Americans continue to die of COVID while Republicans distract
Anyone who tunes into the news or follows political discussions in the media today might think that the overarching issue in America is something to do with protests, riots, “thugs” and “law and order.” If so, then give credit to Donald Trump and leading Republicans for trying to create one of the greatest distractions in U.S. history, in order to avoid a historic election defeat just two months from now. If Trump has one skill, it is media manipulation and distraction. He knows that, rather than the mainstream American news media doing their jobs and investigating and reporting on the biggest stories which, in their professional editorial judgment, affect most people’s lives, Republicans can get the media to chase distracting Culture War shiny objects that then become the focus of most discussions, to the Republicans’ advantage.
Right now, therefore, we have the crazy talk of Trump and “planes loaded with thugs” (another conspiracy theory that was found on Facebook). It is also laughable that Trump is trying to run on the Culture War issue of “law and order” like Richard Nixon did in 1968, a year full of social unrest, when Nixon was the challenger to incumbent president Lyndon Johnson. As we have explained, if Trump wants to run like it’s 1968, he is the incumbent president like Johnson, and the the election that year did not go well for LBJ (or for his party in the U.S. Senate majority). The worst thing is that, ever since Trump first announced his candidacy for president in 2015, such distractions are designed to stir up racism and ethnic strife. This is apparent in the Republicans’ cynical support of the right wing shooter in Kenosha, Wisconsin who intentionally killed two Black Lives Matter protesters and injured a third. These racist Republican appeals ignore the fact that the Black Lives Matter protests they complain about would not be necessary if we did not have so many racist police killing black people on the streets of America.
Meanwhile, here are some things we are not talking about enough in the media as Republicans distract us:
COVID — nothing is going to change the fact that the biggest concern for Americans is the Coronavirus, precisely because Trump downplayed the pandemic, called it a “hoax,” and has repeatedly hit the golf course instead of providing any leadership against this deadly disease. Sadly but not surprisingly, the U.S. leads the world with over six million COVID cases and over 188,000 COVID deaths, with many more every day.
Recession and Unemployment — largely as a result of Trump’s inaction on the Coronavirus, the U.S. economy contracted by a record 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Tens of millions of jobs have been eliminated this year, and the unemployment rate is now over 10 percent. More layoffs are coming, from American Airlines, Coca-Cola and others. Established companies such as Brooks Brothers , J.C. Penney and Pier One have all declared bankruptcy this year. These economic conditions alone could be enough to unseat an incumbent president and members of his party in Congress.
Russia Bounty — One life-and-death issue that the Trump administration largely has been able to avoid is their knowledge of Russia’s bounties offered to the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. This is part of Trump’s failure to hold Russia accountable for anything, from election interference (which, not coincidentally, was intended to help Trump) to attacks on our email servers, and even ramming an American military vehicle in Syria, injuring our troops. As we have stated, this is a failure of both protection and patriotism that is ripe for exploitation by the Democrats.
Trump’s Health — Before and since a mysterious visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center last November, Donald Trump has experienced a series of physical and, apparently, neurological or mental health incidents, possibly a stroke or mini-strokes. These include his inability to walk down a ramp normally, stumbling and swaying at a recent rally, needing two hands to drink a glass of water (more than once), repeated slurring of speech, dragging his foot while walking, and more. Indeed, it is now being reported that, during Trump’s hospital visit last fall, Vice President Mike Pence was standing by to take over the presidency pursuant to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution.
Oh, and there’s more, including Trump’s attempts to destroy the United States Postal Service, Social Security and our environment.
So, what can people do to fight back against Republican distractions from coverage of these issues that matter most? We can use our own communications platforms, such as social media, to share actual stories and actual facts. We can also contact media organizations, via such social media (for example, Twitter) and otherwise, to demand that they focus on the stories which concern us. And of course, we can vote, to show the Republicans and the media that such attempts to distract us won’t work.
Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/dUl4NJ
