Hypocrisy…the other, other white meat [An essay]

From all accounts, it would appear we’re living in a time, when people can pretty much say whatever  they want…as long as the don’t use the “N” word or dress in brown face. [Just ask Paula Deen and/or Hulk Hogan]

The 2016 clown show that is the Republican nomination for President of the United States, features a cast of characters that famed TV sitcom creators Aaron Spelling, Norman Lear and Sherwood Schwartz combined could have never dreamed up. Apparently, this is the best the GOP has to offer and while, to be fair, some are more atrocious that others, they all come with the same tired policies that aid the 1%, while the rest of the country waits for the “trickle-down effect” that never comes.

In a short period of time, almost all of them have said something so beyond ridiculous you would think it would disqualify them from the privilege of running for the highest office in the land. Nope.

Take Donald J. Trump. If you are a regular reader/Twitter follower, the you are well aware of my disdain for this creature. I’ve never felt he was worthy of the oxygen he uses up, but since becoming a “Presidential candidate,” he’s become even sillier and sadder.

Here’s a man who has billions of dollars [how many seems to be a question we’ll never truly get an answer to], who just doesn’t seem to find any joy in life – unless he’s taking to Twitter to call people who challenge him about the numerous silly things he says, names. He parades around patting himself on the back for everything he does, because in his narrow way of looking at life, he’s just that much better than everyone on the planet. Simply put, he’s the bully on the playground who never grew up, that no one ever really liked.

Since becoming a contender for the Republican nomination, he has insulted the people of Mexico, all immigrants in general and war veterans — especially POWs, with his vile, insensitive and silly remarks. And what’s the outcome of this? He’s leading the polls for the GOP nomination.

Granted, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The attitude of those in the Grand Old Party have been shameful since the moment the clock stuck 12 on the afternoon of January 20, 2009 – the day Barack Obama was sworn in as the 46^th President of the United States.

Not since Abraham Lincoln, has a sitting President been so openly mocked and mistreated in a manner that has caused a rift in the country. Granted, the job of POTUS requires one to have a tough skin – just ask President Taft, who to this day has had to battle the legend of whether or not he got stuck in a White House bathtub. But the treatment of President Obama goes beyond fat jokes. They are racial in tone and meaning and degrading of the office he has held with nothing but distinction and honor. I may not agree with everything he’s done, which has caused immense disappointment for me and many others who were hoping for so much more, but I respect the job he has done and believe when the dust settles on his Presidency, he will go down as one of the country’s top Presidents.

No one on the right believes that to be the case. And that is just fine. It’s their opinion, and they are entitled to it. But you have to ask yourself, if Mr. Obama wasn’t Black, would the Birther movement have even been born? John McCain was born on the Panama Canal zone on a  military base. His citizenship status was solved quickly. Ted Cruz was born in Canada. Everyone seems ok with him running. And yet, millions of idiots, I’m sorry, there’s no other way to describe them, across the country STILL think POTUS is a foreigner and therefore was illegally elected President of the United States. And because they believe this idiotic claim, many have branded him an Islamic terrorist who has infiltrated the White House. And they say this with a straight face, despite the fact that all of this nonsense has been put to rest many times, these people still believe it to be true.

So again, it should come as no surprise that by disparaging as many people as possible, one can rise, quickly, to the top of the polls for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. And that’s just what the lead Birther has done.

Trump, if you will recall, was one of the loudest of the idiotic Birther’s. Yelling and screaming for proof that the President of the United States was in fact natural born citizen. And when he was finally and publicly proven wrong by the release of the President’s “long form” birth certificate, did he apologize for making a complete and total ass out of himself? No…he took credit for the President releasing more proof that his claims were baseless and moronic. In his backassward way of thinking, being proven wrong, was a victory.

And yet, no one cried foul. No one stood up and said, you know were wrong, right…and that you were proven wrong and owe the President of the United States an apology, right? Instead, he has been allowed to parade around like he actually accomplished something.

A Twitter friend had this to say recently, “Everyone knows Trump is a clown and a bully. He is an embarrassment to democracy and an embarrassment to this country. Clearly the media is more concerned about being his ally than doing its job and exposing him for the danger that he is to the democratic process.”

