Looks Like An Orangutan, Acts Like A Chimpanzee

If America elects Donald Trump president, America can go back to being the North American power it once was. India will step in. China will step in. In 10 years Africa will step in. Mexico will take Texas, then you will no longer have "immigration issues."

You can not claim you are the leading country and act like America is an island. People running for president regardless of party will have to respect the world. I don't know if this guy is an orangutan or a chimpanzee, he looks orange like an orangutan and beats his chest like a chimpanzee, so it's confusing, but this guy has been giving non white kids across the globe self esteem issues for a full year now. This pig person has been giving serious self esteem issues to young girls across America and across the world. The guy is a total pig. He is a total foul mouth and he is not going to get away with it.

This will not stand.

There can be legitimate philosophical and ideological differences. Differences in knowledge and intelligence are allowed. But this guy is not running on any of that. This guy is running on pure hatred of everyone who does not look a chimp like him. That is a lot of people.

His rabid sexism will not stand. His out of control racism will not stand. His xenophobia can go on his hair. There is no place for it in America, not in this world.  

Immigration

Here's Why Donald Trump Is More Right About Immigration Than You Think 

If you are right you have been right throughout American history.

Chris Matthews has been pretending to be a liberal, but he is just another white male.

Trump Win?

"The Keys to the White House" is a historically based prediction system. I derived the system by looking at every American presidential election from 1860 to 1980, and have since used the system to correctly predict the outcomes of all eight American presidential elections from 1984 to 2012."

Donald Trump has made this the most difficult election to assess since 1984. We have never before seen a candidate like Donald Trump, and Donald Trump may well break patterns of history that have held since 1860.

We've never before seen a candidate who's spent his life enriching himself at the expense of others. He's the first candidate in our history to be a serial fabricator, making up things as he goes along. Even when he tells the truth, such as, "Barack Obama really was born in the U.S.," he adds two lines, that Hillary Clinton started the birther movement, and that he finished it, even though when Barack Obama put out his birth certificate, he didn't believe it. We've never had a candidate before who not just once, but twice in a thinly disguised way, has incited violence against an opponent. We've never had a candidate before who's invited a hostile foreign power to meddle in American elections. We've never had a candidate before who's threatened to start a war by blowing ships out of the water in the Persian Gulf if they come too close to us. We've never had a candidate before who has embraced as a role model a murderous, hostile foreign dictator. Given all of these exceptions that Donald Trump represents, he may well shatter patterns of history that have held for more than 150 years, lose this election even if the historical circumstances favor it.

I think the fact that he's a bit of a maverick, and nobody knows where he stands on policy, because he's constantly shifting. I defy anyone to say what his immigration policy is, what his policy is on banning Muslims, or whoever, from entering the United States, that's certainly a factor. But it's more his history in Trump University, the Trump Institute, his bankruptcies, the charitable foundation, of enriching himself at the expense of others, and all of the lies and dangerous things he's said in this campaign, that could make him a precedent-shattering candidate.

Debates

“He is a charismatic guy, likes the attention, and will certainly not be intimidated by the bright lights and lots of people watching, he’ll probably thrive on it,” DuHaime, the Christie aide, said.

Back In The Lead

Hillary Clinton has wrested back a clear advantage in polls over Donald Trump just days before their first critical debate.

An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll conducted this week — viewed by some election experts as the gold standard – found the Democrat leading Trump by six points nationally.

Instead, Trump’s recent polling strength appears to have energized Clinton’s supporters, who now match Trump’s supporters in enthusiasm. And Clinton’s ace-in-the-hole is a battleground map that will require Trump to draw a near-perfect hand.

Police And The Poor

These police murders are symptomatic of the racism structurally embedded in America, the responsibility of which bears no exemption for anyone who lives in this country, especially white Americans, Republican and Democrat, north and south. The innocent lives taken at the hands of the police are not merely a problem of the black community, or recurring anomalies in different police departments, but an issue that faces the entire country and its inability to understand the magnitude of historical and contemporary prejudices that affect our society.

Trump Rhetoric Incites Election Violence

 “This could start to shift into a law-and-order thing that favors Trump and Republicans.”

Trump’s World

This dude is incoherent. And, hence, dangerous. There is an utter lack of curiosity.

