trump Statements about Veterans and Torture

My dear friends: your candidate stated “I like those who weren’t captured.” Really? Are you kidding me? How about “I like those who weren’t killed? That’s basically the same sentiment. Our veterans who were captured, tortured or killed while in the service of our country should never have their contributions diminished.

Trump has come out in favor of torture, including waterboarding. Recently he stated “we should go much further than waterboarding.” This despite the fact that the majority of the scientific community has concluded that torture is mostly ineffective as well as it being illegal under international law.

There is likely nothing more horrific that a living being can experience than torture. And in times of war, both sides are taught to hate the other, despite the fact both sides are composed of people who have been made to believe their side is right. When we torture an individual for any reason, we are lowering our standard; violating international law and also making it more likely that our own men and women will be tortured if captured by the enemy.

Our new president is gung-ho on torture but keep in mind he has never served a day in the military. He received a deferment for bone spurs in his heels in 1968. At this time he was athletic having played football, tennis and squash. Many other politicians have avoided military service including most recently George W. Bush but Trump’s support for torture and the ease of which he speaks out against someone like John McCain for being “captured” is ironic.

With greater honesty, maybe what he should have said is “I like those who never served.”

Trump Supporters: Does his calling out of John McCain on others who were prisoners of war bother you? Or his deferment?

6.     How Trump Won the Election (“I love the poorly educated”)

My dear friends: your hero and savior was supported by white males and not many others. Those who voted for Hillary included women,youth, blacks, Hispanics, Asians and college graduates. Aside from Vladimir Putin & the Electoral College system, Trump got his support from older Americans; whites\, males and those without a college degree. Digging deeper into the stats regarding education, you’ll find that Trump’s biggest support came from the “under-educated”.  Trump actually once stated “I love the poorly educated.” And 72% of non-college educated white males voted for him! U.S. citizens with postgraduate study supported Hillary Clinton by the widest margin of any category, 58% to 37%.

With all due respect to the segment of our population who may not have had the financial means to consider college, those without higher education are much easier to influence with advertising (and propaganda). Bernie Sanders ran on a platform of free college for everyone. An educated population looks at issues in more depth. An educated society is more difficult to manipulate with misinformation. This is specifically why Democrats and other progressives support education while Republicans in office consistently vote against any measures that expand education. An educated populace is detrimental to their political lives. Congressional voting stats are public records. If you doubt any of this it’s simple enough to research. Dems support expanding public education as well as voting rights. Republicans oppose it.

Trump Supporters: Does it bother you that the most well informed people in America supported the other candidate?

7.     The Popular Vote

My dear friends: in the last 100 years, only two times has the winner lost the popular vote. Those two happen to be George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump. Yes, the two most recent Republican president elects lost the popular vote. Yes, more Americans have voted for a Democratic candidate for president in every election since Jimmy Carter.  Donald Trump lost the popular vote by the widest margin ever; nearly 3 million votes!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_elections_in_which_the_winner_lost_the_popular_vote

Trump Supporters: More Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. No question here. Just saying….

8.     The Celebrity Vote

My dear friends: while this section is intended to be a bit less serious than the previous seven, the list below should still make you pause a bit.

Some of big name celebrities who support Trump are: Charlie Sheen, Mike Tyson, Gene Simmons, Ted Nugent, Dennis Rodman, Tila Tequila, Terrell Owens, Jessica Simpson, Gary Busey, Hulk Hogan.

If I was to list every “A list” celebrity, musician and actor who supported Hillary Clinton my word count would go way over the allotted limit to get this article published just about anywhere.

No president elect has ever had a more difficult time finding performers to perform at their inauguration.

Trump Supporters: You already knew that most of Hollywood as well as your favorite musical artists are anti-Trump; so no question here.

