Tripling Down on Trump
I’m just going to say it. Trump is going to lose in 2020.
No one is willing to say it out loud because of what happened in 2016.
When the political pundits and polls predicted Hilary Clinton would win no one knew of the extent of Russian involvement in our election or the European elections. Even my college educated friend was repeating a known fake story she saw on facebook that was circulated by Russia against Ms. Clinton and she ended up voting for Mr. Trump.
I guarantee she is not voting for him again.
In fact according to a CNN exit poll for the 2018 congressional election, half of white women voted Democrat and half voted Republican. In 2016 53% of white women voted for Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump will always have his base. But his base alone was not big enough in 2016 to put him in the White House and is not big enough now. His narrow victory was due to a majority of white women, moderate Republicans, and independents who voted for President Obama in 2012.
Independents voted for Mr. Trump because they liked the fact he didn’t follow the establishment’s rules and was going to shake up the status quo in Washington DC.
And because he said he was one of us.
But the working class is asking themselves why they ever thought a billionaire was one of them. Mr. Trump has never had to fuss with health insurance and has never been unemployed. He paid his way out of the draft, sent his kids to private schools, and doesn’t drive. His family doesn’t cook their own meals, make their own bed, do their own laundry, clean their own toilettes, or take out their own garbage.
The only time Mr. Trump is “one of us” is when he needs our vote.
Mr. Trump lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College by a margin of 70,000 votes in three key Midwestern states.
Are those 70,000 independents going to vote for Mr. Trump again?
To get another view I called frequent Valley Voice online commenter and lifelong Republican Xavier Avila to ask if he thought Mr. Trump would win in 2020. I was a bit surprised by his answer.
“I’m a realist. I honestly don’t know,” he said.
Mr. Avila still thought that Mr. Trump had a good chance of winning but did not consider it a sure thing. He felt the Midwestern states were behind him in 2016 and would be so again. Mr. Avila said that independents don’t like regulations so Mr. Trump might even pick up more in 2020.
He saw former Vice President Joe Biden as Mr. Trump’s biggest threat. “Biden represents Obama’s legacy and a lot of those independents who voted for Trump voted for Obama in 2012.
As far as Mr. Trump losing the farmers vote because of the trade war, “I see that as more hype than anything else.”
Mr. Avila said he just returned from a dairy conference in Iowa and said “Iowans are not leaving Trump.” “They all see the cheating being done by China and know something has to be done about it,” he said.
California Republican Woman of the year Vicki Riddle also had changed her position on Mr. Trump – to being even more bullish than she was two months ago.
“I’m tripling down on Trump,” she said.
“Democrats are shooting themselves in the foot. A lot of their presidential front runners are defining their party as ‘socialism is good,’” and that, she says, is alienating the moderate Democrats and Republicans in general.
Ms. Riddle also pointed out that whereas Mr. Trump’s rallies are typically attended by 50,000 supporters this week’s rallies by presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders only attracted 15,000 people.
“He goes above the press and directly to the people and connects with them,” she said.
It would be like Christmas coming early, Ms. Riddle said, if Democrats nominated either Ms. Warren or Mr. Sanders next June.
Concerning farmers, she feels as though they have tripled down on Mr. Trump also. That message was clear when he negotiated the Unite States, Mexico, Canada Trade Agreement and the fact that Vice President Pence visited Lemoore.
Mr. Avila bet a couple beers that former Representative David Valadao would jump into the Congressional race. He still feels a little guilty taking free beer from his friends because he knew it was such a sure thing.
I don’t think Mr. Avila will be making the same wager when it comes to Mr. Trump in 2020. But I might want to bet Ms. Riddle an elderflower cake that Mr. Trump is not going to win. I’m just sorry I have to wait until 2020 to taste her cooking again.
Aliens Versus the Climate
In July, a humorous Facebook page titled Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us was posted by Matty Roberts. He thought it would be funny to suggest everyone raid of the air force base on September 20 in search of aliens.
A few weeks later 1.5 million clicked “interested” and 2 million people registered as “going” to this ill-equipped and desolate corner of Nevada.
Mr. Roberts quickly updated his post to say he was just kidding don’t show up. But it was too late. The “raid” went viral.
Besides being an open training range for the United States Air Force and completely off limits, Area 51 is in a region of the state with only 184 hotel rooms. The closest town, Rachel, has a population of 56 and has just 13 rooms in the Little A’le’Inn. They plan on trucking in extra food and opening up 30 acres for camping.
