ON TWO DIFFERENT PLANETS
The 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions
By Edgar B. Anderson
LAIKS Latvian Newspaper, September 3-October 14, 2016, Volume LXVII, Numbers 33-37
This summer I had the pleasure of working as a reporter at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions – at both conventions for the eighth time since 1988 and this year for the third time since 2008 representing LAIKS.
Each Monday through Thursday in Cleveland and Philadelphia, I took the railroad into downtown from the suburban homes of my generous Latvian hosts. Security was tight in both cities. Police, some on horseback, had been brought in from far distances to help out. The train stations and even the train cars were patrolled with dogs.
On the night before the GOP convention the street in front of the central station in Cleveland was blocked by enormous trucks, which made me think of the photos of Riga during the Barricades. To be sure, this was hardly Latvia in the winter of 1991. Despite all the security measures, the GOP conventioneers, guests, visitors, and local volunteer greeters were in a buoyant mood.
The Democrats in Philadelphia, in contrast, still exhibited hard feelings between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters. In the downtown streets as well as outside and inside of the Wells Fargo Center, site of the Democratic proceedings, Bernie fans held noisy protests for the duration of the convention.
Several square blocks around Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena as well as the nearby Convention Center were cordoned off for the week, with admission permitted only by pre-arranged credentials – for press, staff, delegates, and guests. Philadelphia streets were not quite so restricted, except for the area south of downtown around the Wells Fargo Center. This year, for the first time, Secret Service clearance was required for delegates and press to access secured areas at both conventions.
My task as reporter was to learn what the politicians and delegates believed – about their favored candidates, about the suddenly controversial matter of the American commitment to NATO, about the hot button issue of immigration, and about anything else that excited them. I particularly wanted to observe the fundamental differences between the parties.
The Republicans I talked with were very worried about the future of the country. Their major concerns were radical Islamic terrorism, our porous borders, the sluggish economy, a 20 trillion dollar national debt, threats to Constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment, and the growing breakdown of law and order and attacks on the police. So-called social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage, seem to have receded somewhat as major flashpoints. The proverbial “Big Tent” was in evidence as Trump delegate Peter Thiel, the gay founder of PayPal, spoke from the podium shortly before Ivanka Trump introduced her father, and received a standing ovation.
The Democrats were concerned about completely different issues. They talked about income inequality, racism, white privilege, police brutality, a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, campaign finance reform, college costs, climate change, and fracking. The Democratic convention was also a manifestation of identity politics with daily caucuses of African-American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and LGBT delegates to whom politicians would go calling and make promises relating to the particular group’s interests. Display tables filled the hallways of the Philadelphia Convention Center staffed by activists for various causes, including Save the Children, abortion rights, Mark Zuckerberg’s open borders group, environmental protection, domestic violence, gun control, and Palestine.
My press credential allowed me to walk throughout the arena, including the convention floor, each day and evening in both Cleveland and Philadelphia and talk with many prominent political figures as well as regular delegates. I had the pleasure of meeting one of two Latvian diplomats from the Embassy in Washington D.C., who participated in briefings organized for foreign dignitaries. I also had fun spending time on Radio Row, the temporary location of scores of radio and Internet outlets. Familiar faces were everywhere: Dan Rather and Ted Koppel, Dennis Prager and Larry Elder, Carl Bernstein and Karl Rove, Jesse Jackson and Jesse Watters, Milo Yiannopoulos and Diamond and Silk, Jerry Springer and Medea Benjamin, and Ann Coulter and Roger L. Simon. GOP Convention guest Dutch Parliament party leader Geert Wilders drew attention from press and well-wishers.
Donald Trump’s statement that all NATO members must honor their financial obligations raised concern in some quarters about his commitment to the alliance and triggered controversy at both conventions. In Cleveland the Republicans backed up Trump. Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown told me, “[NATO] needs to adjust and adapt to the new threat [of terrorism]. They’re still fighting the traditional wars of men in uniforms representing a state or a country. Those [NATO] countries have to pay their fair share. We can’t continue to pay the freight. … What, we have three countries paying the full freight this last go-round? So they need to adjust and adapt to the new threat, and that means modernizing NATO. It doesn’t mean eliminating it at all, never was the intention. I know that for a fact. And I agree with that. I think they should pay their fair share, and I also believe that they should be able to modernize to fight that terrorism threat. … NATO plays a key role, but they need to play a different role. Look what’s happening in France, look what’s happening in Germany. We have to adjust and adapt.”
Former New York Senator Al D’Amato: “He [Trump] expects and rightfully so our partners in NATO do what they’re supposed to do and to be quite candid with you, they haven’t. They haven’t put up their fair share. They haven’t committed enough of their resources. We’re not there just to guarantee your protection. You got to help yourself, and so I think he’s absolutely right in saying by the way we want them to do more. … I believe that we have mishandled our relationship with the Russians for quite a while going back to Bush and continuing now. Our natural allies in my belief can and should be the Russians in the battle against the extremist fundamentalists. … And, by the way, you don’t ask someone to help you while you’re poking them in the eye publically for things that you shouldn’t be. You want to talk about human rights? Talk about it behind the scenes. Don’t poke Putin in the eye with one finger and then ask him to help you with Iran on the other hand. Doesn’t make sense. And that goes back to Bush and that carries through with this President.”
