Political news continues to intrigue me and the stuff coming out of Washington and aired on national television absolutely amazes me. Another of Trump's foot-in-the-mouth comments , this one on the subject of integration, was the primary topic of the Friday evening Public Broadcasting Network's program "Washington Week." Since the death of longtime host and moderator Gwen Ifill, Robert Costas has gradually filled her role. Friday's program also included representatives from two newspapers ("The Washington Post" and "The New York Times"), one major network television news network (CNN) and a news magazine ("Politico"). The discussion centered on how all areas of the political realm will handle Trump's comments concerning immigration from predominately black countries (Haiti and some African nations) that he reportedly slandered during a meeting. The words repeatedly used to describe Trump's s*** word description of the countries included 'vile,' 'racist' and 'derogatory to the nation when the meeting was reported on various CNN shows during their daytime news programs.
The "Washington Week" panel did an excellent job of discussing the possible ramifications to the Republican Party, to our National immigration policy, and how the Democratic Party would likely use the opportunity. The discussion included the possible effect it might have out in America's heartland among Trump supporters.
The purpose of this article is not to determine if our president actually said what he is accused of saying. Based on his "down to earth" language in the past, it is highly probable that he did. However, he denies using the "s" word which was reported by a participant in the meeting -- Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois. In all fairness to the president, one of the major late evening news casts on Fox used examples of recorded speech from the senator showing that the senator had not always reported events as they actually happened. So, my question is not whether the president actually used the word that Sen. Durbin made a major political issue. My real question is centered on "where do I go to get a meaningful, unbiased, report of the true meaning of the news as it is reported to main street America?"
My answer to that question, in this case at least, is the Friday evening PBS program "Washington Week." A CNN employee was a member of the "Washington Week" panel and CNN had been the network that harped on the comment in every program that I saw all day Friday and even into their evening news programs.
The issue being discussed during the Trump-chaired meeting was a general question "how do we handle our immigration issues?" To date the question about building a border wall has not been resolved because no money has been allocated to build a complete physical wall between us and Mexico. In mid-America there seems to be different views on the need for the wall depending on where you live geographically and whether you benefit from the relatively cheap labor available from undocumented aliens. The companies that hire the labor force have a different opinion than the person who might want the job but needs to make a higher wage to support a family. The importance of a reliable work force is critical in any job, entry-level to management.
Frequently the issue of the willingness of the local labor wanting these type entry-level jobs becomes a sticky issue that leads to an impasse. The panel didn't express comments on this specific point but allowed the viewer to consider these issues as they covered the many facets of an open border policy and how best to deal with the DACA children. That is a very real question facing our elected officials.
What the "Washington Week" panel recognized seems to be more of the blue collar view of Trump's presidency. To the man-on-the-street, what matters is that unemployment continues to be low, the tax cut is producing some unusual employee bonuses, our manufacturing companies are looking at returning jobs to America (such as Chrysler moving their truck plant back to Michigan from Mexico) and there is a promise of a larger paycheck in February when new withholding tables are available. Trump is producing what he promised in his campaign rhetoric, and the countries that he mentioned are not exactly paradise which is why people are wanting to leave. The use of language typically found in the real world doesn't affect the average guy on the street. He, or she, likely measures Trump's success by a different standard then the television news which is trying to exploit what it deems a weakness in Trump's character. The panel seemed to understand that the news media, not the Trump presidency, is the real loser in America's heartland when they try to detract from the administration's success. Trump's base is more likely to shrug off the whole issue and cash their bonus check.
The program was a very refreshing view of the world of politics when the news media's view isn't being used like a sledge hammer to convince us we aren't smart enough to know what is good for us.
Footnote: The "Politico" organization was a new source of news to me. A Google search revealed it is a hard print political magazine as well as an on-line daily news source that apparently is about 15 years old. I have checked their website several times since Friday night and they seem to be true to their goal of unbiased reporting. A very interesting article covered a farmer-school district superintendent from Southeastern Indiana who sounds very much like a lot of the Arkansas farmers I know. He is a member of Farm Bureau, an NRA member, and a leader of his political party (Democrat) in the Indiana legislature. He feels Washington is totally out of step with mid-America. It is an extremely well-written report on the Democratic Party in the midwest. If you have time and interest, it might be worth reading.
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch, an award-winning columnist, is a native of Benton County and has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace.
Editorial on 01/17/2018