I cannot argue with my friend, but given what constitutes the “media” in today’s society, it’s not surprising that they continue to stand by and let this man say and do whatever he wants. For his part, Trump is convinced that by being brash and outspoken, he is in fact speaking for the majority of people who are tired of how broken Washington has become.

Yes Washington is broken, but imagine what shape it would be in if he became President? The man can’t take criticism without responding in a childish manner, and yet there are people out there who believe this is what Washington needs. A dick who will get in the face of world leader and call them a “loser” and/or other names when they don’t agree with him. This is the part where I’m supposed to make it known, he has said once elected, he would tone down and become more disciplined/diplomatic.  In other words, he plans to use the same reset button Mitt Romney tried to use after a brutal primary season to say, I’m not really that guy. I’m this guy so vote for me.  Is there any wonder why I refer to him as an assclown?

Then again, I’m just projecting all of this because without a serious interview of this man on record, you know…one in which he is challenged to provide legitimate answers to issues facing the country…all we have is a man who believes all Mexican immigrants are “drug dealers and rapists” and that the country of Mexico is deliberately sending them to us.

As a friend of my put it so succinctly stated a few weeks ago when Trump surged ahead in the polls…we [the US] are getting the “election we deserve.”

The rest of GOP field is only slightly better, but there is one among them who just a vile and idiotic as Mr. Trump, and his name is Mike Huckabee.

By the way, that’s not entirely true, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Ben Carson are also just a vile and idiotic, but they’re so far down at the bottom of the barrel, it seems silly to even give them much thought at the moment.

Growing up, we are taught to believe that God loves us all…equally. Of course as an adult, I’ve come to learn that God only loves certain people while the rest of us are going to hell, but i digress. That having been said, I for one, have a  hard time believing that Mr. Huckabee is one of “the chosen ones.” He may walk the walk, in his ow mind, but his mind is the only place where one would believe he’s God’s personal messenger.

Sadly, his antics have made it possible for him to remain slightly, though annoying, somewhat relevant.

This is what made it possible for him, while predictably arguing against the Iran nuclear deal recently, to publicly channel what can only be described as his “inner Hitler,” to declare, “The Iran nuclear deal is marching Israelis to the door of the oven.”

Now, there was some outrage, and while part of me is thankful his words didn’t give him the boost in the polls he was hoping it would, I remain deeply troubled that his comments were pretty much chocked up as something one says when running for President.

What would I have liked to happen? I’m not certain. While a public stoning probably would have been too strong of a response, I was at the very least expecting there to be a very loud verbal stoning. One that would have sent him back into the corn fields where he belongs.

But alas…nothing.

Another good friend of mine, who happens to be a Republican that I respect immensely, had this to say, “It’s painful to witness the Republican Party revert back to the days of Millard Fillmore and the intolerant nativist Know Nothing Party.”

Another said, “It’s sad to see the party of Lincoln become a sideshow of clowns. They do not speak for me or many of those who I know and love. Still waiting for a sane one to emerge from the shadows and hope that happens before it is too late.”

Amen to both. Others have tried to point out that Democrats are just as ridiculous while on the campaign trail, but when you press them to come up with just one example of the same kind of rhetoric, they become predictably…silent. That’s not to say Democrats don’t say ridiculous things, sometimes as often as Republicans. Both sides are guilty of saying stupid things in the battle for the White House. That’s still NO excuse for what Huckabee said. It was out of line. Period. But, that doesn’t seem to matter.

All of this leads back to the point I was making earlier, that why shocking and utterly disgusting and embarrassing, none of this is all that surprising anymore.

Being and saying ridiculous things has become a staple of politics today. Statements don’t even need to have a hint of truth or fact for them to be made then debated and talked about as if they are truthful.

Fact checking is all but a thing of the past. Today, news organizations don’t want to go out on a limb and embarrass anyone by proving their facts are based in fantasy because doing say may result in loss of access. You know…what used to be taught in journalism 101.

So, when facts no longer mean anything, people like Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee and others like them become legitimate candidates for the Presidency of the United States.

Which brings me back to my opening statement — as long as you don’t use the “N-word,” everything is just fine. Except of course when you’re the President of the United States, and you use it in an interview to try to spur a debate on race and what that word means. [Insert the hashtag: shakemyhead.]

But we’ll save that for another examination of hypocrisy..the other, other white meat.