On foreign policy, Trump is the worst of all worlds

Trump is a real-estate developer who takes any domestic terrorist attack — whatever the actual circumstances — as confirmation of his views on a lax immigration system, as evidence of a law-enforcement system hobbled by political correctness and as cause for more aggressive profiling of Muslims, Arabs or whomever he is currently defining as the threat. Some of his followers seem particularly pleased when he edges toward declaring Islam itself to be the enemy. “Frankly,” Trump has said, “we’re having problems with the Muslims.”

Trump has hardly distinguished himself in reacting to that conflict, fed by the radiating disorders of the Middle East. As the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) rose, the GOP nominee said, “That’s not our fight.” And: “Let Syria and ISIS fight. Why do we care?” And: “Let Russia fight ISIS, if they want to fight ’em.” But also: Bomb the oil and “take the oil” — which would seem to require a choice between the two. Incantations are preferable to such gibberish.

Those who believe that preening bluster makes up for willful ignorance and dangerously poor policy judgment have found their man. But this is not the worst of it. Anyone who has spent time working in the White House would attest that the single most important presidential attribute is leadership in times of crisis. We have no idea what challenges the next president may face — an outbreak of deadly pandemic flu, the collapse of order in nuclear Pakistan, a cyberattack on the U.S. electrical grid. All we know — or try our best to know — is the character, stability and credibility of the president himself (or herself).

Conservatives trying to justify a vote for Trump argue that the presidency itself would somehow mature him. Yet the Republican nominee has provided little reason to believe he is truly capable of learning or benefiting from good counsel. “My primary consultant is myself and I have a good instinct for this stuff,” Trump has said.

“It is really important to project a sense of calm,” the official said. “A leader understands that people feed off his emotions in a moment of crisis. If he uses wild or frantic rhetoric, it will risk creating a psychological tsunami.”

The president may face simultaneous crises, the official went on, forcing him “to rely on others in the team to give good advice.” And: “If the ego is central to a leader and a crisis occurs, it could lead to rash decision-making.” And: “One cannot solve a crisis by blaming other people. This tone makes it harder to rally the whole nation.” A leader has to “articulate a credible strategy” and honor the “American values that unite us.”

Donald, There Is This Bridge On The East River

Donald. It has been relayed to me that you  would like to sell me a wall on the Mexican border. Be that as it may, there is this bridge on the East River I would like to sell you. I am a much more modest man in comparison to you.

Alt Right In Charge Of Trump 2016

They see themselves as a threat to the establishment, far bolder and edgier than Fox News. 

Trump Is KKK

With his many appeals to nativism, bigotry, and bitter discontent, Donald Trump has enthralled far-right extremists with his campaign for president. According to an investigation by Mother Jones and the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, since Trump officially announced his bid in June 2015 he has drawn effusive praise and formal backing from some of the country's most virulent neo-Nazis, white supremacists, militia supporters, and other extremist leaders. They include the head of the American Nazi Party, three former Ku Klux Klansmen, four people involved in a recent armed standoff against federal authorities at an Oregon wildlife refuge, and at least 15 individuals affiliated with organizations described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups.

Colorado

President Trump?

What was once unthinkable has now become only mildly improbable

Recent polls show her maintaining an edge in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Hampshire. But those states alone would leave her short of victory. With those in the bag, her easiest path to the presidency runs through Colorado, whose electorate is better-educated and more Hispanic than the national average. In July and August, her polling leads there ranged from five percentage points to 13. But the only survey taken of the state so far this month gave Mr Trump a four-point lead. If Mrs Clinton cannot hold on in the Centennial State, expect Mr Trump to be sworn in on January 20th.

Democrats, as well as never-Trump Republicans and independents can only hope either that recent surveys misrepresent public opinion, that Mrs Clinton’s superior campaign infrastructure will enable her to outperform them or that the polls will eventually swing back in her direction. There is solid evidence to back all three claims.

The final argument in favour of Mrs Clinton’s chances is that polling averages tend to revert towards their means, and that Mr Trump is now bumping up against his previous ceiling of around 40% of the vote. She will presumably benefit from returning to the campaign trail, and could get a boost from increased efforts on her behalf by Democratic heavyweights. Even if Mr Trump does well in the debates, they will likely push talk of deplorables and pneumonia off the front pages. Moreover, both the economy and the president’s approval ratings have been on the rise of late, strengthening the appeal of Mrs Clinton’s run for a third Obama term.

the idea that a Clinton landslide would lead to the banishment from American politics of Mr Trump’s appeals to racial and cultural resentment is receding fast.

