We all have Trump to thank for this.
It isn’t a secret that Donald Trump is the most corrupt and dangerous president in American history. His corruption and self-serving behavior have been on the front-center stage since before he even took office. From the gross nepotism which has taken place in the White House, to the bribing of foreign leaders, to the cuddling up with dictators, everything Trump has done has been in full and plain view of all of us.
So, why is it Trump’s fault the Texas GOP is no longer trying to hide their corruption? It goes back to the age-old adage, lead by example. And since the GOP is now the party of Trump, he has led them by demonstrating that he can be as corrupt, inhumane, and as hateful as he wants without consequences. Of course, the GOP, being the good little lap dogs they are, now are following in suit.
Catering to rich donors.
While Trump has not only catered to his rich donors, he has also given them cabinet positions. The Texas GOP has done the same. Thanks to the laws that are in place regarding the financial transparency of politicians, we know this to be true. Giving a rich donor special favors or political positions because of the money they gave you, especially when they lack expertise in said position, is corruption. Plain and simple.
These donors buy favors and positions, and the GOP sells it to them, putting money ahead of the good of the people. That is the sheer essence of corruption.
Here are a few recent examples:
- Greg Abbott’s strike-force team consisted of 11 billionaires and dozens of millionaires, who were tasked to decide when and how to open Texas back up. He even made well-known pay-to-play lobbyist, Mike Toomey the COO of the strike-force.
- Ken Paxton recently picked a fight with a small Colorado town on lock down because of the coronavirus, so one of his donors cold get to his $4 million lakeside vacation home for the weekend.
- Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen tried to bribe a conservative activist.
- House District 96 GOP Candidate David Cook is hiding financial records related to his time as Mansfield Mayor.
Shouldn’t these things be enough to sway voters?
Unfortunately, in Texas among GOP voters, Greg Abbott’s favorability rating is even higher than Donald Trump’s. The average GOP voter isn’t immersing themselves in the news, as liberals tend to do. They watch FOX in the evenings and surf the Drudge Report during the day, and their news outlets of choice are ignoring the GOP corruption and lying about the things going on in this nation. The same question continues to linger.
How do we combat the uneducated voters who remain unaware of how the GOP hurts them, yet continues to vote for them?
That’s the 10 million dollar question. I know many Democrats during Obama’s term and during the beginning of the Trump regime, that would try to educate these folk. Sharing with them facts, talking to them about how to spot fake news, and how to research issues. However, eventually, that morphed into conservatives claiming Snopes, Politifact, and NPR were all fake news because they had a liberal bias.
Facts have a liberal bias.
In the age of Trump, it’s true. Some of the older generations who didn’t grow up in the time of the internet and remember a time when the fairness doctrine was still in place, simply don’t know how to research issues determine fact from fiction.
Of course, Facebook played a big role in this, by allowing the spread of Russian-fueled conservative fake news. The right just ate it up, especially when the fake news was in line with their already bias beliefs.
What do we do now?
Our country is in shambles. We have no healthcare, no safety net, no jobs, and yet the stock market is still rising. While the employment rate is 15%, people are starving, and the coronavirus is taking thousands of lives; millionaires and billionaires are still bringing in record profits. The system is working as intended.
Every American should be working to get Trump, Abbott, Paxton, Cornyn, and every other Republican down-ballot out of office once and for all.
That means VOTING, all of us need to vote. Make sure you are registered (and it’s not expired), by going HERE!
That’s not enough. We are fighting for the soul of our country.
Donate to the Democratic candidates running locally. Not sure who they are? Find out what your district is first, by going HERE. Once you know your districts, find out which Democrats are on the ballot by going, HERE.
Don’t have the money to donate? That’s OK, volunteer to do block-walking or phone-banking.
Can’t do either one of those? You know at least 3 people in your life who are non-voters. It’s time to start talking to them, educating them on the importance of voting. Not just for president, but down-ballot, too. Use talking points they can relate to express to them how they can make a difference.
- If they struggle with medical bills, talk to them about how the Governor hurt Texans by not expanding Medicaid.
- If they can’t afford their medicins, tell them about how John Cornyn voted against lowering prescription drug rates.
- Do they know someone who died or suffered from the coronavirus? Show them the tweets of their local house member calling the coronavirus a hoax.
Changing the minds of Trump voters is a steep uphill climb, but educating non-voters on the importance of voting is something we all can do with the personal relationships we have others.
Once you have convinced them, help them out. Help them find the paperwork to register, teach them how to research issues, and if they need a ride to the polls on voting day, give them a lift.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama