The Witness Chronicles, August 29, 2024
Anger and hate vs reason and civility
What Are They So Angry About?
I didn’t think mental illness was contagious
‘Trump lashes out’ says one headline, after a new Fox News poll has him losing key states to Harris. ‘Vance tells Kamala Harris to go to hell for something she never said’ reads another.
“For a despicable individual to physically prevent President Trump’s team from accompanying him to this solemn event is a disgrace and does not deserve to represent the hollowed [sic] grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Whoever this individual is spreading these lies are dishonoring the men and women of our armed forces, and they are disrespecting everyone who paid the price for defending our country.”
That’s Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita after the US Army officially rebuked the Trump campaign for violating the sanctity of the Arlington National Cemetery by trying to turn a memorial there into a political event. Which btw, is illegal and they knew it.
So LaCivita’s response was to insult the Arlington employee who tried to stop them, when she was doing her job. Trump supporters have mocked Tim Walz’ disabled son. Fox host Jesse Watters made a rape joke about Kamala Harris.
So, what the hell are they so mad about and is this vitriol so ingrained across the campaign that they can’t even see how bad it looks?
In any organization the leaders set the tone that determines the nature of the entire organization. If it is based on anger, fear, and hate, it will chase away talent that doesn’t feel these things and attract those who do. And that is exactly what is going on here.
Trump is in a panic, lashing out constantly, and realizing that he is not only losing but losing to a woman of color who knows laughing at him is the most effective weapon she has. His running mate, JD Vance, seems incapable of smiling sincerely and never says anything positive or forward looking about anything.
We have nine weeks or so until Election Day and I can’t imagine the American public putting up with this steady flow of invective and hate for that long. My guess is a lot of us are totally sick of it. Yet, it is obvious that the Trump campaign is incapable of shifting gears. They’re stuck.
On a positive note, the Harris/Walz campaign is taking an innovative approach by doing a bus tour of Georgia and visiting areas who seldom see national political figures, especially Democrats. And so far it seems to be working because, in part, much of rural Georgia is black and they have felt underrepresented.
It’s a small part of their expand the base strategy, but even a few points gained in Georgia could swing that state for Harris. And it makes the Democrats seem more human and in touch, a far contrast from what we see from Trump and his allies.
What we seem to be seeing here is a widening gap between these parties, if that is even possible. And that is working in the Harris campaign’s favor as they look relatively normal and the Trump camp looks more and more out on the fringe.
This says a lot about Harris and this new version of the Democrats. They seem to have shaken off the northeastern liberal elite label without alienating that northeastern liberal elite, quite a feat. Actually, when I think about it, Harris is managing a very skillful balancing act which involves separating herself from the Biden administration’s unpopular stances while building on its accomplishments.
It helps that Trump has few accomplishments to point to, one reason they are screaming and yelling instead of saying anything reasonable.
They got nothing. And it’s far too late to do anything about that.
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I so agree with this. Just calling Trump and his cronies "weird" and focusing on positive plans has worked so well as so many are just tired of all of Trump's complaining. I totally agree with that Obama said at the convention about Trump and his non stop complaining. The more that democrats focus on a positive plan and vision of America, the more that the republicans look like losers.