Donald Trump Is A White White Collar Criminal

His business career, all of it, has been that of a white white collar criminal.

Trump University was a fraud.

This guy has been in the casino business. Someone told him that is where you go to bilk money.

He has a long track record of outright refusing to pay small vendors.

He has defrauded New York city voters of close to a billion dollars. He has taken money from New York city like New York City were his father.

And now he is out to steal 25 billion dollars from all those who are clamoring for him. That is a conservative price estimate on the wall that will never exist.

Selling the wall is worse than trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. You have been had.

Catch Donald If You Can.

And, if you did not know, all those buildings with his name on them. He does not own them. His real estate career is like fake boxing you see on TV. He is not in the construction business. He only licenses out his last name.

This guy is fake. This is a fraudster.

Debate Prep

Hillary should debate Trump’s manhood and cowardice

A developer of mostly mediocre properties who made a small fortune (very small) with his daddy's money. He has stiffed subcontractors and tenants, hired undocumented workers, went bankrupt on three casinos (hard to do).

He was a reality TV performer, but when it hemorrhaged ratings, he jumped ship to run for president. He is the owner of a for-profit university that allegedly bilked students of millions, that was forced to close by the Justice Department and that is now facing trial for racketeering.

Trump plays by no rules and she shouldn’t either. Example: Clinton should ask Trump why he is hiding his tax returns, then answer the question herself. “Don says he can’t release his tax returns because he is being audited. Well, Don, the IRS has said you can release your taxes, audit or no audit. You will be the first candidate for president in the modern era to hide his taxes. Even Richard Nixon released his taxes while under an audit. So Don, what are you hiding?”

Trump has hundreds of bogus policies, but when confronted with the failure of his policies, Trump runs like a scalded dog. Here Clinton has a powerful tool. She should say, “Few people believe you can do what you say. Well Don, it’s time to be a man and tell the American voters exactly what you intend to do specifically.” Trump of course will duck, lie and dodge. To this, Clinton should say, “The public doesn’t believe you, and I don’t believe you. The time has finally come — MAN UP DON.”

It will drive him nuts.

Years ago, with some political skill and lots of luck, I convinced Fritz Mondale to use “Where’s the Beef” in a debate. Now I’m asked if there is a line Clinton can use against Trump. I don’t have a line, but I do have a tactic: Challenge Trump’s manhood and call him a coward.

Reality Is A Serious Casualty In This Campaign

Trump Ohio Campaign Chair: "There was no racism before Obama"

Trump: Buffoon

Her strength in this area perfectly matches Trump’s weakness. Trump has appeared to learn for the first time such basic information as that the Trans-Pacific Partnership doesn’t include China and that Russia has already invaded Ukraine on the debate stage or during a media interview. He sometimes reads his speeches as if they include revelations to him — “so true,” he’ll interject after coming across a striking fact or observation in the text.

The one-on-one format for an hour-and-a-half could make his thin knowledge painfully obvious. And any misstep or outburst that reinforces the idea that he lacks the qualities to be commander in chief would be devastating.

Trump Foundation: True To Its Name

Tale of Two Charities: Trump’s Helps Trump While the Clintons’ Is the Real Deal.

Third World Has Come To America

Trump Campaign Pays Trump Businesses Big

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has paid his family's businesses more than $8.2 million, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance filings, which reveals an integrated business and political operation without precedent in national politics.

In all, the Trump campaign’s payments to Trump-owned businesses account for about 7 percent of its $119 million spending total, the analysis found.

Trump, on the other hand, appears to have structured his businesses in a way that lets the campaign use them without legal restriction. And he certainly doesn’t appear to feel any embarrassment about flouting political norms that typically compel candidates to distance themselves from their businesses during campaigns.

Quite to the contrary, Trump has used the campaign itself as a marketing platform to promote everything from the difficult-to-find Trump Steaks to his golf courses and a new Washington hotel.

Trump, who in 2000 predicted “I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it"

The degree to which Trump or his corporations may be benefiting from his campaign is unclear, partly because the financial and legal structures of his businesses — and their relationships with his campaign — remain opaque. Trump has stubbornly refused to release his taxes, which could shed light on the issue.

One of Trump’s primary election victory speeches in March, held at Mar-a-Lago, was widely lampooned as an infomercial for Trump-branded steaks, water, magazines and wine.

And last week, he lured the political press corp to his new Washington hotel by promising a revelation about his longstanding allegations that President Obama was born overseas, which he finally disavowed. Before getting to that, though, he took the opportunity to promote the hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Old Post Office.

