By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas | To hear the loud, constant word coming daily from the political ballpark, local, state and national, is to be told the story of a country going to Hell. Everything is wrong with the U.S., and everything is getting worse.
Do you believe it?
Do you believe it just because it comes out of the mouth of a well-known politician?
Is our southern border as open as they say it is? Is abortion the total ruination of our society? Is Ukraine right and Russia wrong? Is the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza okay with you? Is that all about revenge, or so you know a bit more about the historical angle to that Middle East strife? All that is important, yet do you cede your brain to politicians when framing a position?
Americans are all over the place on these current issues. All of them are hot & heavy as we head into the 2024 General election.
Where a politician stands on the issue-of-the-day drives the news media. The news media reports what it wants to report to please their audience, but you're left to decide which media outlet to trust - not just trust for today, but trust for the long run.
Occasionally, I find myself in serious discussions on all of the above. At my breakfast restaurant here in town, the gents and ladies I hang out with love to talk the talk, as they say. I get (and give) opinions, as well. That's what discussion groups do.
But I also meddle in some friendly Facebook pages, especially if they engage their friends in topics of interest. One of those is former Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos, who also served Texas as Secretary of State some eight years ago.
Yesterday, Mr. Cascos (shown in photo below) offered this: [ After watching the nationwide election results last night, Democrats had a good night. Abortion rights were strengthened in several states, the Virginia statehouse flipped from R to D, Kentucky (a Red state) the Democrat Governor retained his seat in spite of Trump's endorsement of his opponent. If this is any indication leading into 2024, Republicans better have a better plan, platform & strategy & this applies to local Republican races as well.
If we do not stop with the meaningless catchy phrases, polarizing rhetoric, & negative campaigning, there will be difficulty winning any races. A candidate bashing the opposition or other political party, without providing a viable, sustainable & pragmatic campaign will fail. Kitchen table politics....jobs, infrastructure, health care, education, public safety, border security should be the key issues, at least here in the Valley. Just my thoughts. ]
One of the smarter gents in my Wednesday morning Discussion Group has come around. As recently as a year ago, he was a devoted Republican. "The legal mess he fell into finally turned me off," he said. "Donald Trump is not the answer to the country's needs; he is now the problem we must overcome."
I hear some of that same sentiment elsewhere, and have been reading much about it in news reports, but I'm not yet convinced Trump is losing sleep over those who flee him. His so-called base is roughly 30% of the voting public, not enough to win a national election.
He lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden by some 7 million votes. This before he staged his noisy coup de Etat that was labeled a protest and then an insurrection in January 2021 ahead of Biden's inauguration.
We'll see where we go from here.
I'm buoyed by what some of our thoughtful conservative news pundits are writing these days. It's a surprise to read about Trump as a problem in The Wall Street Journal, but there they are every so often. Same for The New York Post and The Washington Examiner.
I'm not so sure Trump has a path to the White House, no.
Americans are easy to manipulate by politicians, especially the back home ones who promise, promise and promise. Of course, we all like to think that the country is one to be protected, and that our national politicians will do just that.
They haven't lately.
But that's the premise of nationality...
-30-
Nothing united about the United States these days, sir. Sad but true.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that one of the main con artist rules was to fly under the radar and keep a low profile. I figured when Republican Trump ran for President it would turn out badly because he would come under scrutiny, and it would be just a matter of time before his house of cards collapsed. It never occurred to me however that the party of law and order would turn a blind eye to his illegal and unethical behavior and defend and support him.
ReplyDeleteEcho that.
DeleteOne more thing: Don't believe the polls! These manipulative polls are making out that most to those they mysteriously interview prefer Trump to be President again? There are also polls showing Biden as being extremely unpopular, but that doesn't mean those they polled won't vote for him. Beware the Polls, we never hear how many were polled, and who was polled.
ReplyDeleteDear McAllen Sun: I am not waiting for Trump's conviction to sink him politically. I am waiting for his conviction to restore my faith in the legal system and, really, in America, so that I can finally start to maybe think about unearthing my long-buried naivety that right and wrong do matter. Just to clarify.
ReplyDeleteEntitled Trump will be the republican in the next presidential election. Hopefully, he'll lose gracefully.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are completely out of touch with the voters, especially independents. If they don't move towards the center and listen to the voters, they're doomed to 2nd place for a long time.
ReplyDeleteTo me the funniest sight is a valley politician being MAGA. Hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAmericans are so insulated from our trillion-dollar national deficit as to be laughable. If only we had tangible examples of what being in such horrible debt really means. If only people who actually own their vehicles outright (not the banks) drove our streets and highways, then maybe we'd see a slice of it. If credit card companies only approved those who pay their charges in full at the end of the month, well, maybe then too. If only mortgage companies did what they really want to do (15-year loans at most, not 30 years), then maybe we'd see it. If only cities and towns collected all property taxes from all residents and disdained all extensions or exemptions (Deadbeats), then we'd certainly feel it. If only the federal government decided to impose a National Debt Fee in payroll accounting from every working American, then we'd know it personally. Until then, the trillion-dollar debt is just a number, meaningless to the clueless proletariat...
ReplyDeleteLies and drama, drama, drama...every single day of Trump's life. No thank you. I wouldn't wish this guy on my worst enemy (if i had one), let alone, an Entire Country. My country?? No thank you - please just go away.
ReplyDelete