The Distrust Test for Voters in November
One of the most important questions a voter should ask is whether a candidate can be trusted.
But as this frightening presidential primary season unfolds, in the Fall we likely will not have the opportunity to ask the question.
Instead, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on the ballot, the question will be, tragically, “which candidate do I distrust the least.”
That’s a sad state of affairs for the body politic, but polling supports just that level of distrust.
Still the answer is clear. Trump himself has said that what he is saying today will be different once he is actually nominated. In essence, he is telling us that he is a liar, and, worse, his saying it doesn’t matter. Lying is a "justifiable" means to his ends.
Indeed, the most frightening thing about Trump, beyond the question of his sanity, is that he is utterly unpredictable…even to himself.
Clinton, for her part, seems spineless in her pursuit of victory. If Bernie Sanders is driving her ever so reluctantly to the Left, just think of what Trump will do. In desperation, will she cave on immigration? Will she waffle on climate change? Will she play to the nativism of the Trumpites. Will she, like Rubio, play the bodily fluid card?
She has already adopted the Trump’s meme about “America’s Greatness.” He says he’ll restore it; she says it was never in question.
Really? Talk to Native Americans, talk to farm workers, talk to college graduates saddled with debt, talk to the homeless, talk to kids trapped in impoverished, overcrowded schools, talk to victims of police brutality, talk to veterans contemplating suicide because of PTSD.
No, this country is about promise, as yet unfulfilled. I don’t trust any politician unwilling to say so. And that’s why I’ve been sending checks in dribs and drabs to Bernie Sanders, who is nothing if not trustworthy.
But for reasons that seemingly have nothing to do with trust, “The People” seem set on offering you and me Clinton and Trump this Fall. Which one do I distrust the least?
Clinton by shameful default. He greatest strength steps over the lowest of bars: she is NOT Donald Trump.
But as this frightening presidential primary season unfolds, in the Fall we likely will not have the opportunity to ask the question.
Instead, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on the ballot, the question will be, tragically, “which candidate do I distrust the least.”
That’s a sad state of affairs for the body politic, but polling supports just that level of distrust.
Still the answer is clear. Trump himself has said that what he is saying today will be different once he is actually nominated. In essence, he is telling us that he is a liar, and, worse, his saying it doesn’t matter. Lying is a "justifiable" means to his ends.
Indeed, the most frightening thing about Trump, beyond the question of his sanity, is that he is utterly unpredictable…even to himself.
Clinton, for her part, seems spineless in her pursuit of victory. If Bernie Sanders is driving her ever so reluctantly to the Left, just think of what Trump will do. In desperation, will she cave on immigration? Will she waffle on climate change? Will she play to the nativism of the Trumpites. Will she, like Rubio, play the bodily fluid card?
She has already adopted the Trump’s meme about “America’s Greatness.” He says he’ll restore it; she says it was never in question.
Really? Talk to Native Americans, talk to farm workers, talk to college graduates saddled with debt, talk to the homeless, talk to kids trapped in impoverished, overcrowded schools, talk to victims of police brutality, talk to veterans contemplating suicide because of PTSD.
No, this country is about promise, as yet unfulfilled. I don’t trust any politician unwilling to say so. And that’s why I’ve been sending checks in dribs and drabs to Bernie Sanders, who is nothing if not trustworthy.
But for reasons that seemingly have nothing to do with trust, “The People” seem set on offering you and me Clinton and Trump this Fall. Which one do I distrust the least?
Clinton by shameful default. He greatest strength steps over the lowest of bars: she is NOT Donald Trump.
Labels: Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Trust
posted by Rick Seifert at
10:14 AM
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