WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!  The subject line of a recent plea from the Democratic Governor’s Association appearing in my internet in-box.  If I were to click on the Add Your Name box I’ll likely get forwarded to a site asking me to donate.  Add this to the myriad of daily requests for funding from Donna Brazile, Tom Perez, Bold Progressives, and a bunch of Senators and Congresspersons and you’ll find that if only I’d kick in $50 (better yet, $50/month) all will be well but, if I can’t, how about $5?  Remember, it only takes money to win elections, right?  Money, money…lots of money!

I wonder if Jeb Bush supports this concept anymore?  Or Hillary?  Maybe the problem is the Democratic “Platform(?)” of “All things good…” does not resonate with Middle America.  It sure doesn’t with me.  Maybe we would like to see a more detailed plan for resolving our deteriorating infrastructure; a detailed plan to fix the imperfections in ACA; maybe we’d even like to see a detailed spread sheet on trade-offs such as taxation and public services (how much less police and fire protection are we willing to live with for more money in our pockets?)  Maybe we’d like to see our kids get out of college without making loan payments the rest of their lives (and maybe we’d like to see how it could possibly be paid for!)

I’m no longer a Democrat…haven’t been one since Clinton’s second term (I left the Republican party when Nixon did).  I realized that partisan politics was destroying the country and I bowed out.   I don’t hang my head in shame admitting I’m a Progressive as that’s not a party; it’s a philosophy that believes advances in science, technology, economic development, and social organization lead to the improvement of the human condition.  Money is simply a small piece of the issue.  And for all of you who will say, “A Progressive is really just a Democrat” than I can assume you don’t buy into ANY of the tenants of this philosophy so tell me yours.   (No…please, “more money” is not a philosophy, it’s a disease.)  I can’t say I’ve ever met a “conservative progressive” but there are a few (Joe Scarborough comes to mind) that come close.

Our problem is simple…we’re spoiled brats!  We want all the good things; nice beaches, National Parks and Forests to recreate on; fresh clean drinking water; cheap electricity and gasoline; cheap (large) homes; and enough money in our pockets and plenty of time to enjoy all these things…it’s just that we want someone else to pay for it.  We want to drive a nice new car (but dump it as soon as BMW comes out with a really great new sound system).  We want McDonalds to go back to 25 cent hamburgers and the minimum wage of their employees to fall accordingly (unless, of course, that’s where we work and then we want higher wages, health coverage, retirement benefits, and lots of paid vacation time).  We hate insurance but always want someone else to cover for us when weather, health or accident problems arise.  But, we sure as Hell don’t want to pay any taxes!

Well, folks…you’re in luck because Trump has told us all this is possible…just give him carte blanch to run things his way.  We’ll build a wall so there will be plenty of jobs open for the middle class picking fruit, mowing lawns and pumping septic tanks.  We’ll eliminate the illegal immigrants so that if you can’t land a $100K/year white-collar job after graduation there’ll be plenty of janitorial and housekeeping positions open to you.  We’ll warm your home and create electricity with bigger and better coal-burning plants so there will be a few jobs left in the coal mines tending to the mechanical technology that replaced most of the laborers of the 40’s plus a large increase in production the anti-pollution mask industry.  And, best of all, we’ll eliminate all abortions and come up with unique methods for disposing of the unwanted children that we definitely do not want to feed, clothe, house and educate.

Of course the other choice seems to be “All things good…”

Hmmmm?