New York Congressman Peter King: “{About Trump] the best assurance that I can give is that he picked Mike Pence. Mike Pence is a foreign affairs expert. He’s on the foreign affairs committee, he believes in strong American foreign policy, he’s not going to be at all intimidated by Putin, and he has a very realistic hard-nosed approach to American foreign policy, and so I would say that the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia would be well protected by a Trump Administration, particularly with Mike Pence in the room.”
Donald Trump confidant and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions: “Well, yes, we are going to honor the NATO commitment. And we’ve already stepped up this year our contribution to Europe’s defense, which should have been only done when Europe matched it. But we didn’t. We gave another 3.4 billion dollars. So we’re moving troops into the Baltics. I love the Latvians and the Baltic nations. They got such a good spirit. And they’re doing better than the rest of Europe in helping fund their own defense. So I think this is an important thing. And I don’t know if there’s any possibility of our having a breakthrough with Russia. We’ve tried before and it didn’t work. But I think it’s illogical and against good common sense that we have as much hostility as we do with the Russians. And somehow they need to calm down a little bit, and we need to have a lot more positive relationship that would benefit both Europe and Russia. It makes no sense from my perspective. Of course, I’m not on the border like the Baltics and Poland and other countries. I’m not there. But hopefully somehow it would be great if we had a breakthrough. It may not. There can be no erosion of our support for our Baltic allies in Latvia to try to get a deal with Russia. That’s not negotiable.”
Some Democrats condemned Donald Trump. California Congresswoman Maxine Waters: “I think when Donald Trump made that statement you saw our leaders come quickly to say that we’re committed to our allies and that they are to understand that that commitment cannot be broken by a Donald Trump. He doesn’t know what he is talking about.” New York Senator Chuck Schumer: “Well, I don’t know if he’s such a friend of NATO. I think all Latvians should tell the Latvian-Americans to be wary of Trump.” Retiring California Senator Barbara Boxer: “The NATO alliance is very sacred. If you believe that we should stand by our friends and allies in Europe and abide by our NATO commitment, you need to vote for Hillary Clinton and not Donald Trump because he’s going to walk away.” One of the two Senate candidates on the November ballot in California and Boxer’s possible successor, State Attorney General Kamala Harris, had this to say about the NATO commitment, “I believe that it remains and should be strong and that we cannot neglect the promise that we’ve made to our neighbors and friends around the globe, and we will stand with them and at the very least work together as a global community and work with a priority around engagement.”
Dennis Kucinich, former Ohio Congressman took a radically different position from his fellow Democrats (as well as the Republicans) which he was eager to expound upon at length: “The United States’ position should be that it deals with the Baltic countries directly and not through NATO. I don’t want NATO making decisions for the United States of America, period. NATO has an interest in increasing its budget, in making itself relevant. We’ve got to be careful that NATO is not used to restart the Cold War and to therefore put the people of the Baltics in jeopardy. You know, the people in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are not pawns in some kind of geopolitical game. They have a right to live in peace and security, and no one should come on their doorstep and start to rattle sabers from any side. This isn’t a tug of war. Let the Baltics be the Baltics without the interference of any other nation.”
Kucinich continued, “Let the U.S. be involved directly with the Baltics without another organization whose actions can be used to inflame a situation in order to justify its continued existence. To my way of thinking NATO is a scam. And so they milk the countries of the Baltics for more money. It’s like a protection racket. And then they get that money and they want to stir stuff up and pretend they’re protecting the Baltics from Russia. … In the Congress of the United States I have been a very strong supporter of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, their independence, their security, their ability to chart their own course as a nation. And those three countries have had some brilliant leaders who have created economic models which are important for the whole world. But you cannot create a solid economic model which delivers health care and education and economic security if you have to keep paying more and more money for your military. And the fact of the matter is the United States’ relationship with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia can and should be the guarantee. I see NATO as being an anachronism. Their mission has gone beyond the North Atlantic, and it’s time for re-evaluation of its relevancy.”
On another major issue, immigration, the parties could not have been farther apart. The Republicans support border security and legal immigration. The Democrats back “a path to citizenship” for the 10-15 million people in the US illegally, and, judging from what their speakers had to say, the Democrats make little or no distinction between legal and illegal immigration.
A portion of the first evening of the Democratic Convention was set aside to salute people living in the United States illegally. A “dreamer” (a child brought into the country in violation of U.S. laws) addressed the delegates from the podium. A young girl born in the United States to illegal immigrants also spoke, followed by her undocumented mother. Their messages may have been mostly in Spanish, but the final few words were unmistakably in English: “Hillary Clinton for President!” The Democrats gave them a rousing ovation.
