By Bob Gaydos

Survey answer: Protect the Constitution
RJ Photography

    Got my now-weekly letter from the Democratic National Committee urging me to make my 2025 Membership Contribution and fill out a survey to help the DNC “stop Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda.”

     Couple of problems here:

1. I am not now and never have been a member of the Democratic Party, or any political party for that matter. I am a registered voter and have been since I was eligible to vote more than 60 years ago. I’m not sure today, but it used to be the common practice among journalists not to register in any political party to avoid obvious complaints of bias. My opinions and leanings as an editorial writer may have been clear, but there was no way to claim favoritism to a particular party. Same with my work as a reporter or editor. So I’m not sure where the DNC got the idea that I’m a Democrat and decided to make me a pen pal, but I’m officially a registered Independent voter in Sullivan County, N.Y., and I like it that way.
2. The first question on the survey is: “Which of President Trump’s priorities do you find most troubling? (Please choose up to three.) The list includes eight of Trump’s more publicized and nasty talking points, from mass deportations to cutting taxes for the rich, gutting abortion access, limiting voting access, reversing environmental regulations, targeting the rights of LGBTQ+, dismantling federal agencies and stocking the Supreme Court with unqualified MAGA puppets.

    Umm, I’m troubled by all of them, folks, as I’ve written. But what troubles me the most about Trump is that he clearly has no grasp of separation of power and in fact shows no interest in sharing it with Congress or the courts.

   He has somehow, at least for the moment, been usurped as president by Elon Musk, who is running amok through any agency he sees as a threat to his lust for more power and money. And he seems to know even less than Trump about how government (at least ours) is supposed to function.

     And Democrats are being way too polite about it. Yes, the lawyers and civil liberties groups are doing their job, taking Trump to court and winning rulings from judges, at least temporarily stopping Trump. 

      But we need Democrats jumping up an down and getting people in the streets and on TV and social media with the same message, over and over. And I guess I’m actually answering the second question in the DNC survey: Which aspects of the Trump presidency do you find most disturbing?

      Easy. “His disregard for the U.S. Constitution.” All the other stuff stems from his ignorance, cowardice, greed, pettiness, narcissism, dishonesty and obviously failing mental faculties. They all carry a price for Americans. But the ultimate price is lack of freedom and an unchecked Trump beholden to an autistic billionaire with no loyalty to anything but himself is the ultimate threat to American democracy. And someone needs to make a lot of noise about that.

   Wall Street doesn’t care. So-called mainstream media no longer cares, or at least the one-time big names in credibility have put away their knives and First Amendment privileges out of fear and greed. What else could it be?

     The Constitution is under attack and Republicans don’t care. I’ve been writing that message for a long time now, having declared the death of the Republican Party in 2016 when it knelt meekly at the feet of Trump.

      Perhaps that’s why someone in the DNC mistakenly thought I was a registered member of the party. Sorry, no. I just want my Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and all the rest of the Democrats to take to the ramparts and use whatever weapons they have at their command to stop this dismantling of America. Go get Musk.

     Rally the people who were lied to by Trump and voted for him, the Republicans who may be hiding quietly, too embarrassed to come out and admit they were wrong, and the millions of Americans who didn’t bother to vote for president because “they’re all the same.“

     No, they’re not.

(Note to DNC: Thanks for the survey. The opinions expressed here are free for you to use, but in keeping with my tradition, I’ll be making my donations to the ACLU, SPLC and other apolitical organizations fighting to defend and preserve the Constitution.)

By Bob Gaydos

  “Put up or shut up.”

  That rather rude admonition occurred to me the other day as an apt metaphor for our times. Actually, it was delivered to me inadvertently and directly thanks to the United States Postal Service and social media.

    The message in the mail was not a new one, but it took on new significance as I tried to gather my wits, stamina, confidence and faith in an unknowable universe to deal with four more years of Trumpian chaos. What can one guy with an iPhone, a bunch of opinions and some supportive readers do to fight a wave of ignorance, intolerance and incompetence washing across our country?

    The mail held a couple of answers.

    One virtually shouted at me: “We’ve Seen 105 Years and 19 Presidents. Trump’s Gotta Get Past All of Us.”

     Right! I don’t have to do this alone. Step aside, ego. I knew this, of course, but at that moment I seriously needed a reminder.

     There are people who’ve been doing this a long time and know very well what they’re doing. Plus, they’re successful and they don’t ever give up. The ACLU.

      Yes, for the record, I’m already a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union and, yes, I’ll gladly renew. During Trump’s first term, the advocacy group filed 434 legal challenges against his administration. It won many important battles.

     Before Election Day 2024, it already had a plan in place, should Trump win, to fight his threatened mass deportation plan, provide legal aid to whistleblowers and those who oppose Trump’s policies, protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people and protect the right to reproductive freedom. All Trump targets.

