Editor’s note: This commentary is by Bob Stannard, an author, musician and former lobbyist. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.”
– Lewis Carroll
Nov. 8, 2016, a day we’ll never forget. It’s the day that Donald Trump won the presidential election with 3 million fewer votes than his opponent. It’s the day that all of Russian’s hard work to hack our elections paid off. It also marks the day that the Republican Party as we knew it died.
The majority of the voters knew, or at least suspected, that Trump would wreak havoc on our nation, but even those with a crystal ball could not have seen to what extent. Although he has yet to pass one piece of significant legislation in his nearly one year in office, he has most certainly had an impact, though not a positive one.
Yes, we hear him say repeatedly how the stock market is rising, which is great if you’re a CEO of a large corporation, but not so much if you’re not. I don’t have enough space to get into how the stock market does/doesn’t help you, but you can read this if you’re interested.
We’ve heard great slogans like “Make America Great Again” and “Drain the Swamp,” both of which turned out to be cruel lies. With this president we’ve seen the rise and support of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis and hate towards one another in general. To say this is the most divisive president in modern times would be an understatement.
We’ve watched as this man has worked very hard to normalize lying. It’s true that even the best-intentioned politician may stretch the truth on occasion, but never have we seen a president lie with such abandon as this one. His lying is legendary. He lies about everything, everything. Lying is his go-to position when confronted. He’s lied his entire life. Why anyone thought that would change once he was elected president is a mystery. Trump seems to prescribe to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels: “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.”
Trump’s divisiveness has led us down the path of uncivil discourse. It was at the Republican Convention where we heard Michael Flynn lead the crowd in the now famous chant of “Lock her up,” referring to Hillary Clinton. In what is proving to be the most corrupt administration since Richard Nixon it appears as though it will be Flynn who will be incarcerated. Oh the irony.
We were lied to when we were told by Trump that he would “Drain the swamp.” He never had any intentions of doing that, which is evident by his appointments. He brought right in Wall Street scoundrels responsible for our economic collapse (from which President Obama had to save us). He’s appointed cronies with little or no experience to fill important jobs. He’s destroying our State Department. He’s ruined our standing with our allies around the world. He’s paying back his donor, Sheldon Adelson, by moving our embassy into Jerusalem, thus escalating tensions worldwide.
He’s antagonized the other deranged world leader, Kim Jong Un, to the point where we are on the verge of a nuclear war.
If all of this weren’t bad enough, he’s an accused (and self-confessed) serial sexual assaulter. At least 15 women have independently come forward to accuse him of assault or abuse. The man who has lied his entire life says that it’s these women who are lying. He openly supported a radical, bigoted, racist, accused pedophile, Roy Moore, for the U.S. Senate.
In addition, he is under criminal investigation for obstruction of justice, collusion and possibly conspiracy. Two of his staff have pleaded guilty and two are under indictment. It’s clear that more indictments are on the way. He told us that Clinton shouldn’t be president because she would be under investigation. Oh the irony.
The Party of Lincoln is no more. It’s now the Party of Lying Trump. Good luck with that.