In contrast the Republicans highlighted the immigration issue with speeches by three parents, Mary Ann Mendoza, Sabine Durden, and Jamiel Shaw, whose children were killed by illegal aliens. African-American Shaw spoke about his 17-year old son, Jamiel Jr., who was shot and killed in front of the family home by an illegal alien gang member whom Los Angeles authorities had just released from jail. The major news networks blanked out these appearances, but Donald Trump cited their cases in his acceptance speech. In addition, Trump mentioned Kate Steinle, the young woman who was shot and killed by a five times-deported illegal alien who had been let loose onto the streets by the sanctuary city of San Francisco.
Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio spoke for many of the GOP delegates when he said, “I’m the sheriff, I’m the chief law enforcement for Maricopa County, which is larger than 19 states, but my mother and father came here from Italy legally. So you just have to obey the law. If you don’t like the laws, change them.” Why is it important to uphold the law? “It’s very simple. You have to have some control of your country. You have to know who’s coming in, for many reasons. For example, Mexico isn’t just for illegal immigration. That’s where all the drugs are coming from that nobody talks about. We don’t care about the drugs coming into our country from Mexico? My whole life for 55 years has been really fighting the drug problem in Turkey, the Middle East, Mexico City. I could go on and on. But nobody talks about drugs. Trump now talks that the wall is for the drugs too, not for illegal immigration. I’m very concerned about Europe that they took away the borders. … I said years ago, it’s going to come back on them and it is coming back on them. That’s a good example why you need borders, and to be a sovereign country you need someone surrounding that country with personnel to see who’s coming in. The other thing is why are they complaining? Unfortunately in this country you need fences and walls in your own house, you need burglar alarms, you need canine dogs, you need all this security in our own homes, and you worry about the country? That doesn’t make sense.”
Former California Democratic Governor Gray Davis took a quite different approach to the immigration issue as he explained his views: “I think the President is on the right track. First of all, we need border security. I think this year there was a net migration zero, nobody coming in from Mexico. I do think we need a path to citizenship. And I am hopeful that with a President Clinton and hopefully a Democratic Senate and a Paul Ryan that I think wants to get one or two achievements under his belt we can actually get something done on immigration. But we need to understand we are all God’s children. If people obey the rules, they come into this country, they pay taxes, they learn the language, they have to pay a fine, they take a decade, but they should have the hope that they can eventually become a citizen.” But what does this say to the people, such as the Latvian immigrants after World War II, who waited their turn in line, sometimes many years, and those, and I know some, who are waiting in the Philippines patiently and yet they see people who jumped to the head of the line offered a path to citizenship? “I wish there were no inequities in life. I was elected, re-elected, and recalled so when I spoke to the graduating class at Columbia Law School I said to the students, ‘I want you to remember three observations. School is fair, life is not. Just learn to deal with it.’ … In a perfect world no one would ever get in front of anyone in line.”
Another chasm between the parties was on the matter of race. At the Republican Convention Trump supporter African-American Sheriff of Milwaukee County David A. Clarke, Jr., began his speech, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to make something very clear: Blue Lives Matter!” The delegates responded with a roar of approval. He continued with a fervent defense of law enforcement and the importance of “Making America Safe Again.” Clarke has been a strong critic of the Black Lives Matter movement in the aftermath of the numerous recent murders of police officers around the country.
The Democrats were supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement. In a video shown to delegates Hillary Clinton charged that America suffers from “systemic racism.” The convention then proceeded to honor “The Mothers of the Movement” and brought onto the stage several women whose children had lost their lives, in most cases, at the hands of law enforcement. The mother of Trayvon Martin spoke. Among the other women the Democrats recognized was Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown, the 19-year old who was shot by a Ferguson, Missouri, policeman after, according to the findings of the Obama Justice Department, assaulting the officer in his patrol car. The delegates gave these women a standing ovation, along with shouts of “Black Lives Matter."
In response to my questions the next evening, Kweisi Mfume, former head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, although not himself involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, had the following to say: “I just think that Black Lives Matter, they just haven’t always mattered which is why in fact there’s been such an emphasis by groups of people across the country to underscore that. It does not diminish in any way Blue Lives or Nurses’ Lives or First Responders’ Lives. It’s just that in this instance the issue came about because of the number of unfortunate tragedies that were happening to black men, many of them, in my opinion, innocent. … I think what has created a harsh edge on all this unfortunately has been the very, very unfortunate murders of police officers here recently and the very unfortunate kind of dialogue that’s back and forth, whether it’s yelling or shouting down protestors or protestors yelling and shouting down a speaker. The bottom line is that the concept came out of a real and honest means of expression.” He lamented the fact that numerous efforts to deal with the high inner city black-on-black crime rate as well as the crisis of so many fatherless homes in the African-American community simply don’t receive the media attention that he said they deserve.
