Trump’s bigoted diatribes against Latinos, Muslims and (nonwhite) immigrants received a considerable amount of attention during the campaign, as did his reprehensible attitudes about and behavior toward women.
The torrents of anti-Semitism he unleashed received less coverage by mainstream media sources, but not because that anti-Semitism was less pronounced. Anti-Semitic posts surged on Twitter; and as the Atlantic reported,
This was the year that anti-Semitism went mainstream again. On Tuesday, American Jews will have a chance to register their vote about a presidential candidate whose campaign has trafficked in anti-Semitic rhetoric, symbols, and organizations unlike any other seen in recent years.
Reporters who are Jewish–or who just have Jewish-sounding names–were subjected to vile diatribes employing words that weren’t part of public conversations back in “political correctness” days.
Those of us who are Jewish tend to be sensitive to eruptions of this sort, and the extent of ancient “Jew hatred” tropes and the emergence of old anti-Semitic stereotypes was chilling.
This ugly reality is one reason I get so annoyed when naive and disappointed progressives insist that Bernie Sanders would have beaten Trump. They point to polls taken during the primaries, which any pollster will concede are so early as to be meaningless. (Actually, polls taken during the campaign weren’t so meaningful either–just ask Hillary Clinton.) Had Bernie emerged as the nominee, he would have been subjected to the full ferocity of Republican campaign attacks, and as a commenter on this blog previously noted, there was plenty to work with. (That’s not a slam on Bernie; most people who have been in public positions a long time, and actually done things, have baggage or a history that can be twisted and made to look like baggage.) Given his attacks on the 1%, and his economic positions, there would have been enormous amounts of money pouring in from the Koch brothers and their ilk to fuel those attacks.
But that’s not the only reason Bernie couldn’t have won, no matter how much his message might have resonated with voters who actually wanted change. And let’s be honest. The ugly truth is that the majority of Trump voters weren’t voting for change–at least, not in the sense most people mean.
They were voting to repudiate social change and (especially) a black President.
They were voting to take America back to the way things were when no one spoke Spanish, gays were in the closet, Muslim-Americans were rare or non-existent, Jews and blacks were just barely second-class citizens, and women knew their place. And in the pantheon of their hatreds, Jews rank high.
Bernie Sanders is Jewish. The voters who thrilled to Trump’s nativism and White nationalism were never, ever going to vote for Bernie.
There’s a lot of debate over whether Donald Trump is anti-Semitic himself, or whether he was simply willing to pander to David Duke and the rest of the KKK and Nazis who endorsed him, but it really doesn’t matter. He did pander to them, he did encourage their virulent anti-Semitism, and if he ever effectively disavowed the Klan’s support, they (and I) didn’t notice.
Instead of wasting time with fantasies of what might have been, all of us who oppose Trump need to resist his agenda as forcefully as we can; we also need to begin looking now for progressive candidates who can run for the House and Senate in 2018, and for a transformative candidate who is electable in 2020. (Assuming the country is still here and in one piece in 2020. But that’s a blog for another day…)
Agreed Sheila.
Time for us all to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get back to work for what we believe.
In physics, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In social science, for each step of progress, there is a backlash. Here’s hoping the backlash only serves to motivate more progress.
No one could have said this better, Sheila. You are right on target.
We, each of us, must now find our place in what is going to be a very long battle to save the Constitution and with it all that is good with our country.
Sandy, you’ve hit a great point.
Sadly, neither physics nor any science applies to Fundamentalism. One might think they will be subject to the backlash now they have tied their wagon to a sexual pervert, but these “religious” will have no problem doing it, and hence, there will be no backlash for them.
I can honestly say that I did not even consider the element of religion as I supported Bernie. When I was working his phone bank, I did hear a lot about how he was a socialist. (Kind of ironic that Trump has the blessings of elements of the former USSR.) Racism and bigotry is reality. This last election cycle held it up to the light of day, but only proved that it exists.
The problem as I see it is that in order for a more progressive Democratic party to be successful, we need the animation and passion of Bernie, in an articulate and exciting group of unknowns (TBD) locally to compete for the Governor, House and Senate and then down ballot. With all due respect to their effort on our behalf, most all of the Democrat candidates were less than inspiring (kind of boring actually) and/or virtually invisible. I could find little information on any of the down ballot candidates to see what I could see. The tidal wave this election was a populist reaction to big money and the candidates beholden to it. The candidates for president, governor and senate were old establishment politicians that had the concept of populism spray painted on them somewhere at the last minute, but hardly at the core of their being. When the typical Trump voter finds out how he really feels about them and how he is going to “fix” their problems, they are going to be even more angry and receptive.
