The reaction to my Aug. 9 column, about the local press saving taxpayer dollars by monitoring those who spend your tax money, was swift and predictable.
Because it dared to criticize the tweeter-in-chief for demonizing the press, retribution from his disciples was immediate and nuclear.
The point of the column, that a local press doing its job is of value on a financial level to every taxpayer, was ignored. Neither was there any acknowledgment that only in a free press would they have a place to blast away, which is one of our most basic freedoms as Americans, and one we are glad to provide.
The Trump presidency is an abomination. There are many valid arguments, but I’m going bedrock here – No. 1 is his appalling lack of character.
Why would people be drawn to such a morally bankrupt, thrice-married, philandering, lying and self-promoting egomaniac?
I offer one theory: Because some humans have a dark side, there is a certain percentage who felt liberated to vote for an attention-craving, coarse, hateful, bigoted braggart who openly displays characteristics that most people struggle to hide. It’s as if his ascension gave them license and validation that maybe they don’t need to fight those impulses if their leader doesn’t.
I can’t believe that’s the example most of us want set by our president.
We see many other theories presented by Leader letter writers who defend their choice and the man. Many point to the upside economy as proof of their wisdom. No one wants a bad economy, but are we so attached to pragmatism that we no longer require the leader of our country to try to be a decent human?
The mechanics of Trump’s rise to the presidency are complicated. My list of miscreants may slow down the poison pens, if only for an instant.
Here ’tis – the main culprits who brought us and the world President Donald J. Trump:
First – the Democratic Party.
Second – the media.
■ The Democrats come in first by crowning Hillary Clinton years ahead of time, ignoring her dishonesty (which almost seems quaint by today’s standards) and immense unpopularity.
The party pushed issues that incensed and sealed off huge chunks of the electorate from ever considering their candidate. It ignored “fly-over” country and concentrated its campaign on the coasts.
And it lost the election to a reality television star, which was virtually impossible, but the Democrats managed it.
■ The media, by which I mean mostly the electronic media and its wading pool depth of coverage, took the Trump bait and swallowed it whole, covering the Republican clown show of a primary and its chief clown the most because he was the loudest and most outrageous. They helped create Frankenstein.
They continue taking the bait today, spending an inordinate amount of air time dissecting the latest tweet storm and catching Trump in lie after lie.
Here’s a news bulletin for Black Rock: His people don’t care. In fact, the more you attack, the more they love him and hate you. It also adds fuel to charges of media bias.
How about this – ignore about 90 percent of the tweets, unless he is declaring war on someone other than you, and do some objective reporting. Trump disciples will never believe you capable of doing it, so they will ignore and attack whichever reports are unfavorable, just as the Leader’s faithful core of letter-writing Trumpers do.
Eventually, though, you will win back the dwindling center of America, the ones who decide elections.
In addition to being the right thing to do, it will drive Trump nuts if he is ignored. It would be the harshest medicine possible for the man-child.
I’ve saved local papers for last, because it’s always easier to give advice than to follow it. Rather than get sucked into the “enemy of the people” debate and defending being called the tiresome and always inaccurate “liberal” “socialist” “commie” rags, local papers should do their jobs – report local news, big and small, and keep an eye on the local politicians and agencies that spend the majority of local tax money.
I’ll put the Leader’s efforts in those arenas against any local paper in the state, yet in the Aug. 23 issue, we found out that the Rock Township Ambulance District had been overtaxing its patrons for six years in violation of a promise to use half of sales tax revenue to cut property taxes if voters would approve the sales tax – which they did.
With dozens of taxing agencies to cover, some misdeeds slip past. Imagine how wild it would get with no effort at all to report on local taxing entities.
Leader coverage of problems with the leadership of the Rock Township Ambulance District played a part in ushering in new people there. Those newbies are turning over rocks and talking about what they’re finding. Good for them.
The old guard at Rock said it needed the money for vital expenditures – so, apparently, it was OK to take it without informing taxpayers.
There are some lessons here.
Good character matters, from local government all the way up to the presidency.
Dishonesty is bad, regardless of ends and means.
And, Leader reporters must be more suspicious. Routine annual tax levy hearings appear innocent, but skullduggery happened at Rock Township and we were unaware.
As a watchdog, the Leader has barked often in the last quarter-century.
Our goal is to do it every single time there’s something to bark about.
