Election 2016: Hillary vs. Trump Corruption

Election 2016: Corruption

I was trying to keep silent on the process of America’s campaign season, which has gone on longer than any in history. But, with the rise of an unprecedented vitriolic presidential race for the White House, I feel compelled to weigh in on what has been a continuation of divisive party politics in our Democracy.

I don’t know if people realize the seriousness of what could happen to this country if Donald Trump is to become president of the United States. It is incomprehensible to me why Trump has been able to manipulate and persuade so many Americans that he is the answer to their problems when it is he himself who has helped contribute to their demise. I hear his supporters say that he can bring jobs back to the country and help spur growth in their communities. Are they not aware that Donald Trump does everything in his power to skirt the American system by having his buildings built using steel made in China and have his clothing lines produced and made in other foreign countries? Some of the very people who support Trump are the ones paying the taxes that allow him to continue his abuse of corporate tax loopholes. The reason in my opinion why Donald Trump has not and will not release his tax documents is that it would show that he has not paid taxes in almost 20 years. How can anyone who is struggling to makes ends meet, but continue to pay taxes on their own income support such a hypocrite?

I also hear the people who think that Hillary Clinton is just as bad as Donald Trump. I am keenly aware of the Bill and Hillary Clinton history. I know that Bill Clinton’s omnibus crime bill in 1994, which included the federal “three strikes” provision is responsible for the incarceration of more African Americans and other minorities than anything else in the country. I hear peoples’ frustration that there may be improprieties within the Clinton Foundation of meeting with foreign leaders and other wealthy people of note in securing funding for the foundation. Well, quite frankly, that is how funding is acquired by anyone seeking to build an infrastructure that can support the cause for which it is established. I do know that there have been exhaustive investigations into the allegations that there was a pay to play agenda by the Clintons, but there has been nothing found to substantiate those claims.

I also know that this is a “loud” talking point made by Donald Trump. What is also true is that the good done by the foundation heavily outweighs any proposed criticisms that the foundation faces. And when, it comes to tying the Clinton’s together in this campaign, remember, Hillary is running for president, not Bill as the Trump campaign would have you believe.

Look, I am in no way saying that Hillary is as clean as a dove, but I am saying that she is in no way as dangerous to this country as Trump is.

The anger and divisiveness that has engulfed America didn’t just happen during this past campaign season. It began after America elected its first black president, Barack Obama, and has continued to fester because for the entirety of his two terms in office, Republicans in Congress have continued to do everything in their power to discredit President Obama and diminish the office he holds. The continued rhetoric of Obama taking the country in the wrong direction, that he was somehow not truly American and not born in this country (lead by Donald Trump), and that he was weak and responsible the woes that the country faces have been the mantra of republicans since day one. Those misrepresentations fueled by a dysfunctional opposing party gave rise to unwarranted hatred and division within the country that is evident today. There should have been no reason for republicans not to work with President Obama in trying to recover from the “great recession” and move the country forward after such a tumultuous downtown. Instead, their hatred for him and continued lies led to this point… the fall of the Republican Party… and the rise of Donald Trump.

The decency that used to exist amongst the two major parties in the US has eroded to lies and deceit - powered on by an out-of-control news media. Their efforts to garner higher ratings have allowed to go unchecked the lies and rhetoric that we see today. And with those very outlets dictating the format for debates where they aren’t allowed to correct on the spot the lies told by candidates - serves no ones purpose but their own.

Voting:

The importance of your vote during this election has more significance than usual, as it is indeed a referendum on where we want this country to go. Do we want to continue to build upon the successes that Obama has garnered? Or, do we want to reverse the progress and go back to fighting the same battles we’ve been fighting since the 60s and before?

I ask those questions because of what has happened over the past year and a half on the campaign trail and because of what has been said and done during this same period. The significance of what FBI Director James Comey has done during the investigations of Hillary Clinton this election cycle has a few concerning aspects to them. It was unusual for the FBI to hold a press conference after an investigation to explain its ruling on a case as was done after he found no viable evidence of wrong doing by Clinton in her email situation. It was even more suspicious that Director Comey would hold a news conference so close to the end of an election to announce the possibility of a Clinton involvement with a computer belonging to Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The suspicion of FBI interference in an election is raised because Comey had no evidence whatsoever that there was a link to Clinton before he made his statement. Also, his actions went against the request of Attorney General Loretta Lynch to not release a statement at this moment because it was so close to election time and might influence the election. 

These actions make it appears that the FBI is in cohorts with Donald Trump and the Republican Party to sway this election. And if that is the case, then welcome to Fascism. When democracy is high-jacked and the true vote of the American people is compromised by voter suppression, governors across the country making it harder for the average person to vote, weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, and authoritarian interference (FBI), then we have an obligation to go to the polls and vote.

We not only have an obligation to vote for those who have fought so hard for equality and for the right to vote, but for the future generations who should not have to refight the battles already won.

This false equivalency of Hillary Clinton being as corrupt as Donald Trump has been perpetrated by the media for continued coverage and by the Republican Party who knows that they cannot win a fair race because of their own dysfunction.

And for those reasons, as a supporter of Hillary Clinton, I strongly urge anyone who is still on the fence or is choosing not to vote because of all the rhetoric of the past year, to please get out and vote for Hillary.

We can hold her accountable to the promises being made to move forward as a unified country, to help create more jobs for the poor and middle class, to make the Affordable Care Act better (not repeal it), to help lower the cost of college (if not make it tuition free), to go back and overturn the omnibus legislation passed by her husband, and to hold true to continue to unify the country and not divide it further.

Remember, Donald Trump supports building a wall, is supported by the KKK, and has Andrew Breitbart and the Alt-Right as his surrogates. He also disrespects women and brags about groping them, has led the campaign against President Obama, fought to have 5 innocent black boys in New York (the Central Park Five) executed, and has run a campaign of lies and deceit.

The choice is quite clear. We move forward together with Hillary or we go backward with Donald Trump.

Donald Frye

November 6, 2016