Trump Lite in Erie

We are not immune to bigotry 

The current administration in Washington is not known for fastidious adherence to either truth or law.

While not, perhaps, universally true, it is generally fair to say that those who support Trump and align with the Republican Party are similarly less than scrupulous guardians of honesty. As one test, try getting anyone with a MAGA hat to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election.

Last October, in advance of Erie’s election, I posed a simple question to candidates.

A challenge to our Erie candidates:

Ordinarily, this question would be somewhat irrelevant. But in light of the recent “testimony” from multiple members of the Trump administration, including Generals Mattis, Milley, and Kelly, that Donald Trump is a fascist and unfit for office, can you affirm that you will not support him?

It seems reasonable to know whether local elected officials support a presidential candidate who has been characterized as a fascist authoritarian by conservatives and highly respected military leaders.

Have you the integrity to respond? A failure to respond will speak for itself.

Members of the conservative slate failed to respond, yet several, including Mayor Andrew Moore, were nonetheless elected. Their silence continues to speak volumes. As mentioned, scrupulous honesty is not trending in this crowd.

As true with Republicans across the land, our local club members are not blind to the grotesque qualities manifested by the president. It’s that it doesn’t matter to them. A larger dynamic fuels nearly all the malfeasance and ugliness experienced since 2016.

It was clear then and clearer now that the conservative political movement was primarily driven by backlash to the advances in human rights from the 1960s forward. While some conservatives begrudgingly distanced themselves from overt bigotry in the ensuing years, they have steadily worked to reverse social progress.

Obama’s presidency was the last straw. One need only wander through the festering thicket of right-wing social media to experience the depth and breadth of racist resentment. Similar backlash has greeted advances in women’s rights and gay rights, with the greatest venom reserved for transgender rights.

In essence, the unwritten platform of the MAGA party has been, “We’re fed up and we’re not taking any more!” In the cruder, Proud Boy, white nationalist, Nazi-adjacent circles, the bigotry is explicit and unapologetic. In more polite circles, the bigotry is obfuscated by distraction and distortion.

Immigrants have been caught, quite literally, in the crosshairs because they are easy prey. They are dark skinned and powerless. But make no mistake, many of these MAGA folks would gladly export your Black neighbors too, if they had their way.

This is why Trump’s support is so resilient despite his failure to fulfill any campaign promises. Expensive eggs are a small price to pay for the rich pleasure of sticking it to the libs and undoing 60 years of social progress.

Which brings me back to Erie, my hometown.

Mayor Moore and his conservative colleagues fall into the “polite circles” of distraction and distortion.

Case in point #1:

• Residents with 20-20 vision recently noticed that the Pride Flag at Town Hall had been lowered. It had been displayed in recognition of Pride Month, June’s celebratory nod to the existence of the LGBTQ+ community. But, say the Mayor and friends, the town has an ordinance prohibiting any flags other than Old Glory except when the president or governor makes a special decree. Oops! Who knew? It would not have been an act of heroic political courage to keep it up, but great pride in Pride is not a civic priority. Rules are rules. How very convenient.

Case in point #2:

• The new Erie administration is working to reverse many of the more progressive-minded achievements of the past administration under Mayor Justin Brooks. While it is not Moore’s style, his supporters are not shy in offering racially-charged commentary about the Black former Mayor. Shades of post-Obama vitriol, but at the local level.

Among the revisions is the undermining of any and all efforts to build affordable housing. Moore et al seem disinterested in making Erie more affordable or diverse. He really, really wants a swimming pool, though.

Whether the truly despicable MAGATs or the more genteel types like Moore and Associates, the right side of America would love to see the country more like it was before all this rabble-rousing.

Mostly white, comfortable, and Christian, a place where these other people aren’t bitching all the time.