Don’t Run On Trump's Playbook: Develop Your Own

“Trump encouraged violence on [the] campaign trail, used negative “code words” and “dog whistles” to cater to worst interests of many. Several Republicans are running now using same “playbook”. Not good!” This quote is from a recent Twitter Post.  If Trump were to endorse a candidate, he would most likely endorse the candidate that that uses the “Trump playbook” as a guide.  We know that this playbook is largely anti-immigration, anti-minority (in a kind of veiled way), and anti-liberal.

You will recall that Republican, Roy Moore (the 27^th and 31^st Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court) ran in a recent Alabama Republican primary against Luther Strange, who was endorsed by President Trump. After Moore won the primary, Trump shifted his support to him. He is a Republican who supposedly espouses old southern values. His ads and press coverage’s showed him with a holster at his side brandishing a handgun. He even rode horses to events and campaigned using Trump-like tactics and strategies.  The General Election winner would occupy the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

After winning the Republican Primary, Mr. Moore (amidst an exploding history of inappropriate behavior involving under aged girls) lost the General Election to Democrat Doug Jones, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama (1997-2001). Mr. Jones garnered widespread support from Alabama’s black population and it is said that the Black vote was very instrumental in securing his election win.  This was a case of a new-age Democrat winning over a Republican whose archaic social and political values would have taken us back to the 1950’s. However, the Democrat win was a great win for Alabamians of good conscience, and a loss for the divisive Trump camp. In an age of inclusion, that accepts minorities, gays, etc. as equals, this was an enlightened 21st century win.

Recently, in a win that was acclaimed by Nancy Pelosi and Hilary Clinton, a 44 year old Black lawyer, politician, author, and businesswoman, named Stacey Abrams, won the Democratic Primary over a 41 year old Caucasian lawyer named Stacey Evans. Ms. Abrams is a graduate of renowned HBCU- Spelman College. Ms Evans is a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and graduate of the University of Georgia.

Some see Georgia as a Red State (Republican), and some see it trending Purple, soon resulting in 50% Republican, and 50% Democrat.  However, Georgia has been Red for a long time.

Trump’s politically incorrect and divisive political style has spawned a Trump-age group of Republican political hopefuls who mirror Trump’s values, or lack thereof. Very evident in this Trump style of politician is a Georgia candidate for Governor named Brian Kemp.

Brian Kemp, a graduate of the University of Georgia, campaigned brandishing a shotgun and mirrored Trump values to the hilt. His old time southern drawl is part of his character.  The 54 year old Kemp is Georgia’s 27^th Secretary of State, and has been in office since 2010. He was recently endorsed by Donald Trump, and believes Trump’s endorsement helped put him over the top.

So, Brian Kemp is a Trump Conservative Republican, while Abrams appears to be a Hilary Clinton type Democrat. The two cannot be more different, and they will go head-to-head in Georgia’s Gubernatorial Election, 2018.

Trump’s tendency to divide the nation, especially in terms or race, has not gone unnoticed. There seems to be an increase in the instances of whites calling the police on innocent blacks. For example, Cops were called on an 8 year old black girl selling kool-aid without a license. Cops were called on a black boy mowing his neighbor’s lawn. Cops were called on a young black man in San Francisco as he was opening and entering a store-his own store!  Cops were called on a black woman campaigning for office in her neighborhood.

The Donald Trump era has given racists and others the liberty to treat those different from themselves without the proper respect. Trump started this on his campaign rallies. In my article entitled “Donald J. Trump: Dean of Division”, I said:

“Some of the most blatant attempts of division along racial lines became apparent at many of Trump’s campaign rallies where he encouraged supporters to literally assault dissenters [mostly Black], and promised that he’ll pay their legal bills! He said it wasn’t like this in “the old days”-a semi veiled attempt to have supporters recall the abominable “brighter days” of long ago when white privilege reigned supreme. Again, this constant rhetoric of division must stop. Whenever necessary, we must challenge Trump to explain what he means-explicitly, rather than through code words, coded messages, and brainwashed emissaries. 

