Category: Politics

Terrible Things Happen on Sunny Days Too

On By Paul MathewsIn Politics, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Morning

A sunny unseasonably warm day in November can imbue a person with an unreasonable amount of optimism. And today – Election Day – is just such a day.

Now I know it is de riguer to describe oneself as “patriotic”, but it’s not a word I feel comfortable applying to myself. Don’t get me wrong. I think America is an incredible country, but I don’t subscribe to the flag-humping, love-it-or-leave-it fervor that is required for membership in that particular club.

Having said that, I am an absolute nerd for performing my civic obligations. And at the top of that list sits jury duty and voting. I am probably the only person in the country that smiles when I get that unassuming little postcard letting me know I’ve been selected to spend some time with my fellow citizens down at the courthouse, and I get absolutely tingly when it’s time to vote.

I take it seriously too. I am not one of those people that shows up in the voting booth and has that moment where they finally connect all the dots between the signs littering every highway, bi-way and front yard and the names on the ballot. I do my homework. I pay attention to national and local elections. I care who wins. In other words, it’s kind of a big day for me.

I walked out of the house that day ready (and eager) to vote. Without delay, I headed to the local library that serves as my polling station and cast my vote…for her…Secretary Hillary Clinton. I did it because she was the most qualified. I did it without hesitation. And then I went to work.

Before walking into the office, I quickly perused Facebook and Instagram on my phone and found a picture my wife had posted. It was a picture of her and our daughter smiling broadly (and proudly), each of them festooned with “I Voted” stickers.

my-girls

I welled up a little bit, as is my custom from time to time (that time having started when the birth of our daughter let loose all sorts of “feelings” that had long laid dormant). I immediately regretted not having driven to the polling center together. I looked at the photo several more times throughout the day – it made me smile every time.

Today was going to be a good day.

Evening

We had planned to meet some friends for dinner and then return to our house to have some drinks while we watched the election results roll in. My aforementioned nerdery made this a normal routine for me anyway – I had watched coverage of each of the four previous elections into the wee hours of the morning.

By the time we got back to the house, polls had closed in most East Coast states and results were starting to be reported. My prior experience told me to not to worry too much when early reporting states like Indiana turn red. It’s just what they do.

Obviously, things took a turn. Watching Secretary Clinton eek out a win in Virginia, struggle and then lose states like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, told me there was trouble. Going into this, I knew that it would not be a runaway, but I was confident that when all was said and done, the map would have just enough blue to get us across the finish line.

Needless to say, I was wrong. Oh, so wrong.

Our friends left  when it became clear that it was going to be a long night. My wife, who is normally asleep by 10 hung in until after midnight. I watched until the bitter end.

The Morning After

I slept poorly and not enough. I felt wrung out and a little dazed when I woke up. Not because a Republican had won the election. No, it was because Donald Trump won the election. I don’t think he is a real Republican. I don’t think he is anything that predictable. I hope that he is not as crazy/awful/careless/hateful as he seems. I hope that it was all rhetoric to fire up the support he needed to win this very weird election. I am uncomfortable with not knowing what to expect.

I didn’t realize how bad things were about to get.

I am fortunate to have in my life an incredible collection of women that are intelligent, strong and impressive in ways I will never be. They are family, friends and co-workers. And it wasn’t until the morning after the election that I realized how much I wanted this for them. How much I wanted this for my wife and daughter. I wanted the world to acknowledge what I have long known – that there isn’t a job on this planet that should be out of reach for a woman. I wanted that, and I can only imagine how much they wanted that. I could see it in their eyes today. They were reeling. We were all reeling.

And then I thought again of that picture of my smiling wife and daughter fresh out of the voting booth. Now it feels like a gut punch.

I have no doubt that the time will come when there will be nothing novel about a woman running for the presidency. I am sorry that day isn’t today.

 

HELP WANTED: American President

On By Paul MathewsIn Politics1 Comment

In an election where most people are openly dissatisfied with the entire slate of candidates (third-party included), most people explain their selection in terms of what they don’t like about the other options:

“I’m voting for Trump because I don’t trust crooked Hillary.”

or:

“I’m voting for Hillary because Donald is a racist/misogynist buffoon.”

