Judith Armatta

Judith Armatta is a lawyer, journalist and human rights activist

Democrats, Don't Take Me For Granted!

I am not a white working class male. I am a Democrat only because I want to vote in the primaries and Democrats put forward policies I usually support, though they don’t always follow through. I am tired of voting for the least worst candidate, which I did until 2008. Now, the Dems are telling me I have to do that again because white working class males are more important than I am. Don’t take me for granted. Yes, Trump is a disaster. He’s done untold damage to our country. So, you say, I should vote for anyone YOU think can beat him. I think you’re wrong. The Democratic Party has long been cowardly. It tries to make nice when faced with a bully. From personal experience, I can tell you it doesn’t work.

Apparently, you think the Dems lost the 2016 election because working class white males jumped ship. What about Russian interference? That’s been established by all our intelligence agencies and the Special Counsel. What about the failure to take decisive action against those efforts? What about Democratic campaign mistakes? What about Comey’s announcement on the eve of the election to reopen the investigation of Clinton’s emails? What about an unfair system (the Electoral College) that weights Ohio votes heavier than California votes? What about an unfair system (gerrymandering) where political parties carve up the map to dilute the other party’s votes? What about voter suppression of black and brown people? Do you really think that all those who voted for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016 will vote for Trump in 2020? And all independents?

I hear that we need a white male candidate. Cowardly pandering to racism and sexism. The media promotes that view, the view of the establishment, read “old white males.” Were you asleep in 2018 when women, people of color, and young people changed the make up of the House? Or have you just disregarded that because it doesn’t fit your view of what is right and proper, what power looks like? Most of the mainstream media promotes your position, trying to make it a fait accompli. I don’t think it will work.

The primaries are nearly a year away. Debates begin in June. Democrats should celebrate the diversity of those who have stepped up to run in the primaries.

THE MUELLER REPORT: TWO OBSERVATIONS

Most everything has been covered by the pundits. The report is available to the public and easily downloaded. Still, here are two thoughts I find worth emphasizing.

1. Trump knew what he was doing was wrong. When he heard Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to investigate his and his campaign’s ties with Russia and his attempts to hide them, he responded: “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m fucked.” Not sure this can be called a conscience, but there it is.

2. Russia was successful. This is not to say it tipped the election in Trump’s favor. It is impossible to determine which of many factors had the most influence. But Russia, the long time master of propaganda, succeeded in ramping up divisions among the American people. That and Trump’s election have seriously undermined our Democracy and our reputation in the world. Putin hasn’t yet gotten sanctions relief, but I’ll bet he has a bottle of vodka on his desk for toasting our demise.

It’s no longer easy to get to the full Mueller Report on the Department of Justice’s webpage, though I did it yesterday. Today, my google search takes me to the DOJ website and Attorney General William Barr’s comments. Better to try the New York Times site: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/us/politics/mueller-report-russian-interference-donald-trump.html