THE REPUBLICAN DELEGATES. I interviewed numerous regular Republican delegates in Cleveland, and here follows a representative sampling of what they had to say.
Felix Vega, delegate from Los Angeles who works in the real estate development business, explained his support of Trump, “When you analyze his motives, Donald Trump has all the money in the world. He’s got a beautiful family. He’s got a beautiful wife. He’s got a lot of power. He’s got everything he already needs, and when you think about it, why would a man want to risk and endanger himself and his family and take on a responsibility like this unless he had pure motives? … I really believe that Donald Trump loves America. I really believe that his motives are good, his motives are pure, and I believe that he will put America first.” Vega’s issues are “safety, the deficit, bringing jobs back to the country.” On immigration – “I’m Latino – and it’s a big issue in the Latino community, and he [Trump] is facing these problems head-on. He’s not a procrastinator. He’s going to have some solutions to the problems that are facing America. I believe he thinks out of the box. People are fed up with Washington. … We have an existing problem. People who want to come to the United States are welcome. But we need for them to come legally. It’s not a good life for your family to come illegally. I know many immigrants that are here illegally. Many of them are friends that I’ve known for many years. … Donald Trump will deal with them fairly, and he will come up solutions so that this problem won’t continue to be a cancer.” About NATO, “America needs to do the right thing for America [and] doing what’s right for America is going to make America stronger, and it’s going to help other countries, and I tell you, if you’re an ally of Donald Trump, he’s going to be loyal to you. It’s not going to be like it is now. “
Self-described fifty-year “conservative activist” Morton Blackwell of Virginia said he has hired many interns from the Baltic States in his Leadership Institute over the years and that he travelled to the Baltics in 1991 to meet with anti-Communist activists. “I strongly think that the United States should defend Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. I think it needs to be done. I suspect that Putin has designs on reabsorbing those Baltic republics, which would be an awful tragedy.” About Trump on this subject, “I don’t know if he has spoken specifically about what responsibility or obligations the United States has in the Baltic Republics. He does not seem to be the kind of person who would allow himself or the country to be pushed around.” On immigration, “I believe that we have to have borders or we don’t have a county, and we have to enforce those borders in order for that country to remain sovereign. So it would seem to me that more than any other current era politicians Trump would deliver on promises to secure the border.”
Maria Teresa Mayer, of Portland Oregon, originally from the Philippines, said that she was drawn to support Ted Cruz because of “his Christian upbringing, and he quoted a couple of Scriptures, and I felt that he spoke to me at that time, especially when he said, ‘This is our time.’ … I felt some quickening in my heart. … It has something to do with Christian values in my perspective, and it was time to rise up as a Christian and be counted.” Now she backs Donald Trump. “I am against illegal immigration, and I believe in the rules. And it’s first come, first serve. … You don’t’ let anyone just cut you in line. If it’s your turn, then it has to be your turn. So if it’s the Latvian people’s turn to come, I think they should take that, and America should welcome them here. …. If you are here illegally you have to go back to the end of the line and start back there.” About NATO, “I feel that if the United States made a commitment they have to come through with that because that’s also integrity and that’s what our country is known about, a country of integrity, and we do what we say we will do.”
Maria Zack, of Atlanta, who owns an IT company and a government affairs company, chaired a SuperPac for Ted Cruz but was assigned by the party as a Marco Rubio alternate delegate. She now supports Trump: “Well, certainly knowing what’s happening in the world and what’s happening in the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party has left and gone so far out of the ordinary out of the extreme that America will not be safe under their direction, under their leadership, they’ve already proven with Benghazi, and we are not growing jobs under the Democrat agenda, so as friends of mine they have all said ‘Look, I’m not political, but we can’t continue with our country going downward,’ and so there is this movement that we want to restore the American culture that we love and cherish, our religious liberties, they want to be able to have jobs. I believe Donald Trump will win and defeat [Clinton] handily.”
“Minister of the love of Jesus Christ” Nathan Paikai, Hawaii delegation chair, knows Latvia from his time living in Europe spreading the Gospel. He explained why he supported Donald Trump from the very beginning: “First of all, Hillary’s going to take the country down. Her character does not match the character of a President.” About Trump, “He’s a Godly father, he’s a businessman, he loves America first and foremost, he loves the police department, he loves the military, he will not let anybody die in another country that we went to serve. … He’s a man of his word. And he’s a father, a grandfather, and he wants the best for the people of America. And that’s why I’m asking all of America and the world to get behind him. Why did we give Barack Hussein Obama a chance, and he did nothing but cause chaos and more wars and racial divide? Mr. Trump has not done any of that.” When I mentioned how touching it was to see all the Trump children lined up watching as their father went over the top in the delegate count, Paikai responded only by moving his fingers down his cheeks to show the tears that he had shed.
