The trials and tribulations of being a political minority
I have always been content to be a blue dot in a sea of red. This was compatible with my contrarian nature. When George W. Bush got his wild hair to invade Iraq, 82 percent of Americans were supportive of this fiasco. I was not. I was perfectly happy to be a member of the 18 percent club who recognized this invasion to be an unmitigated disaster.
I was proud to be in the minority then and even felt that status was a validation of my own perception. (Trump claimed to be a member of the 18 percent club but like most of his claims, it has no basis in fact.)
Over the years, conservatives have perfected the techniques of “double speak”. They do really horrible things that are destructive and antithetical to the needs of the American people, then create a label that sounds innocuous or even beneficial. They want “limited government” which entails dismantling any assistance to the poor or those in need and giving that money to the rich.
“Deregulation” means allowing rich multinational corporations to foul the air we breathe and the water we drink and to destroy our natural resources. At the same time, these multinationals will be free to mislead, defraud, and abuse American citizens without recourse to consumer protection.
“Entitlement reform” means slashing Medicaid, turning Medicare into a worthless voucher program, and ending Social Security. Hungry American children will have to skip a few meals. When faced with higher rent, low income families will have to relocate to the street. The disabled elderly will join them there after being expelled from nursing homes because of a lack of funding.
The savings will be funneled into tax cuts for the rich, corporate welfare, and high tech military paraphernalia. However, the dishonesty, greed, and soullessness of the Republicans are just background noise for this Liberal. The real test is during elections when every conservative politician takes to the airwaves to blather about their third grade level promises.
This year’s winner of the Conservative Blowhard Award is a close race between Randy Boyd and Diane Black. Both rely on racist “dog whistles” to appeal to whites. This is certainly no surprise since their President’s appeal to white voters was blatantly racist.
To hear Boyd and Black, you would think that Tennessee is being overrun by “illegal” immigrants. The only immigrants I have seen were out in the hot sun, bent double, picking strawberries in Rhea County. (I am wondering who will pick those berries when all of our immigrants are required to have a Ph.D ?)
In a TV advertisement, Boyd appears between two burly white policeman talking “law and order”. This is a chilling message to our African-Americans to forego “driving while black”.
Black’s appeal to veterans makes this veteran want to throw up. She perpetrates the fraud that she supports veterans and vice versa. Black and Boyd’s political ads appeal to the worst elements of human nature.
They seem to believe that Tennesseans are ignorant bigots. I hope they are wrong.
Terry Stulce served two combat tours in Vietnam, one with the 101st Airborne and one with the 69th Border Rangers. He was an LCSW and owner of Cleveland Family Counseling before his retirement in 2009.