The complication is that, in order for this kind of progressive, populist slate to get elected, it must not act like or be perceived as a progressive version of the tea party.
Jeff,
“I can honestly say that I did not even consider the element of religion as I supported Bernie.”
I’m sure you didn’t. But, if Bernie Sanders had been the presidential nominee, the Republicans would have blasted him off the planet with their anti-Semitism. The anti-Semitism is bad enough on the surface; at the sub-surface level, it’s at least twice as bad.
I am very tired of hearing fellow liberals/progressives cry in their beer over a fact that they probably cannot change for four years. But there are things they can change…they would just need to do more than comment, tweet, and post. Why not have a blog that gives concrete information on where change can be effected? There are many organizations that need funding and volunteers: League of Women Voters, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, Volunteers in Medicine. And the list is much longer. All of these can affect the way we are governed. Also, how many people actively contact their representatives? (Maybe, an actual letter…that would be so astonishing it might get attention.) I am also writing Republicans like John McCain about doing the job we pay him to do. If normal people acted the way Republicans have over Obama’s initiatives and Supreme Court nominations, they would be fired. OK, I’ve had my final say. I’m opting out of all online/FB political discussions. (Not only because they can get so nasty.) Remember when Obama said, “Don’t boo, vote.”? Well, don’t whine…act. It’s time for all political discussion to turn productive.
Dakota,
“I am also writing Republicans like John McCain about doing the job we pay him to do.”
By the way, while you are at it, why don’t you remind Senator McCain that some of his kids are half-Jewish.
President Obama said, “That’s just not who we are.” I guess he was mistaken.
My biggest surprise, with all polls being close in this election, I believed the collective wisdom of the American people would never elect a person like Donald Trump.
My faith in the American people is shattered .
While I don’t deny that anti-semitism took place during this election campaign, I must admit that I didn’t personally witness or read about it. I do recall Marv mentioning it in his posts that it was taking place. Is it possible that it was subtle enough or hidden enough that only Jews could have picked up on it? I live in rural north Indiana – was I somehow blind to this?
Marv Kramer – no I won’t do that. I have not personally heard that John McCain has anti-Semitic views so I’m not going to accuse him of it. I’m going to stick to what I know he has done and remind him that he may have been elected by one state, but he’s working for all of us. I’ll write a letter that is rational and courteous. The broad brush of vitriol is just not working.
One of the pollsters who predicted that Trump would win is now predicting he will be impeached [if he lives that long considering the backlash that is starting to grow].
People are pointing out on this blog that we must get qualified Democratic candidates to run for office. People who will speak up and actually fight for the middle class. How can we possibly do that in Indiana when the Repubs have completely taken over all power through gerrymandering? We couldn’t even get anyone any better than John Gregg to run for Governor. None of us were impressed by him in the least, yet we voted for him because it was a vote against the power of the Repub party.
I was completely shocked at the voting results for Indiana. Over 70% of the votes went to the GOP candidates. That was a really rude awakening.
Dakota,
“I have not personally heard that John McCain has anti-Semitic views so I’m not going to accuse him of it.”
Try to listen, I didn’t say he had anti-Semitic views. I just thought he might not want to be considered a coward in the future, that’s all.
Nancy – the League of Women Voters is actively working on election reform (http://www.lwv.org/). They need funding and volunteers. There may be other organizations as well where you could contribute to fight gerrymandering.
I disagree. Completely. Bernie was the candidate of change that Trump voters were looking for. They didn’t like Clinton. At. ALL. She was the establishment and they were voting against that for President. Bernie promised to take on wall street, trade agreements and do an infrastructure bill just like Trump says he will. Stop making excuses for Clinton. She was a terribly flawed candidate and everyone knew it. I think the Republicans support Jews, they support Israel, don’t they? Good grief, they always stand with Israel and yes, some of those uneducated hillbillies in the ‘heartland’ don’t realize that Jews come from Israel but that’s because they are uneducated. Duke and the KKK are racist a**holes but not all of the trump supporters were racists. They hated Obama because they were brainwashed by Rush and Fox news. Even the President said that if he watched nothing but Fox News, he wouldn’t vote for himself either (see Bill Maher’s interview with him Nov 4th). Trump was an all inclusive instigator, he attacked everyone, even the Jews.
