Souring on Trump? What took you so long?

So suddenly,  former Bush staffers, middle-of-the-road Republicans and some of the religious right are upset with Donald Trump, against his divisive and racist rhetoric and saying they will vote for Joe Biden.  I am asking myself, why this change of heart? And why did it take so long?

Many of them cite Trump’s incivility, lies, and racism as creating a toxic culture in America.  They glowingly praise Ronald Reagan and how wonderful his attitude and discourse were. But, I cannot help but ask myself, What about the de-funding and deterioration of our public school system, taking food stamps from poor families, union-busting, and the fact that that there are now over 500,000 homeless in America? The list could go on and on.

There may have been a smiling and friendly face on so-called conservatism for many, many years before Trump, but underneath, the ideology of hatred and neglect has always been there.  They have abdicated taking responsibility for their fellow human beings, instead pushing an agenda of everyone for themselves.  They mislabel this as somehow taking personal responsibility, while it is simply rewarding greed and thoughtlessness.

Over the years many liberals and progressives have fought the good fight, only to be labeled socialists. With Trump, the name-calling simply got much worse. Trump takes the nice veneer off when he behaves like an out-of-control child on the playground calling people names.

I have heard that Trump may not run again.  His giant yet fragile ego will not allow him to face losing the election by a large margin.  If so, will the Republicans put a nice face out there for us to vote for?  And if they do, how many will see through it?

It is time for this country to make a change, a radical U-turn.  Biden may be too tame to create real change, but if he selects a progressive running mate and listens to her, if he appoints intelligent and caring people in his administration, if the house and senate can have a majority of Democrats, maybe we have a chance.

It is time to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. When Barack Obama said he wanted to spread the wealth around, he was called a socialist. He backed off. At this time we cannot back off. We are facing multiple crises in our county and this time around will make the financial crisis that Obama inherited look like a walk in the park.  We need to look at those we elect beyond the surface of sounding polite and caring, we need those that really do care and will change this culture.

So while it may seem nice that so many are now fed up with Trump, I ask them, Where were you when this all started? Where were you when ‘trickle down’ and ‘rising tides float all boats’ were an excuse for creating the America we have today?

— Josette Brose-Eichar, Boyes Hot Springs