Trump Supporters Are Idiots and Dems are Marxists

This pic reinforces perception that
Trump supporters are maroons

Regular readers of this blog know that I have never pretended to be objective. To be sure, I have my flaws, which are pointed out on a near daily basis. I am an alkie. I lost my law license. I'm fat. My farts could kill a cow. But I do my best to tell you the truth and be accurate. I assume you are all intelligent enough to see the difference between editorializing and reporting. So I have a fair share of readers from both sides of the political spectrum. But I think some of my own internal thinking may be flawed. Chances are that yours might be off, too. I think I tend to make assumptions about Trump supporters that are just wrong. It could be that Trump supporters make the same mistake with me, too. My basis for this self-evaluation is a segment of NPR's On the Media, which you can listen to below.

Host Brooke Gladstone interviews FiveThirtyEight's Perry Bacon, who points to the negative partisanship in both parties. Forty percent of both Democrats and Republicans belong to their respective parties, not because they agree with the values of their own party, but because they really detest the other side. But more often than not, they do not know what that other side is.

When I think of a typical Trump supporter, the image that comes to my mind is that of a relatively stupid white male who can barely put a sentence together. So when Bill White writes that a Trump rally video is "frightening," he is confirming what I already think. To be honest, there certainly are a lot of those, as the comments here often make clear. But Trump supporters also include some well educated people I know and respect. They even include people of color. I seem to forget about them.

There are also stupid white males who voted for Hillary, rural Democrats, young Republicans, evangelical Democrats, pro-life Dems and pro-choice Republicans. The media pretty much ignores them.

Bacon thinks that it's "probably" true that the media missed the Trump wave in 2016 because they all live in DC and New York. Gladstone sarcastically asked if they should go out to red districts and ask people, "Have you changed your minds yet?," and then follow that up with stories that just re-affirm Democratic prejudices.

Bacon pointed out that 20% of those who voted in the Bronx voted for Trump, as did 32% of those in California." I would love to hear what those people sound like," he suggested. He said they would not be the "rural, hill-billyish" people that are often portrayed by the media in their "frightening" accounts of Trump supporters. Gladstone said the media is too often guided by the stereotype. Bacon said that getting someone to make a racist statement will get more clicks, but people should look for nuanced stories that go beyond tribal identities.

"I just think the whole system is rigged to make us stupid," said Gladstone.

The answer, according to both, is to seek out news sources that don't just confirm what you already think. Bacon pointed out that some of the best criticism of Obama came from liberal publications, and said you could find nuanced criticism of Trump in conservative publications like The Weekly Standard. 

CACLV's Alan Jennings: We Are a Nation Divided

Alan Jennings

When his lecture was over, Alan Jennings expressed some surprise that nobody had tried to kill him. He needn't have worried. A few conservative thinkers like Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines and activist Al Bernotas delivered gentle jabs. But most of the seventy or so people who attended the first of the South Side Initiative 2012-12 Town Hall Lecture Series on September 24 were very supportive. Liberals trend to attract other liberals and conservatives tend to attract conservatives. But this increasing polarization was the whole point of Jennings' lecture - we are a nation divided.

Jennings is the Executive Director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley (CACLV), an organization that combats poverty in local communities. His career has spanned 32 years. South Side Initiative's Seth Moglen, who introduced Jennings at Bethlehem's town hall, called him an "enormous force for good" and "untiring advocate for social justice." His critics, however, deride him as a "poverty pimp" and "Price of the Poor."

According to Jennings, who just became a grandfather this weekend, we've become a nation of confused, frustrated and cynical people.

"We are polarized along geographic lines, political lines, racial lines, class lines, cultural, ethnic, religious, generational and gender lines," he posited.

"I'm sure that if someone claimed the Sun rises in the East, his or her antagonist along any of those dividing lines would strenuously argue otherwise, and the argument would include a mean-spirited, personal attack."

The problem, as he sees it, is a "small but virulent and loud industry of radicals whose sense of how the world should work is mired in the nineteenth century's social Darwinism." He includes the tea party in this group, although he later conceded there are radicals on the other side of the spectrum, too.

To those who espouse less government, his retort is that "well-financed radicals" have been very effective at "depriving government of the necessary resources" that would make it work, so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Using welfare as an example, Jennings calls it the "tried and true default wedge issue dug up by those who hate government." But he points out that, of the 647,232 people who live in the Lehigh Valley, only 7,000 of them (1%) receive any form of cash assistance. A family of three will get just $403 per month. There's been no increase in that amount since 1985. But there have been three recessions.

Jennings conceded that there are times when he feels like a failure, especially since the poverty rate has gone up in his 32-year battle against it. "But while I do let the bastards get me down, anger has been the fuel of my hell-bent, frenzied drive to fight back," he said.

"I just can't give up."

How would Jennings solve this increasing polarization? That, he admitted is where he falls short. He made a few suggestions like increased civic engagement, publicly funded campaigns, permitting people to own guns but not ammo.

"People call it a nanny state, but maybe we need to do a better job of being nannies," he said.

Roger Hudak and Alan Jennings

In response to questions about the gentrification occurring in South Bethlehem and predicted in downtown Allentown, Jennings states he's seen no evidence of displacement. He did suggest a change to the Municipal Planning Code that would require all municipalities, both cities and suburbs, to zone some areas for affordable housing.

When the lecture was over, South Side Task Force Manager Roger Hudak proudly showed Jennings his Democratic T-shirt, claiming that is the answer. As Jennings is a tireless advocate for the poor, Hudak is a tireless advocate for Bethlehem's South Side. But unwittingly, Hudak proved Jennings' point.

