Although counting late votes will continue in vain, Donald J. Trump is our next president.
In what had to be considered a landslide, the nightmare of name-calling, divisiveness, and hatred must now stop. If ever a country needs to unite, it’s now. It didn’t matter who the president was going to be. Republican or Democrat. Trump or Kamala Harris. We need to be civil Americans. Somebody needed to bring respect and grace back to the national conversation.
No more calling each other fascists or stupid. No more impeachments or indictments. No more assassination attempts, calling opponents sleepy, incompetent, lazy or scary.
The word “Nazi” should never be part of our political process.
If you want to use stars like Oprah Winfrey to make endorsements, never allow them to say, “We don't get to sit this one out. If we don't show up (Tuesday, Nov. 5), it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again."
Are you suggesting a Trump win will do away with the Amendments?
It's easy for her followers to be enamored by her star power.
That’s the problem when you surround yourself with Oprah, Tyler Perry, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Amber Rose, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Mick Jagger and will.i.am. They don’t feel the pain at the grocery store. They don’t face the decision of whether to be late on the rent or the electric payment, and they aren’t going without health insurance.
Of course, Trump stirred the pot by describing Harris about the number of illegal immigrants who’ve crossed the border. At the same time, she’s been the vice president, “only a mentally impaired person could have allowed this to allow this to happen to our country.”
Let’s move all this behind us. No more bravado. No more finger-pointing. It’s time we all reach out and hold hands. Our problems require all of us to work together to find a solution.
The economy is a genuine issue. Price-gauging is easy to blame, but the reality is several major grocery chains have ordered suppliers to lower their prices or risk having their products removed from their shelves. Carrefour removed PepsiCo from their shelves in Europe for “unacceptable” price increases. Carrefour has more than 14,400 stores in France, Brazil, Spain, Belgium and Italy. PepsiCo has soda, Lay’s chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton Tea, Gatorade, 7UP, Doritos and Ruffles.
Walmart also pushed back on some of its suppliers to lower its prices or be removed from its stores.
When did prices go up? When energy prices jumped. When we stop importing oil, start drilling and resume exporting oil, energy prices will drop, and that will affect the cost of transporting goods from the fields, plants, warehouses and stores.
It’s also in the country’s best interest to put America first when we trade with other countries. There’s no reason we should pay less in tariffs – and they’re not taxed like many of the commercials suggested before the election – than other countries pay, which is not in our best interest. I like the idea of using tariffs instead of soldiers, which is a threat to get a country to get what it wants.
Just because one candidate won doesn’t mean the other candidate lost. Both ideas matter. When we throw out the hyperbole, we can have a severe conversation where solid solutions are creations.
We must first get past the political hypertension of the political season and move on to better times.
Looking ahead, we must demand future candidates to focus on policies, not personalities. Tell them we will turn our attention elsewhere when they make it personal.
I get enough smear tactics at my Homeowners Association meeting.
