It is time to name and shame those who voted for Donald Trump. So says New York Times opinion columnist Charles M. Blow. Lest there be any doubt, the left is signaling big plans to aggressively vilify the Republican voter as Nov. 8 draws nigh. MAGA Republicans are the problem because they had the temerity to exercise their franchise and pull the lever for the 45th president, sometimes twice.
Condemn MAGA Republicans
In a jaw-dropping article published on Sunday, Sept. 4, Blow took the gloves off and revealed nothing less than abject animosity toward the millions who voted for former President Donald J. Trump. “Republicans supported him, defended him, and voted for him. They’ve been actively courting this condemnation,” Blow declared.
But wait, there’s more: “President Biden has, in recent speeches, warned that ‘MAGA Republicans’ are a threat to democracy and, at one point, called the philosophy fueling Trumpism ‘semi-fascism.’ But there is no scandal here. Biden was simply calling a thing a thing,” Blow asserted.
Then he doubled down with: “Republicans quickly demanded that he [Biden] apologize for insulting half the electorate. But those Republicans who voted for Donald Trump deserve to be called out for their actions.” And the real Blow doozy was this:
“No person who voted for Trump or supports him now is above being named and shamed.”
This type of “everyone who voted Trump must line up against the wall” language is nothing less than incendiary. However, in taking such a bellicose stance against half of the American electorate, two truths managed to slither their way onto the page.
One, Trump may be the catalyst, but it is millions of voters who should suffer the stocks and flogging in the public square. Those who remember American history may recall stocks were a form of punishment used during the colonial period. One website elucidated that “[stocks] were also a means of psychological torture, the act of willfully inflicting pain on another human, by shaming him or her.” In other words, nothing short of public humiliation will do — so Trumpists, “Please assume the position for the scarlet letter.”
Two, Blow understands just how mammoth the MAGA movement is and quoted pollster FiveThirtyEight, which “found that ‘halfway through the primary season, we can say definitively that at least 120 election deniers have won their party’s nomination and will be on the ballot in the fall.’ Republican voters delivered primary victories to those candidates.”
You are correct, sir.
Damn the Voters
Burgess Owens (Photo by Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images)
On the Fox News program Sunday Morning Futures, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) clarified what MAGA means to those who vote in favor of that platform. He artfully intoned, “For those of us who love our country, it means simply an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe and governments are accountable and a future that’s free.”
Unfortunately, the left seems to have trouble understanding that Make America Great Again is just a catchy slogan for the America First platform. Trumpists make up a substantial portion of that political perspective; however, there are other Republicans who may not like Trump but wholeheartedly support the America First concept. The modern America First movement may have been reignited by the 45th president, but it must be recognized that its greater tent encompasses more than solely Trump supporters. The left can’t seem to comprehend this truth: If Donald J. Trump never ran for office again, America First would not go away anytime soon.
This gigantic, growing element of the electorate Blow can neither abide nor tolerate. They must be called out. They must be named. They must be shamed. However, beneath all this bravado by Blow and others like him appears to be a deep-seated fear of the Republican Party that has, for all intents and purposes, become the America First party.
What they really argue for is single-party rule. And while most of those who commented on the New York Times article were part of Blow’s amen chorus, one man cut through the caustic language. Tom from Ohio wrote: “All I hear is a president calling for one-party rule, which is what this author so desperately has wanted. I don’t care what you call those that stand in your way, it won’t change my mind. Earn my vote, don’t demand it.”
