Rich, Victimized White Guys
Buffalo’s most prominent equine pornography enthusiast and “not racist” racist, Carl Paladino, appeared on CNN Monday to defend fellow “not racist” racist, Donald Trump.
In these people’s minds there is no class of people more disciminated against and victimized than the old, white male. After all, we’re letting brown people like Mexicans into this country (build a wall), and mostly brown, mostly terrorist Muslim people into this country (keep ’em out). It’s time to take America back from these non-white, mostly poor, definitely criminal foreigners. When will our national nightmare of discrimination against geriatric millionaire Caucasians end? It’s time to “Make America Great Again”.
The global economy might be stuck in first gear, with weak employment and a Chinese economy poised to crash, but our domestic right-wing grievance economy is downright overheated.
Last week, Donald Trump claimed that the courts were treating him unfairly in connection with the class action lawsuit brought against him arising out of the scam that was “Trump University”. A must-read article appeared in Ars Technica, which explains the genesis of Trump’s involvement in the get-rich-quick seminar industry. It wasn’t just some phony scam – it was an entirely fraudulent enterprise, designed simply to separate the gullible and desperate from their money. Trump evidently only earned $5 million from that deal, leading one to wonder why it is that a self-proclaimed billionaire would need to execute not-so-lucrative licensing deals for spring water, steaks, and fraudulent “university” scams.
It calls into question whether Trump is a billionaire at all, and whether his declared income is under $500,000 per year, which would explain why he was entitled to a STAR property tax rebate for three years, which is only available to people who earn under that threshold.
Trump complained to Jake Tapper that he was being treated unfairly by Judge Gonzalo Curiel, a former federal prosecutor who presides over one of the Trump University fraud lawsuits. Curiel was born in Indiana to Mexican parents. He is American. Trump said Curiel was biased because he’s Mexican and Trump is “building a wall”. That’s contempt of court, racist, and completely outrageous. Trump went on to claim a Muslim judge would also treat him unfairly. Grievance, grievance, grievance. Can’t a rich, white guy catch a break around here with all these brown people being affirmative actioned into places of influence and power?
Some Republicans criticized Trump – even harshly – for his outrageous racism, but on a campaign conference call Monday afternoon, Trump demanded that everyone redouble their attacks on Judge Curiel. What’s the point of having even a barebones campaign apparatus if he won’t follow the advice of professionals? Imagine if this draft-dodger got angry at a country and decided to attack it. If the Pentagon and his Cabinet advised him against it, it wouldn’t matter: what Donald wants, Donald gets. He set up the call to ensure that his surrogates – like Paladino and Congressman Chris Collins – continue attacking a sitting American federal court judge:
“Are there any other stupid letters that were sent to you folks?” Trump said, according to Bloomberg. “That’s one of the reasons I want to have this call, because you guys are getting sometimes stupid information from people that aren’t so smart.”
This is beyond reminiscent of the awful Paladino gubernatorial campaign, which was always on alert to explain away horrible, stupid, and insensitive things the stubborn, unadvisable candidate said. It is also a direct threat to our democracy, which is dependent on an independent and impartial judiciary. There is no indication here that Donald Trump believes in that, as he whines about losing summary judgment when he, himself, explained the material dispute of facts that would prohibit that very relief.
So, the loud and uncouth face of Buffalo appeared on CNN to defend Trump’s attack on an American federal judge.
Answer the question for me as to why the press keeps doubling down on this Judge Curiel thing. The press has created this issue.
That’s the problem here. . . . The press constantly wants to identify the issues of the day are. You don’t have that right.
– WaPo
This is incredible that you want to pull this word out and use it because it always pushes back on the white guy. That’s not fair,” he continued. “And it’s not a fair description of Donald Trump. Donald Trump might have some anxiety about this particular judge because he lives in the same real world that I do where this type of thing does go on, where the ethnicity means something, OK?”
Paladino was also asked why Curiel’s ethnicity means something while the judges in the New York case do not, such as Judge Angela Mazarelli’s Italian heritage.
“Sometimes it does. Sometimes it does in this world that we’re in out here,” Paladino said.
Costello remarked, “Oh, Carl,” as he continued, “The press comes in with all this holy grail stuff. It doesn’t work that way. This is the real world, and in the real world you have considerations like that when you’re looking at why am I getting sued?”
– Politico
Grievance. Victimhood. It’s not the racist being racist that’s racist: it’s the people identifying and calling out the racism who are the real racists.
Donald Trump and his lapdog, Carl Paladino, are a clear and present threat to American democracy and an independent judiciary. They are racist, anti-immigrant authoritarians who believe that bellicose fascism will make America a great country. The entitlement culture of the rich, white egomaniac is worse than any “welfare queen” they might otherwise denigrate.
This isn’t a typical Presidential campaign. This is a battle for America’s very soul.