I truly believe that Trump will either be indicted or quit because he’s in over his head and he doesn’t know the first thing about service to anyone. This job will be too hard for him. If he is above the law and doesn’t get indicted, he’ll never go to jail. Even if he does get indicted and is fined, he’ll pay the fine and the supporters will forgive him, just like they always have.
They are in for a real surprise. Hopefully he’s going to stop the evangelicals that want to end marriage equality and Roe v Wade and tell them to concentrate on matters that actually hurt the country. I am not supporting Trump! He was a democrat before, may he come to his senses and support our social causes like he used to and blow up the country with his other stupidity instead. The republicans have been conned by a democrat that lied his way to the GOP Presidency and I hope he follows through with some of his plans.
I know, I know, I’m just a dreamer.
I’ve tried writing letters and am not sure how much impact they have. I suspect not much but hope I’m wrong and will keep trying.
Nancy,
“That was a really rude awakening.”
That’s why an appropriate response to Trump/Pence cannot ORIGINATE from partisan politics, more specifically the Democratic Party or other so-called progressive organizations who are culpable in producing this NIGHTMARE. If they couldn’t stand up before, how could they possibly stand-up now in a much more difficult political environment.
AgingLGrl,
Well stated!
AgingLgrl,
“I think the Republicans support Jews, they support Israel, don’t they? Good grief, they always stand with Israel and yes, some of those uneducated hillbillies in the ‘heartland’ don’t realize that Jews come from Israel but that’s because they are uneducated.”
It is just the opposite, at this point in time, most of them hate Jews. You might want to take a look at my website: http://www.EthicalFront.net. Sorry to disturb your Sunday with the truth.
The Breitbart crew that Trump brought in to manage his campaign are absolutely anti-Semitic That said, I can’t think any of us can possibly know what Trump thinks about anything. His whole campaign was one slogan after another, one twitter feed after another. He was the perfect candidate for those who don’t care for thinking or introspection or any of the things we have expected of our Presidents in the past. He is our first 140 character President.
Those who are protesting his Presidency should go home and start working to elect better state and local candidates. They should help find people to run for Congress and the Senate who will be impactful. He won. I don’t care how awful it seems, he won by the rules we currently have in place. If we get the candidates we need, we can change the rules. If you want to protest, I’m sure there will be plenty of things to protest in the coming years. Let’s make what we do count.
Here’s another thought to lift spirits today. I think the White House Correspondents’ Dinner should ask Barack Obama to be the emcee next year.
Sheila, how do we start looking for progressive candidates who will run for the House and Senate in 2018? Is the answer (like Dakota suggests) to volunteer for and fund organizations like the League of Women Voters, the ACLU, etc? How do we start looking for candidates to elect in 2018? I feel like we don’t have much time, and I do not know what the process is.
I think Anthony Hinrichs, in his brief statement, nailed it and gave us all our marching orders. Ultimately, that’s what we all have to do so if and when the Trump presidency implodes or explodes we’re ready for whatever happens since the very future of this country will definitely be on the line.
To paraphrase a very brave and bold man, Captain John Paul Jones, we have not yet begun to fight!
I guess Sheila has become paranoid. Is that what some of you think?
Someone on here mentioned contacting your legislators. I can tell you that I have many times and it is a complete joke. I typically make a phone call and am lucky if I can reach a staff member. All they will do is take down your questions/ideas/suggestions and say they will get back to you. Several weeks later you will receive a canned form letter in the mail thanking you for contacting them and then the letter goes on to explain what their goals are and assumes that you were a person who voted for them and that you have the same goals. It is useless!!!
Jerry,
Having been on the receiving end of letters to a government official i can attest to the fact that they have greater impact. They are tangible and sit there and sit there until someone has to actually answer them.
Marv,
Israel was not a state until after the Second World War. Many Jews came to this country out of Europe in the seventeen hundreds. My Jewish relatives came here in 1842.
