Believe it or not, though I disagree with those on the left quite often, I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt and not assume the worst motives for their actions. For example, I believe them when they say they think abortion is a compassionate way to help women, though I may disagree with the logic behind that statement.
But what’s going on now with the Coronavirus Pandemic is making me think there are some real bad actors on the Democratic side of the aisle, ones who are willing to do real damage to our country and individuals in order to pursue their political goals.
In fact, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Democratic politicians have been directly responsible for making the pandemic worse than it needed to be, and for damaging the economy more than necessary. Another way to put it is this: Democratic politicians have wantonly sacrificed the lives and livelihoods of the very people they so loudly claim to help in order to score political points against Trump.
When the novel coronavirus epidemic first showed signs of infiltrating our shores, and Trump began implementing policies aimed at containing it — like the China travel ban — Democrats roundly dismissed the move as ineffectual and xenophobic. Nancy Pelosi doubled down and encouraged people on Feb. 26th to gather in San Francisco’s Chinatown while Bill DeBlasio encouraged people to live their normal lives in the first weeks of March.
Look, we all got this wrong. No one knew what would happen, but the Democrats’ reflexive rejection of anything Trump does or advocates meant that they ended up encouraging behavior that put people at risk just to spite Trump.
Then, when the pandemic began gaining momentum in March, the narrative changed from Trump is racist and paranoid for banning travel from China to Trump isn’t doing enough. And yet the record shows that Trump followed the advice of Dr. Fauci and others pretty steadily throughout the early weeks, even if some of his pressroom briefing statements were incoherent.
Trump has all along insisted that we should try to get the economy going as soon as possible. This is basic common sense if you know anything about economics. We can’t keep shoveling government money to people and expect our economy to survive. But Trump’s actions were dismissed as “protecting Wall Street” and “big business” at the expense of the little guy.
Instead, Democrats mainly insisted on maintaining the lockdowns and criticizing states, like our fair home, who dared to try and re-open gradually. I genuinely believe that their insistence on prolonging the the strict isolation measures is partially motivated by the fact that it goes against what Trump has advocated. “Whatever Trump says, do the opposite” seems to be their prime motivating idea.
And so now we have 33 million unemployed and many states where people are not able to return to work, and many Democratic governors and mayors extending their shutdown orders well into the summer. This anti-Trumpian reflex is thus really hurting our country’s ability to recover from the economic trauma and will have long-lasting negative effects.
At this point, it’s not unreasonable to assume that some Democrats want to tank the economy because it was the one thing going for Trump coming into the presidential election. Keeping their citizens on lockdown will ensure economic catastrophe, which will greatly diminish Trump’s ability to win the election, even against an incompetent, hypocritical buffoon like Biden.
But that’s ok, because by ruining peoples’ lives and destroying a huge swath of the private sector, Democrats — the party of government — will be able to step into the gap and make those people dependent on their programs, just like they did during the Depression.
And, as with the Depression, those programs will not actually allow our country to recover, but will keep us in permanent economic stagnation and encourage widespread government dependence, thus ensuring Democratic electoral victories. That, and the irrational desire to spite Trump, are what seem to motivate many of the key Democrats of our time.
And they are willing to sacrifice my job, my friends’ jobs (we just had layoffs at my company), and the economic and physical well-being of millions to fulfill their ambitions and quench their hatred for Trump.
I don’t know how much more despicable you can get than that.
Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.
The tanked economy is not hurting Trump one bit.
Trey,
I agree with everything you said 100% . People who don’t see this way are delusional and possibly brainwashed. I feel sorry them.
Didn’t realize at first Trey’s letter was over 3 months old – but it is and not much has happened in the way of progress. The Dems are chasing the post office down some rabbit hole and some other diversions, but to me it looks like Trump has done all he can this summer and better than others would have if they were in charge. So, 70/30 (electoral college votes) Trump wins.
I do know that I hope alternative history author Harry Turtledove has been using his time at home to begin a new novel (fiction) with Nancy Pelosi being thrust into the White House due to the deaths of Trump and Pence from Corona Virus. She spends the first month under great pressure from the Chinese to rename the virus. Trump started to call it a China virus and that was unacceptable. With typical liberal skill at renaming things, she settles on “Social Security Scourge” and gets an affirming vote from the house after 30 days of debate.
