This past Election Day, a strange thing happened at our home. In our mail box, we received a letter from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. One of the reasons it was so strange is that it had no sign of having been mailed. It didn’t have our name and address on it, no return address, no signs of having been through a postage meter, no indication whatsoever of postage being paid. It made me wonder, “Does Bernie Sanders have a special agreement with the U.S. Postal Service? Does he have special privileges?” I don’t know but I sure would like to find out.
Another reason it was strange to receive Bernie’s letter is because no one in our house was qualified to vote the Democrat ticket in the presidential primary. So why were we targeted? Very strange!
Having run a number of campaigns for political office, one of the things I instinctually look for is who paid for the piece. In this case, it was on the bottom of page two: “Paid for by Bernie 2020.” Of course, it went on to say that it was not paid for by “billionaires.” Yes, of course, not by anyone who has managed to accumulate a lot of wealth, like Richard Blum, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband, and certainly not by one of America’s biggest billionaires, George Soros. No, not him either.
Well, billionaires or no billionaires, it sure was a waste of money to send a full-color, four-page slick mailer to our address. Even if we could have, none of us would have voted for Bernie any more than we would have voted for Santa Claus, the guy he seems to emulate with all the “free stuff” he wants to give away.
Honestly, I was interested in what Bernie had to say and read all the way through his letter. Straight off the bat, the first sentence caught my eye. “During my travels, I have met so many hardworking people who want the best for themselves, their children and their parents.” Well, of course. It is human nature to want to improve our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Who doesn’t want that? It is what keeps the economy growing and improving in a free market system. Very astute observation Sen. Sanders.
The second sentence continued, “But the system is rigged against them.” I thought: “Here’s Bernie writing about his travels to the former Soviet Union, where it was impossible for the average working person to get ahead!” Because of how the system was rigged, not only could a working person barely get by, they had no hope of giving a step up to their children. Then, however, I got to the second half of the sentence: “And the current president is making it worse.” No, Bernie wasn’t writing about his travels to the former Soviet Union. He appeared to be writing about this country.
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In the next two sentences, his message was made absolutely clear. “Today, while the very rich become richer, there is no real effort to give ordinary people a fair chance to succeed. There is no appreciation that for the United States to reach its potential, every child must have an equal opportunity, no matter what the income of his or her family may be.” Yes, Bernie was describing his view of America, 2020.
I thought these were interesting accusations to be throwing out, given the increased employment rates all across the board since Trump was inaugurated three years ago. Under this president, 4.7 million jobs have been created, a 3.1% increase from the time Barack Obama left office. The overall unemployment rate for the past six months has hovered around 3.5%, a measure that is, for all intents and purposes, full employment.
If one looks at the various categories used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to break down the numbers, employment looks strong in all categories. As of February, the unemployment rate for adult men stood at 3.3% while for adult women it was 3.1%. By race, whites were at 3.1%, blacks 5.8% and Hispanics, 4.4%. For Asians, it had declined to 2.5%! What policies or programs does Bernie have in mind to improve upon those numbers? And given those numbers, how can he say President Trump has made things worse?
The real kicker of Bernie’s letter came at the end. He stated his campaign is about “creating a better future for all of us, not just the 1%.” One percent? See above Bernie. It is more than 1% of Americans whose lives have improved in the last three years.
Well, Sen. Sanders, thank you for your letter. You definitely do not have any votes from our home but … we are hoping you’ll be the nominee.
A former member of the San Carlos City Council and mayor, Matt Grocott has been involved in political policy on the Peninsula for 17 years. He can be reached by email at mattgrocott@comcast.net.
Jorg - by fact checking the AP reports, Obama did not take an active role in managing the swine flu. He declared a toothless emergency in April but not until the death toll had risen the following October to 1000 in the US (6 months later!!), did he take the necessary actions that Trump took just after a few days once the first Wuhan Corona virus fatality was reported in the US. Your hero Obama in fact did very little until very late once the flu had devastated our country. As usual, the main stream press did not report his abject dereliction,
I cannot believe the amount of distortion in Matt's Op-Ed. Also, I have not read that the Democrats called Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic a hoax. In fact, that's not a word that Democrats use loosely, the way the President does. I wish Matt would get his facts straight before publishing. Does he have nothing better to do than to whine about received unsolicited mail - whether it was in his maiilbox or not? So very sad. And such a waste of time.
