Swamp Things: How Trump Is Already Disappointing His Supporters
President-elect Trump... So Far:
Is not 'draining' any 'swamps,' nor introducing anything new to the establishment*
*except his completely unprecedented, total lack of qualifications
Let's take a peak inside his ever-creep-steeped cabinet:
+Jeff Sessions+ Attorney General Nominee+ In Politics Since 1970s+ Privately Wealthy
Known to throw phrases like "race traitor," around in personal conversations, Sessions is the current Junior US Senator, from Alabama.
Cute Story About Jeff: Once upon a time, Jeff accused the NAACP of being "Un-American... because they force civil rights down the throats of people." That's right folks, Civil Rights advancement is un-american, according to the attorney general to-be. An Assistant US Attorney testified in a court of law, that sessions once commented to him that the kkk was, "OK, until I found out they smoked pot." ... This Assistant US Attorney was a Black man. Sessions admitted to saying this and other racial slurs and bigoted statements, and publicly apologized. Sessions supported the invasion of Iraq and opposed legislation to prohibit torture. Meaning? He is both admittedly bigoted, and openly for, the use of torture against perceived enemies.
"Fundamentally, almost no one coming from the Dominican Republic to the United States is coming because they have a skill that would benefit us and that would indicate their likely success in our society.” Jeff said these words on the Senate Floor.
Facts... In his 1966 when Jeff was in college, a young, blooming Republican at Huntingdon College... He campaigned against segregationist candidate, Lurleen Wallace.
BUT ALSO FACTS... Jim D. Martin, the opposing candidate, of Lurleen Wallace, was also a segregationist. Martin has since confirmed that Session worked with him on his campaign.
Watch which caps you place feathers in, Homies. Jeff Sessions has repeatedly expressed sentiments of white supremacy, and even been legally indicted over racially charged rhetoric, and the outright use of racial slurs, even in the company of colleagues Of Color. He has continuously voted against the expansion of liberties to LGBTQ citizens. He is anti-choice.
+Nikki Haley+ UN Ambassador Nominee+ In Politics Since 1990s+Privately Wealthy+ "Friend" of Trumps+
Nimrata Nikki Haley has been the Governor of South Carolina since 2011. Previously she held tenure as a county representative.
Cute Story About Nikki: Benefiting from her father's successful career in higher education, Nikki's parents initially emigrated to Canada from Amristar, Punjab. Through similar scholastic channels, her parents finally immigrated to South Carolina, where her father would teach at Voorhies College. Nikki's family thrived having been offered an opportunity at citizenship. Here's the cutest part tho; in 2011 Haley voted for legislation which requires all immigrants carry an identification defining them as immigrants and also, proving they are in the country legally. Additionally she supported E-Verify, which would require businesses to verify the citizenship of their employees; this totally backfired when corporations began kicking and screaming.
Because like any confused American who thinks this way, they don't see that immigration laws and principles do not extend to those benefitting from cheap migrant labor. This isn't about job development and supporting 'Joe Plumber,' its about prejudice and scapegoating. Corporations are responsible for who, and how they employ. Recognizing the holes and inequities in how these so-called "alt-right" aka neo-nazi, laws and measures would be enforced, is key to exposing their underlying racist rhetoric.
The immigration bill's co-sponsor Larry Grooms called illegal immigration a threat to the nation’s liberty and freedom that must be eradicated. “They cling together in illegal communities and bring with them drugs, prostitution, violent crime and gang activity.”
A lot of people can't deal with their privilege. Some people, like Nikki, use their personal narrative to rationalize prioritizing their human rights over the human rights of others in the same position. There are millions of refugees and undocumented folks that 'deserve' the rights of citizenship, just as much as Haley's family. These are our self-proclaimed American Values. These are the ideals professed on the relics of our nation from the coasts to the capitol. Haley signed her immigration policies into law... a lawsuit has been filed by the United States Justice Department, in response. Meaning, Haley has passed a law that the US Justice Department believes violates multiple aspects of the People's Constitutional Rights.
Haley is anti-choice and, over the summer, signed a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks in her state. Before you start thinking, well that's late-term and that's sad, I don't blame her for that; remember, if Roe v Wade didn't exist, she (and many other republicans) would be signing a full mandate against abortion into law, she just doesn't have that power... yet. Baby steps, pun perhaps intended, to curtailing the rights of women totally, by holding power over their bodies even partially.
Facts... Haley did vote to remove the confederate flag from the SC State Capitol grounds.
but Also Facts... This was only after the terrorist attack/hate crime which killed 9 community leaders gathered in peaceful congress, at the historically Black Charleston Church, and many years of refusing to remove the flag previously.
Also, there was that ridiculous series of pro-gun statements and interviews she did that came across as... closed-minded, to say the least. Additionally, bi-partisan moves like this are common tactics to quell discontent, inconsequential in the face of public tragedy or serious political actions like legislative action. Also that lil chestnut: No international relations experience, whatsoever.
+Betsy DeVos+ Education Ambassador Nominee+ In Politics Since 1980s+ Privately (Very) Wealthy
Cute Story About Betsy: In 2004, she raised over $150K for the Bush re-election campaign... Need I say more about this billionaire, former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, and career, pro-charter school, lobbyist?
Okay I will... She's a huge, perhaps the main, national proponent of what is cleverly called "School Choice." School Choice claims to champion better education for all, but merely allows people to segregate schools again by shunting the flow of tax monies to certain educational organizations, and therefore certain neighborhoods, instead of allowing taxes to be naturally distributed toward educational development, as a whole. Public schools, and the students therein, suffer greatly, while certain institutions quickly privatize and financially benefit. Studies prove that 'chosen schools' are predominantly white, and become increasingly so, over time. 'Chosen,' by whom? Motivated by what reasons?
As an educator, I feel the school choice agenda is another fundamental step toward disenfranchising the Youth of America, undermining the art and limiting the outreach of Teachers/Educators, and further commodifying education.
Facts... DeVos has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to philanthropic causes
But also facts... Tax write-offs
President-elect Trump... So Far, Continued:
He's pretty much promised to repeal Obamacare. IF repealed, it would leave approximately 16 million without healthcare.
He's not putting Hillary in jail, or even investigating her, because his accusations were baseless in the first place.
He's not deporting 11 million immigrants, ever, mostly because he cannot, but now we know because he will not. As a beneficiary of low-cost 'illegal' labor, he obviously never meant any of that. even if he tries, there are righteous people who wont let him, even in the swamp.
He's backed off of his hardline pro-life stance, evident in his 60 minutes interview, saying overturning Roe v Wade, if at all, is definitely not a priority, far off, and has "a long long way to go" before even discussing the policy is possible. If he tries, women won't have it. His 'legacy' would be marred forever.
Whether he's being evasive and deceptive now, or he was being evasive and deceptive last month, before he was deemed the president-elect by the Electoral College, where is the outrage?
Be you republican, democrat, '3rd party' whatever, or a national socialist hiding under the new, even sadder, 'alt-right' title... supporter or dissenter, you have no clue what Trump actually intends to accomplish as a leader. No one does, because he doesn't know himself, and anyone watching the guy answer questions regarding concrete plans for the future knows it. Even the things he says he believes, he flip-flops on. You could be betting or praying on his actions one way or another, but you're just betting on a feeling, like the rest of us. And if you were banking on a revolution, I'll help you Spark Note the text books on revolution you haven't/will never actually read... there won't be a revolution, not as ever before, for a number of reasons.
And its that emotion that you are feeling right now! That feeling of total bewilderment, unpredictability... that's the need for answers you are supposed to feel at the end of a juicy reality tv segment, not at the beginning of a presidency.