She has named AOC as VP so the oldest member of the House is backed up by the youngest. Andrew Cuomo is named Secretary of HEW or Virus Czar or something and brings in FEMA trailers to supplement the number of infected seniors he can move to nursing homes. Chris Matthews is back as press secretary. Of course she eliminated Trump’s travel ban and encouraged rural states to ship their infected seniors to New York and New Jersey for warehousing. Death-rate 500,000.
Ben Carson, the only holdover from Trump’s cabinet suggests using cruise ships to house the infected seniors. The ships have trouble retaining crew members, so low level drug offenders are released from prison if they agree to work as crew on a cruise ship. After a couple of months, there is great tension on the ships as infected seniors argue, protest and riot over political issues. New Transportation Secretary Maxine Waters solves this problem by transferring infected seniors so that half the ships are Republican and half are Democrat. Independents and Libertarians are housed at empty ski resorts (its summertime). Many of the homeless near the cruise ships/hospitals notice that no one is checking ID on the Democrat’s ships so they sneak on board and become infected, but get free meals. Death-rate 1,000,000.
By August, Karl Rove digs deep into statistics and discovers that the death rate is deeply skewed with registered Republican’s dying 3 times more than Democrats. He tries to keep this secret but his whiteboard with those stats on it is accidentally photographed and posted on Facebook. It is immediately taken down because at first glance it shows Republicans ahead 3 to 1 and that’s not good in most contexts. New Secretary of Defense John Kerry decides to relocate all the Democrat cruise ships the west coast and he leads a naval convoy that escorts the cruise ships thru the Panama Canal to San Fransisco. The homeless there sneak onto those ships. Joe Biden is discovered as a stowaway on one of the ships.
By September after another month in port the Democrat patients decide they deserve a cruise to Alaska and protest/riot/loot until the cruise lines say ok. Sadly they can’t go because all the ship’s supplies were lost in the looting. Death-rate 3,000,000. You will notice everybody stays infected all summer because threes no isolation.
Back on the east coast new Secretary of Agriculture Adam Shiff prepares special relief food packages laced with the active virus that will be shipped only to Republicans. He is motivated by the disparity in the death numbers which are now 6,000,000 Republicans, 2,000,000 Democrats and illegal immigrants. This is looking good for the Dems because an election is coming up in November and Mitt Romney is the only healthy Republican to announce.
This goes on and on with Hillary and Bill Clinton named as the first married to each other Supreme Court justices, the Squad (minus AOC) fighting over who gets to be Speaker of the House and several hilarious stories about illegals, released prisoners and homeless people being appointed to the Cabinet and some judgeships.
Thank God it is only fiction.
Over 175,000 deaths in the US and nearly 800,000 worldwide from Covid-19, and you’re making light of this?!?
Actually it is under 100,000 because the usual annual flu deaths (about 70,000 each year) and the other deaths like heart attack, but infected with virus all show up in that virus total because of the $9,000 federal reimbursement to hospitals for virus deaths.
And no, I’m not making light of it – after all, all lives matter don’t they?
However, when the Dems decide to politize the virus, they should be ok with being held accountable even if it is thru an alternative history novel. Get over it.
I don’t buy it, Mr. Morgan. Patients may have died from pnuemonia, heart attacks, as well as influenza; but also instigated or exacerbated by what we now refer to as COVID-19. It’s nasty stuff; ask any reputable doctor. As for Democrat Party affiliates using it as a weapon against Trump, it is self imposed. I think he is guilty of gross negligence, and the Republican Party elects who follow his guidance are guilty of simple negligence. Murder isn’t appropriate, but manslaughter is probably more accurate. That’s what you get when a “Party” looks aside rather than accept the fact there are alternatives.
I have been a conservative person and a Republican Party supporter for over 45 years, but the Republican Party has failed us and I will not vote for any Republican Party incumbent in a national office, in the next General Election. I do not care for the Democrat Party any better, but I want the pendulum to swing. Biden will have to do.