9.     Cabinet Picks

My dear friends: very often those of you who stand behind the president elect say things similar to “Just wait. He’ll do great things.. Well his first order of business was to select his Cabinet members. And Trump has now established the very worst cabinet in American history. A few examples:

Rick Perry- Secretary of Energy. Yes, the same Rick Perry who advocated eliminating the Department of Energy and had no idea what the DOE does. Scary!

Betsy DeVos- Secretary of Education. She’s a billionaire Republican donor who is against the public education system and couldn’t answer basic questions at her confirmation hearing.

Scott Pruitt- Head of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Since its inception in 1972, the EPA has liked saved more American lives than any other government agency. Large corporations that like to use America’s rivers, lakes, oceans and skies as their personal dumping grounds, fear the EPA. So Mr. Trump has appointed someone who has sued this agency multiple times and apparently despises it. The choice of Pruitt is similar to George W.’s selection of Stephen Johnson in 2005. Johnson was also a vocal critic of the EPA.

The rest of his Cabinet picks are equally dangerous. In almost all cases these individuals (like Trump) have no experience in the areas of expertise needed for these positions. On the contrary, all of Obama’s Cabinet choices had experience in the corresponding fields they were appointed to.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/01/19/donald-trump-has-assembled-the-worst-cabinet-in-american-history/?utm_term=.df362919b3b0

Trump Supporters: Concerned about any of this? Do you even keep up to date on what your savior is doing or just blindly follow him?

10.  Still Hasn’t Released Tax Returns

My dear friends: never has a President elect failed to disclose his tax returns to the public. It’s quite obvious that Trump is hiding something. This is the same hypocrite who demanded President Obama release his birth certificate. It is in the public interest to have as much information as possible about potential candidates for public office. For the first time ever this information was not disclosed by a major candidate during an election and even now, post-election, he is refusing to disclose.

Trump Supporters: Do you agree he is likely shielding us from something he feels would impact his public persona?

That concludes my list of 10 things that should cause you to pause and think but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A few more that I just don’t have the space to comment on include:

Lack of policy details

Lack of political experience

Multiple bankruptcies

Propensity for lawsuits

Inability to tolerate criticism

Constant berating of the media

Elimination of Obamacare with nothing to replace it

The list is endless…. There is just too much juicy material here to cover in one article.

Today’s Republican Party

The problem with our new President isn’t just the candidate himself but also the party which he chose to represent him. Of all the candidates that competed for the Republican nomination, it was my opinion that (other than John Kasich), Trump was the best of the bunch. It wouldn’t be that difficult to create a list like the one above for each and every one of them. That is state of the current Republican Party.

So with all the prevailing facts publicly available, why is it we’ve elected such an inferior candidate? Make it two if you count George W. Bush. There are two basic reasons:

1.     Fraudulent Elections

Based on the numbers of people (and entire demographics) Trump offended during his candidacy, he should have lost in a landslide. Yes, he did lose the popular vote but he found a way to win key states that gave him the Electoral College victory. With the uncovering of Russian tampering in our election, it’s not hard to imagine that his victory may be attributed to Vladimir Putin. It’s likely that the focus of Russian hackers was the key swing states.

2.     Fox News and the Rest of the Right-Wing Media

Faux news is simply a wing of the Republican Party. Many of you will argue the left has MSNBC but that’s a weak argument. MSNBC gets about one-third of what Fox gets. CNN gets about half. One big reason is Fox has the money behind it. Their production and graphics are second to none. Their style is angry, confrontational and highly opinionated. It’s more like entertainment than news and appeals to the masses. CNN and MSNBC, with all their faults, are still trying to present real news stories. In addition to Faux, tune into talk radio and try to find a left-leaning station. It’s nearly impossible. Air America is gone. Amy Goodman is a lefty hero (and for good reason) but her reach is limited. The battle of the airwaves was won a long time ago. If you want a solid reason why many poor and/or undereducated Americans vote Republican, this is it.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2015/07/13/why-all-the-talk-radio-stars-are-conservative/#45c6904c15ea

At this point I’m going to turn my attention to my progressive friends. It’s likely that by now, most or all of my conservative friends have discontinued reading (although I hope a few remain).