This is what happens in Third World dictatorships. You acquire power and then you enrichen yourself with that power.

Trump is shameless, would you say?

She Is In A Bigger Harvard Test Room

I was taking a law school admissions test in a big classroom at Harvard. My friend and I were some of the only women in the room. I was feeling nervous. I was a senior in college. I wasn’t sure how well I’d do. And while we’re waiting for the exam to start, a group of men began to yell things like: ‘You don’t need to be here.’ And ‘There’s plenty else you can do.’ It turned into a real ‘pile on.’ One of them even said: ‘If you take my spot, I’ll get drafted, and I’ll go to Vietnam, and I’ll die.’ And they weren’t kidding around. It was intense. It got very personal. But I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t afford to get distracted because I didn’t want to mess up the test. So I just kept looking down, hoping that the proctor would walk in the room. I know that I can be perceived as aloof or cold or unemotional. But I had to learn as a young woman to control my emotions. And that’s a hard path to walk. Because you need to protect yourself, you need to keep steady, but at the same time you don’t want to seem ‘walled off.’ And sometimes I think I come across more in the ‘walled off’ arena. And if I create that perception, then I take responsibility. I don’t view myself as cold or unemotional. And neither do my friends. And neither does my family. But if that sometimes is the perception I create, then I can’t blame people for thinking that.

Essentially what Clinton is saying is that the stiltedness of her public persona is a kind of self-preservation tactic born out of years of brutal misogyny. 

She is still being yelled at. The yelling is being done by the media. Email. Benghazi. Whitewater. And the yelling is being done by the loudmouth dumbo running for president. Get rid of your bodyguards? Is this guy kidding me?

She is being yelled at and her supporters, men and women, need to step in and respond. We are the proctors. This is a democracy. She is not doing this for her. This is not just about America. This is about the women across the globe.

Barack Obama was about 500 years of world history. Hillary Clinton is about 5,000 years of world history.

It's Not Her, It's Us

Gallons of digital ink have been spilled trying to figure out why Clinton struggles so much with likability. But perhaps the problem isn’t with her at all. Maybe it’s with us.

Black Women Need Clinton

Barack Obama was race, Hillary is gender. Black women need both.

Secretary Clinton, you're no Barack Obama 

No matter how much Donald Trump throws these inequities in our faces, most African-Americans will never vote for him. Polls currently show Trump with only 1 percent of the black vote.

But that doesn't mean that black voters, particularly women, will turn out for Clinton with the same voraciousness as they did for Obama. And just because Obama plans to turn Clinton's election into a referendum on his political legacy, it doesn't mean African-Americans will take the bait.

Clinton has to win over black voters on her own merit. And to do that, she must convince black women, in particular, that they won't get buried underneath the shattered glass when she breaks through the ceiling.

Syria: Time For Adult Behavior

US, Russia take Syria battle to new heights 

Larvov and Kerry's speeches laid bare their widely divergent views of a war that has killed up to a half-million people, contributed to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II and allowed the Islamic State to emerge as a global terror threat.

Economically speaking Russia is a Second World country, India is Third World. But Syria is a tragic choice for theatrics between the two former Cold War military rivals. The right thing has to be done. The tragedy has to come to an end.

Trump’s Only Appeal Is Racism And Sexism

The guy's numbers don't add up. His round up and deport everybody plan runs into the hundreds of billions, just on logistics. The political meltdown around the idea also has to be factored in. He has been selling the wall like it were the Brooklyn Bridge.

The dude lacks basic knowledge. He doesn't know the difference between the nuclear code and the air conditioner.

He will be the oldest person ever to become president. And he eats burgers and burgers only. This fast food maniac is a heart attack waiting to happen. His cholesterol levels are as high as one of the Trump Towers.

He has disdain for democracy itself, not just Mexicans.

The guy is offering nothing but hatred. This guy is but David Duke who got half a billion from his father and a billion in tax breaks. And that adds up to less than his net worth. No, he has not been creating wealth in the private sector.

But he is a more rabid sexist more than anything else. He is peddling the thought that only men can look presidential. He is talking about "wide shoulders."

Mussolini has come to America.

America Is Ageing And Immigration Is The Solution

Looks like immigration is not only America's past but also its future. America has an ageing population. The only way to keep the economy vibrant is by not only legalizing those already here but welcoming more people.

