Four years ago on election
night, I cheered when
Donald Trump was declared
the next President of
the United States while my
wife literally cried.
For the future of our country,
Trump needs to be reelected.
Of course, I hope my
wife does not shed tears this
time; although inevitably,
she will be upset.
While some of President
Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks
and tweets are cringeworthy,
it is his actions — not his
words — that are more important.
We must remember
that he is not a career politician,
which to a large degree
explains his unconventional
approach. Indeed, this outsider
status played a role in
his 2016 election.
Whether you voted for
him or not, most would have
to admit that he has followed
through on some of his campaign
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Bob Capano
promises.
Under Trump, the US has
built and paid for renovations
and additions to 370
miles of border wall along
the 2,000-mile Mexican border,
and eliminated some of
the restrictions on Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) faced. Prior to
the coronavirus pandemic,
Trump presided over a strong
economy and the lowest unemployment
rate in decades.
He has not involved us in any
new wars, strongly supported
Israel, nominated fi erce conservative
federal judges and
— perhaps most importantly
— kept America safe from
foreign attack. Promises
made, promises kept!
On the other side, Joe
Biden is the quintessential
career politician, having
spent 47 years in Washington,
D.C. More concerning,
though, is the left-ward shift
of the Democratic Party,
which one might argue has
infl uenced the former vice
president.
One needs no further
proof than the fact that
Biden, nor any other speaker
at the Democratic National
Convention, dared to condemn
or even mention the rioting
in American cities following
the police killing of
Minnesotan George Floyd,
because the riots were associated
with Black Lives Matter
protests. Biden has also
been silent about the tearing
down of statues and monuments
by these so-called protesters
— including those of
our founding fathers.
Most fair-minded Americans
see the difference in
how the news covers Trump
versus everyone else. Think
about it: If Hunter Biden
were a Trump, there would
be wall-to-wall coverage of
the New York Post reporting
of his alleged involvement
with Ukraine and China. Instead,
there is censorship by
Twitter. To this day, the news
outlet’s Twitter account remains
locked.
A Trump victory would be
a repudiation of this double
standard.
Finally, perhaps a Trump
victory would embolden moderate
Democrats to take their
party back from Democratic-
Socialists.
America is served best
when our political parties
work together for compromised
solutions. Unfortunately,
this is not possible
today. Therefore, we should
choose the candidate that
stands with law enforcement
and preserving our history
— including our faults —
rather than tearing our history
down.
Bob Capano has worked
for Brooklyn Republican and
Democrat elected officials,
and has been an adjunct political
science professor for
over 15 years. Follow him on
twitter @bobcapano.
OPINION
The case for the Trump’s re-elect
What does the modern day
Republican Party stand for?
2020 continues to prove
the truism of Will Rogers,
who said “I’m not
a member of any organized
political party. I’m a Democrat.”
For Democrats, the year
started with the Iowa Caucus
melting down, and just this
week, Democrats in the US
Senate failed to stop or even
slow down the very fast appointment
of Amy Coney Barrett
to the Supreme Court.
There are many Democratic
politicians who appear
hapless, but at least they are
not Republicans. What does
the Republican Party stand for
anymore? I have a few ideas.
First, tax breaks for the rich
and no one else, and not even all
of the rich — many top earners
in high-tax, high-service states
such as New York or New Jersey
or Connecticut are paying
more than they used to.
Second, an unprecedentedly
extreme approach to packing
the federal courts with conservative
jurists, by any means
necessary. These new judges
are second-rate legal scholars
who have generally never tried
a case in their lives, but they
are fi rst-rate ideological warriors.
The Affordable Care Act
and a nationwide right to a legal
abortion could both be gone
within a few months.
Third, a pathetic, slavish
commitment to believe President
Donald Trump instead of
reality. Every day, the man lies
at least a dozen times while perpetrating
fresh outrages. Just
this year, over 220,000 Americans
are dead from COVID-19
— which amounts to the victims
of four Vietnam Wars or
70 9/11s — and cases are rising
in most of the country. He tore
immigrant children from their
parents and put them in cages.
On Tuesday night, he stranded
thousands of his own elderly
supporters in the Nebraska
cold after one of his ego-trip,
super-spreader rallies.
Besides passing tax breaks
and appointing conservative
judges, Trump has no achievements,
unless you count the
massive increase in American
xenophobia, hatred, and crassness.
He is only out for himself
and some but not all of his
children: he can and has abandoned
the others who previously
served him.
Here in Brooklyn, we have
our own little Trumps, with
their own lies and hypocrisies
and fear-mongering. Assemblywoman
Nicole Malliotakis
is running for congress, even
though she lost a mayoral
race to Bill de Blasio more
than two-to-one after New
Yorkers were already fairly
sick of him. She is prone to exaggerating
her achievements
as a member of the minority
party in the State Assembly,
something Republican
Staten Island Borough President
Jimmy Oddo frequently
points out.
For State Senate, we have
Republican Vito Bruno, who
has made crime his sole issue,
despite repeatedly admitting
to reporters in the past that he
committed crimes while running
his nightlife businesses.
Of course, if you believe “reputable
journalists” like Bob
Woodward — who has written
about both Trump and Bruno
— you’re probably not part of
the problem in America today.
All of these Republicans
campaign on fear tactics and
almost nothing else, because
they have nothing else. This
Election Day, let’s show them
that Americans are better
than they think we are.
Nick Rizzo is a former Democratic
District Leader and a
political consultant who lives
in Greenpoint. Follow him on
Twitter @NickRizzo.
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Nick Rizzo