Judy Schwalbach, a self-employed kitchen designer, from Escanaba, Michigan, “I ran as delegate for John Kasich, and now I am in full support of Donald Trump.” She praised Trump as a negotiator. “Do we really want somebody that’s going to sing Kumbaja or somebody who’s going to go in there and cut a really good deal for the U.S. A.?” On NATO, “The United States leads, and we remember our friends, and we never turn our back on people no matter what. Throughout history we have always been the supporters of the world, and the world is healthier when the United States is leading.” Schwalbach is a naturalized American citizen adopted from Canada. “I believe we are a country of laws and that we need to follow those laws. If I go through a stop sign I get a ticket. You mean to tell me that you can come over the border and you’re not going to get a ticket – you’re not going to get sent back? I think that’s very disrespectful of our country. And I think you need to pledge allegiance to this country when you come here, and you mean it, and you need to speak the English language, at least to a certain degree. And I don’t want people to lose their ethnicity either. Because French-Canadian I am, and my grandmother was French Canadian, and she taught me how to speak. My memere was important to me.”
Legendary 91-year old Phyllis Schlafly, a Missouri delegate: “Well, I’m thrilled with what’s happening. I endorsed Trump early. I felt he’s the best one to kick the kingmakers away and stop them from giving us a series of losers and have the gumption and the energy to be elected. And so I’ve been for Trump all along.” About her longtime vocal support of the Baltic States, “Yes, I was a big supporter of protecting our allies and having our friends being able to rely on us. That’s why I’ve always supported not just a strong national defense but military superiority. We have to be the biggest and the best so our friends will rely on us and our enemies will be afraid of us.”
Shirley Husar of Los Angeles has worked in real estate and technology: “I was given one of the most amazing honors as I was to cast the votes of all of California’s 172 delegates for Donald Trump.” Why Trump, especially in the African-American community? “It is so important that people identify that this man understands not only the vision of what America is about, he brought Pence in tonight and we see the balance and everybody likes Mike. He [Trump] is a man who understands that he is becoming the world leader. They need to see a man who understands the vision, the purpose, the fortitude that it takes to make America great again.” What issues really motivate you? “Urban communities. Many urban communities right now are blighted by leadership that has been governing for the last 40 years. … The people in the urban communities are hurting. They can’t find jobs. We have a miscommunication between the police and the people on the streets. So if we can bring that unity together and make everyone safe in America, that will make a better America.” What do you say about the Democratic Party that honors illegal immigrants while this party honors the victims of illegal immigrant crime? “I know Mr. Shaw [whose son was killed by an illegal alien]. I grew up in that neighborhood. Jamiel Shaw, Sr. went out to the urban communities. He talked to [Los Angeles Democratic politicians] Karen Bass, Maxine Waters, Ridley-Thomas, and he asked for some kind of support. And instead they backed up illegal immigration. They backed up bills that did not really support their own community, which was very shocking and appalling. Look, 40 years of oppression from the communities under a regime of the Democratic Party that doesn’t want to really support inner city growth of small businesses but instead expand government programs. … Under the President Trump, you’re going to see someone who understands that people are valued no matter what ethnic background, no matter what race, if you do it legally and you understand that this country is governed by laws.”
Emily Gruenhagen of Glencoe, Minnesota, supported Ted Cruz: “I believe Cruz has the most depth of understanding, I believe he has the most experience, I believe he is the most articulate, I believe he is the most principled, I believe he is the most trusted, and I share his values the most.” And now? “Well, I don’t want Hillary Clinton for President. I believe that the Clinton Administration has been terribly corrupt, and I don’t trust her at all. I don’t believe she has America’s best interests in mind, and I do believe that Donald Trump does.” What issues particularly concern you? “Religious liberty is one that really pushes my buttons, also Second Amendment rights and our Constitution in general, anything that infringes on our Constitutional rights. … The problem is we don’t realize how socialism is creeping upon us. And, of course, I’ve heard it said that the difference between socialism and communism is a bayonet. … But socialism is creeping on our nation. And, you know, this election is so crucial. I don’t know that we can ever quite bring it back unless we win. And that’s one of the reasons that Hillary must not win because we might be beyond the point of return. And once America’s has gone to socialism where will be people go? There will no place for people to flee anymore. We are like the last hope.”
Carl Paladino of Buffalo, attorney and real estate developer, chair of the New York State Trump campaign, and GOP candidate for Governor in 2010: What drew you to Trump? “He’s been a personal friend for a few years, and I like him. I like his style. I like his substance of issues. And we’re much the same type of person. We’re the type that goes out and does the right thing. We make promises, we keep them. Honest, credible, character. It’s our nature. And I was right on board the first day he announced.” What does the public not really know about Donald Trump that you know as a close friend? “Well, I asked him a few years ago why he wanted to run for President. And he said, ‘Carl, I’ve had all the success you could have in private life. I’ve raised a great family. I’m very proud of everything that I’ve done. I know that I can do things that other people can only think of. And I believe that America is entitled to something better.’ And he says, ‘I can do it.’ And I said, ‘I know you can do it,’ and we’ve been friends since that day. I think what you’ve heard from Melania last night and what you’re hearing from his children he’s a guy that when he makes a promise he’s very determined. He’ll find a solution to the problem, and he will perform on his promises. And when you get a person of that kind of character, not just laying high platitudes out there and making promises you can’t keep, you’ve got to turn to the logical choice, and I think that’s where the American people will turn as we get into November.”