Hillary And Young Women

Hillary becoming president is different from Indira Gandhi or Benazir Bhutto becoming Prime Minister, or even Margaret Thatcher. The gender churn that I see following Hillary like a tornado's tail, I did not see with the others. There seems to be a basic structure to sexism that seems to be the exact same across cultures and income brackets and so this churn has global implications and I am uber interested. And to me the most surprising part is why aren't at least 80% women rallying behind Hillary? Gender is more defining for women than race is for black men. Hillary Clinton is not any more dishonest and untrustworthy or unreal than Barack Obama. She is definitely more qualified now than Obama was in 2008 and Bill Clinton in 1992, and I am safely quoting Obama on that.

Barack Obama was the most promising president when he started in 2009. Let's face it. There was no other black president track record. It was 100% promise, 0% track record. And even now, eight years later, a black man needs to be super duper qualified to become president. This country remains racist. Trump is proof.

Hillary is the most qualified presidential candidate since the country was founded. The Clintons have attracted so much venom on national stage because these are people from modest backgrounds. There are not too many dynasties in Arkansas. Call it classism. Bill Clinton's origins are quite Democratic.

Martin Luther King had to struggle also against black folks when he fought segregation. Sexism has widespread female support.

If Hillary is at least equally qualified to Barack Obama is it not unfair he became president first? Strictly chronological logic wise, yes. It was unfair. Obama is still a young man. But in terms of race and gender it makes more sense Obama went in first. Being president does not shield you from racism. Hillary needed to see. And she saw. In many ways gender is a tougher nut to crack. The gender churn of the election campaign will likely be eclipsed by the gender churn she will see in office. The churn might be global. But it has to be that way. Gender will be a persistent topic. I don't know of a better way to make progress on gender except by talking about gender. Sometimes it might make tactical sense to talk about other policy issues to make progress, but mostly there will be no avoiding it. And the progress will depend less on how enlightened her views are and more on how much 160 million women are willing to engage and make the call.

This is not about symbolism. This is about making concrete, measurable progress on gender.

Domestic violence is the number one security threat on the planet right now and has been for a long time. There are education, health and micro credit issues. There is plain basic democracy.

This is one planet, one world. No walls are possible or even desirable. On that note, as they say in New York, there is a bridge on the East River I would like to sell Donald Trump.

Women have to want a first female president. How can you not? I so badly wanted a first black president I had precisely zero personal expectations of Barack Obama. He could have snoozed for eight years and I would not have broken a twig. Because a first black president was such a major breaking of barrier. A first female president is a much bigger breaking of barriers. Sexism is sickness. It is a heart disease. It drags everybody down, not just women. Hillary Clinton getting into the Oval Office liberates both men and women. Young men, take note.

Donald Trump is a sick human being. This guy is not just offended by Mexicans and women, he is offended by the very idea of democracy. This is the fascist the founding fathers predicted might come along. And now he is here.

If Donald Trump becomes president, 2016 will be  for America what 1945 was for Britain. America as you know it is over. Britain remained a democracy. America is not going to be that lucky. Modern fascism does conduct elections.

In my personal memory the choice has never been more stark in an American election. And my readings of history say the same thing. Not in the time of Napoleon, not in the time of Hitler, America never flirted with fascism until now.

All human beings have been created equal by the Creator. That eternal spiritual truth was put to test by putting a black man in the White House. And it is time to put a woman in there. Because all human beings have been created special.

Young women and women in general don't struggle with Hillary. What they struggle with is their internalized sexism. The culture is so steeped in sexism, the media in this country is so saturated with sexism, it is but understandable that women have internalized much of the sexism. But they do have to struggle against it. You can kick the can down the road, but for how long?

Emails and Benghazi and pretty much every slob of mud thrown at her for decades now has been facts-free sexism, completely unhinged from facts and logic. The FBI found no wrong doing on emails. Respect the verdict, or fire the FBI. There is not a third option. A population that could not load Windows onto a computer is all riled up about the deep intricacies of one email server that has caused precisely zero harm. On Benghazi, go after the Department Of Defense. If that is not good enough for you, go after the president. The common sense thing would be, though, to hold Al Qaeda responsible.

There was nothing to Whitewater, absolutely nothing, nada, zilch.

Hillary Clinton is a dream candidate. She by now probably knows every side to every issue. She really really knows her stuff. She knows the policy stuff, she knows the politics. She probably knows half the world leaders by name. Most world leaders on stage have already worked with her. That is surreal.

