Losing trust

by | Dec 6, 2016 | Editor's Blog | 10 comments

The most disturbing and damaging aspect of the modern Republican Party is its intentional destruction of the public trust for political gain. We saw it here in Pat McCrory’s false accusations of voter fraud and voter irregularities prior to his concession yesterday. Republican election board members at both the county and state level found no evidence of fraud but, in his concession video, McCrory claimed “continued questions” about the voting process.

Over at NCGOP headquarters, Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse said that people don’t trust the process. Nationally, President-elect Donald Trump claims “millions” of people voted illegally despite no evidence. They’re setting the stage to make voting more difficult and building public support by creating false doubt about our system.

We’ve seen similar tactics throughout their tenure. When Republicans first took power in North Carolina, they made sharp cuts to the Medicaid budget despite warnings that the cuts would harm the program. When those warnings came true, GOP legislators claimed Medicaid is broken and used it as an excuse to privatize the system, despite national acclaim for our Medicaid program.

Now, Donald Trump’s political advisor Corey Lewandowski says that the press shouldn’t have believed everything Trump said. He chastised the press for reporting what Trump said “so literally.” In other words, we’re entering into a post-fact presidency.

In an interview with Kellyanne Conway, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked her if Trump using twitter to spread false information about voter fraud and to attack people was presidential. She replied since he’s President-elect, then it’s presidential behavior. They’re normalizing the spread of disinformation as a political tactic. At one time, those were the tactics of despots.

We’re at a time of great uncertainty. Technology and the global economy are changing our world by displacing workers and increasing migrations. We need leaders who can build trust, not destroy it. Trump and the GOP are exploiting fears and increasing distrust as means of pushing a political agenda.

10 Comments

  1. Ebrun

    “Undermining our Democracy,” “terrorist organization,” like Goebbels in Nazi Germany, “laying the ground work for an authoritartion coup,”—? Wow, talk about becoming unhinged over losing an election!

    I’d recommend a sedative to chill out, but I doubt there is any medical prescription that can help with such hyper paranoia and over-the-top invective. Maybe legalization of Marijuana is a good idea..

    • JC Honeycutt

      Given that the Boston Globe has just published information presented by the CIA indicating that Russia hacked into Democratic Party files & may have actually changed ballots in some states in order to facilitate Trump’s election–and that Pres. Obama put the CIA’s information before leaders of both parties in hope of counteracting the Russian maneuvers to elect Trump, but was rebuffed by Mitch McConnell & other leading Republicans–I don’t think that either a sedative or marijuana is going to be an adequate panacea for the outcome. (Particularly given that Trump has nominated McConnell’s wife for a cabinet post.) It’s one thing to accuse your neighbors of “crying wolf”: but sometimes–and it looks as if this is one of those times–there really is a wolf. The question is what we are going to do about it.

      • Norma Munn

        It will be especially interesting to see what Senators McCain and Lindsey Graham do given their regular insistence on a strong response to actions they believe undermine this country’s security. I wonder if tampering with a presidential election will qualify as a threat. Perhaps the voting was rigged, just not as Donald Trump & Co. have been saying. It is certainly becoming harder for Mr. Trump to claim a mandate — less popular votes and now the real possibility that the Russians did more than hack emails and provide selected copies to Wikileaks. Those “Not My President” signs are likely to persist.

        • Ebrun

          So now we blame the Democrats’ defeats on the Russians? LOL

          It took the left over a month to come up with that excuse. But I suppose that’s ok if it helps relieve your anxiety. You can now put your faith in your favorite agency, the CIA, to expose the injustice of it all.

          But rest assured, only dyed-in-the-wool leftists will put much stock in such fantasies. Your side lost this election at all levels and in most states. To retain your sanity, at some point you’re going to have to accept reality or remain an inconsequential force on the fringe of American politics.

  2. MyTurnNC

    You’ve got it right.
    Seems to me that the right is laying the groundwork for an authoritarian coup.
    Just look at the generals appointed in the new administration, especially at the Defense Department. Why the rush to roll back the law that generals appointed to federal positions must have been retired at least seven years?
    Between sowing distrust of democratic institutions, voter suppression, gerrymandered voting districts, destroying public education, discrediting the media and much more, the groundwork is being laid.
    This administration links corporate interests with our military.
    Things are moving even faster than I thought possible.

  3. JC Honeycutt

    Ironic to read “This Day in North Carolina History” (regarding a speech on religious liberty given by Jewish NC legislator Jacob Henry in 1809) now, when all our liberties & rights are threatened. “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.” Or, to quote Jefferson, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” (And, god knows, if anyone has experience with spreading manure, it’s Trump.) Having been born during WWII and experienced the turmoil of the 1960s, I was hoping for a relatively serene old age, living on Social Security & my small pension: apparently, however, it’s “once more into the breach” yet again.

  4. Norma Munn

    One cannot help but compare this process to Joseph Goebbels in the 1930’s Germany. The latter was considered a well educated country. One that had many proud intellectuals, scientists, writers, composers, philosophers, and over 30 Nobel laureates between 1901 and 1939. Just by way of comparison, from 1906, when Teddy Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize through 1939, the US had 23 Nobel laureates. The population of Germany in 1901 was 56.8 million: the US in 1906 was just over 85 million or 50% larger than Germany. Are we as well educated as Germany in the 1930’s? My answer is “No.” Will it be easier to mislead this country with fake news stories, lies upon lies from public officials and other leaders (especially those with the backbone of wet noodle and who have been begging the president elect for job), and a press mostly unable to handle serious factual information in depth? All the evidence of the past 18 months points to an emphatic “Yes.”

    The GOP has much to answer for in NC and across this country, but so do many Democrats who seem unable to articulate clearly where they stand and actually stand there. It is not about “message”, but about character and integrity. It is not about too much identity politics, but rather an inability to speak to the shared values, needs, fears and aspirations of our lives. We don’t mistrust just because we hear lies about the “system.” We mistrust because we hear too little accurate information clearly from those who feel they are speaking truth. We hear partisan commentary threaded through the answer to almost every question. Both the GOP elected officials and the Democrats elected officials tee off at each other and leave most of us on the side lines watching the turf war.

    It is also boring and repetitive, which is partly why the “message” is ignored. My recommendation to Cooper. Hold regular press conferences and answer questions about whatever comes up. Get out of Raleigh every week and visit every corner of this state and LISTEN. Do not make promises that you can’t keep and tell folks the truth, even when they don’t want to hear it. As for policy, forget HB2, it is not likely to be repealed at this time. But public education is vital to the economic future of NC, essential to a decent future for our children, and generally important to almost everyone, rural, suburban and city dwellers. You might win a battle or two on that front. Trust will be restored only with positive results that impact a majority of NC citizens.

    • Mr David B Scott

      Norma, Beautifully said and SO true!

  5. Someone from Main Street

    The Republican party is a terrorist organization, intent on destroying the Constitution. They stand against voting rights; they stand for voter suppression, racism, xenophobia. They stand for eliminating the rule of law in favor of the rule of the gun.

    And at the head of their party, a madman.

    Reagan, Lincoln, Eisenhower, none of these Republicans would recognize their party today – though Reagan set into motion much of the destructive political action that dominates the GOP today.

  6. Mr David B Scott

    Thomas, you have cut to the chase here! By discrediting our institutions, including the press, the Republican Party is undermining the very substrate on which our democracy is built. This invites anarchy, vigilantism, and breakdown in a civilized social order. Unbeknownst to them, this suspicion of institution will also cripple their own political party. Lose-Lose.

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