It's after Labor Day. All around the nation, political campaigns are swirling. Candidates are busy making speeches, releasing statements and taking positions. At the moment, though, the unifying force behind the Democrats seems to be dishonesty. Think for a moment, what do the Democrats stand for; what positions are they pushing? If it's policy, there really isn't much that the Dems want. Here are the things that they seem to be pushing:
1. The Dems want to raise taxes. The congressional leadership of the Democrats announced that if they regain power, they want to raise income taxes back to where they were before the Trump tax cut and to push corporate taxes back up part of the way to where they were in the past before the Trump tax cut. This is not a popular position, so many Democrat candidates are trying to run away from it.
2. The Dems want to abolish ICE. In case you don't know, ICE is the federal agency that guards the border so that entrants are limited to those with legal permission to come in. That means that ICE is the front line against drug smugglers who bring in vast quantities of drugs. It also means that ICE is the front line against terrorists who seek to sneak into the USA. Because ICE is also the front line against entry by illegal aliens, the Dems want it gone. We are to have open borders with drugs and terrorists getting free entry as well. This too is not a popular position, so many Democrats are trying to run away from it.
3. The Dems want to impeach the President. There is no particular offense that Trump is supposed to have committed. The Democrats' base doesn't like the President and they want him gone. That's it. While this position is popular with many Democrats, it is so unpopular with Republicans and Independents that even the Democrats' leadership has told candidates to stay away from mentioning it.
4. The Dems want socialized medicine which they call "Medicare for All". They push this as if it would provide free medical care for everyone at no additional cost. The truth is that to pay for this, taxes would have to rise so that every American would be taxed at about 40%. Imagine the person who currently makes $800 per week and has Medicare taxes deducted of about $24 from that paycheck. The $24 would rise to about $320 in order to pay for Medicare for all.
None of these are winning issues. In fact, they are the sort of thing that needs to be hidden from the voters if the Dems are to have any chance. As a result, the Dems are basically running on a pack of lies that they use in many elections. Here are a few:
a. Republicans are racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Think about it. The Republicans have been in control of the government for the last two years. President Trump, who the Dems will tell you is extremely racist, sexist, etc. has had the power to change many things by executive order, and Congress could have altered all sorts of laws. What has happened? Has there been a surge in racist action by the federal government? NO. Has there been any racism exhibited by the federal government? No. Instead, what has happened is that minority unemployment has dropped to the lowest level ever. The creation of new businesses by minorities is at an all time high. That means that opportunities for minorities to get higher incomes are at an all time high.
b. Republicans favor the rich and take from the poor to give to the rich. Supposedly, the Trump tax bill took major money from the poor and the middle class and gave it to the rich, according to the Democrats. That's another lie and it's also totally illogical. In the USA, the poor don't pay income taxes. Only the top 50% pay income tax. It's impossible to take money from the poor by changing the income tax structure when the poor don't pay taxes. And as for the middle class, in actual fact, they are the largest beneficiaries of the tax cuts. They got much bigger cuts than the wealthy. The truth is that nearly everyone in America got a benefit from the tax cuts. Only 7% of taxpayers saw an increase in what they pay, and these are essentially all upper income people who lost some of the big deductions that they used in the past to shelter their income. It's exactly the opposite of what the Dems are saying.
c. President Trump is a danger to the country and the world. This is perhaps the biggest lie of all from the Dems. Think about it. Ignore the screaming minions of the Dems and the pundits who lament Trump's every move on TV. Think about what has actually happened. How did Trump cause the danger to the USA? Is it because the economy is finally doing well? Is it because minorities are finally getting a chance to share in the nation's prosperity? Is it because we made a new trade agreement with Mexico? Is it because America finally called out the Chinese for stealing our intellectual property and took action to stop unfair trade practices by China? Is it because we put sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine and finally began to help the Ukrainians resist Russian aggression? Is it because we destroyed ISIS by adopting new battlefield practices? Is it because we recognized the futility of the Iran nuclear deal that gave Iran a clear path to having nuclear weapons? Is it because we brought the North Koreans back to the negotiating table and got them to agree to denuclearization (with many more innings to come, for sure). What is it? How did the President endanger the USA? Where's the threat to democracy? Is it because rather than sitting idly by and letting the media post false stories attacking the administration, the President called them out as Fake News? Hey, CNN still hasn't admitted that it published a phony report based upon statements made by Michael Cohen's lawyer which the lawyer admitted were wrong. Why should the President refrain from calling actual fake news out for what it is?
And where is the USA a danger to the world? Is that because Trump went to NATO and demanded that the members start meeting their commitments to the common defense? How undiplomatic! Of course, instead of only 4 of 29 meeting their commitments, we are now on track to have at least half do so by next year, with more the following year. What a danger! But there was Trump's belligerent words towards the North Koreans, unlike Obama's plan to say nothing and sit by while nuclear ICBMs got aimed at the USA. Despite the screams of the pundits and the Dems, that nuclear war didn't happen; instead we got a big move towards peace.
The reality is that these are the sorts of lies that the Dems are pushing. If you watch the ads for the various Dem candidates, you will see how they all claim that they will "fight against" Trump.