The next Town Hall lecture, on October 30 at 7 PM, will feature James Peterson, Lehigh University's Director of the Africana Studies Program.

Bob Freeman, Joe Brennan, Advocate Bipartisan Approach

In his most recent column, The Morning Call's Bill White complains about increasing polarization in the political process. I'll add that our closed primaries do tend to guarantee that the most conservative Republican will square off against the most liberal Democrat, as in Toomey v. Sestak. "The day of the moderate Republican or Democrat, reaching across the aisle to craft compromises, largely seems to be over," Bill sighs. "It's politically suicidal."

But there is still hope. State Representatives Bob Freeman and Joe Brennan last week stated that their approach is actually bipartisan.


Bob Freeman: "I don't care if it's a Republican proposal or a Democratic proposal. If it's a good piece of legislation, I want us to get that passed. ... I think we have to cut through some of the partisanship."

Joe Brennan: "Our Governor is obviously a Democrat, Ed Rendell. Our Senate is predominately Republican, it's 30 Republicans and 20 Democrats. In the House, we have 104 Democrats and 99 Republicans. So I can personally say that I've probably sponsored as many Republican bills that are introduced as I have Democrats. I generally don't look at the party of the person introducing it; I look at the idea."

Lehigh County GOP: "Trust No Democrats"

Last week, every Democratic Lehigh County Commissioner found different reasons to object to Dean Browning's webcasting initiative. Could it be that some of this is partisan? You betcha'. You see, Republican Commissioner candidates have pledged they will refuse to accept a scheduled payhike. And Browning, who happens to be Republican, even wants to link future county employee pay increases to revenue growth. So now, even when Dean suggests a scaled down version of webcasting at half the cost of the original proposal, a Democratic Commissioner like Bill Leiner remains unpersuaded.

"With the looming prospect of lay offs and raise reductions for county employees I plan to not support, at this juncture, any initiatives that are not core functions of county government.

"Next year or later after the second federal Stim kicks in and we experience economic recovery from the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration, rest assured, I will be with you shoulder to shoulder to follow through with this initiative."

Without question, Bill is giving Dean a partisan shot. But it's really just a little one. Leiner and Browning like to tease each other about their ideological differences, but find a way to work together. They get together for breakfast and lunch from time to time, and Dean sometimes joins in Leiner's Coplay crime watch programs. One night a few weeks ago, Dean and Bill trapped a slew of feral cats, but they turned out to be Northampton County Council. They were all released unharmed, but not before Angle was accidentally neutered.

This is where things get a little cRaZy. LC Commissioner, who is included in this email exchange, fails to see that Leiner's comment, made to a staunch Republican, is obviously tongue in cheek. Eckhart, himself up for reelection, responds with partisanship.

"Commissioner Leiner [sic] true side comes out. If this is not a wake up call to the Lehigh County votes [sic] I don't know what is. Commissioner Leiner wants to be Chairman of the Board of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioner and the Democrats only need to steel [sic] one seat and he will be Chairman. Please support your district Republican Candidates financially, volunteer, and be there on election day."

Dawn Berrigan, a born-again princess or something in the Lehigh County GOP, is one of the first to join the Leiner lynch mob, adding a shot at LC Exec Don Cunningham for good measure. You see, Don's a Democrat, too.

"Leiner is a real back stabber. Take it from someone who has dealt with him on many occasions. Ask Jim Anthony, ask Al Nelthropp, ask Dave Malony, believe me, he has tried to burn them all, along with myself [sic]. Anyone who goes into Coplay for elections is treated to the slimy tactics of Leiner. He will never co-operate with Dean, or any other Republican on any measure that would make anyone from our party look good. Failed policies of Bush, stimulus kick in? Give me a break. As you see he always has something ridiculous and partisan to say. Don't ever trust him. Or Cunningham, they are cut from the same cloth."

Self-proclaimed political strategist Joe Hilliard quickly grabs a rope to join the Leiner lynch mob, imparting these pearls of wisdom. "Trust no Democrats. They are purely partisan while Republicans painfully, and ineffectively, try to be bi-partisan and compromise." Someone who trusts no Democrats claims to be bi-paritsan. I see.

And so it goes as one partisan email after another piously condemns Leiner for his partisanship.

Of course, this whole episode is silly. Partisanship in Congress is why our government is broken. Instead of listening to each other, everything becomes a power play. That's why major legislation is enacted with no opportunity for the minority, Republican or Democratic, to read or digest what's happening. That's why an Allentown mayor can keep the public (and Council) is the dark about a budget deficit. That's why Northampton County Dems will oppose a Democratic County Executive who dares hire a Republican, no matter how useful that person might be. While partisanship certainly has its place in an elction cycle, its value diminshes once the task of governing begins. Ending this needless partisanship is something Obama the candidate stressed, but Obama the President has learned that partisanship remains alive and well in Washington. He's actually having more success reaching out in the Middle East.

Dean Browning, who is so conservative he has little elephants on his underwear, has an interesting take.

"From an overall standpoint, I don’t think partisanship is necessarily a bad thing. It is the process where we bring out opposing points of view and work to translate those views in to policy. The problem comes about when that process also includes attacks on the motives or characteristics of the opposing groups. Such as “Trust no Democrats” or “Republicans Don’t Care About the Middle Class” or whatever else each side says about the other. As you know from your blog, there is plenty of animosity on both sides. I’m not interested in engaging in that as I think it is counterproductive."

For his part, Leiner extends "an open Invitation to all critics to sit down over a cup of coffee to exchange ideas." Don't listen to him. Last time I went to Coplay, I ended up being trapped as a feral cat.