    And they’ll do it all in court at all levels of government and all with experienced lawyers. So yeah, I’ll gladly put up a few bucks to help.

     There was also mail from the SPLC, another group of initials dedicated to fighting for people’s rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center was born in the civil rights movement and continues to fight for the rights of blacks (especially voting rights) across the South and, now, across the country. It has expanded its mission to fighting poverty, improving education and, notably, compiling a list of hate groups, state by state. 

    These groups, fed a steady diet of disinformation from far-right media that support Trump, represent a growing threat of violence against people of color, Jewish Americans, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and women. Again, all the people Trump targets when it suits his purpose.

   The SPLC has had some growing pains and internal issues recently in shifting its focus from helping individuals victimized by injustice to fighting injustice on a national scale, but it shows no less dedication in its mission and, again, it has been doing this for some time.

   Besides, the only other organization I can think of that might have compiled a list of hate groups state by state is the FBI and they don’t send me their list in the mail. So, yes, I will trust the SPLC and gladly renew my membership and, again, put my money where my mouth is.

    That’s the “put up” part. The “shut up” part came via social media. I’ve been sharing my opinions on various issues in newspapers and on social media for more than four decades now. I’m used to criticism. I also know that I speak for a lot of people who haven’t been given the privilege of opinionating publicly, as I have, or don’t feel comfortable doing so.

    So when I got a comment on one of my social media columns to the effect of: “It’s over. You lost. Stop” I had an immediate reaction. Not gonna happen. No way, no how and certainly not for any “sore winner.”

   No, I didn’t post this online. Never do. I’m not there to debate. But clearly, I got to this person. That’s good. Sometimes, the truth is hard to take. But I intend to keep spreading it as long as I can and it certainly helps to remember that, when it comes to fighting MAGA, you and I have our own bunch of smart initials — with lawyers who get paid — backing us up.

rjgaydos@gmail.com      

By BOB GAYDOS

The mail. RJ Photography

You can tell a lot about people by the contents of their mailboxes. In fact, if you pay attention, you can even learn a bit about yourself.

      For example, a recent day’s delivery to my box included ACLU Magazine, a letter from Planned Parenthood, one from the Southern Poverty Law Center and a note from Marlo Thomas for St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital.

     Now, anyone who is familiar with my columns would hardly be surprised by this mix. Since my days of reading David Bernstein’s daily editorials in The Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y. (1965-1973), I’ve been a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. Before that I was just a kid out of college who liked JFK. Since then, I’m lefty and proud and public.

     And I guess that’s the point here. Public and proud. I’ve been writing and commenting on the news and life in general for more than 50 years, but it has never seemed more important to me to be clear and forceful and consistent in expressing my opinions, however repetitive some may find them. Especially about politics and the state of the nation today.

     One of the two major political parties has, for all intents and purposes, abandoned the principle of compromise in governing for the good of the country. The Republican Party, as a willing and aggressive tool of Donald Trump, is a clear and present danger to our democracy. The past eight years testify to that.

     That’s my opinion and the opinion of many others. But still, there are millions of Americans who are buying the snake oil and gold sneakers to keep the Trump lies alive.

      And so, when I get my mail these days, I notice a certain urgency and consistency to it. These are people who feel the same as I do and are doing all they can to preserve and protect what was established in Philadelphia 248 years ago. Our democracy is at stake. This is our reality.

       I try to spread their messages so that those who have not yet recognized the true threat of the MAGA Party might one day hear it and realize what it means to them, to their freedom.

     This may sound a bit high-minded and exaggerated to some. But, again, I go back to my mailbox.

     The SPLC tells me about the spread of hate groups and its efforts to fight the threat of violent white nationalism and racism that has “gone mainstream’’ and is spreading  through our politics, media and schools and the constant racist rhetoric of Trump and a segment of the Republican Party. 

    The ACLU tells me about its legal efforts to protect voting rights from efforts, again, by Republicans, to restrict them for certain groups of people rather than promote ideas and programs those people might approve of and vote accordingly.

    The ACLU also tells me about its efforts to protect pregnant workers and  abortion rights and free speech.

    And Planned Parenthood tells me about its ongoing and increased efforts to educate the public about the threats to abortion access and to advocate for policies that protect sexual and reproductive health care for all.

     Freedom. It’s all about freedom. Many of you probably have similar messages in your mailboxes. 

   Again, that’s the point. Read them. They are there for a reason and I noticed them on this particular day for a reason.

    Our much-celebrated way of life is under attack and too many people still don’t recognize it. I would much rather write about the great work of the St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital that also comes in my mail, but if the MAGAs prevail, that will surely suffer also. Bigotry and hatred become pervasive.

      So I pay attention to my mail. I read it and I write about it. Because I still can. Because defense of freedom is not junk mail.

rjgaydos@gmail.com