Shouldn't they tell us what they will fight for? Shouldn't they be honest when they attack the Republicans? I don't expect the end to exaggeration in political campaigns. That will never happen. I think, though, that Americans should expect some level of honesty from their candidates. As of now, that honesty is missing from the Democrats' campaigns.
1. The Dems want to raise taxes. The congressional leadership of the Democrats announced that if they regain power, they want to raise income taxes back to where they were before the Trump tax cut and to push corporate taxes back up part of the way to where they were in the past before the Trump tax cut. This is not a popular position, so many Democrat candidates are trying to run away from it.
2. The Dems want to abolish ICE. In case you don't know, ICE is the federal agency that guards the border so that entrants are limited to those with legal permission to come in. That means that ICE is the front line against drug smugglers who bring in vast quantities of drugs. It also means that ICE is the front line against terrorists who seek to sneak into the USA. Because ICE is also the front line against entry by illegal aliens, the Dems want it gone. We are to have open borders with drugs and terrorists getting free entry as well. This too is not a popular position, so many Democrats are trying to run away from it.
3. The Dems want to impeach the President. There is no particular offense that Trump is supposed to have committed. The Democrats' base doesn't like the President and they want him gone. That's it. While this position is popular with many Democrats, it is so unpopular with Republicans and Independents that even the Democrats' leadership has told candidates to stay away from mentioning it.
4. The Dems want socialized medicine which they call "Medicare for All". They push this as if it would provide free medical care for everyone at no additional cost. The truth is that to pay for this, taxes would have to rise so that every American would be taxed at about 40%. Imagine the person who currently makes $800 per week and has Medicare taxes deducted of about $24 from that paycheck. The $24 would rise to about $320 in order to pay for Medicare for all.
None of these are winning issues. In fact, they are the sort of thing that needs to be hidden from the voters if the Dems are to have any chance. As a result, the Dems are basically running on a pack of lies that they use in many elections. Here are a few:
a. Republicans are racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Think about it. The Republicans have been in control of the government for the last two years. President Trump, who the Dems will tell you is extremely racist, sexist, etc. has had the power to change many things by executive order, and Congress could have altered all sorts of laws. What has happened? Has there been a surge in racist action by the federal government? NO. Has there been any racism exhibited by the federal government? No. Instead, what has happened is that minority unemployment has dropped to the lowest level ever. The creation of new businesses by minorities is at an all time high. That means that opportunities for minorities to get higher incomes are at an all time high.
b. Republicans favor the rich and take from the poor to give to the rich. Supposedly, the Trump tax bill took major money from the poor and the middle class and gave it to the rich, according to the Democrats. That's another lie and it's also totally illogical. In the USA, the poor don't pay income taxes. Only the top 50% pay income tax. It's impossible to take money from the poor by changing the income tax structure when the poor don't pay taxes. And as for the middle class, in actual fact, they are the largest beneficiaries of the tax cuts. They got much bigger cuts than the wealthy. The truth is that nearly everyone in America got a benefit from the tax cuts. Only 7% of taxpayers saw an increase in what they pay, and these are essentially all upper income people who lost some of the big deductions that they used in the past to shelter their income. It's exactly the opposite of what the Dems are saying.
c. President Trump is a danger to the country and the world. This is perhaps the biggest lie of all from the Dems. Think about it. Ignore the screaming minions of the Dems and the pundits who lament Trump's every move on TV. Think about what has actually happened. How did Trump cause the danger to the USA? Is it because the economy is finally doing well? Is it because minorities are finally getting a chance to share in the nation's prosperity? Is it because we made a new trade agreement with Mexico? Is it because America finally called out the Chinese for stealing our intellectual property and took action to stop unfair trade practices by China? Is it because we put sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine and finally began to help the Ukrainians resist Russian aggression? Is it because we destroyed ISIS by adopting new battlefield practices? Is it because we recognized the futility of the Iran nuclear deal that gave Iran a clear path to having nuclear weapons? Is it because we brought the North Koreans back to the negotiating table and got them to agree to denuclearization (with many more innings to come, for sure). What is it? How did the President endanger the USA? Where's the threat to democracy? Is it because rather than sitting idly by and letting the media post false stories attacking the administration, the President called them out as Fake News? Hey, CNN still hasn't admitted that it published a phony report based upon statements made by Michael Cohen's lawyer which the lawyer admitted were wrong. Why should the President refrain from calling actual fake news out for what it is?
And where is the USA a danger to the world? Is that because Trump went to NATO and demanded that the members start meeting their commitments to the common defense? How undiplomatic! Of course, instead of only 4 of 29 meeting their commitments, we are now on track to have at least half do so by next year, with more the following year. What a danger! But there was Trump's belligerent words towards the North Koreans, unlike Obama's plan to say nothing and sit by while nuclear ICBMs got aimed at the USA. Despite the screams of the pundits and the Dems, that nuclear war didn't happen; instead we got a big move towards peace.
The reality is that these are the sorts of lies that the Dems are pushing. If you watch the ads for the various Dem candidates, you will see how they all claim that they will "fight against" Trump.
Shouldn't they tell us what they will fight for? Shouldn't they be honest when they attack the Republicans? I don't expect the end to exaggeration in political campaigns. That will never happen. I think, though, that Americans should expect some level of honesty from their candidates. As of now, that honesty is missing from the Democrats' campaigns.
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