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Lance Scranton: Who pays?

Wading through the platitudes and platforms of the people who have thrown their hat into the 2020 Presidential Election has been a dizzying affair! Counting Vice-President Joe Biden, there are over 20 candidates for the democratic nomination. So many must mean that they think they will get the nod and that they will be able to garner more support than our current president over the next two years.

Each week, as of late, I have been introduced to the latest politician who is seeking to, “finally return the presidency to its proper standing in America and around the world’” as one potential candidate espoused recently. Each democrat has, in one way or another, attacked Donald Trump as someone who isn’t capable of carrying out the particular functions required of an “acceptable” president.

I’ve been reading, and watching, and educating myself as to the issues and concerns of the contenders and it would appear that everything is on the table for critique, except the economy even though some have even trashed the good news about our general overall economic health as making the top one percent richer while middle class wage earners struggle (how many times have you heard this one?). But seriously, I’ve been listening and trying to dissect the intentions of those who are putting themselves up for the DNC’s top spot.



Here is what I have heard:

College should be more affordable (so who pays?); white society has hurt minorities (who pays reparations?); the rich keep getting richer (they must pay more!); Trump is an evil, diabolical stooge (Who is he paying off?), capitalism is broken and needs a socialist fix (Somebody has to pay!); people should be able to become a part of our country without the messiness of borders (No paying for a wall!); Special Counsel Robert Mueller got it wrong (He got paid by somebody for something!); and Attorney General William Barr is a stooge for Trump (He must pay for not delivering the right finding). The climate must be fixed (we all know who pays for this one!).



There is more, and I’m still trying to sort it all out but I noticed this past weekend that an election took place in the Ukraine where Volodymyr Zelensky, a TV comedian, bounced the incumbent President by a margin of almost 50 percentage points and most people said they voted for him because they wanted to “send a message” about how things were being handled in their country.

I’m not sure what message the 2020 contenders are sending but I’m less concerned about a businessman who made a name for himself firing people on television than I am about a flurry of potentials who are falling over each other promising people just about everything and blaming anything else on our current president.

Maybe a guy or gal who can tell a good joke or make us laugh would be the kind of contender that would spark a fun election. Trump can play the straight guy while his opponent makes us all laugh. Actually, some of what I’m hearing is already kind of funny!


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