PROGRESSIVE VIEWS
“Trump does not just tell lies. He wields a water cannon of lies. He makes newspapers choose between cataloging his lies and giving up on accountability — newspapers he then accuses of making up sources and purveying ‘fake news.’” These are the words of Susan Hennessey, author of “Unmaking the Presidency.”
In a recent interview with noted author Bob Woodward, reporter Colby Itkowitz explores Trump’s lying and world view. Woodward expounds on the fact that we are now in one of the most dangerous times our country has faced and that our democracy is at risk.
I first noticed his lying in 2014 when he accused President Obama of being born in Kenya. Totally ridiculous and completely debunked, Trump clung to this falsehood for years.
The Washington Post documented 30,573 false or misleading statements in his first term, which culminated in the “Big Lie,” a verifiably false assertion that Trump won reelection, and resulted in a violent mob storming the Capital to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election; 138 law enforcement officers were injured in a reprehensible assault on democracy.
More than 1,000 people were convicted of crimes as a result of the insurrection. To add insult to injury, they were pardoned in an act so foreign to everything our country stands for, I am still in disbelief.
In their book “Donald Trump and His Assault on the Truth,” the Washington Post Fact Checker staff document the “flagrant disregard for the truth and his self-aggrandizing exaggerations, specious misstatements, and bald- faced lies” during his first term. Now in his second term, we are seeing more of the same with an even more reprehensible disregard for the U.S. Constitution and democracy.
With the passage of “The One Big, Beautiful Bill,” we have another lie on our hands. It may be big, but “beautiful” should be changed to “bad.”
First, it increases the deficit over 10 years by $2.8. trillion according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Republican officeholders are so afraid of Trump that even Rep. Chip Roy, our own rep and a fiscal conservative, voted for it with only token opposition.
This type of fear reminds me of Thomas Jefferson’s famous words: “When the public fears their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears its people, there is liberty.”
The bill will increase families’ costs for healthcare, food, and utilities with cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and energy saving tax credits. The Center for American Progress has documented these disastrous results and much more.
The bill provides a $30 billion slush fund for an out-of-control deportation force and effectively creates a federal law enforcement force that ignores the Constitution and threatens American democracy.
The bill is designed to implement Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint for turning our republic into a dictatorship and theocracy.
According to personnel finance publication, Kiplinger, “ Hundreds of rural hospitals across the U.S. are bracing for potential service cuts or imminent closures due to President Donald Trump’s steep Medicaid cuts.”
Rural hospitals rely more on federal programs than urban hospitals and these cuts could impact over 700 hospitals, many in Texas. As many as 108 of our state’s rural hospitals would face losses in services, with 66 at risk of closing.
I continue to advocate for a balanced federal budget. The deficit is now over $36.2 trillion which will have huge negative implications for our economy and future generations. We are spending over 23% of GDP and only taking in revenue of 19%.
The debt continues to grow regardless of which political party is in power. The CBO forecasts that without action the annual federal spending will grow from 23% to 30% of GDP by 2050 while revenue stays about the same at 19%. Current interest spending is over $800 million and will exceed all other budget categories in 30 years.
Social Security Trust Funds will be insolvent in about 10 years We are on an unsustainable path, and all we get from a Republican Congress is continued tax cuts that flow mostly to the wealthy and corporations.
If you want to save democracy join the Kendall County Democratic Party. Website: kcdems.us
Kevin Henning is a local Democrat.
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