But Alien hunters have been warned that there will be limited cell service, and no internet, ice, water or food as it all will quickly sell out. The closest gas and toilettes will be 90 miles away.”If you’re coming, be prepared because it’s probably not going to be nice,” said one town’s store owner.
While alien chasers in Nevada will be trying to find a toilette, the rest of the world will be participating in the September 20 Global Climate Strike.
The Global Climate Strike will be students, workers, and citizens going on strike to jump start the world on doing something about climate change. September 20 is the official day of the strike but climate awareness events are going on all week, the biggest of which is the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23.
“There is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society,” stated the United Nations, calling the threat to our planet “A race we can win.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is congregating world leaders to make concrete plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
But the summit’s most famous attendee will not be a world leader but a 15 year old girl, Greta Thunberg, who landed in New York on August 28 after sailing across the Atlantic.. Thunberg traveled on a zero-emissions sailboat to reduce the environmental impact of her journey.
A movement called #FridaysForFuture began in August 2018, when Ms. Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks. She then continued striking every Friday until Sweden agreed to change its policies to fall in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Swedish teenager has become the figurehead of a youth movement of climate activists after her weekly protests inspired students to strike every Friday in more than 100 cities worldwide, including the United States.
Why are the kids striking?
Kids began questioning why they were studying to secure their future when there may be no future.
From Ms. Thunberg’s first strike, and the ensuing student movement, evolved the Global Climate Strike.
So is Tulare County participating in the Global Climate Strike?
Well if one logs onto 350.org or globalclimatestrike.net you can see all the events happening around the world on September 20, and one of them is happening right here in Visalia.
The globalclimatestrike.net suggests that if people cannot strike then organize or attend climate awareness march, rally or teach-in. Roy Kendall, an aspiring journalist, perennial student, and fulltime worker at 72 years old, opted to organize a teach-in.
He submitted the following Press Release to the Valley Voice.
Tulare County is located in the rich San Joaquin Valley of California’s agricultural heartland. It routinely ranks in the top three of all farm counties in America. It produces over 240 agricultural crops for human consumption, livestock feed, and seed crops.
The county had 45 crops worth more than $1 million each in gross value in 2017 with milk leading the list at 1.7 billion. The 2017 gross value of all agricultural commodities produced in Tulare County was $7 billion. The county led the nation in agricultural exports in 2017; it exported agricultural products to 80 countries that year.
Tulare County’s climate and geography has created the productivity that makes all this possible. But many of the conditions we see today—the land under our feet, the temperature, and the precipitation—have been very different in the past. These conditions have been changing since Tulare County was first settled in the mid-1800s, and they have been changing even faster since the 1970s.
John Austin, a resident of Tulare County who is active in science education, will make a presentation on Friday September 20, about how our climate has changed over the past 500 million years and how it is projected to change over coming decades.
September 20 corresponds to a worldwide 350.org environmental groups’ climate change strike. Rather than being an actual strike, the goal of this event is to educate regarding the scientific and historical evidence on climate change.
This event is free and open to the public. It is a pot luck with a Mexican theme. Please RSVP at 559-901-1974 or [email protected]. 1213 S. Fairway Street, Visalia, is the location for this presentation.
So what are you going to be doing September 20? Alien hunting or attending a teach-in on climate change? Searching for extraterrestrials ironically could be the better use of your time as they might have an extra planet in case we screw up ours.
As for my husband, he will probably be watching college football Friday night rooting against the USC Trojans. They are playing the Utah Utes, another team he is not crazy about because they were admitted in to the PAC 12 even though, as everyone can see, they are not on the Pacific like the original PAC 8.
But who knows? After climate change causes devastating floods, or the state falls into the Pacific during a major earthquake, maybe Utah will be beach front property and people will start paying attention.
Tripling Down on Trump
I always love reading the comments of anti Trumpers. It is a good insight to the left mind set. I came to the Trump Train late but I have officially drank the Kool Aid. No, I don’t like everything he says and does and I loathe some of his tweets. But he has had a gargantuan task. The globalists in our society both Republican and Democrat literally hate him. He has tried to accomplish everything he promised. I’m 73 years old and I can remember past presidencies, they never did that. They campaigned and then governed vastly different. Because I feel so strongly that he will be re-elected I’m placing my name on this comment. KAG 2020.