Others are basing their choice on what their chosen candidate represents:

“I’m voting for Hillary because she’s a woman, and I want my daughter to know she can be anything she wants to be.”

or:

“I’m voting for Trump because he’s an outsider, and he’ll get to Washington and shake things up.”

I’m guilty of giving voice to these same sentiments myself. Lately though, I have begun to approach this differently. I have decided to take a step back and treat the election by what it is in its simplest terms – a job interview. Remove all the pomp, circumstance and round-the-clock media coverage, and that’s all it is.

With that in mind, let’s evaluate this as we would if we were hiring someone for a job. No more, no less.

First, we would start defining a job description. Good news for us, we can crib this straight out of Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which I will summarize (perhaps a bit clumsily) below for reference:

  • Head of State (symbolic leader of the country, representative to the world at-large)
  • Chief Executive (appoints federal officials, grants pardons and executes the laws)
  • Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces (directs our military forces)
  • Diplomat (empowered to negotiate treaties with other countries)
  • Legislator (signs or vetoes legislation, federal budget and can introduce a legislation)
  • Politician (the President is the chief of their political party)

With these responsibilities in mind, we should begin sifting through the resumes submitted for relevant experience and decide who to bring in for an interview. Here are some highlights of each that I culled from Wikipedia – feel free to dig deeper yourself by clicking the links below:

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

  • Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Wellesley College
  • Juris Doctor, Yale University School of Law
  • Staff/Volunteer for numerous state and national campaigns
  • Attorney/Child Advocate, non-profits and private law firms
  • Chair of the Board, Legal Services Corporation
  • First Lady, State of Arkansas
  • Boardmember (TCBY, Wal-Mart, Lafarge)
  • First Lady, United States of America
  • U.S. Senator, State of New York
  • Secretary of State, United States
  • Member, Clinton Foundation

 

DONALD J. TRUMP

  • Attended New York Military Academy
    • Achieved rank of captain
  • Bachelor of Science in Economics, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania (first two years were completed at Fordham University)
  • Real Estate Agent, Elizabeth Trump & Son
  • President, The Trump Organization
  • Owner, Miss Universe, Miss Teen USA and Miss USA
  • Executive Producer & Host, The Apprentice
  • Founder, Donald J. Trump Foundation
  • Net Worth: $9.5 Billion (estimated)

On paper, you would be hard pressed to find someone that is more qualified than Hillary Clinton to be considered for the job of U.S. President. Not surprising, she has likely been gunning for this her entire life.

Trump, on the other hand, certainly has an impressive resume, but it isn’t specifically relevant to the job. It’s kind of like hiring a world-class fighter pilot to be executive chef of your new restaurant. He says he can cook, but how do I know that?

Based on my original premise, the U.S. Presidency as a job interview, I’m not sure how Trump even gets through the door. The problem is that we don’t handle nominations as we would hiring for any other job. Instead, we rely on a series of local popularity contests, delegates and conventions that all run by different rules. In fact, this process has more in common with a beauty pageant or a reality show than it does with a job interview. As a result, it is not surprising that Trump figured out a way to out-maneuver the field of traditional candidates.

So we don’t get to choose from the best resumes. We are in the unenviable position of having to fill a job as if these are the only two candidates that applied.

In a normal hiring scenario, you bring the best candidates in for an interview to dig deeper and gather more information. Well, we have no shortage of information to review based on three televised debates and endless coverage from news organizations and “news” organizations. As in any job interview, as the interviewer, you have to determine which information is relevant and irrelevant, trustworthy and suspect. You will weigh the pros and cons of each candidate:

CLINTON

Pros

  • Lots of relevant experience.
  • Seems more presidential.
  • Has detailed plans.

Cons

  • “Washington Insider” – more of the same.
  • Questionable ties to Wall Street.
  • Lots of scandals/investigations – but is it smoke but no fire?
  • Can we trust her?
  • Too liberal!!