Mr. Trump, America has grown tired of you.  Each day we seem to be embroiled in another avoidable Trump-inspired mess! Stop trying to divide us at every opportunity! Please recall that the majority of Americans did not vote for you. Will you change now, or will you remain America’s Dean of Division?”

I have cited the above examples to show that we don’t need new candidates with old values that are inspired by Mr. Trump. If Americans continue to be divided from the presidential level, on down, a serious national division reminiscent of the pre-Civil War era may well ensue. In his quest for self fulfillment, to satisfy Putin, or whatever, Trump must remember that Americans did not sign up to be his sacrificial lambs. In my article entitled “On Trump and Putin”, said the following:

“This is not the time for American citizens to be quiet and submissive. It is a time for action at the ballot box!  American history and American values mean something. You can’t tear down the very underpinning of American society and predict success for all Americans in the end. If Trump’s grand political experiment does not work out, Americans will be left “high and dry”, while those of means can purchase a secluded island in the South Pacific somewhere, and live carefree for the rest of their lives.”

So where am I going with all of this? I’ll tell you.  Aspiring politicians must not get on the Trump train and engage in retro-politics that take us back to the George Wallace era. They must continually evolve and take the “high road” and dedicate themselves to insuring that every law abiding citizen enjoys the fruits of America. Blacks helped to build America. Hispanics came across the southern border and did America’s tedious and backbreaking work for peanuts. Lesbians and gays helped make our military great. America has always been great. We don’t have to make it great again. Is Trump’s MAGA slogan really meant to suggest that a great America is an America absent of those pesky minorities and others that he doesn’t like?

Going forward, I pray that those seeking political office develop enough internal fortitude to find a better way to success than brandishing weapons and swearing allegiance to the Dean of Division, Donald J. Trump.

We’ll see where the Georgia gubernatorial election goes. Hopefully a unifying, non-gun toting, new-era person of high integrity will win. And when she does win, many people of “good will” will be happy that the citizens of Georgia have elected to go forward, not backward.

On Trump and Putin

Since the beginning of the year I have been writing articles regarding Donald J. Trump. None have been very flattering, but I have tried to be accurate in my depiction of him. I have described Mr. Trump as a master manipulator capable of mesmerizing his supporters at rallies and maintaining their support. He has suggested that he and Vladimir Putin might become “best friends”. We have heard of all of the serious crimes that Putin is purported to have authorized. Many believe that, he too is a master manipulator, but as a former KGB trained agent, he is a master manipulator of “world class” status-possessing cunning abilities superior to those of Mr. Trump.

In my work, I have tried to grasp the “essence” of who Trump is and convey that to my readers. In chronological order, here are some snippets of what I’ve written which correspond to nine points I want to make. Let’s begin:

Trump the Chump

March 12, 2018

First, “Trump has continually denied any improper association with the Russians yet he continues to plant “doubt” about his veracity in the minds of many. He always acts as if he is hiding something and trying to cover his tracks on the Russian issue.”

The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill Part I-(The Russian Investigation That Was Not Necessary)

March 12, 2018

Secondly, “Mr. Trump has alienated some of our international friends and allies.  Yet he tenderly embraces our major foe of several decades. What is the real reason why he continually refuses to invoke sanctions on Russia in direct opposition to the recommendations of his own Congress? Why does he not overtly condemn this man about his interference in the last U.S. election? Why does Trump twist himself into a pretzel rather than say something bad about this man? With Donald Trump everyone is ‘fair game’, except Mr. Putin. Why? Why? What is the special relationship between Mr. Putin and The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill?  All Trump had to do from the beginning was to proclaim his innocence and his total campaign’s innocence, prove it, that would have ended the whole thing! But here we are over one year later and though innocence has been proclaimed, Trump has submitted no undisputable proof of innocence whatsoever.”                                    