Doug, there’s a distinction that needs to be made and that is, there’s the GOP and then there’s Donald J and Trumpism. The party drifted from its core values, along with its traditional principles like fiscal conservatism (lost long ago) by the definite turn they took in 2015-16. And now there’s a proverbial fork in the road that shows an even bigger ditch on the right. As for R W Morgan’s weak assertion that the virus was politicized for political gain, I recall a direct quote at the end of March stating, “We’re going to be opening relatively soon… I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.” But the real classic is “we’re going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it.” Fool them once, shame on you, fool them twice …
Mr. Muller, my issue with the Republican Party is not so much about Trump as President (which isn’t good), it’s more about our Republican Party elected officials supporting his lead of the Party. The bigger problem is the Party will allow, if not encourage, the country to follow Trump off a cliff. Where is the Party’s leadership focused? Is it one “from” many, or many “for” one? If the Republican Party had held a National Primary, we may have options other than the only one remaining. But no, we have no backbone for accepting and correcting our mistakes. Let the pendulum swing!
Wrong. 6 days after this comment the cdc release data that only 6% of deaths are from Covid by itself? That comes out to around 11,000.
https://www.ibtimes.com/cdc-study-coronavirus-deaths-creates-stir-3037136?amp=1
Yeah, they have been brainwashed.
Trey, you can’t get more despicable than murdering over 92,000 Americans in the last 9 weeks, but that is what our dear President has done And Trump is proud of that fact.
gplan – Hyperbolic responses to simpletons like Mr. Hoffman only intensify their sense of eternal victimhood. The president did almost nothing to mitigate the SARS-CoV -2 early and has been so equivocal in his responses since that few place any trust in his observations, but murder is a bit of an overstatement. It is no exaggeration that his ignorance of biological science and unwillingness to be instructed has endangered many.
The actions of the NYC Mayor early on doomed his area. Not Trumps fault there. Y’all continue to blame him for everything. See how that works.
92,000 people murdered by President Trump? What goes through your mind when you are getting ready to type those words? Do you actually believe that?Are you just seeking attention? Do you think idiotic postings like that will change anybody’s mind about their presidential vote?
You are simply reinforcing the strong belief that I have – specifically that the Dems only care about power so they can “fundamentally change the country” to some socialist climate change worshipping utopia whereas Republicans want to prosper, grow, be free, act normal and do it within the guidelines of the Constitution and common sense – meaning 2 genders and real freedom of speech without the cancel culture or rioting and looting.
Are you that naive? Over 50% of the deaths are from nursing homes. Nursing homes that Democrats put infected patients in on purpose. Not to forget that just recently the cdc released data that shows only 6% died from Covid by itself. You are why the Democrats can win. You’re so easily fooled. https://www.ibtimes.com/cdc-study-coronavirus-deaths-creates-stir-3037136?amp=1
Matt, your source of information (IB Times) is a bit funny since they have been known to report sightings of UFOs from time to time. In any case the CDC reports COVID-19 deaths in comorbidity terms for complete interpretation and analysis for the medical and science community. For those that think in “6% terms” who are virus minimalists or even deniers, use some common sense and logic. The US is experiencing a death rate of 200,000 more deaths in the last six months than at any other recent six month time period. Yes 40% of those untimely deaths are linked to nursing homes but they were premature nevertheless. Unfortunately we are at this level of morbidity, hospitalizations, and illness because of poor leadership and their kool-aid drinking followers that continue to prop them up.
Trey, I don’t know how much more despicable you can get than murdering over 90,000 Americans in the last 9 weeks. That exactly what our dear President has done.
“Whatever Trump says, do the opposite”
Rush Limbaugh said this nearly verbatim about Obama on his radio show, I heard it with my own ears.
I can’t recall any conservatives being upset by it.
Well, Obama was doing exactly the opposite of what he said he was going to do.
Trump hasn’t done that.
You always skip over details or are you just slow in general?