TRUMP

Pros

  • An outsider.
  • Tough negotiator.
  • Business Experience – knows how to get the economy going
  • Strong on border security.

Cons

  • Loose cannon/unpredictable
  • Either racist/misogynist or careless with words/out of touch.
  • Shady business practices.
  • No relevant experience.
  • Lacks detailed plans.

There are also some wildcard elements that cannot be overlooked:

Clinton – The endless scandals are concerning. Either she is completely innocent and simply under siege by political opponents, or she is calculating and slick enough to continuously come out the other side in tact.

Trump – At various points during the campaign, both the GOP at-large and his own vice president have had to back away from him. This is akin to having a reference listed on your resume who can’t find anything positive to say about you.

At the end of the day, for me, I question Trump’s capacity to do the job. His strongest attribute is that he is a rich, successful businessman. To date, his actual wealth is unknown, and even if we allow for the estimates he has provided, is that really a qualification? If it is, wouldn’t that mean that a slightly richer candidate would be more qualified and therefore a better candidate? Would Trump make a decision as Commander-In-Chief that was in the country’s best interest if it was contrary to the interests of his business holdings? Nothing he has shown to date indicates that he is capable of acting beyond his own self-interests.

As a result, I cannot recommend Mr. Trump for this position. If we need to make a hiring decision today, I would make an offer to Hillary Clinton.

That said, I would really like the opportunity to reconsider other applicants in four years.

 

Hill, the Bern and the Id(iot).

On By Paul MathewsIn Politics, WordsLeave a comment

 

I don’t like what politics does to people. I don’t like what it does to people in it or to people who talk about it. It’s reductive. It’s simplistic. It is a poor representation of the world around us.

I don’t like politicians or the way they talk or what they have to say. They use so many words (“the best words”) and say absolutely nothing.

And in election years, all of this shit gets turned up to 11.

You don’t have to look too far to find someone who will say (loudly) that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. Our nation is at stake! And there is only one choice that makes any sense. And to hell with you if you can’t see who that is.

Fascist! Socialist! Racist! BITCH!

It’s not OK to think anything just a little bit. It’s not enough to prefer a candidate or even love a candidate. You have to generate a corresponding amount of hate for the others. Oh, and if I don’t like your candidate that means certain things about me. It means I’m unrealistic or simple-minded. It means I hate women. It means I don’t care about the poor.

Full Disclosure: I am a registered independent. I lean left – sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot.

I am about to say some things that will not sit well with people who have fervor for their candidate. I am about to do something that is going to seem downright anachronistic.

If I am honest when I consider the remaining three candidates, my feelings fall somewhere between meh and a shrug. I am just, well, whelmed.

Hillary Clinton

I love the idea of a woman as president. I have a daughter, and I never want for even a moment for her to think something is unachievable. But I hate the idea of voting for a candidate because of their demographic profile. Hillary just doesn’t do it for me. I voted for Barack Obama, and I did so not because he was a black man and it was about damn time for the White House to be a little less white. I voted for him because he represented optimism. Not pie-in-the-sky optimism, but genuine I-think-we-can-do-better-and-I’ve-got-some-ideas optimism. But if I vote for Hillary, it will be a vote for “not the other guy”. Don’t get me wrong.

Bernie Sanders

I admire Bernie Sanders. I like a lot of what Bernie has to say and that he has been saying it for years. And I love that he has made all candidates talk about issues that don’t get talked about very often. He defies political conventions because he doesn’t align his policies and platform with what is popular and convenient or even what is expedient to get a nomination in the two-party system. But I don’t have the passion for him that many others do. I will refrain from the normal criticism of Bernie – i.e. he’ll never be able to get any of what he talks about done. That may be true, but it’s generally true of just about any candidate in our current political climate. Bernie’s angry. His passion is fueled by a seething rage. He has earned that rage, and I believe it’s genuine. At the end of the day, I think that our country is broken in profound ways. I also believe that Bernie, though his intentions are beyond reproach, will widen the divide. And I don’t think we can survive that.

