2016 March 11^th

The big news this morning is that last night’s Republican debate was civil; at least no one belittled anyone else’s private body parts. It certainly tells us something about Republican politics when a debate in which no one stoops to physical insult is the highlight of the evening. Most pontificators believed that the debate was boring (It was by comparison with others.) and changed nothing.

Hooliganism at Trump rallies is ramping up. Some protesters were escorted out last night and a 76 year old pushed his way to the isle through which they were leaving so that he could punch one of them in the face. The cops escorting the protesters out promptly handcuffed the victim and ignored the perpetrator. Finally, today after some outrage at the police stupidity, the sucker puncher has been arrested. Trump, when asked if his comments encouraged this kind of violence said he hoped that they didn’t. In a previous Trump rally when protesters were being evicted Trump yelled, “I’d like to punch ‘em in the face.” This viciousness continues to embarrass the Republicans, adds to Trump’s appeal and tells us even more about his followers.

The morning paper has a column by Cal Thomas about white poverty. Thomas faults, “The left…which talks about poverty but when it comes to programs and ideas to help people climb out of poverty their only solution is to spend more money.” I looked carefully for Cal Thomas’ solutions but his ideas consisted of “making the right life choices” and having a church “adopt” a poor family and “help them move out of poverty.” There was no word at all about exactly how poor people, many with very modest abilities, could learn to make these “right life choices.” Neither was there a program that would suggest to churches how adopting a family would move them out of poverty. Thomas does not understand that some churches have many poor congregants and that church membership has not improved their financial position one wit.

Thomas tells us of his personal experiences with poverty. During the Veit-Nam war in 1965 Thomas was a private first class and was unfortunately stationed in New York City. He tells us that he was only earning 99 dollars a month and had to get a second job to make ends meet. He was 23 years old and speaks of “having to get back to our little apartment in Queens.” To complain about being stationed in New York and going home to your little apartment, and presumably your wife, every night, while other draftees were enduring the jungle heat of ‘Nam, risking their lives daily and sleeping in the rain, defines a tone deafness only possible in a far right columnist like Thomas. Even in his case it is hard to believe.