Response to a classmate's posting on our college listserv

A Yale classmate wrote the following on our class listserv: “The right wing media juggernaut, oligarch money and voter suppression easily account for Trump’s victory.”

I responded as follows: 

I been a “never Trumper” for many decades but am a centrist who tries to credit each side for things they do well and criticize each side where appropriate (sadly most of the time).

Jeff, could you explain “oligarch money”?  Perhaps you are referring to the terrible idea of accepting an airplane from Qatar.  But I inferred you were talking about political donations.  Kamala Harris raised $1.994 billion compared to Donald Trump’s $1.453 billion, according to https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presidential-race.  The left has lots of major donors.

As to the “right wing media juggernaut”,  my main news television station is CNN, which, while claiming to be independent, is strongly biased to the left.  Consider:

·        On May 14^th, Jake Tapper admitted he was wrong to hide President Biden’s cognitive difficulties.  That was proof of bias but a welcome suggestion that he (CNN?) wanted to improve.

·        That was followed immediately by a CNN poll that 76% oppose “major cuts” to Medicaid.  They railed about how terribly unpopular it is to make major cuts to Medicaid.  What if they had had the integrity to ask:

o   Do you think able-bodied people without dependents should qualify for Medicaid if they don’t, for at least 20 hours/week, work in a paid or volunteer capacity or pursue education?

o   Do you think people who qualify for Medicaid should continue to get benefits even if they no longer qualify?

·        The previous day, a guest speaker had said that President Trump’s “most favored nation” requirement for government payment for drugs was the same as President Biden’s approach.  CNN did not challenge that statement.  But President Biden’s approach empowered the government to set a maximum price.  If a manufacturer did not accept that price, it could be hit with an excise tax.  (See the progressive Kaiser Family Foundation.)  HUGELY different!

As regards “voter suppression”, where is the evidence?  If interested, you can read a blog I wrote several years ago:  Voting Laws and Voter Suppression.

I am active in the “No Labels” movement which encourages politicians to reach across the aisle and educates voters to try to protect those politicians who do so.  Both parties punish their politicians who do so.  We have great public webinars with outstanding guest speakers.  If you’d like more information, let me know or click here to register on No Labels website.

By the way, unlike Jeff, I entered and left Yale as a liberal (although I was disappointed that conservative voices were sometimes unwelcome at Yale even in that era).  Like Jeff, I taught in the Los Angeles inner-city upon graduation (Jefferson HS and Belvedere JHS).  I saw the same problems he did and supported bussing (which may be what he refers to as “worked for school desegregation”).  However, when I joined the union and participated in a teacher’s strike, I became uncomfortable with the union.  I’m a strong advocate of public charter schools, which the teachers’ unions fight tooth-and-nail.  It is tragic and unconscionable that we have wasted many generations of inner-city youth (of various races) and continue to do so by forcing them to accept inferior education.