JME - please read what Trump actually said. While he acknowledged the seriousness of the virus he said that the Democrats are treating his management of the situation as a hoax. As usual, the Trump haters take his comments out of context. You may not have accused Obama for the swine flue epidemic when tens of thousands died in this country on his watch. The media swept that under the rug.
The important difference, Dirk, is that President Obama provided meaningful leadership, as usual, while Trump has not, as usual. Quite the opposite: Trump destroyed safe guards his predecessor had set up, and made decisions that left CDC less prepared, - all just in time for the pandemic! Some moron we have in the WH!
I do not recall Obama understating the serious of that like Trump has done with the coronavirus. I do nott recall anyone "blaming Trump" for the virus. And just because people disagree with Trump on an issue, that does not make them "Trump haters." I definitely do not like most of the things Trump has done, but I wouldn't waste my time or energy hating the man. He's not worth it.
Trump had maintained that the coronavirus was “totally under control” and that he wasn’t concerned about the risk of a pandemic. “It’s going to be just fine,” he said.
After remaining relatively mum on the coronavirus Donald Trump told supporters at a rally in New Hampshire that the virus will be gone by April, claiming that when temperatures rise, “the virus” will “miraculously” go away
I received interesting mail as well. A "census" survey that our President wanted me to fill out. I figure I am on the mailing list as someone's idea of a joke. Bring it on. I love wasting GOP money. To restate the obvious for this columnist, Bernie Sanders is interested in people not just having jobs, but having jobs that will keep them from living in their cars or on the streets. He wants everyone to have a shot at a good education without having to forego food or a warm room to study in that isn't in the public library.
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(11) comments
Jorg - by fact checking the AP reports, Obama did not take an active role in managing the swine flu. He declared a toothless emergency in April but not until the death toll had risen the following October to 1000 in the US (6 months later!!), did he take the necessary actions that Trump took just after a few days once the first Wuhan Corona virus fatality was reported in the US. Your hero Obama in fact did very little until very late once the flu had devastated our country. As usual, the main stream press did not report his abject dereliction,
I cannot believe the amount of distortion in Matt's Op-Ed. Also, I have not read that the Democrats called Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic a hoax. In fact, that's not a word that Democrats use loosely, the way the President does. I wish Matt would get his facts straight before publishing. Does he have nothing better to do than to whine about received unsolicited mail - whether it was in his maiilbox or not? So very sad. And such a waste of time.
Gloria - Would you kindly take each one of Matt's "distortions," list them individually and give the exact corrected information please?
The Twittee from Donald>>:"This virus is a Hoax"
JME - please read what Trump actually said. While he acknowledged the seriousness of the virus he said that the Democrats are treating his management of the situation as a hoax. As usual, the Trump haters take his comments out of context. You may not have accused Obama for the swine flue epidemic when tens of thousands died in this country on his watch. The media swept that under the rug.
The important difference, Dirk, is that President Obama provided meaningful leadership, as usual, while Trump has not, as usual. Quite the opposite: Trump destroyed safe guards his predecessor had set up, and made decisions that left CDC less prepared, - all just in time for the pandemic! Some moron we have in the WH!
I do not recall Obama understating the serious of that like Trump has done with the coronavirus. I do nott recall anyone "blaming Trump" for the virus. And just because people disagree with Trump on an issue, that does not make them "Trump haters." I definitely do not like most of the things Trump has done, but I wouldn't waste my time or energy hating the man. He's not worth it.
Trump had maintained that the coronavirus was “totally under control” and that he wasn’t concerned about the risk of a pandemic. “It’s going to be just fine,” he said.
After remaining relatively mum on the coronavirus Donald Trump told supporters at a rally in New Hampshire that the virus will be gone by April, claiming that when temperatures rise, “the virus” will “miraculously” go away
Sean Hannity on Fox News still claims its a Hoax.
Anything without postage must be left somewhere else on ones porch. Enforcing that is another item.
I received interesting mail as well. A "census" survey that our President wanted me to fill out. I figure I am on the mailing list as someone's idea of a joke. Bring it on. I love wasting GOP money. To restate the obvious for this columnist, Bernie Sanders is interested in people not just having jobs, but having jobs that will keep them from living in their cars or on the streets. He wants everyone to have a shot at a good education without having to forego food or a warm room to study in that isn't in the public library.
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