The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill-Part II- (Mr. Trump’s Devaluation of America)

March 12, 2018

Thirdly, “Many have said that Mr. Putin has fomented chaos, division, and discord in America with his disinformation campaign targeting the 2016 election. Many have said that Mr. Trump has fomented the same chaos, division, and discord within the U.S. They will tell you this is evidenced by his insensitive and divisive rhetoric and actions, and the fact that he caters only to his base. These people feel that just as Putin is hurting us from abroad, Mr. Trump is hurting us from his White House perch within our own sacred borders. In view of Mr. Mueller’s indisputable findings of Russian meddling in our election, I have repeatedly asked “where are the sanctions?” Does Mr. Trump need Mr. Putin’s approval before he invokes the sanctions that were overwhelmingly voted in by our Congress?  Does Trump not appear afraid of Putin?”

The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill-Part III

(Trump’s Peculiar Admiration for Dictators, Totalitarians, Despots, Strongmen)

March 13, 2018

Fourthly, “Trump admires dictators, totalitarian leaders, despots, and strongmen. He openly praised Kim Jung Un for his uncanny ability to successfully inherit the reins of power from his deceased totalitarian father, despite his youth and being surrounded by elder ambitious career military strongmen. He demurely sidled-up to the Philippine dictator Duterte greeting him as if he was a long-missed ally. He extolled the virtues of Vladimir Putin saying that he is a greater leader than our own past-president Barack Obama. This remark not only demeaned our former president but our nation as well.”

Trump: The Innocent Man of Capitol Hill-Part VI- (Guilty!)

May 7, 2018

Fifth, “Mr. Trump’s lying, ducking, and dodging has not ceased. Instead of sitting before Mueller and steadfastly proclaiming his innocence, he is trying to smear the image of Mueller, the Department of Justice, and all other authorities committed to finding the truth, and possibly bringing charges against him. This shows you something. It shows that a key person looked at as a subject of the Mueller investigation “cannot prove his innocence”-because his innocence does not exist! His only recourse, as he apparently sees it, is to besmirch the images of the authorities doing the investigation and plant doubt in the public’s mind about the integrity of the investigation.”

Trump: The New Teflon Don?

May 14, 2018

Sixth, “We cannot continue to tolerate the actions of a man who seeks to hijack the very soul of America in order to derail legitimate legal inquiry. His attempts to publicly undermine authority are not some masterful Trump strokes of public relations genius. They are acts of apparent desperation by a man who tends to demonstrate his guilt on a daily basis. His emissaries (who are sent out to clarify the White House position on relevant issues) end up reinforcing his guilty image by continually dodging questions by an inquisitive media that is guilty only of seeking actual answers and truth.  Trump and his cronies are guilty of generating fake news, not the media! The daily White House Press Briefing ends up being nothing but a sham, and the public sees it for what it is. Sad! “

Countering Trump’s “Media Brigade” Untruths

May 28, 2018

Seventh, “America, we’re basically allowing one grossly flawed man to hijack the entire country as he has hijacked the Republican Party, and he and Nunes have hijacked the House Intelligence Committee. This is not fantasy. The hijackings occurred right before our eyes, and we had better wake up!” Yes, we must wake up. I can’t reiterate this enough!

The Trumpian Path: Not Good for America

June 4, 2018

Eighth, “When our American president does not show our traditional allies the proper respect, then turns around and “cuddles” our traditional enemies, something is wrong!  Many television pundits and newscasters have commented on this very aspect of Trump’s unusual behavior. This behavior does not appear to be haphazard at all. It appears deliberate and sends patriotic Americans scrambling to make sense of it all. Many citizens feel that with reference to Trump, “something is rotten in Denmark”, but so far the investigators have not linked the rot directly to Mr. Trump. Thus, Trumpism is alive and well on Capitol Hill and the Trump Kingdom reigns supreme and continues to compromise susceptible Republicans and instill fear in all majority party members that dare stand in Trumpism’s way.”

On Trump and the Silenced Majority

June 12, 2018

Ninth, “What bothers a lot of caring Americans is that Trump seems to be able to do almost anything and get away with it. I’m not going to rehash these issues now because I have written over ten articles about Trump, and I respectfully refer you to them. However, as I have said before, with reference to the “cozy-cozy” relationship between Trump and Putin, something seems ‘rotten in Denmark’.”