Wow drinking the Kool Aid just as an excuse to justify overlooking Trump’s total lack of morals, his constant obsessive lying, his willful breaking of laws whenever it suits him, his narcissistic public tantrums, his purposeful degrading of our judicial and government institutions, his obvious adulation of autocratic leaders throughout the world………. one could go on and on and on listing many more of this nasty man’s hideous character traits and lack thereof. Yet you are happy to join forces with him. You talk about promises politicians make, well I too am a 73-year old woman and I know that when it comes down to it what that politician actually does once in office is what matters the most. Trump promised Mexico would build “the wall” (which was never needed)….that didn’t happen. Trump promised tax breaks for all but the real breaks went only to the top 1%; Trump promised to end the wars and bring the troops home…..that didn’t happen; Trump promised healthcare for everybody but he reneged on that so….that didn’t happen; Trump promised to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States…….that didn’t happen; Trump promised to spend more time in the White House than any other president because there was so much work to do but he constantly spends all his time and taxpayers money going golfing, holding political rallies, flying back and forth to Mar Largo, flying overseas to golf at his own golf resorts using the pretext of meeting with other heads of states (who dislike him and vice versa). Again one could go on and on and on about all the many “promises” that Trump made and continues to make but he had no intention of delivering on them because that is what habitual liars do. But above all it is his cold unfeeling need to degrade and vilify others, like the sociopath he is, getting a thrill of inflicting discomfort or pain on anyone he chooses whenever he has the opportunity to do so. I guess that Kool Aid went down nice and easy when you drank it…….in doing so it also says that you are able to swallow anything.
sounds like you described Obama…..if you like your Dr you can keep your Dr…..then he bowed down and kissed the Saudi Kings ring! …..oh and Obama couldn’t even get his own congress to do anything his first 2 years, so he went to his Pen and his Phone…..Writing EO’s left and right because no one wanted what he was selling.
As far as the wall goes, Mx is finally doing as we wanted them too and keeping the swarm of ‘immigrants’ at bay, because even the people in their country are saying we don’t have enough jobs for all these people.
Everyone got some tax break….we are seeing a little more in our pay. Trump is keeping oil prices down so that also is helping up have a few more dollars.
Didn’t the President spend Christmas Eve at the WH waiting for a vote?….isn’t he trying to get the Congress to stay in town more and work a 40 hr week? I think he is. At least his hop down to Mar Largo (which was once owned by Margaret Post who wanted it to be the Winter White House) and not clear to Hawaii.
I sure do want him to stay at his own resorts, and to top it off, he takes his salary and donates it back into agencies that could use a few more dollars.
I think you forgot that Obama was out on the golf course when Daniel Pearl, the kidnapped journalist got his head chopped off, and Obama didn’t even come off the course, and went right back to finish his game.
He’s working on bringing our military home….that disaster of war that Hillary and Obama brought to us, (Don’t cross my Red Line) you think that 12-16 years can be fixed in 2 years?
He’s also has a Healthcare plan they will be unveiling soon…..Obamacare was a mess…..not even what they said it would be….high deductibles and high premiums…..Obama’s friends got how much setting up that website that didn’t even work?
And now that someone has debunked every complaint you’ve made, I ask,in your 73 years, have you every heard a President say that he Loves us?….the American People…..
Oh that IG report coming out real soon is gonna knock your socks off Barb……
keep trying to convince yourself that Trump is great. Keep drinking the kool aid. Trump only loves himself and his fake money. Dream on.
You poor soul, you think that Trump is running against Obama! Got news for you kiddo Obama isn’t running for office. How can you possibly even know about debunking anything when you think Obama is still President and Trump is running against him. lol Michele….you really drank a bad batch of the Kool Aid! 🙂
Trump 2020🇺🇸♥️🇺🇸
Trump 2020 he will WIN
Democrats are the one with no morals, killing babies at full term, believes homosexuality isn’t a sin.
Trump 2020, I have many reasons to back Trump but I’ve made those clear here before. He will win for the same reason he won the last election, because of who the Democrats have chosen as his opponent. Binden, Warren….and others…LMAO!!! Go Trump!!!