Paladino continued, “The Washington elitists have taken us so far off track that they’ve given us right now no option but to just get them out of there. The American people finally woke up and said, ‘The media has been telling us how to think, how to react to things, and we’re done with that. We can’t buy that song anymore. It doesn’t ring in our ears anymore. We want constructive change.’ That’s why you see the people committed to Trump are committed, with a vengeance committed, because they’ve identified that connection, and they know that the nonsense can’t continue. The progressive movement was born to die. It’s had great success. They gave us political correctness. They told us you can’t say ‘Merry Christmas,’ and we accepted it blindly as a society, but something happened when Donald Trump came on the scene. The people engaged, and as they engaged they went and they spread the word that this man is no nonsense. You may not like his style. You may not like how he looks. You may not like his hair. Who cares? Because he’s the guy that can do the job. And he’ll do it for the people. He’s a leader of men. He’s a born leader of men.”
THE DEMOCRATIC DELEGATES. In Philadelphia I was also able to interview many regular Democratic delegates, a good number of whom were still standing by their support of Bernie Sanders. Here is a representative sampling of their comments.
Nazda Alam of Weston, Massachusetts, works for the State of Massachusetts as a clinical social worker and is an adjunct college teacher and was a Clinton delegate. “I was a Hillary supporter in 2008 so it’s not new and this year is important. I am a Muslim delegate, and I am also the Chair of the Massachusetts Muslim Voter Registration Project, and I am the Co-chair of the National Muslim Voter Registration Project. This we’ve been doing since 2008, but this year is so important because of Donald Trump’s rhetoric against Muslim immigrants and other minority communities. And that is so Un-American, undemocratic, and it is dangerous. So at this time … I organize the Muslims to vote for Hillary, and then Democratic leaders we decide to stop Donald Trump and unite all the minorities. “ Aside from the Muslim issue what makes you a Democrat for Hillary? “We made history by electing the first African-American President in this country. We wanted to make history by electing the first female President of the United States.” But what issues? “Women’s rights, equal pay, health care, education, everything for the middle class and lower income class. How equal pay? “Right now women earn 73 cents for the dollar the men earn, and Hillary has the policy for equal pay for equal job. She has a detailed plan, but the bottom line the people want to see that happen. And this year Hillary Clinton also came more like left than middle because of Bernie Sanders, and I personally feel that this is the best time for the Democrats to come together on the progressive issues.” Alam suggested that the Ferguson, Missouri, policeman should have been more restrained and didn’t need to kill Michael Brown. She defended Brown as “a symbol. It’s happening everywhere. You see in the last days how many innocent black people have been killed. … All Lives Matter, it is the universal truth. But we are focusing Black Lives Matter means stop discrimination – it’s not only killing – but Black Lives Matter means living situation, jobs, education.”
Kim Saylor, from Indianapolis, Indiana, was a Bernie Sanders delegate. “I’ve been a single mom since I was 19. I’ve never gotten a dime of child support. I’ve had what most people would call a rough life. I am definitely the 99%. And Bernie’s values and his core beliefs and the way he inspired people just inspired me to support him, and he spoke to me with what he was about and what he was about never changed. Her key issues: “$15 per hour, the stop the TPP issues, things that are going to ruin the environment and ruin my children’s future as far as I am concerned Bernie is willing to fight for.” About the illegal immigrants, “I believe that there’s a reason that they’re here illegally, and I think that we should set up programs to help them become legal immigrants instead of throwing them back to the problems that they have.” On the race issue, “I think it’s come to the point in our country the reason that [Michael Brown’s] mother can be honored is because the fact that racism still exists in 2016. She’s become a spokesperson. The Black Lives Matter group they need change because it is white privilege in America. All day long it’s white privilege against black lives. It’s white privilege against lesbians and bisexuals and gays. If you don’t fit into the norm of what America is supposed to be, then you have to fight for your rights in America, and the Black Lives Matter people are just fighting for their rights, and that was the case that they used.”