Helsinki Summit:

On July 16, 2018 President Trump and President Putin had a one-on-one “summit” in Helsinki, Finland, at which Trump threw shade and doubt on our intelligence community’s findings of Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election.  However, he seemed to find credence in Putin’s claim that Russia did not interfere in the election. Trump’s denigration of our own well-regarded intelligence community on an international stage was likely unprecedented by an American President in our history.  Trump has always been hesitant to acknowledge the intelligence community’s findings of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Many think that this is because he feels that this finding possibly “taints” his win in the eyes of the U.S. and the world.

The next day Trump tried to “walk back” his controversial Helsinki statement and said that he “misspoke” with reference to Russian alleged meddling.  In answer to a journalist’s question regarding the culpable party in the election attack, Trump said,” I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia”. Now he says that what he meant to say was, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.” He further stated that he has “faith” in the US intelligence community.  Many felt that this clarification was “too little too late”. They further observed that the clarification that he read was so unenthusiastically delivered, that it appeared to be very disingenuous and probably coerced by his staff.

Trump had chances to correct his statement immediately following the summit, or on the plane ride home on Air Force One.  But, it was only after a large public outcry that he tried to publicly “clarify” his remarks.

Trump is said to be the least prepared President in U.S. history. Apparently he believes he doesn’t have to become a student of domestic or international politics and diplomacy. He continually operates from a “knowledge deficit” position when compared to his predecessors-and it shows!

After denigrating the U.S. intelligence community and seriously embarrassing himself and the USA on the international stage, who knows what ultimate “push-back” Mr. Trump will get from his party or others. He seems to have no sense of regret or embarrassment like other folks. When other people point out that he has committed a minor or major mistake, it doesn’t seem to noticeably affect him. He acts as if he does not care, or cannot care, given the constraints of his narcissistic psychological makeup.

In the aftermath of the Helsinki Debacle, I would suspect that Congress might attempt to curtail his authority, and/or invoke mandatory new sanctions on Russia.  I hope that the Republicans and his staff will finally rein him in. At this time, however, he is straining our relationships with our friends abroad while he warmly embraces our enemies. He continues to confuse the world that is questioning who America is now under his leadership, and what values do we now represent?

As Putin endeavors to hurt us from the outside, Mr. Trump continues to hurt us from within. To some, Putin and Trump appear to be “partners” working from the same “playbook”. Putin appears to be the senior partner who calls the shots.  In the pre-Helsinki political environment, what logical democratic leader would want to voluntarily appear on the international stage (with possibly agreed upon “talking points”) alongside a known harsh dictator with dubious intentions?  Did the person in charge make the meeting “mandatory”?  That’s a great possibility.

Recently speaking in South Africa, Former President, Barack Obama has just warned the world against the rise of “strongman politics”. This is not the time for American citizens to be quiet and submissive. It is a time for action at the ballot box!  American history and American values mean something. You can’t tear down the very underpinning of American society and predict success for all Americans in the end. If Trump’s grand political experiment does not work out, Americans will be left “high and dry”, while those of means can purchase a secluded island in the South Pacific somewhere, and live carefree for the rest of their lives.

Finally, this Trump-Putin connection raises a lot of questions. You have two wealthy people of questionable character and integrity possibly making secret deals affecting millions and millions of people.  When you think about it, this does not appear to be a good deal for the people, but perhaps a great deal for the dealmakers.  I’ll see you at the ballot box.

Re: Trump, Putin, Our Allies, and North Korea

What’s with Donald Trump anyway? Why does he continue to cozy up to Putin and disrespect our age-old friends like Merkle and Trudeau? Even on the campaign trail he was always asking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to get along with Russia?” Does he want America to pivot to a pro-Russia attitude?  If he wants us to become pro-Russia, the question is why?  On the campaign trail and beyond, he repeated this phrase so much that many of us got tired of it.  It seems that Trump was not only campaigning for himself, but for Putin and Russia too. Again, the question is why?

