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MAGA's Misguided Choice Hits Close to Home [1]
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Date: 2025-01-01
I’ve lived in or adjacent to New Castle, Pennsylvania, for 40 years, so naturally I was interested in a recent Washington Post story about the views of Donald Trump voters living there.
The story is titled, “After backing Trump, low-income voters hope he doesn’t slash their benefits.” The subhead reads, “Voters in the struggling Pennsylvania city of New Castle backed Trump hoping he’d curb inflation. But the incoming president will be under pressure to cut spending.”
That’s a good summary of the article. After reading it two things hit me: (1) These people’s views don’t coincide with reality and (2) Democrats have failed in reaching these individuals and convincing them they’re clearly voting against their own best interests.
Too harsh? I don’t think so.
New Castle is a former mill town on life support. More than one in four residents live in poverty, and the median income is one of the lowest in the state. About 90 percent of students come from low-income families and qualify for free school lunches, and many are sent home with food to eat over the weekend, the Post reported.
Here’s some background on four Trump supporters interviewed for the story:
*A single mother with a 17-year-son who receives $1,200 each month in food stamps and Social Security benefits.
*A man supporting himself and his son who receives $1,600 a month in Social Security disability payments and $300 in food stamps.
*A woman who receives $900 a month in Social Security benefits and $171 a month in food stamps.
*A retired woman who subsists on a monthly $1,300 Social Security payment and $75 in food stamps.
In no world that we know of do any of them benefit from having Trump and the Republicans calling the shots in Washington.
Here’re some of their opinions on the subject:
*“He (Trump) is more attuned to the needs of everyone instead of just the rich. I think he knows it’s the poor people that got him elected, so I think Trump is going to do more to help us.”
*“It’s not cutting programs it’s cutting the amount of people needed to run a program. They are cutting staff, which could actually increase the number of programs we get.”
*“We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of, and Trump has too much common sense, so I don’t think he is going to do anything to hurt us.”
What? Now, you could call that whistling past the graveyard. Or you could consider it saying that if there’s going to be cuts, don’t hurt us. What about others who could be negatively affected by Trumps policies?
Are they paying attention? Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy -- whom Trump has chosen to lead a new nongovernmental advisory panel, the “Department of Government Efficiency” -- have said they want to trim $2 trillion from the government’s annual budget.
House Republicans are talking about $2.5 trillion in cuts in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling and avoiding the United States defaulting on its debt. Where do they think these cuts are going to come from? Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the social safety net are among the expected targets.
Trump’s pick for White House budget director was a key architect of Project 2025, which calls for big cuts to programs such as food stamps. In addition, GOP leaders in Congress and Trump advisors are considering significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps, and other federal aid, the Post reported.
Meanwhile, Trump’s proposed tax cuts skewed to favor the rich and corporations are projected to add $4.6 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. In their quest to install their pro-rich, anti-poor-and-middle-class agenda, Republicans are desperately trying to find places to cut spending to at least partially balance out their giveaways to the wealthy.
As has been said before, everything the GOP does is in pursuit of its number one goal – other than their own reelections – more for the rich, less for the poor and middle class.
Hello New Castle. Can you hear me?
***
Why don’t these people know this? And what can Democrats do about it?
A large percentage of these folks probably aren’t going to change their minds no matter what you tell them. Still, Democrats need to do a better job of trying to reach them.
New Castle is in Pennsylvania’s 16th U.S. Congressional District, where Republican Trump bootlicker/political hack Mike Kelly wins every year. That means Kelly’s bullshit in his newsletters, press releases, media interviews, and public appearances go pretty much unchallenged. There’s no strong Democratic voice(s) that I know of to counter his lies and distortions.
To be fair, I’m sure many other districts in this country are in the same boat. That boat is going to keep sinking until things change.
Also to be fair, we don’t know yet how far Trump and the Republicans will go to achieve their goals. It’s hard to cut programs that help people. For the sake of those in need, let’s hope the GOP’s actions are tempered by an understanding of the political damage they can cause them.
It sure won’t be due to any feelings of compassion. That doesn’t exist in today’s Republican Party.
The Democrats aren’t close to perfect, but they’re clearly the party that gives a damn about the poor and senior citizens in this country. You’ll see it over and over again, if you open your eyes and look.
You could make a good argument that it’s unfair to demand that folks who are struggling look past their own problems. After all, they and their family’s survival are going to be their most pressing concern.
When you’re in their situation, it’s hard to worry about other people’s possible suffering, cruelty to immigrants, the ramifications and possible deaths that can come from an American foreign policy based on isolationism, or the pending damage from the GOP’s refusal to address climate change.
I know it’s mean to insult people because of their opinions, and I’m not intending to do that, but the stakes are too high and the sources of true information too plentiful to leave such distortions unchallenged. The potential damage from a Trump administration is very real. You don’t learn this from reading the tea leaves. You learn it from reading the news.
They should know better. They need to know better. Most importantly, their country and the world need them to know better.
***
Thank you for reading my post. You can see my other writings on my blog: Musings of a Nobody. Please share and subscribe for free via email on its home page.
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