It is tougher to be president of America than it is to be a surgeon. Donald Trump is GED. Don't take this guy to your surgery table. Unless you happen to be suicidal. In that case most definitely keep this dude at bay.

Hillary would be a great person to have as president even if she were male. She just knows her stuff. You could think of her as a political astronaut. She is a rocket scientist when it comes to public policy.

She is much appreciated globally. Like there was this time when Obama was more popular in Canada than in America. Send him over here, they kept saying. God heard them and gave them Justin.

One hopes Hillary's rise in America will see women rise up to high political offices all over the world. Japan might be next after Germany, Britain and, hopefully, America.     

Senator Elizabeth Warrior

Senator Elizabeth Warren's Native American last name must have been Warrior. It got anglicized to Warren. She should perhaps reclaim her original last name, like Calcutta went back to being Kolkata, and Bombay reverted to Mumbai and Bangalore is now Bengaluru again.

The name change can wait. But the fight is now. She is 100% committed to seeing the first woman president. She should tweet a few times a week from now until that magic day in November. That will be enough to neutralize the venom and irrationality and megalomania that is Donald Trump. No one does it as good as Warren. She gets the theatrics just right.

I thought this guy was just stupid. He is a fascist. The only thing more dangerous than a fascist is a stupid fascist.  

America And Democracy

America is not just another country like Ireland. It is an idea. The idea is democracy. The idea is that all human beings have been created equal by the Creator.

America was founded with the goal of a total spread of democracy. What is the progress report? It snatched western Europe from the fascists and Eastern Europe from the communists, but is that it? White America saved white Europe. Is that it? Does democracy have a white skin? Does equality have a skin color?

Human beings have been created in the image of God, all human beings, everywhere.

This has to become a country where blacks and Latinos and Asians and women of all stripes feel equally at home, otherwise this country is going to fail at its founding mission of a total spread of democracy.

Nobody more un-American has ever run for the presidency of the United States than the clown Donald Trump. Clowns can be dangerous. Trump is proof.

Muslims have to feel at home in America before democracy will spread in the Muslim countries. America is that kind of a country.

Christians For Hillary

Christians feeling disenfranchised by a Republican Party hijacked by Donald Trump and who feel like they have hit a political stalemate by revisiting abortion and same-sex marriage every election now have an opportunity to leave the GOP and champion for issues such as, poverty, human rights, gun control, and climate change which are surprisingly led by Democrats.

Hate toward another human being created in the image of God is a violation of the greatest commandment, “to love the Lord with all your heart mind and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Christians have always believed in protecting God’s creation and today more Christians are taking a stand on climate change.  Christians arestrong advocates of helping refugees and have broken away from their political base on the Syrian refugee crisis to voice their concerns, sending a clear message that neither party should politicize people in need.  

What Is Sexist About Trump's White "Nationalism"

Women should be more offended than Mexicans. For Trump's "white nationalism" to make any sense, Hillary would have to be black, or Hispanic, or some other version of non white.

What Trump refers to as white nationalism and others refer to as racism is but rabid sexism. A woman is not capable of projecting cultural pride. You need a bad mannered boorish man.

Hillary's New Deal

Hillary's New Deal: How a Clinton Presidency Could Transform America

This is the choice Americans face – between alternatives as starkly opposed to each other as in any election in our history, excepting the one in 1860, which led to the Civil War.

There on the convention stage was Sanders himself, railing against "the 40-year decline of our middle class" and "the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we currently experience." There was Sen. Elizabeth Warren, explaining how the system is rigged for CEOs and predators like Trump. And there, too, was Hillary Clinton, proclaiming that "Democrats are the party of working people," but the party needed to show it better; then saying, "Our economy isn't working the way it should because our democracy isn't working the way it should"; and touting a government program funded by targeted tax hikes on the rich, the "biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II," to rebuild America's infrastructure.

Clinton's program for battling economic inequality is another series of reinventions in the broad New Deal tradition. Her proposals include middle-class tax credits to be covered by raising taxes on the very wealthiest Americans and by closing tax loopholes; raising the federal minimum wage by 66 percent to $12 an hour, while supporting a $15 minimum in individual cities and states; protecting labor unions' collective-bargaining rights; and reducing child-care costs. To address the problems of climate change unimaginable to earlier generations, she has called for the installation of half a billion solar panels by the end of her first term, with the goal of providing clean renewable energy to every household in the country by 2027.