Political pondering, 3 weeks before Election Day

The “game” of politics is no fun anymore. Discussing anything having to do with it used to be educating and entertaining, and sometimes enlightening, among friends and on social media. Not anymore. These days, it’s all for the kill.

Saturday, NBC Nightly News showed skirmishes in New York and Portland, Oregon. As correspondent Matt Bradley put it,

“America’s political conversation is forgetting to use its inside voices.”

It included soundbites from former Attorney General Eric Holder (D, more here)…

and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner (R, more here).

And this is Wagner responding to his comments without apologizing (“I shouldn’t have said what I said”) for what he said above.

Not even President Donald Trump is immune. PolitiFact gave White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders a “false” for her June 29, 2017, claim,

“The president in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.”

(Video and subject matter will start at 35:15 in. Then, there are follow-up questions and Sanders actually says her quote at 38:21 in.)

Twice recently, Facebook friends who don’t even know each other have gotten into personal put-downs over issues in articles I posted.

Those experiences were new to me. I felt hurt and regret they happened among friends. Both happened earlier this month.

One of the combatants when I expressed disappointment over Nikki Haley’s resignation as United Nations ambassador had fighting words, but never really made a point. Later, after a lot of back-and-forth with another friend, he removed his comments.

I think Nikki Haley was our best ambassador at the United Nations since perhaps Jeane Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Sadly, that’s going back.

Not everyone agrees with me, but at least one was able to make his point with facts, rather than name-calling.

For example, this is what Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal — no fan of Haley’s — wrote in his column, last week. (I underlined my favorite part and emailed to thank him for it as soon as I read it, especially considering his audience.)

http://www.epgn.com/opinion/mark-my-words/13870-don-t-cry-for-us-nikki-haley

So disagreeing peacefully — whether with words or in person — can be done, and a prominent activist proved it.

The upcoming midterms are, of course, “the most important election in our lifetime.” Ever heard that before? Kind of like “the storm of the century.” Not to be believed until it actually happens.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs, and so will more than a third of the Senate.

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone voted, the better or best candidate (depending on the number running) wins, and all will be satisfied they had their say?

But unfortunately, it’s more than that.

Of course, it’s which of the parties gets (or keeps) the majority in the House and the Senate that really matters, and those damn parties — and their “machines” — just won’t shut the hell up among their members or in TV commercials.

Neither will others who campaign for politicians outside of where they live. Some are current politicians hoping to score points for advancement; former politicians hoping to stay relevant, or make money by selling books or giving speeches; and groups like political action committees, corporations, labor unions, and other associations allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court to give unlimited money to campaigns in 2010’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, lest their free speech right guaranteed by the First Amendment be compromised (as if they’re people).

A few days earlier on Facebook, I’d shown my disappointment that two senators worthy of respect felt the need to rally with a woman (Linda Sarsour) who comes as close to being the devil as any American.

SIDEBAR: Here is another disturbing example.

Look Sarsour up. Research using sources you trust and believe. I’ll have a lot more to say in another post when I have more time, but leave you with these characteristics for now:

Her divisiveness.

Far from the mainstream.

Supporting and spreading lies.

Out of touch and seeking publicity when so many more people are being tortured, and infants killed, in so many other places. Think Syria. Think Iraq. Muslim vs. Muslim.

And making sure the world knows you’re Brooklyn-born but aligned with a group of people who can’t make peace among each other, can’t make peace with other Arabs, can’t make peace with other Muslims, and turned down every attempt by Israel to make peace. Ask most American presidents who’s responsible for the problem between the parties in the region (especially President Bill Clinton) and they’ll tell you it has been and still to this day is Palestinians who support killings and pay terrorists, and who refuse to admit Israel is the world’s one Jewish country.

Every one of those tweets you saw above used Sarsour’s own words. None were complete retweets. And did you know she’s on the board of the Women’s March? Most of us are in favor of equality for all. It’s a goal, but we should not be supporting this organization with money, feet, or anything else. You have to know what they’re really about.

I was working the day of the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, after President Trump’s inauguration, and it disgusted me watching how Sarsour got up in front of the crowd and talked about the Middle East! I know that’s not what so many people came from so far to hear, so I urge you to be careful with who you support. Click here to see who’s in charge of that fringe group that’s trying to fit in. Don’t let it. Instead, speak up, vote and organize without having to answer for them.

FINALLY, BACK TO THE STORY: All but one person who put up an emoji or commented on my Facebook post about those senators making the mistake of being in the wrong place with the wrong people agreed with me. I was pleasantly surprised by very liberal friends who were among them! But one, a retired public defender, did not. I took down four of the more personal posts between her and someone who disagreed with her, and am not showing any comments from either Facebook post here. I hope both sides eventually thought about what the other said, like old times.

Speaking of old times, it used to be, being in the middle — an independent thinker not automatically taking sides — was a good thing. In news, we figured if we left both sides angry, we did our job fairly and kept both from abusing power.

Not anymore. It seems more and more Americans are blindly endorsing the extremes of one side or the other (which may or may not be true), and their targets are moderates who don’t agree with them 100 percent, and of course journalists.

That’s making more and more independent thinkers frustrated and shoots down some old sayings like,

“If you are not a liberal at 25, you have no heart. If you are not a conservative at 35 you have no brain.”

And sociographer Milton Himmelfarb’s,

“Jews earn like Episcopalians, and vote like Puerto Ricans.”

Not being a stereotype like in previous generations can be a good thing. In this day and age, it should keep those on the extremes from saying things that are too controversial. We just have to let them know.

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