By Rick Stanton
Publisher Coffman forwarded a letter to me that he received recently. It had arrived in a plain envelope with no return address and no indication as to who might be responsible for the content. It began with “Stanton can’t resist a dig on Trump.” This is true.
I’ve come to believe there are two Trump camps: The people who are ashamed they contributed to the worst mistake in American history and will not allow themselves to admit they screwed the pooch, and people who actually share Trump’s values.
How oxymoronic using the words “values” and “Trump” in the same sentence. And at the end of this gutless letter was this sentence, “And yes, I’m mailing this as anonymous cuz (sic) I still can’t wear my MAGA hat in this city.”
Why not? As the late a great adman Bill Bernbach said, “The real risk is standing for nothing.”
Whether the writer agrees with me or not is irrelevant. The question is whether he or she has the courage to put their name on what they believe in. Hell, let them wear their MAGA hat with pride. Last time I looked, we live in America, land of the free and home of the brave, where dialogue, disagreement and freedom to have a point of view are vital to our democracy.
I will, once again, attempt to make my political position crystal clear: I’m neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I vote for whomever I believe to be earnest and honest and will work for the greater good. There are excellent examples of these characteristics on both sides of the aisle.
When I take on Donald Trump and his presidency, I do not take on the Republican party. I take on dishonesty, sexism, stupidity, egotism, bigotry and crassness, including personal insults when dealing with adversaries. [See “shit-hole” countries and “dumb Joe Biden.”]
I’d personally welcome former Ohio Governor John Kasich into the Oval Office. He’s dignified, well spoken, qualified and sane, with no hint of an ego—all welcome about faces from the incumbent. And for those of you who don’t pay attention, Kasich is a Republican.
If you are a Republican, you should be ashamed and worried about what your party has become and how it got hijacked by someone who really didn’t think he would be elected. I will forever remember the scene of Trump and Obama sitting together after their meeting, prior to Trump’s swearing in, with Trump looking like the dog that caught the car.
“What the %$#* do I do now?
I don’t care if someone is a Republican or a Democrat. Are they’re a decent human being we collectively can be proud of who will look out for our country’s best interests? Clearly, this takes Trump out of the conversation—and puts him in his proper place.
Couldn’t have said it better, Rick. For those of us who have known of Trump and his reputation since the 80’s, the fact that he is in the Oval Office is both a testament to our political system and an indictment of it. The past few days, with the release of the Mueller Report and the attendant shenanigans of Barr’s DOJ, illustrate how low Trump’s influence has brought our government, and standing in the world. For a take on Trump by another ad guy, the legendary George Lois, check out this video: https://digiday.com/marketing/george-lois-donald-trump-hes-anti-semitic-hes-racist-hes-thief/
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