Marv,
I don’t think Sheila has become paranoid at all. However, I believe the main reason people voted for Trump is that they are sick and tired of the wealthy elite buying the power and taking jobs overseas. The middle class has been gutted here in the rust belt. I just think they chose the wrong person to make the changes that we need. I don’t believe that Trump will truly look out for the people who voted for him. He has shown that he is only out for his own power, glory and financial gain.
Anyone who didn’t vote for HRC did not do adequate risk analysis and management. Even for the most regressive in the room the risk of Clinton was higher taxes for some.
The risks of Trump are between existential and catastrophic.
There was a piece in Slate last summer that describes what a Republican attack on Sanders would have looked like. He wouldn’t have lasted two news cycles against the GOP hate machine. Yes, we need inspiring candidates and a new party organization, nationally and at state and local levels. That won’t be easy- if you haven’t noticed, with increasing GOP control of the state’s we’ve lost most of the “farm teams” for cultivating rising stars. Here in Indiana before the election, the GOP held 40 out of 50 state Senate seats, and 70-something out of 100 House seats. That pretty much leaves us with township officials and city council members.
We also need civic education, which has been said before, and history (those who don’t study it are eventually bound to make the rest of us live through it again). The conditions of hate that should have left the GOP on the ash heap of history last week are still there, and emboldened. They were rewarded by the electorate -those who voted for them, threw their votes to a hopeless candidate as a protest, or just didn’t show up- for their 8 years of contemptuous obstruction and disrespect for institutions of governance, capped off by a frightening, hate filled campaign led by the most vile, vulgar, and unqualified candidate any major party has put up (and let’s not forget his sniveling, soul-selling running mate). This wasn’t an election. It was a mere power grab. Our next chance to do something about it comes in two years. I’m afraid, though, that last Tuesday was the transformative event for the nation that we all thought November 2008 was.
Theresa,
Mine a little later.
Because of the Christian-Zionist Alliance, SBC-ADL Agreement, or the modus vivendi between them, how could anyone even start to understand Jews, Judaism, or Zionism? Or more importantly, defend them before the anti-Semitism would destroy the whole country as it is doing right now and as it did in Germany.
Nancy,
I have pretty good luck with my letters to government officials. First, it is a letter, not email. Email is too easily deleted/lost. The letter is there on someone’s desk.
I make is short, polite and to the point. I do not tell them what I think, they do not want to know what I think, so why go into that? I ask a question. A very pointed and well crafted question. Something that ever so innocently pushes them into a corner. I nicely thank them in advance for their help in answering the question and then sit back and wait for the answer. If I get a no answer reply I write them back asking again.. very politely. Now it is on them If they did not answer the question in the first place, they are not going to be persuaded to change their position on anything. But they got the message. And you know they got the message.
My point is that if they never hear from the people they will rightly conclude that the people do not care. I say let them hear from us and often.
On a positive note – several progressive Dems are being considered for the DNC Chairman position. There is hope that one of them can rally the Democrats and bring about energy within the party.
Theresa,
What kind of replies do you receive and typically how long does it take? Do they actually confirm to you that they read your question and do they provide a reply that shows they actually considered your question?
Nancy,
What you said is true. That’s probably true about the election. But, the election is over. I’ve said over and over, that we’re dealing with two things: the election for President and a movement in the name of the Tea Party. Anti-Semitism didn’t play a part in the election because Bernie Sanders wasn’t the Democratic Party nominee. It would have only hurt Trump and the Republican Party to have done so. But he kept it alive, his first VOLLEY was anti-Semitism and so was his last. His constituents got the message right away. Now we are in a new phase of consolidating the country and the attempt to do so and, I guarantee you, they will play the anti-Semitic card just like they attempted during the battle for one man, one vote in Dallas in 1991. They lost that one. That doesn’t mean they are going to lose this one.
President-elect, not President Trump’s first big move was siding with Netanyahu over the settlements and the two-state solution. What do you expect the Jewish leadership to do now, defend against the anti-Semitism or protect the State of Israel? With the dangerous level of anti-Semitism in America, do you expect the Jewish leadership to sell out the State of Israel or fight anti-Semitism in America? Trump’s actions have FROZEN the Jewish leadership’s response to anti-Semitism which I fully understand, but not mine.
I hope Americans don’t lose touch with reality like the Germans did, but it looks like they have or are about too.