Audrey Blondin of Litchfield, Connecticut, explained her decision to run as a delegate for Bernie Sanders: “First and foremost his passion about leveling the playing field as far as income equality is concerned. I live in Connecticut. There’s terrible disparity between the wealthier southern part of the state in Fairfield County as opposed to where I practice law in Torrington. It’s a lot of poverty. That really resonates with me. Student load debt – I have three children who have more than $1/2 million in student loan debt.” How do we deal with income inequality? By what means? “I think creating more better paying and more middle class jobs, which I think both Hillary and Bernie are focused on. I think, for example, that transportation bill that’s been languishing around. Like when we came down here on 95 – I went to law school here in Philadelphia, at Temple – I said to my husband – and they were building 95 40 years ago – I said to my husband as we drove down 95 they haven’t done one thing to upgrade or repair this 95 in 40 years. And that’s just right here. The airports, the bridges. There’s so much that needs to be done.” They’re government-funded projects. “Government is to provide for the people. I’m not, obviously being a Democrat, I’m not a fan of less government. I’m a fan of more government. I’m a fan of universal health insurance. That’s another thing that Bernie is very supportive of – single payer. It’s what Hillary started to do back in the day. President Obama has made some good steps, and it needs to continue. Huge issues. Government, in my opinion, is there for the good of the people. It’s not there to go away.” Back to your point about college costs. Nothing has gone up more than college costs. Could that be partly the fault of the colleges? “Well, I’ll give you an example. My oldest son is a physician. … When he started Yukon Medical School in 2004 the tuition was $10,000. When he graduated the tuition was $40,000. Now I don’t know what it is.” Well, maybe the university should answer for that. I believe that in California where I come from there are now more administrators in the University of California than teachers, and yet the University is begging for more money. “Well, this is why Bernie has proposed state colleges tuition free. There can be some restructuring. Money can be used differently and in other ways in order to serve the people.”
Nancy Wanderer, Falmouth, Maine, was a Hillary Clinton delegate. Why Hillary over Trump? “The first reason that most people give is that we can’t possibly have Trump as President, and that is a good reason.” And the reason they say that? “Well, they say that because he is totally unsuited to be President. And I don’t think that he even intended to be President. I think he just wanted to get publicity and have a good time and get more publicity for himself and then something weird happened and he actually got voted for. I don’t think he even wants to be President. You know, he’s already talking about other people doing the job for him.” Wanderer continued, “Hillary, on the other hand, has been preparing for something like this – it didn’t have to be this – something to make a major contribution her whole life, and I know that because I went to college with her. I’ve known her for 51 years so I saw what she did in college. … She tutored minority children in the inner city of Boston. She did a lot of campaign work on the campus to make Wellesley College a better place with more liberal social rules and also academic rules she updated that. I worked with her on a lot of these things. She became our college government president, the senate president. And she gave a fantastic commencement speech that I think most people have heard of. … She followed Senator Edward Brooke, who was our official commencement speaker who said – this is during the Vietnam War, it was 1969 – he said everything is fine, and these young people who are protesting and demonstrating are just selfish, and they don’t even know how good they’ve got it. They should just home and get a job and cut it out. And, of course, we were all very upset to hear him say this, but what could we do? And Hillary got up – she was our student choice as a commencement speaker and took him on and said – she had a speech prepared and she did eventually give that speech – but she started with a direct rebuttal to what he said and how young people of the time – this was, you know, when we were in our 20s back in 1969 – you know, that what we were doing was going to be making a difference and that we did have something to contribute and that the world wasn’t so good right now.”
In regard to Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments as a diplomat, “I think the major thing that she did was to re-establish some respect for our country in the world. I think George Bush – you know – people didn’t trust him, they didn’t think he was even smart enough to be President. And I think she went and she listened to people, and she did the best she could to get peace between different groups. And I know people say that she was too hawkish in some instances, but I think she did her homework, and I trust her that what she decided to do was the right thing to do.” On immigration, “One of the best things about Hillary is that she’s looking for a way to help immigrants come and become Americans. That’s been her goal all along.” About the death of Kate Steinle and similar cases of illegal alien crime, Wanderer said, “I don’t think we have enough people to keep good track of what some of the immigrants are doing. It’s terrible when someone slips through the cracks like that, but it’s the exception, it’s not the rule – and the thousands and millions of immigrants who come and help build this country, and to cite one to two or ten or 100 or even 1000 is still a small fraction of the good people who come as immigrants, and we do have to allow them to come and welcome them.”
Robert Shearer, Humboldt County in Northern California: “I support Senator Sanders because he has brought forth all the issues that I have fought for my entire life. I’ve been an activist since I was 13 fighting for social and environmental justice and what Sanders has done is expose the intersectionality of countless economic, social, and environmental justice issues that are now united under the umbrella of the political revolution, and we’re going to carry that in the future by infiltrating the Democratic Party and taking over all of the positions from local level to the top, and we’re going to continue to fight in the streets, and we’re going to use an inside outside strategy to push the party to the left and reclaim American democracy for the American people and for the climate.” Specific issues: “I want health care for all. I think that every American, every human being, deserves the right to quality health care. And this convention right here is sponsored by major Republican donors and anti-Obamacare lobbyists paid for the Democratic Convention and now – I’m speculating – but that’s how come we couldn’t get health care for all into the Democratic platform. I think Americans are pretty sure now when there’s money going into big politics that it is corrupting it, which I think this is one of those instances. … Now another issue I stand behind is climate change. This is a climate crisis, this is not just climate change. When any candidate is taking millions from the fossil fuel industry we cannot count on them to rein those industries in and to tax carbon and to ban fracking and the science is clear. We need to keep the oil in the ground or we’re going to push the climate over the limit. 99% of scientists agree with that. I think even the Hillary delegates will agree we need to keep the oil in the ground.”