The hope lays in having enough “collective consciousness” to throw out lifelines to the Trump supporters. Will they wake up from their self-induced coma to become conscious enough to grab onto the lifeline …….that it is the question. Some Trump’s supporters are hardcore (as entrenched as the Jim Jones followers were). How far will they follow him? Trump has primary challengers, but his party in some states are canceling primaries to deprive their voters a chance of unseating him. Republicans are so into suppressing voters they don’t even want REPUBLICANS to be able to vote. Trump gave classified intelligence to Kremlin officials in the Oval Office and no Republicans cared. Jared Kushner gave classified intelligence to MBS in Riyadh and no Republicans cared. Republicans blocked these veteran’s bills in congress: Clay-Hunt Suicide Prevention Act; Health Benefits & Retirement Pay Restoration; Wounded Veterans Job Security Act; Veterans Retraining Act; Homeless Veteran Reintegration; Disabled Veterans Home Accessibility Grant; Job Corp Act; Torture Veterans & Victim Relief; Veterans Business Center Act. This is how the so-called party of patriot’s voted and no Republican cared. Trump supporters are the only ones who can truly look into their own soul and answer just how hardcore they have become……if it is Trump before Country then in my opinion the masses better get their prayer beads out and get to praying for those collective souls before they are completely lost forever. Pray as if your country depends on it…..not Trump…… because Trump is not our Country. He is just an autocrat who wants to rule this country as if it were Russia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China; all ruled by tyrants who killed when they felt disrespected or crossed. Vote to take back America. Quit enabling this tyrant and those who are in office supporting him.
There are Americans who are fighting for you even if you don’t know it. You don’t have to worry, we will never lock you in cages nor will we build a wall around all the Trumpsters once everything is said and done. I for one would never condone such a thing but it is fair to say that if that ever did happen I might be kind of tempted to become as complacent as you Trumpsters are right now and look the other way.
Trump 2020 🇺🇸👍#KAG
My 401K is up 28% since Trump took office. Unemployment is at an all time low. TRUMP 2020! Unfortunately, I still live in California. Barbara – I will leave if you pay my way out! Socialism Right?!
FCC, now why in the world would I want you to leave California……with all that extra money your 401K is earning you will have that much more of your paycheck to buy more stuff and pay taxes on it (and Californians sure will put your tax money to good use). Since I personally am not a socialist it would never cross my mind to pay you to do anything……you want it fella you work for it. Actually it is kind of refreshing that a Trumpster like you is actually upfront about loving what’s in their wallet more than the integrity, honor, and safety of this country……most just give those BS lines about needing the wall and how everything wrong in this country is Obama’s or Hillary’s fault and on and on and on….but not you FCC you say it like it is….just like Trump….it’s all about the Benjamin’s baby! You and Trump fit real good together….. bromance right?!
Mine tripled under Obama, after getting cut 40% under Bush.
Trump 2020
America is gonna kick the tangerine tramp to the curb. No one wants to look at that orange buffoon waving his hands for 4 more years.
No wall, no funding from Mexico.
Rampant corruption and self-dealing.
$1 trillion deficit.
Farmers going bankrupt
It’s a fixed game left vs right gets us no where. Keep fighting the fight the politicians are dependent on that.
It would seem that Ms. Avila needs to consult a dictionary. Maybe the Republican Woman of the Year (“socialism is good”) could also use some help.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word socialism means: “A social system in which the producers possess both political power and the means of producing and distributing goods.”
Can Ms. Avila think of a “producer” that possesses both “political power and the means of producing and distributing goods”? I can think of many wealthy (billionaires) republicans who come close to the definition. Do you think that Trump has political power (yep) and the means of producing and distributing goods (somewhat – if you visit his golf courses and hotels)?
It’s more than a little amusing that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) calls herself a democratic socialist (maybe she’s stopped using that term). Does she have political power (maybe a little). Does she have the means of producing and distributing goods? Not in the slightest. She a person of very modest means, she is certainly not a producer of any goods nor of the means of distribution. (She was a waitress and a bartender before coming to congress, honorable jobs, but if you consider making and distributing a plate of scrambled eggs and toast or a beer to be “distributing goods” then the dictionary definition needs to be updated.)
So by the definition of the word, AOC and the other liberal members of congress, can’t be socialists. They can claim to be democrats (I hope that is all of us). But everyone should understand that using the term “socialist” to disparage suggests that the speaker knows what they are talking about, and in this case the speakers don’t.