It may have become apparent (at least to my peers on Facebook) that I have serious misgivings on Trump’s Presidency. I watched the entire Inauguration, and listened intently to what I believe to be an excellent Inaugural Address in which many things were said that I wholeheartedly agree with.
So, what’s my problem with Trump? As much as I agree with and enjoyed what President Trump said when he won the election and when he was sworn in as President, I can’t in all good conscience believe a single word that comes out of President Trump’s mouth. This is a situation that Trump has created for himself in his social media statements, his speeches and his on-going war with the American Press corps.
Before I continue, let me state that I am a registered Republican because, despite many schisms between myself and the Republican platform, the Republicans seems to be SLIGHTLY closer to my Christian values than the Democrats…SLIGHTLY. Truth be told, I agree with Lewis Black when he says that a person would have to be an idiot to side with either the Democrats or the Republicans; I admit that I am guilty as charged. In a future blog post I will outline my problems with both parties…
For now I want to enumerate the actions of President Trump that I take issue with from the time he won the election up to his Inauguration. I do this to emphasis that it is NOT my intent to be another liberal Trump-basher…that serves neither myself nor you, Dear Reader. Rather, I want to make clear why I believe the Trump Presidency will be a serious “two steps backward” for all of us who are concerned enough about our country to participate in its political process.
One. Then-President-elect Trump appoints Stephen K. Bannon as his Chief Strategist. What’s a Chief Strategist? In the corporate world, a Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), or Chief Strategist, is an executive responsible for assisting the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with developing, communicating, executing, and sustaining “corporate strategic initiatives.” Simply put the CSO develops the plan(s) to implement the President’s policies and makes sure all other staff stick to the plan.
Who is Stephen K. Bannon? Breitbart News (the online website Bannon created), recently accused President Obama of “importing more hating Muslims”; compared Planned Parenthood’s work to the Holocaust; called Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator, a “renegade Jew”; and advised female victims of online harassment to “just log off” and stop “screwing up the internet for men,” illustrating that point with a picture of a crying child. In addition, Bannon made movies that lionized Sarah Palin and vilified the Occupy Wall Street movement as “fraudulent rebels backed by well-off liberals.” This same Bannon was Trump’s Campaign Manager and will now be Trump’s CSO.
Two. Trump chooses former U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions as our country’s new Attorney General. What is an Attorney General? The Attorney General is our nation’s chief legal consultant and is also in charge of all law enforcement, prosecutions and most other legal affairs.
Who is Jefferson Beauregard Sessions the 3rd? According to the Washington Post, he’s been Alabama’s U.S. Senator for over 20 years. During that time he has opposed nearly every immigration bill that has come before the Senate that has included a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.
He’s also fought legal immigration, including guest worker programs for immigrants in the country illegally and visa programs for foreign workers in science, math and high-tech. This policy on visa programs for high-tech workers is a touchy subject for people in my field (IT Support) that believe their livelihood has been undercut by foreign workers. I’ve lost my position at two companies which sent my job overseas.
I haven’t ironed out my position on immigration, so my issue with Sessions has nothing to do with that. I’m not even that perturbed that Senator Session is a climate change skeptic. My brow starts to furrow when I hear that Sessions’ former colleagues testifying that Sessions used the n-word and joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he thought they were “okay, until he learned that they smoked marijuana.”
Maybe he’s changed. I believe in giving people second chances, and convicts that have done their time should NOT be discriminated against by potential employers. But there should be EVIDENCE of such a change, and in Sessions’ case I just don’t see any.