Don Bye, delegate from Duluth, Miinnesota, supported Hillary Clinton: “She has the best chance to lead us. I support whoever is as far left as close to socialism as we have, as close to a labor party in Europe, who I think can win, and I think that she can win. … I vote as far left as can be elected.” What do you mean by ‘left’? “More socialized, more Democratic, more the common man. We are our brother’s keeper. Single payer, socialized medicine absolutely. I’d like to see some incentive, the remnants of capitalism, some incentive, but not corporate American that we have too much of, not money in politics.” He cited as models “the Northern European countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland. Denmark – it might be my Norwegian heritage. … We grew up with the Christian background. We help our neighbors, we help each other, we help those who cannot take care of themselves.” On money in politics, “I’d outlaw that. I would limit the money that could be spent in campaigns – take as much time as want to campaign but not money, not the advertising. … I would limit campaign donations. … I would have public financing of campaigns.”
Clinton delegate Lou Weaver of Houston, Texas, works as Transgender Programs Coordinator for Equality Texas, a lobbying group. What is your number one issue that you think Hillary Clinton can move forward on? “The Equality Act – We need employment, we need housing and accommodations for everybody, for all residents of the United States, to be able to feel safe, to know that they can go to work and provide for their families, to know that they can keep a roof over their heads. Those are important priorities for us, for everybody.” Are you talking about a non-discrimination law? “Yes, a non-discrimination act for everybody. It’s got to protect all people who live in the United States.” What other issues are you concerned about? “Health care – making sure everybody in the United States has access to adequate health care. Health care and prescriptions cause a lot of people to become homeless if they cannot take care of those bills when they need adequate medical care. Then that becomes a problem. … We have to make sure that our people have access to care.” Well, Medicare, they say, is on its way to bankruptcy as it is now. Social Security is headed to bankruptcy also. Tremendous costs ahead for the baby boomer generation that’s retiring. Everybody wants what you want. But where do we get the money? How do we do this? “I’m not an economic person. I am a person who likes to talk to people. But I think we need to figure out where we’re spending our money, where we’re putting it, who we give tax breaks to, whether it’s companies, whether we’re outsourcing companies to other countries and not providing employment for our people here in the United States. I think we need to take a whole look at what our system has become and who we are holding accountable. And I’m not talking politicians. I’m talking businesses, I’m talking people. We need to start taking care of our own. And that’s our priority.”
Lil Ortendahl of Osakis, Minnesota, enthusiastically supported Hillary Clinton: “Because I trust her, because she’s a woman. She’s assertive like I have been. I’m 81 years old, and I’ve served my community well, raised a large family, been in business, and I’ve been 48 years in the trenches holding all the jobs I possibly could for the Democratic Party because I believe the Democratic Party works for everyone, tries to bring everybody up, not just a few who get wealthy at the top and kind of forget the rest of society. Some of them have experienced everyday things like we have, but many of them have not. They come from wealthy backgrounds or they inherit the business or a farm in the family, and so it’s a lot easier to make mistakes and work hard if you know that you got a half million or a million dollars standing behind what you’re doing,” What do you think her greatest achievements have been as a politician and a diplomat? “Well, I think she listens, and I think she tries to find a solution whether it’s an individual problem or a family problem or a business problem or for a whole group of people.”
THE PEOPLE AND THE MEDIA. The sharp differences between the two political parties are the greatest they have been in a very long time. Indeed, Republicans and Democrats today often seem to be living on different planets. This situation is aggravated by a change as well in the news media, which Americans in the past have expected would inform them fairly and objectively about politics.
On the final night of the Democratic Convention I spoke with Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune and The McLaughlin Group, who observed, “We can see demographically that the parties have moved farther apart because their constituents have moved farther apart, and some of us in the media, not all, but some of us in the media are more polarized. When I came into journalism we all tried to be objective, balanced, and all that. Nowadays we’re more like the European press traditionally. You have your left publications and websites and your right publications and websites. And so people can now insulate themselves from any view that disagrees with theirs. So if you happen to be slightly liberal you can just hear lots of liberal to leftwing all the time, same on the right. So we kind of cultivate this polarization now, and we have less and less dialogue between right and left, and that results in some exaggerated hero worship on both sides.”
I hope that this report provides some useful insights into the hearts and minds of those civic-minded citizens who chose to participate in our political process in these troubled and dangerous times.
Edgar B. Anderson is a graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Law School. He lives in Los Angeles.