I would note that it’s a bit worse than Mr. Hoffman points out – it’s not just harming the economy. We know from plenty of past experience that economic crises kill people – increased suicides, homicides and fatal drug overdoses just for starters. And in addition to the deaths there is a long list of misery – increased domestic violence, child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, people on their deathbed without a loved one to hold their hand and comfort them, this list could go on for a very long time.
And, of course, in addition to doing this to hurt/spite President Trump many on the Left just enjoy telling other people what to do, and the Lockdown is a warmup for their Global Warming campaign.
Very true!!
Thank you Stranger Than Fiction. You aptly described Trey Hoffman’s commentary.
What a disingenuous missive from the ever-hyper partisan Trey Hoffman.
His condemnations hold truth, but he knowingly omits the context to place them in any semblance of a proper perspective. His presentation is analogous to describing the excesses of the counter-protesters in Charlottesville in 2017 without mentioning the “fine people” from the alt-right who inflamed the confrontation.
Actually, the Democrats turn out to be rank amateurs in these partisan wars. Until Newt Gingrich reorganized the Republican Party to be intolerant, legislators from both sides of the aisle frequently compromised for the good of the country (regardless of the party of the President). Now even slight movements toward comity with political adversaries for the good of the nation will get you “primaried” by a more ideological zealot.
There are countless incidences of partisan politics by Republicans that demonstrate scant concern for the fate of the American people. Indeed, the discredited birther crusade harassed President Obama throughout his tenure. Perhaps the most egregious was Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell’s, clear statement in 2010 of the overarching goal in his leadership post: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Feel free to fault Democrats for their opportunism in using this pandemic to injure President Trump at any expense. Just escape your victimhood long enough to offer an honest context for your complaints.
Charlottesville you always bring up. You got nothing else? If Trump is so racist surely you have more than that.
Matt – the above reference to Charlottesville was merely an example. Trump is flawed in many areas, but the worst area seem to be constant prevarication and malignant narcissism. He will gladly throw anyone under the bus regardless of their race, their nationality, their service to the country, their patriotism, their historic position as foreign allies, or their expertise in science if it somehow can be construed to make him look better. He is an equal opportunity discreditor.
Joe Biden is the real racist. He doesn’t even try to hide it. 😒
Thank you, Trey, for putting our thoughts into words!
The Dems did weaponize this virus as a political tool to go after the President. Thats why the Dem governors are refusing to open their states: the longer they can tank the economy, and stop those huge rallies for Trump….the governors think they can hurt Trumps re-election. Before all of this, Trumps economy was roaring, China was getting hit hard….and the Dems were faltering. Now the Dems want all voting to be absentee, which is open to all sorts of fraud on their part. Throw out your absentee ballots…and go vote in person. Even here in Fayette County, the Dems would like nothing better than to have everyone vote absentee…
Despicable is the correct word. Your conclusions are also correct although somewhat late. The failure in communal living in Plymouth Colony was probably the first clue that giveaway programs wouldn’t work. Certainly the Roosevelt years proved it again even though WWII gave him a graceful exit from failure and even a third term. Johnson’s Great Society was still about government giveaways for votes, but even that managed to decimate the black family unit and a proud culture.
But now, the Dems effort isn’t just to keep a voting bloc in line and on the plantation. Now is outright disrespect for the rule of law and the electoral process and of course the virus gives them a life or death weapon to bludgeon normal people with. The hatred of all things Republican flared up in the press a little with Reagan, a little more when Bush sort of beat Gore and festered under Obama with the “Deep State” infiltration followed by the press (and others) losing their minds over Trump. The press disbanded at that point and became the media and any pretense of fairness or objectivity was gone – probably forever.
My evaluation process for a President is easy – What Would _____________ Do? and fill in the defeated candidate from either party. Today I use Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton for my own amusement, but you can choose whoever you want – McCain, Gore, Biden. Since the next President will be mid-70’s, VP choices should be entered into consideration -Mike Pence?, Kamela Harris? Sarah Palin?? Stacey Abrams???? I can’t imagine anyone mentioned including Pence and Jeb being able to pull off the travel ban or getting American businesses to retool for ventilators and masks. Just try to imagine the meetings and press briefings run by one of these people. Painful, isn’t it.