Novato, CA
April 24, 2017
by Rich Scheck
It’s not much fun being the Lone Ranger! I have paid a high price for
attempting to speak truth to power over the years.
During the last election, I lost a bunch of friends who thought I supported
Donald Trump. I did speak positively about him on occasion like the
writer below who was impressed with some of his positions and who
had zero confidence in Hillary Clinton: http://revolutionradio.org/?p=170397
But like David Haggith and millions of other disaffected voters, I Got Trumped
by a disingenuous candidate who took advantage of the decency of the
disgruntled American electorate.
First the Democrats allowed Mrs. Clinton to swindle the nomination away
from Bernie Sanders. I did not like Sanders even a little bit because I am
not a Socialist and he refused to come out strongly against America’s endless
wars which Hillary hawkishly promoted along with the Neocons.
But I did see him as a legitimate expression of a genuine constituency, the
heart of the anti-Wall Street Occupy Movement that had protested the bank
bail-outs and other important issues.
Similarly I saw Trump as the legitimate voice of the Tea Party faction of the
Republican Party who held honest views on key issues that I was sympathetic
to even if I disagreed with much of what they wanted.
Having spent over four decades promoting a new political party that reflected
my deep concerns about the triumph of the national security state, none of those
in the campaign reflected what I wanted. But it was clear to me from the beginning
of his candidacy that Trump had the ability to capture the White House.
So I wrote what I saw unfolding which at times sounded as if Trump was my man.
I entertained many doubts and was troubled by many of his past associations as
well as his choice of campaign staff.
With such horrible choices, I held my breath and prayed Trump would win. I still
believe he did a great service to the nation by rocking the boat and upsetting the
stagnating two-party apple-carts.
But as Haggith and so many others are pointing out, after a mere three months in
office, Trump is proving to be as bad or maybe worse than Bush, Obama and Clinton.
His acts of war in Syria and Yemen are truly unconscionable as well as being against
the UN Charter, the War Powers Act and………….the US Constitution!
Under this new president we are sinking deeper into the role of uninvited global
policemen that has cost our nation dearly in lives, treasure and goodwill. His cabinet
and other Administration officials are almost uniformly the opposite of what his
campaign promised and his policies reflect the reversal of his pledge to put America
First rather than intervening around the planet.
With the economy likely to tank in the near future with civil discord and martial law in the
offing, those of us who said anything good about him now appear to have mud on our
faces. In pursuing truth over popularity, we attempted to do the best we could under the
circumstances without being privy to what is in a man’s heart or to all of his associations.
It is with great sadness that I must conclude that those who warned us about him appear
to be correct. The only saving grace is that Mrs. Clinton was a totally corrupt and ruthless
alternative who probably would be doing most of what is going on in Syria and elsewhere.
Instead of feeling Trumped, we would be feeling Clintoned.
The elusive issue remains: how can we restore meaningful elections and the rule of law
to a country burdened by two corrupt parties and a complicit Main Stream Media that
are beholden to the military industrial complex with their pursuit of endless wars?
That is the question presenting itself in the months and years ahead that others dedicated
to truth must confront even at the cost of their popularity……..or perhaps even their freedom.
https://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=68524