As we moved forward and Trump became President (under questionable circumstances) he was called upon to sanction Russia for its meddling in our 2016 election. He procrastinated and procrastinated before putting some sanctions against Russia in place. Some folks on Capitol Hill felt that the sanctions were not tough enough. Several months into his presidency, instead of going head-to-head with Putin over his 2016 election meddling, Trump was trying to rally his fellow G7 partners to allow Putin and Russia back into the G7 to make it G8 again. Why?

When you consider Trump’s constant pro-Russia campaigning, and add to it the firing of Salley Yates, James Comey, and Preet Bahara, it’s not a far stretch to ask the questions “What’s going on, and why? Why fire key government officials capable of possibly bringing you to justice, if nothing is amiss with you? Logic would say that an innocent billionaire president with nothing to hide would love an “on the record” one-on-one with a special prosecutor who is investigating him for possible crimes that he knows he didn’t commit. Trump’s behavior continues to confuse many of us. His various actions, or “reactions”, to various things have not echoed the behavior of an innocent man.

Mr. Mueller is still hard at work on his Russia Investigation. Some feel that he is doing a wonderful job, having accomplished several interviews and indictments. Yet Trump’s folks are saying it is taking too long.  They have therefore embarked on a Giuliani-led public relations circus in an attempt to get public sentiment on their side. They’re doing this through blitzing the media with anti-Mueller/anti-FBI rhetoric.  Innocent, sincere, dedicated, and honest public servants would not denigrate world renown and respected government organizations to obscure an active case against them. They would let their “truth” speak for itself. Even if a few possible “bad apples” emerged from the FBI ranks, it doesn’t negate the success of the entire organization.

As I’ve asked before, if Trump is innocent, why doesn’t he just sit down with Mueller and “state his truth”? Period! If Trump professes innocence, he should save the taxpayer’s more money and grief. He should testify as to his innocence, prove it (as only he can) and let’s move on. Telling the truth is easy for an innocent man.  So why does an innocent man duck and dodge, fire people, lie continually, and delay and stall a meeting with Mueller. Why?

The phrase, “The world is watching”, applies to countries around the world, but Trump doesn’t care. Whatever his reasoning is, it allows him to posture before the public as if he is the victim-a misunderstood choirboy.

You may have noticed that our traditional allies are beginning to challenge Trump. Some are distancing themselves from him. Given his rude bombastic behavior and his willingness to disrespect and drop old friends “on a dime”, the Trump “trust factor”, as viewed by our allies, is constantly dwindling. Trump is perceived by many to be not believable and not trustworthy.

Trump claims that our allies have traditionally “socked it to” the USA, and he is, in a sense “manning up” on the behalf of the USA and demanding that they pay their fair share of joint international monetary obligations. He says several nations are taking advantage of us “trade wise” too, and he aims to put a stop to it. If nations are taking advantage of us, why doesn’t the “self-proclaimed” great negotiator sit down with them and negotiate a better deal?  Instead, he picks fights with them and acts more like a spoiled kid than the top notch negotiator and great businessman that he says he is.

Why are they floating a plump Trump kid-like balloon dressed in a diaper in the UK if not to poke fun at Baby Donald? This might just be the beginning. Other countries may well begin to disrespect Trump just as he has disrespected them.

Over the last several weeks, our dealings with North Korea went from bad to worse.  Trump and Kim Jung Un were deeply into a serious “war of words”. Then there was a sort of “reconciliation” when Pompeo went to North Korea and met with Kim Jung Un. This was followed by a meeting between Kim Jung Un and President Trump, which marked the “height” of our recent good relations with North Korea.   As of now (July 10, 2018) relations are back to “bad” as Kim Jung Un refused to meet with Trump’s emissary, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.  The North Koreans even threw around the term “bully” when referring to Trump.

During the North Korea talks, Trump created this very rosy picture, suggesting that they were well on the way to a new a new day with NK, inclusive of NK’s nuclear disarmament. Though he tried to spin it otherwise, Trump’s meeting with Kim Jung Un produced nothing. There was no ironclad agreement(s) signed whatsoever, and the meeting turned out to be nothing more than a photo-op for both parties.

