SuaveSocialist on 03 October 2016
| Zanten said: I still don't get this entire situation. There being concerns against Hilary, totally get. She seems a chameleon who just kind of adopted some of Bernie's more PR-pleasing policies, and in my opinion at least her stance seems fairly artificial. I.e., whereas with Sanders I had the impression that this was a guy who very much meant every word he said- and that even if, as president, he couldn't live up to all he hoped to achieve, he was still going into this VERY much prepared to fight for those goals- with Clinton it feels more like she's saying whatever will help get her foot in the door. But... with all that said, how is Trump a viable alternative? If I were JUST to look at the things Clinton has been criticized on and say 'Okay, so how is Trump better in that regard?' I'm left drawing blanks. He isn't more honest than Clinton. He isn't more ethical, or more generous, or more composed, or more competent, or... pretty much ANY trait that I would deem positive or 'Presidential.' o_O Even in the areas Clinton comes up short, Trump ties with her at best, and comes up even shorter at worst. Honesty is something that the OP mentions specifically with regards to the 'lying mainstream media.' Trump seems to have a reputation among his supporters for being honest, and I can't figure out why that's the case. Is it because he says lots of stupid things that most politicians would keep quiet about/phrase more delicately? That because he said a female reporter had 'blood coming from her wherever,' Trump somehow 'tells it like it is,' unlike those mean ol' politicians who just lie, lie, lie... ...because yeah, politicians spinning falsehoods is something so embedded in their very identity now, it's become a cliche, and this applies to Clinton as well. If I recall correctly, fact checkers estimated she made demonstrably false claims/lied 4 times during her debate with Trump, and there are those in Trump's camp who would be quick to point at them at signs of her dishonesty. So if Trump's ill-thought-out statements were joined hand-in-hand with honesty and accountability to the facts, then that MIGHT be worth it as a trade-off. Except that during the same debate, Trump was found to made false claims/lies 34 times. Not a typo, that's thirty-four times. So... basically we have a man who says lots of offensive and stupid things, AND lies more frequently. How is this in any way an improvement? * * * The concept of honesty also brings us to those tax statements, and why Trump's campaign was so eager to keep the matter under wraps for as long as possible. Because even if it's legal, it's kind of hard to claim 'I'm looking out for the average American' when it turns out you've been ducking out the same bills those average Americans have to pay. And Trump, or those who run his campaign, know that. It's why there was such a frantic song-and-dance around not releasing them in the first place, and his lie about it being due to the audit the IRS was putting him through was meant to try and plug the speculative void. They wanted people to say 'Oh, he's just not releasing the statements because he's under an audit. I'm sure he's not trying to hide anything! Real salt of the Earth, that man.' The funny thing is that when the IRS pretty much said 'Uhhh, no, Trump can release his info, we really don't care, the audit isn't preventing him,' Trump's campaign couldn't think of a replacement excuse. That's why he just doubled down and continued to insist it was because the IRS was auditing him. Of course, now that their backs are up against the wall, it's on to Plan B; 'Trump Not Paying Taxes Is Just Proof Of His Financial Genius!' * * * I suppose what this all comes down to; if anyone calls Clinton crooked, or a liar, or dishonest, or self-serving, then yeah, okay, I can see where a lot of it comes from. what I don't see is how they do not then AUTOMATICALLY apply the same descriptors to Trump, because he is very much all of those things in ways that are pretty public! =P |
You should copy and paste this as an OP to a new thread. So much truth. So little space. It deserves more than to be lost in a sea of replies.
