To the Editor:
President Donald Trump was recently recorded making this threat: “Well, I’m going to do something. That I can tell you -- because we’re not going to -- New York and Chicago and Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore and all of these -- Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.” Like usual, Trump blamed the Democrats for the civil unrest, and the Democrats blame Trump and the Republicans.
Neither of the corporate parties have offered a solution. That has been left up to the Green Party. On July 22, Green Party Candidate for President Howie Hawkins, said, “The real solution for increasing security in urban areas and reducing crime is to invest in those communities. We are campaigning for a Marshall Plan to rebuild impoverished communities and an Economic Bill of Rights to end poverty and economic despair.” The only real plans that will appropriately serve all Americans are coming from the Green Party.
The Green Party of Pennsylvania (gpofpa.org) considers Trump’s actions a dangerous step toward authoritarianism. Leaders of the party condemned both the president’s words and his actions. GPPA Secretary Beth Scroggin of Chester County said, “We all must stand in opposition to Donald Trump’s words and actions against peaceful protesters. If we do not speak out against the federal agents abusing and abducting those who are standing up for their rights and the rights of others, there will be no one left to stand for us.”
Howie Hawkins stated in his most recent press release the true depravity of Trump’s intentions. “Trump is losing by a landslide. He is using militarized police as props to try and rescue his failing campaign.”
Some Democrats have also come out and condemned Trump’s actions. Unfortunately, solace will not be found in the Democratic Party. After all, President Barack Obama paved the way for Trump in 2011 by signing the National Defense Authorization Act. This NDAA included a section entitled “Counter-Terrorism,” which authorized the indefinite military detention of persons the government suspects of involvement in terrorism, including U.S. citizens arrested on American soil. Since Trump has claimed both Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa are terrorist organizations, it’s unclear if what is happening in Portland is technically illegal. Though to the rest of the nation it sure looks like an infringement on civil rights.
“Trump is going in the opposite direction of what is needed. We need community control of the police and a transfer of funding from over-policing and harassing impoverished communities to providing living-wage jobs, affordable housing, and good schools, health care, and social services to these communities. We do not need a would-be dictator in the White House sending secret police to cities to escalate violence,” said Presidential Candidate Hawkins. “Trump is trying to rule by dividing people, but his abusive use of secret police will backfire and result in an even larger defeat. And, if the Republican Party fails to stand up to Trump, they will also pay a price at the polls.”
Green Party of Pennsylvania