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that Trump is a “con man”. Trump never challenged him on this. Why not?  Is it because it’s true? Bloomberg is ten times the billionaire that Trump is stated to be according to Forbes Magazine. Bloomberg knows the difference between running his business empire and running New York City. However, upon taking office, it appears that Trump didn’t realize that running the American government is not like running a real estate concern out of Trump Tower.

When you are the leader of the free world, diplomacy, statesmanship, and honesty are very important attributes to possess. Mr. Trump has none of them. However, he does possess the uncanny ability to make a certain group of people believe in him and follow him. He is not interested in recruiting any others to his cause. He has the “base” that he wants.

From day-one Trump was not suited for the job of President of the United States, and over the last year and a half, he has not grown into the job. In addition he has numerous lawsuits and threats of lawsuits against him. Yet he acts as if he is on top of the world-with no problems. Many citizens perceive that something is wrong with reference to Donald Trump, but they can’t or won’t express exactly what it is. Furthermore, they know that something is unusually unfair because Trump continues to get away with things that would have effectively submerged another politician by now.

In the past Trump denigrated Barack Obama and praised Kim Jung Un. Just today he said he preferred his coming meeting with Putin over his scheduled meeting with our European allies. Something is wrong when our highest office holder says something like this. It makes us ask, “Does he care about preserving our long-term alliances, or does he seek to destroy them?”

What is the genesis of this evolving relationship between Trump and Putin? There has been much speculation about this, but perhaps only they, and a few others, know the answer. Both Trump and Putin have the right to develop a personal relationship with each other. However, many questions arise when the USA, its power, and its resources are considered in the mix. Why would we want a relationship with a nation that has disrespected us to the extent that it interfered with the very underpinning of our democracy-our elections?

Whatever personal relationship Trump and Putin want to pursue, let them pursue it, but we must insist that America be kept out of the mix. Also, Mr. Trump should be required to report to Congress why he has not invoked the maximum sanctions against Russia as authorized by Congress earlier in the Trump Administration.  Any country that meddles in our elections should have to pay a hefty price-bar none!

Abolish the Electoral College: Secure Our Elections: Vote for Change

One of the three key components of American government is the Office of the President. But what happens when the president of the U.S. does not represent the hopes and wishes of the majority of the people? What if the president’s opponent garnered some 3 million more popular votes than the victor? What if the president’s victory is questionable due to outside influences like WikiLeaks , the interference of James Comey,  and the interference of Russia?

Whenever the above “roadblocks” to Hillary Clinton’s victory are mentioned to Mr. Trump, he does not like it. He feels that they raise questions concerning the legitimacy of his presidency and therefore “taints” his win.  That’s fine for Trump. He can view these influences however he pleases, but how does one think it impacts those that didn’t support Trump? Well, they wonder (with good reason) if the proclaimed victor is truly the legitimate president of the U.S.  Perhaps we will never know the answer. In sports they would probably list the victor’s name and title with an “asterisk” to denote the “questions” surrounding the “win”. Since there was no way to assess the true weight of these outside influences on the 2016 Election, the Electoral College winner, Donald J. Trump, prevailed. However, the “questions” concerning this debacle are not likely to go away-not ever.

As mentioned above, though Mr. Trump won the Electoral College, Ms. Clinton won the” popular vote” by some 3 million votes nationwide. This has led many citizens to question again the need for this “outdated” Electoral College concept in present- day America.

According to Archives.gov, “The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President. Your state’s entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators.”

Why not do away with the Electoral College and let the “popular votes” determine the winner of the presidential election? Why not? When we voted for class president in elementary school, the person with the most votes won and we thought that was fair. What is this Electoral College thing all about anyway?

According to Time Online in an article entitled “The Troubling Reason the Electoral College Exists”, by Akil Reed Amar, the present-day Electoral College election procedure came into play with the ratification of the 12^th Amendment in 1804. Southern states felt that Northern states would have too much influence in the national election of leaders in the new America due to its larger population of white participants. The traditional South had about half a million Blacks who they wanted counted for population purposes. A compromise by the North and South counted Blacks as 3/5^th of a person. Therefore five Blacks equaled three whites, which resulted in the largest slave-holding state, Virginia, electing several Virginian presidents in the early years of American history.

