A Message from the Vice Chair

Oh Please Stop the Manure Spreader
By Joe Lowe, Vice Chairman of the South Dakota Democratic Party

It is amazing to me to see how the GOP defends this maniacal President. They continue to make excuses for the poor decisions he makes and his aberrant behavior. He is the leader of the Republican Party, so I guess by the silence of most members of Congress the Presidents actions and values are the new GOP values.

According to a Washington Post article (January 10th 2018), this President has told more than 2000 lies and misleading claims since his January 20, 2017, inauguration. So what does that mean for our country? First, we lose credibility with our allies. According to an August 16, 2017 article in the UK Telegraph (‘US allies ‘trust Vladimir Putin more than Donald Trump’), our allies, including Japan, South Korea, and seven European NATO members, trust Vladimir Putin more the Donald Trump.

Besides trust issues, let’s look at other issues facing America as a result of this president.

1. $7.8 million was spent on the Benghazi hearings. Part of that expense was to investigate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server, which the Republicans claimed may have led to improper handling of classified information.

According to a February 15, 2018 article by NBC News (“Scores of top White House officials lack permanent security clearances“), more than 130 political appointees working in the Executive Branch of the Office of the President did not have permanent security clearances as of November 2017. Many have access to to top secret materials.

So we spent part of the $7.8 million on investigating the former Secretary of State’s use of a private e-mail server. Yet we have 130 Presidential Appointees in the Executive Office of the President with access to top secret information with no permanent security clearance. Voters, isn’t something wrong here?

2. According to a Forbes Magazine article on February 9th 2018 (“Trump’s Federal Budget Deficit: $1 Trillion And Beyond“), the US Federal deficit was $587 billion in President Obama’s last year, and it grew to $666 billion in President Trump’s first year in office. A US treasury report shows the US Federal deficit will probably increase to close to $1 trillion in 2019. So, GOP, what happened to the mantra,“We can’t leave that kind of debt to our children,” that you used when President Obama was in office? Looks to me as if the new GOP is the spending party.

3. Trump claims DACA ending is the Democrats’ fault. Really, Mr. President, what reality do you live in? May I remind you that you ended DACA. In September, Republican and Democratic leaders came close to a DACA deal for you. You, Mr. President, ended the deal a week later. And the Democrats offered you $25 billion to fund your border wall. So stop the rhetoric about how much you care. You have the ability to put a DACA deal together.

4. Another great President Trump idea: let’s start a trade war with China. Trump imposed tariffs on China, and China retaliated and imposed new tariffs on the US, and the stock market plunged. US consumers will now pay more for imported goods. For South Dakota, this will hit our agriculture industry. Our state is ranked 8th in the US in soybean production and 13th in pork production. China has imposed tariffs on both. In addition, Trump cut 15.5% in the US budget for agriculture. So, all you agriculture producers in this state, are you happy with this seat-of-the-pants trade war your President has started on top of the budget cuts to agriculture?

We could go on and talk about chaos in the White House, firings, alleged affairs with women, etc.; however we will surely have an opportunity to do so in the future.

It is time to stop the manure spreading and call this deeply flawed President on his poor policies, lies and misleading claims. I hope that our members of Congress will stand up to him and that the citizens of this state will vote him out of office.

I also call on our South Dakota Democratic Party to hit the streets and work to get Democrats elected in 2018. We need everyone’s time, donations and talents. It is your choice about the future of the United States. Engage and let’s start the Big Blue Wave.