The Way Forward

The left seems confused and unorganized but that is nothing new. If Democrats and Greens are to move this country forward and back towards those original intentions of the founding fathers, there are a number of steps that need to be undertaken.

1.     Come Together, Right Now!

Step up our determination. Unite. Find common goals. Re-charge our batteries. Prepare for battle. Not necessarily with public protests which equally provide fuel and anger to the opposition but through social media and organizing…

2.     Get Organized!

Take some tips from the other side. As liberal free spirits we tire easily of redundancy and our loyalty is not nearly at the level of most conservatives. Higher intelligence comes with a price and common sense does not always accompany this intellect. Our wrong decisions and liberal pride often get in the way of progress. We need to strategize and organize like never before.

3.     Find The Money!

There are many generous, high net-worth liberals. They often make significant donations to a variety of liberal causes. Right now we need to identify and solicit as many of these individuals as possible to join the cause. And when these resources manifest we need to use them wisely and with great care.

4.     Fund Progressive Media

We MUST level the playing field in the media. And this is not just about better funding. It’s about drawing more American’s to tune-in. Otherwise these outlets will fail again. We need to use some of the tried and true techniques of the right (I hate to say it). We claim to be a science based community. Well the science of attracting a large, general audience includes repetition & entertainment value in combination with the presentation of the truth. Unless we expand to a larger audience, we are simply preaching to the choir.

5.     Loud and Proud!

Be bold. Let’s not be the party of the meek. Don’t be afraid to call yourself a LIBERAL. Focus on the most egregious opponents. Limit our attacks against those on our side even when they make a mistake. Call them out within our community but not publically.

6.     Tout Liberal Policies

One thing we do not need to emulate from conservatives is their avoidance of policy discussion. We can be repetitive and loud about the issues. We don’t need to engage much in personal attacks or avoid statistics. The facts are on our side and we need to educate the public to these facts. An educated, informed public will vote overwhelmingly progressive. In an ideal society where the public is highly educated (free college for all – Go Bernie) Democrats would not be the party of the left (unless they moved to the left) but rather the moderate middle ground. The Greens would be the progressive left and Republicans would encompass no more than a third of the electorate which would represent the right. Our country moves forward when progressives are in office.

7.     Find and Nominate a Worthy Candidate

Think JFK and Obama. Barack Obama was elected in overwhelmingly adverse circumstances. In many ways he was the strongest candidate the Dems have fielded since Kennedy. Young, attractive, eloquent, intelligent and thoughtful. Bernie Sanders may have been the greatest hope for real change our generation has ever seen but he’s not the right choice for 2020. He’s simply too old. We need someone with the qualities and talents of Obama with the politics of Sanders. Jill Stein is NOT that candidate either but would be a great choice for VP. The same goes for Elizabeth Warren. Both are American heroes. Let’s start the search now!

Conclusion

With these seven steps implemented we can again be that great nation our founding fathers envisioned. I’m depressed and worried but still hopeful. Maybe this is the kick in the pants we needed. And yes, I’m also talking to you, my right-wing, Republican friends. Because if you’ve read this far, there’s hope!

Scott Stephens is a native of Los Angeles and now resides in San Diego. He’s the founder of Liquid Blue, a musical act that has performed in over 100 countries. As a teenager he founded Raw Power Magazine (circa late 1970’s) a punk & hard rock fanzine immersed in the rock & roll culture of Sunset Blvd. He skated pro with the Los Angeles Thunderbirds Roller Derby team (1978-1981). He spent 25 years in a conservative business environment as a financial consultant & insurance agent. He’s an avid surfer and bodysurfer and a former L.A. City Lifeguard. He also competed as an amateur boxer. Scott is a lifelong activist for peace, social justice and the environment.

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