So, again, the 12^th Amendment granted representation to the South, based in large part on a slave population who could not vote and effect change in the nation for themselves-but whose numbers gave southerners a large voice in national politics. Though the slave population assured enormous population-based representation for slave owners and white southerners, sadly, this 3/5^th Compromise effectively decreased the likelihood that slaves would ever be freed by their owners because southern population representation would decrease, and the owners would also lose the slave’s “production”. In this sense the Compromise strengthened the institution of slavery in America.  Slaves not only provided free labor to the South but allowed them to have a greater voice in national government.

In the article referred to above, Mr. Amar reminds us that our 50 American governors are elected by popular vote. He suggests that we should elect our president by popular vote too. I agree.

Oftentimes American elections are completed without a hitch. However, sometimes there are problems. When there was a question about votes in the “Bush 43” election, the matter was ultimately settled by the Supreme Court. With reference to the Clinton-Trump election of 2016, we could not adjudicate the final results through the Court even though the results were likely skewed in the direction of Trump “inadvertently” by James Comey, and “by design” by WikiLeaks and Vladimir Putin. Despite Putin’s complicity in our election, Trump still sidles up to him and holds him in high esteem. This seems peculiar to many who see this as “consorting with the enemy”.

If WikiLeaks, Comey, and Putin did collectively “decide” the outcome of the 2016 Election then it means that Donald J. Trump is not a legitimate president.  However, since we cannot assess their actual “impact” on the election, we have to accept the election results as confirmed by the election authorities. At this point we must prepare ourselves for the next election, in which, the pundits say, Putin will strike again! So, what must we do to insure more secure and worry-free elections in the future?

First, we must commit the necessary monetary and manpower resources to protect our elections going forward. We must let our adversaries know that we Americans are committed, as a nation, to securing our elections. In particular, we must let Putin know that we are darn serious, and are willing to invoke sanctions or whatever else to protect our elections. We also must put mechanisms in place aimed at stopping outside forces from effectively placing deceptive ads or videos online and on social media.  These communications are designed to influence our voting decisions through fear.  The purpose of many of them is to divide Americans along racial lines.

Secondly, we must get rid of all those frightened congresspersons that are immobilized by their fear of Mr. Trump. We need leaders with strong moral values and traditional American grit. We need folks who will be unafraid to “stand up” in the face of “whomever” or “whatever”.

Thirdly, we have an archaic procedure in place to choose the most important office in the land. We should abolish the Electoral College system in favor of a “direct” election system characterized by the concept of “one-person-one-vote”.

Fourthly, we must elect a president who understands that the well-being, success, and sustainability of America rests in the concept that all Americans must be equally represented by its president. Donald Trump does not represent all of the people or the majority of the people. He generally caters to his base. We cannot risk being led into the future by “a majority of one” with unbridled selfish ambition, and questionable motives and values.

Fifth, we must go forward with the concept that in America, every political party has a voice.  That means the Minority Party as well as the Majority Party.  Neither party can effectively run the country alone.  When the Majority Party misuses its position to bully its way to success (as Nunes and the Majority Republicans did with the House Intelligence Committee’s so-called Russia Investigation) something must be done.  After denying the Minority Democrats an equal and viable voice on the House Intelligence Committee, Majority Republicans essentially hijacked the Committee and “faked” their finding of “No evidence of collusion” with reference to the Russian Investigation.

Just this week, however, the Senate Intelligence Committee came out with their Russia Investigation Report citing that Russia did meddle in the 2016 Election in an effort to help Donald Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton. The Senate’s Committee was said to be bipartisan and was in fact bipartisan. Everyone’s voice was heard. It was a prime example of democracy at work, reminding us that here is still hope for Capitol Hill.

Following the stalwart example of the Senate Intelligence Committee, we must act in reverence to our traditional values at the ballot box come November and beyond. We don’t need to see any more political candidates campaigning with handguns strapped to the hip or shotguns in their arms. This is America, for goodness sake! Americans must now act together to save our nation and its values!