Donald Trump

This isn’t all leading up to me throwing my lot in with Donald. Donald is everything that is wrong with American politics without the normal artiface. He lacks the good sense to swallow his bullshit. Mostly because he is too busy feeding it to us. I’ve heard him described as “shrewd” and “charming”, and I need to look up both those words because apparently I’ve been using them wrong. And I know this probably doesn’t count for much, but to my eye, Donald isn’t even close to the best the Republican party has to offer. At best, Donald is good at being rich. I’m not sure that’s a skill, and I am not sure exactly how if it were, it would be good for the country.

Ultimately, I find all of these candidates incredibly one-dimensional. I miss nuance. I want a candidate that chooses words carefully. And not because certain words tested better in polling than other words, but because only a specific set of words would do to accurately describe the sentiment to be conveyed.

So what? Move to Canada? I’m sure it’s lovely. Opt out? Hell no.

I’ll vote. I’ll vote for the least worst candidate in hopes that we can be the least worst America possible.

 

 

 

Donald Trump: Menace to Society

On By Paul MathewsIn Politics, WordsLeave a comment

I think it is about time that I formally thank Donald Trump. Without him, I would hardly ever have a chance to use words like “jingoistic” or “xenophobic”.

Donald Trump will never be president, but he just might be the most dangerous person in America.

donald_trump_yelling

Donald Trump speaks only in superlatives. He paints only in broad strokes. He appeals only to the basest elements of the human condition. And as much as I would like to write him off as a buffoon (which he is), as much as I would like to wait him out – wait for his incomprehensible luster to wear off – I am not sure we can afford to wait.

Donald Trump isn’t just fanning the fires of hatred in this country; he is tucking kindling in every nook and cranny of America and then dousing it with gasoline while dancing around with sparklers in both hands.

And yet, there he is at the top of the polls. He’s the lead story on every newscast whenever he opens his disgusting vitriolic maw. But why? How can this be what people (any people) want?

On some level, I guess I understand. People are sick of business as usual in Washington. They are desperate for action. But more than anything, they are scared shitless that the world is changing, and they don’t understand it anymore.

They have spent the last 7 years watching a president that is the definition of calm and nuance be swallowed whole by our binary appetites that have lost all connection to the notions of gray area, compromise and middle-ground. And they have seen the notion of borders and countries take a back seat to doctrines, religions and corporations. We haven’t yet figured out how to wage war against ideas and movements. These things don’t have an address that you can simply wipe off the planet.

When intellect, logic and nuance are shown as impotent to the din of belligerent and overly simplistic saber rattling that has become the calling card to the extremes of all ilks – Democrat, Republican, cleric, minister, blogger and anchorperson – we are surely lost as a people.

It is not by coincidence that we find ourselves in a political reality where a flaxen-coiffed Bond villain and the equivalent of an old man yelling from his porch are considered legitimate candidates.

AND WHAT’S WITH ALL THE FUCKING YELLING!?!

I have always been fond of saying that one of the things I look for in a candidate of any kind is some sign of an active mind. But everywhere I look, I can find little more than an active mouth. Words matter – they matter so much more than we think – but they don’t matter more just because you yell them…or at least they shouldn’t.

And as much as I would like to call Donald Trump stupid, I don’t think he is stupid. I think he is calculating.

If you sit watching your TV and find yourself wondering, “How the hell does he get away with saying the things he says?”, he isn’t talking to you. He is talking to the people that most of us write off as crazy and irrelevant. But I think that Trump has done the math. I think he realizes that in a year where no other candidate is setting the world on fire, all press is good press.

And while it is still very hard for me to imagine a scenario where Trump can win in a general election, I start to think about the climate that he is creating in this country, and I don’t know how any reasonable person can lead under those circumstances. And I don’t see how anything can get better. He’ll keep turning the volume up to 11, and none of us will be able to hear ourselves (or anyone else) think. That’s just how he likes it.

And that is why Donald Trump is the most dangerous person in America.