It came upon the midnight clear, well anyway it was on Christmas Eve, the Trump campaign gave its loyal followers a gift: Snowflake Victory (snowflakevictory.com). The purpose of the web site was to teach loyal Trump followers how to win an argument with their liberal relatives. Apparently the Trumpistas are expected to go to a celebration of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) looking for an argument and be fully weaponized to take on any snowflakes in the family. “Snowflake” in this context, per the Urban Dictionary is “A term for someone that thinks they are unique and special, but really are not.” Don’t look for tidings of comfort and joy if your guest list includes a Trump supporter.
The Washington Post report on the new web site had a quote from campaign spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany: “We’ve all seen the news articles about liberal snowflakes being afraid to see their MAGA relatives at Christmas or holiday gatherings, so the Trump campaign wants people to be ready … We’re not helping snowflakes avoid arguments — we’re helping Trump supporters win them! … As 2019 draws to a close and 2020 approaches, President Trump and Americans are going to be winning, winning, and winning, and then winning some more!”
The web site has 11 topics, each illustrated by a speaker who has memorized a number of talking points, and a written discussion of the topics. Considering that according to the Washington Post, President Trump has made 15,413 false or misleading claims over 1,055 days, the standard for truth in this new web site isn’t quite what George Washington aimed for. The first talking point is “The Trump Economy is Strong.”
Well, it is strong if you get to cherry pick the numbers, but according to the Federal Reserve’s Economic Well-Being of US Households, 40% of households can’t cover a $400 emergency expense. Nerdwallet reported that households with credit card debt carry an average balance of $6,849 as of September 2019. These are the same households that don’t have $400 in the bank. While President Trump can point to record highs in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, this is an indicator of the price of a collection of shares in major corporations. It’s estimated that 52% of households have stocks, but the stocks are held in a retirement account with an average value of around $40,000. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), estimates 29% of households age 55 and older have neither retirement savings nor a pension.
On a state by state basis, some states have done well economically under Trump, but the states that have done best are coastal states. Of the states that put Trump over the top, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, none had economic growth that kept up with the 2.1% inflation rate in 2019.
Also, Trump takes credit for the stimulatory effects of his tax cuts, but the Congressional Research Service wrote: “... While evidence does indicate significant repurchases of shares, either from tax cuts or repatriated revenues, relatively little was directed to paying worker bonuses, which had been announced by some firms.” The economy is strong, but only for those already filthy rich.
There’s another talking point: “Trump approach to healthcare much better than Dems, who would kill employer-provided healthcare which will raise taxes.” Well, start with a Business Insider headline “The Trump administration is trying to make an under-the-radar change to essential programs that would cut healthcare and food assistance for millions of people.” President Trump and his party have promised to come up with a substitute for the Affordable Care Act, but they’ve never presented one, and have done all they could to undermine the one program that brought health insurance to millions of people who couldn’t afford it in the past. Anyway, Democrats are still arguing about their healthcare plan and haven’t reached a conclusion yet so how do the Pubs know?
Here’s another: “Trump is proving it’s possible to have a strong economy and a clean environment at the same time.” The Sierra Club disagrees and has endorsed his impeachment and removal from office. Concerning the environment, the Club statement begins, “For anyone who cares about the climate crisis, public lands, clean air and water, or any other environmental issue, Donald Trump’s policies have been catastrophic ….”
Given President Trump’s assertion that wind turbines cause cancer, it’s difficult to discuss this topic with a straight face. The Environmental Protection Agency’s report of greenhouse gas emissions1990-2017 shows a small, very small, reduction in greenhouse gases in the past year, but the Union of Concerned Scientists report: “A 0.3 percent decrease in emissions isn’t going to cut it if we’re going to avoid truly catastrophic impacts from climate change, including more deadly heat events, extreme storms and precipitation, property-consuming sea level rise, and reduced crop yields, among other things.” An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that global net CO2 emissions needs to drop 45% by 2030. In June 2019, the EPA loosened restriction on coal fired power plants, which presumably made the 50,300 (in 2017) people working in the coal industry feel good. The 260,077 solar energy installers and repairers were less impressed.
Peace on earth, good will towards men, and save the arguments for another day.
Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sdu01@outlook.com.
From The Progressive Populist, February 1, 2020
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