Nancy,
Replies usually took at least three weeks. And always their answer pertained to the question I asked. Mostly they answered in a way to cover themselves. Once I got into a three round of letter writing with a Republican Congressman. He ended the thing by not answering again. I know that I will probably not change anyone’s mind, but if enough people took the same stand they just might force a reexamination of some policy.
Marv,
I believe it is already too late. The bullying and bashing that is going on in my area and on facebook is unbelievable. The ugliness has only escalated. They are now angry that people are refusing to accept this election. They are demanding that everyone shut up, get over it and move on. If you refuse to acquiesce, there are consequences. I’ve already felt it.
Teresa,
Thanks for your response. I believe that I will continue to make the phone calls. Obviously, it doesn’t seem to matter either way if you have a different opinion.
Nancy; your comments about letters to legislators reminded me of a situation I faced during the Goldsmith administration in Indy. Part of my many faceted job was secretary to the City Manager of Lawrence Township; I was the person called wto register zoning complaints on all levels. I began receiving calls from Geist residents (for those unfamiliar, Geist is an extremely affluent area) regarding their Turkish neighbor who had announced at a community meeting he was going to build 4-5 $40,000 homes on the back of his property, import his family members from Turkey to live in them and work in his development business. Repeated calls, each one reported officially by me, entered into computer records and discussed with the manager, Tom, who did nothing for months. I began getting panicked calls one morning when footings had been poured for the $40,000 homes. Tom was “in the field”, didn’t return my pages so I spoke with the supervisor, June, who said I had to deal with Tom. The calls became more panicked as construction continued and no one from Zoning appeared to save their day – and their neighborhood. One woman and I had become friendly; I was honest with her about the lack of response and asked if she thought having her City Councillor’s home phone number would help – she thought it would. She passed the word and I passed along the Councillor’s home phone number to all who called. The Councillor and her husband appeared about an hour later, hot footing it down the hall; Tom was still in the field so the supervisor had to deal with them. Yes; my ass was definitely in a sling but all I could do was laugh as I watched the activity accelerate to stop the construction. I received many calls of thanks and would do it all again.
The current legislators, Democrats far outnumbered by Republicans, cannot be counted on for help, due to their basic weakness in addition to their low numbers. We don’t have President Obama’s home phone number but…could he be a possible leader to organize and help structure the “movement” we need to stay withing legal limitations but fight the discrimination we know is coming at us. If Trump is indicted or quits or suddenly drops dead during one of his outrageous rants – which are sure to return – Pence has already shown his legalized bigotry at Indiana state level will become national ASAP. I have lost a few more friends by with my attempts at disabusing them of Pence’s love of God, Jesus Christ and the Bible. Why not start at the top to seek political, civil and humanitarian salvation?
The ACLU, Common Cause and Women’s Voter League have all solicited donations from me, but here is what is keeping me from donating. In Indiana they concentrate their efforts and rallies in Indianapolis. I and most others are not able to travel to Indy for these. Even if they are in the evening, it is a 2+ hour trip for me and I am just not interested in making that trip for a 1 to 1-1/2 hour rally and then to have such a long trip home.
They need to make the effort to travel to other areas of the state to really get their message out to people in the rural areas or at least hold rallies in Ft. Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville. Possibly, even at more cities that don’t quite have the populations that these cities do.
Marv’s points are well taken. The anti-Semitism was there all the time in the white nationalism and KKK endorsements and Trump’s comfort with them. Some of our most offensive politicians who openly appealed to white nationalists also ‘pound the table’ to emphasize their support for Israel. The ‘table-pounding’ is a convenient political cover for the depth of some politicians’ anti-Semitism.
The Breitbart cadre with whom Trump surrounded himself has a history of mean-spirited deceptions and white nationalism. Breitbart also has had a long-running battle with organized labor, siding with big business backers to demean and divide unions from their memberships and public support.
The negative energy won the election. Now it has to govern. I worry for all the scapegoats who took and are taking the brunt of that negativity.
Great story JoAnn. Bravo to you. I would have done the same thing. It is amazing how those in power can ignore complaints until they become vulnerable with people’s ability to access them. Then @*%# starts rolling downhill fast.
When I have a complaint that hasn’t been resolved with my health insurance (Anthem) with a couple of phone calls, I then demand to speak to a supervisor. It is obvious that the front line has been trained to do everything possible to keep people from reaching a supervisor, but if you make it clear that you are not going to give up, they finally get a supervisor involved. Amazingly, the issue gets cleared up quickly. I also do this with other corporations that refuse to provide customer service and hope that you will just give up.
