The way to defeat these right wing wack jobs that run for office on extreme social and racial issues but lack any actual populism and instead support policies that will seriously hurt 95% of their constituents, is to report on their support for cutting Social Security, Medicare and other popular Government programs in exchange for more tax cuts and subsidies to billionaires and international corporations.
That is what this article fails to do is discuss Joe Kent’s economic agenda in spite of the fact it is certainly their economic agenda that has them getting so much financial support from billionaires either directly or through the Republican Party. We should make no mistake about it that these right wing nut jobs, from Ronald Reagan through George W Bush and Donald Trump and from Newt Gingrich through Marjorie Taylor Green and Kevin McCarthy have gotten elected on "God, Guns, Gay’s, Race above all and Abortion, but once elected do little more than cutting taxes for billionaires while trying to cut social programs and Government spending that help everyone else.
Like it or not, most White Americans while they may not like direct appeals to racism, are when it comes to the subject pretty ambivalent. But if you discuss taking away THEIR benefits, that is another matter.
So the way to defeat these fascists in almost all White middle class districts is not to give them free air time over their racist, religious bigoted, homophobic, xenophobic and often misogynist rhetoric which many if not most Whites, especially White men, support or do not much care about either way. Rather the way to defeat the Joe Kent’s the GOP is supporting is by showing them that while he may be talking about hurting “those people”, the real money is in cutting White people’s benefits and therefore what they will really do is hurt you.
You apparently haven’t learned the lesson LBJ voiced:
“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
Interesting! I would have thought that he was from eastern Washington, the part that periodically wants to join Idaho, but the 3rd District is in southwestern Washington, closer to Tacoma and Seattle than Spokane. This would indicate a larger spread of loonies that I would have thought.
Oh dear. He’s got the Reagan look which is actually rare. Combination of bubbly good spirits and vicious ignorance. Aside from him and Reagan the only other I can think of with that mix was Phyllis Schafly. Bad juju.
I watched Kent last year in debates, public appearances and interviews as I thought Marie Gluesenkamp Perez had a shot at winning that seat. He’s a nutter. He also strikes me as someone who is still dealing with trauma from his time in the military. He should be nowhere near elected office.
It seems the little feller Joe is lost. These types are much more at home in eastern Washington. Like northeast Washington - Ferry Country Washington. Or Idaho. Hopefully away from other people.
Noting that the LBJ quote actually supports what I am saying and why we need to be discussing the economic impact on those in the district:
I for sure have learned the lesson LBJ voiced. In fact in 1984 when I lived in New Orleans and my job had me travel through much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle where I heard from almost every White person, man and woman, how knowing Ronald was screwing them, how much they loved Reagan because “he is screwing Black people worse”. Actually, that is not a direct quote because they never said “Black people”.
But this is 40 years later and we are discussing a Congressional district in the state of Washington.
To the LBJ quote itself, to the extent it is relevant, by not discussing economic issues and only discussing social issues we are playing directly into this by saying they are trying to hurt “those people”. Rather, by discussing the economic issues, how much it will hurt them, in the State of Washington it will have more sway than rallying against the racist, religious bigoted, et al agenda.
By only discussing how offensive are their social rhetoric, we give them a pass on how truly awful is their economic agenda for their White voters which their White voters care much more about than what is good or bad for Black people.
