Donald A. Collins | 10 May 2016
Progressives for Immigration Reform
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
~Abraham Lincoln, (attributed)
16th president of US (1809 – 1865)
The rhetoric of this Presidential campaign has been judged over the top, but of course in looking back on the history of prior campaigns one is not surprised that some of the infamous quotes from back then are at least as toxic as what we hear almost daily now.
For example, here are two recent “criticisms” of Donald Trump which appeared yesterday, one from Ted Cruz, who after this ultimate show of frustrated vituperation decided to withdraw after losing by a big margin in Indiana. Cruz called Trump a “serial philanderer” and “pathological liar” in blistering attack. You can view his remarks here.
The second “criticism” of Trump is by Barack Obama who says Trump “isn’t equipped” to be president, again available for your review here.
While Trump is far from my perfect choice, he started his rise talking about building a wall between Mexico and the US. The contentious issue of real immigration reform has never been legitimately addressed by either party. Obeying our laws on immigration has not been fashionable for either party for decades and a toothless bill offering comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) has never been coupled with meaningful provisions for enforcement. For example. Why have we not seen our Congress passing a permanent E-Verify program which is mandatory for all employers? Clearly the answer is that neither party wants real enforcement so they can pursue their self-interested, greedy objectives which come at the expense of all average Americans of all races, creeds and political party. Bill O’Reilly whose views I don’t often agree with put up a powerful rebuttal to one attack that called Trump a racist.
In a March interview with Trump, Bill O’Reilly bluntly told Trump that no Mexican government would pay for a wall, nor will we be deporting illegal aliens without years of legal controversy in our courts, nor will we be banning Muslims coming into the USA when we need their help with Middle East politics, and that his claim of Muslims celebrating after 9/11 was overstated, or that John McCain is not a hero, and that Carly Florina and Megan Kelly had valid points.
O’Reilly then said on his recent show, The O’Reilly Factor:
Now, I like Jorge Ramos (e.g. Of Univision who called Trump a racist), he’s no phony, but he’s absolutely blind on the Trump issue. And he has no bleeping clue about what we do here, obviously. Maybe Jorge objects, because I will not brand Donald Trump a racist. He is not. He doesn’t care what color or race somebody is. It is not racist to want to shut down illegal immigration or brand Islamic terrorism a deep threat.
That’s not racist. It is not a mark of fascism to hold other countries accountable for treating America unfairly. In addition, I’m not in the nitpicking business. Trump and every other politician misspeak at times.
The gotcha game is cheap and boring. For example, if you really believe Donald Trump is courting the KKK, you need to get some fresh air.
Back again to assessing possibilities if Trump were the nominee and if he were elected. Famed investor, Warren Buffett commented that the election of either Hillary or Trump would not hurt his companies.
I found this statement in line with my view that what has happened here is that many American citizens have awakened to the fact that their two party system is badly out of sync with their best interests. For example, Senator Sanders win in Indiana shows that Hillary is not all that prized by her party. No wonder with the prospect of open borders which far exceed that record of Obama which has been woeful.
The two party record of adding 100 million aliens to our population without a vote since 1965, of sending our jobs overseas without thinking of its effect on the unemployment, of ignoring the wholly absurd evil of the Citizens United decision which allows large corporations to give unlimited money to the candidates of their choice who are thus bought and paid for when these corporate titans ask for votes. These are but a few of the warts.
So obnoxious, self-funding Trump has hit the chord which has now propelled him to the nomination.
Now, Folks, what do you do? As the most dangerous man ever to serve as US President, George W. Bush, a Yale “C” student opined “There is no training program for President.”
Comparing curriculum vitas won’t necessarily lead us to the best decision, but the rhetoric to date is not what should govern your final decision.
As Wikipedia tells us “Rhetoric (pronounced /ˈrɛtərɪk/) is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers or speakers to inform, most likely to persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the European tradition. Its best known definition comes from Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it ‘the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.'”
Sadly, it does not foretell who would be best among our choices. And we have in our past made some really bad ones.
As Mr. Lincoln noted, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time and that is what both our major parties have been trying to do for decades. Trump, far from being my hero, surely upset the anti US citizen games of both party’s elite establishments. Now, the ball is in your court, Folks. So you and I will obviously be listening closely to the rhetoric as the Fall campaign ensues.
Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC., has spent over 40 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013.
From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013
By Donald A. Collins
Publisher: Church and State Press (July 30, 2014)
ASIN: B00MA40TVE
Kindle Store
Walls, Deportation, and Dreamers: Is Trump Right About Immigration?
Immigration-Driven Population Growth is a Major Problem
The Globalist Created ‘Humanitarian’ Immigration Crisis: Why This Is Happening Now
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