Nancy,
Thanks for the info. You’re right it’s dangerous. But it comes with the territory. What happens when no one speaks out? Will things be back to normal and everything O.K.? It will only be much worse. You can’t go in the direction that Trump is taking the country without severe coercion. He’s under the impression that the Jews will be the scapegoat for the other minorities, especially Latinos and African-Americans. That might have been the case twenty-five years ago, but not now. I observed the demonstrators, yesterday, in Jacksonville…they were young and most of them were probably involved in the Occupy Movement. They aren’t the future demonstrators and the lightning rod for extreme measures to be taken in the future, which will not be sufficient any more than the controls that were instituted in other countries in the past. We’re committing suicide and we don’t even know it.
Well Dakota, you said you were going to leave but then you reappear two times later. Hmm
I am surprised that no commentator today has referenced what I think would have been Bernie’s biggest drawback to election, and it’s not his Jewishness but his socialist views. Can anyone imagine what Fox News would have done with his nomination in painting the hammer and sickle all over him with yet further references to the horrors of Stalin’s purge of White Russia in consolidating Bolshevik power? Are you voting for a communist, America? Red cinders anyone, etc.? He might have carried Vermont, or at least Burlington.
This is not to say that his Jewishness would not have been an issue among the bigots and Kluxers, to be sure, but I think it secondary to the red paint obstacle the right wing media would have lavished on his candidacy. The truth is that Hillary was elected under the rule of popular vote; she only lost due to how the vote was allocated via the electoral college anachronism, a system in need of amendatory repair. Meanwhile, I suggest we follow Senator Warren’s cue to be selectively obstructionist in re Trump’s agenda, agreeing with, for instance, his stated ambition to invest heavily in infrastructure and repair while obstructing his tax plan that rewards the rich and corporate class while throwing chump change at the rest of us. I also suggest that he appoint Chris Christie as Secretary of Transportation. He’s good at bridges.
Gerald,
Thanks for bringing up Bernie’s socialism. I, too, felt this would keep him from being elected. The white nationalist’s have been complaining for years that they are being taxed to cover the expenses of the ‘lazy’ poor. Lazy being their description, not mine. It is next to impossible to convince them that the real welfare queens are the corporations. They just elected a welfare queen.
I would like to see us get away from the “if only” game of post election analysis. What happened, happened. That said, I’m also with Elizabeth Warren’s cue to be selectively obstructionist. If we each pick one or more issues to champion and are relentless in our advocacy, I believe we will be effective. Let the letters, emails, and phone calls begin.
. . . and we’ve not even taking into fact how theocratic henchman would have made hay with Bernie’s “atheism”.
Theresa,
“If we each pick one or more issues to champion and are relentless in our advocacy, I believe we will be effective.”
That makes a lot of sense. There’s an underlying system to all of this. It has been called for a better name: WEBWAR. Success at one or two vital nodes (it’s called SWARMING) can cause a disruption or even better a CASCADE in the whole system, much like the massive power outage in New York, some years back.
Gerald; Bernie’s Democratic Socialism was NOT Russian Socialism as it was used back in that day. Bernie’s Democratic Socialism would have provided regulations to control big businesses to prevent (undo the current situations) running further amok. The Glass-Steagall Act was gradually declining due to legislative easing of control on banks; Bill Clinton signed the bill totally repealing Glass-Steagall Act and George W. took further advantage of that fact in October 2008, with his billions of giveaways, before leaving office. He knew the Republicans had lost the presidential election so he left Barack Obama with an even heavier economic load to deal with. I have said before that President Obama’s biggest mistake in office was NOT to allow Bush’s set date for the lower tax rate on the wealthy to expire. Problems mounted and escalated when Republicans gained control of Congress on January 1, 2010; think back to how many of our problems relate to the lowered tax rate on the 1%. Then when the Social Security tax rate went up on the date Bush set, President Obama was blamed for the smaller paychecks. No one wants to hear that anymore than they want to hear that ACA is NOT the cause of soaring health care, medical and Big Pharma (all big businesses with NO regulations) costs – which have been soaring for decades. This will escalate when Trump takes the helm.