Many truths revealed this election season
The American people have spoken. The citizens of Massachusetts have made their choices. Whether we are licking our wounds today or drunk with jubilation, it is important that we appreciate the service this contentious election cycle has done.
The 2018 campaign has been inseparable from the Trump presidency and what it means for the future of the nation. With the aid of social media and the white-hot polarity that exists culturally and politically in the country, an unprecedented amount of attention had been paid to the issues of the day, the policymakers behind them and the media that shapes the argument.
Take the Kavanaugh hearings. The proceedings started with protests both in the gallery and from senators themselves. At one point we witnessed the spectacle of a sitting U.S. senator declaring that he was Spartacus.
Days later, out of the procedural morass, jumped accusations of sexual misconduct by the nominee, dating back to high school. Senators grilled Brett Kavanaugh about drinking games, yearbook blurbs and nicknames. Kavanaugh lashed back, bared his soul and probably saved his nomination.
The entire cynical circus played out in front of the American people. They saw a woman manipulated and a man almost destroyed for an array of motivations including raw, political aspirations.
In Massachusetts, we saw Sen. Elizabeth Warren attempt to set the stage for a presidential run by finally addressing her claims of being a Native American. Her bold campaign — coordinated with media and featuring the results of a DNA test — revealed that she was indeed less Native American than most Americans. Yet, she persisted with her claim.
Just before Christmas 2017, President Trump passed sweeping tax reform legislation that cut taxes for individuals and corporations. Employees started receiving raises and bonuses around the country. As the left derided the tax cuts as a giveway to “millionaires and billionaires,” voters were happy to spend their own, recouped money and it provided a jolt to the economy.
But craven and cynical politicking does not belong to one party. After pledging to kill Obamacare for seven straight years, replete with dummy votes meant to embarrass Democrats, it was the GOP with egg on their face as they failed to walk the walk again and again. After the House finally passed a bill, the Senate vote was torpedoed by John McCain. The fact is the GOP was not ready for President Trump and was unprepared to be held to their word on the Obamacare repeal. It all played out in front of the voters.
Since President Trump was elected on a platform of border security, every move he makes in that direction receives a mountain of scrutiny and media attention. When the media discovered that there was an increase in family separations on the border, they were champing at the bit to place the blame on the president. In doing so they unwittingly revealed that the policy was in place during his predecessor’s administration.
Perhaps the greatest service the election cycle has provided is revealing many establishment media as fraudulent, activist propagandists. Just two days ago, the CNN chyron read, “Trump spreads fear, falsehoods in closing message to voters.” We know who is spreading fear and falsehoods, CNN, thanks to an event two years ago, on Nov. 8, 2016.