Who are “The Basement Dwellers?” Who Created Them?

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

Trump’s former White House Press Secretary, Stephanie Grisham, told participants at the Democratic National Convention that in private Trump refers to his own supporters as “basement dwellers.”

This fact should surprise no one. Trump has no interest in anyone other than himself. I feel a little sadness for the men and women who continue to support the orange buffoon. They obviously choose to ignore the real Donald Trump who has been totally exposed since his huge loss in the 2020 election.

Listening to comments from some of those attending his hate rallies, they share one belief with the old, obese man who leads their cult: they are all racists and bigots, and now that Kamala Harris is the Democratic candidate, misogynists..

Like Trump, who is the leader of the white supremacist movement in America, they firmly believe that pure whites should rule our country. They are adamant that whites are superior to all other races and ethnicities.

TRUMP’S SUPPORTERS SHOULD LISTEN TO MS. GRISHAM

Ms. Grisham continued to describe the Donald Trump which was only experienced by those close to him in the West Wing. She included additional specifics which clearly define the “real Donald Trump.”

"When people were dying in the ICU, he was mad that cameras weren't watching him," she alleged in an apparent reference to the early stages of the COVID pandemic.

"He has no empathy. He has no morals and no fidelity to the truth."

Trump is unfit for any public office in America. He might be successful in his mentor’s country, Russia, or other nations ruled by evil and malicious dictators, but not in my beloved nation.

WHY THIS INDEPENDENT VOTER HAS NOT VOTED FOR A REPUBLICAN SINCE 2000

The change started in 1981. The once Grand Old Party began to renounce its core principles and ideals. During the 2000 primaries the new and devolved Republican Party became “yes men,” and relied on policies designed to personally attack their opponents, not necessarily based on the truth, to ensure that George W. Bush became their party’s nominee.

Bush was the least qualified candidate in modern elections, and would retain that dubious “honor” until the 2016 campaign began.

Those of us who seek and value the truth quickly realized that his incompetence would cause great harm to our country’s future in 2001.

Although Bush and his Vice-President, Dick Cheney were warned about an imminent attack on our nation, they decided to take vacations in the latter part of summer in 2001. While they were away from the White House, the most egregious attack on our nation’s soil by a foreign entity occurred on September 11, 2001.

Radical Muslims, loyal to a member of the Saudi Royal Family, Osama bin Laden, whose extremist group Al Qaeda vowed to destroy America, hijacked three passenger aircraft. Their suicide missions were focused on three American icons: the White House, the Pentagon, and a symbol of America’s financial power, the towers of the World Trade Center.

Their plans were mostly successful. Both towers of the World Trade Center fell into a pile of rubble, killing thousands, and the Pentagon received enormous damage and additional loss of life.

However, a courageous group of ordinary Americans became heroes and refused to allow the third plane to reach the White House, forcing it to crash in Pennsylvania.

The result was an overreaction by the Bush administration and two unwinnable wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These poor decisions, combined with the failed fiscal policy of “trickle-down economics,” placed our nation in the “Great Recession of 2008.”

Our country was mostly united after 9/11. However, by the end of 2008, as the truth about Bush’s failures became clear, America was eager for change. The election of our nation’s first Black President increased the divide between our nation’s people. The line was drawn between those who continued to support Bush, and those of us who celebrated real change in America. This is only part of the story.

RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA MACHINES DIVIDE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Until 1996 Rush Limbaugh was the major voice of right-wing extremism. In 1996, billionaire Rupert Murdoch, and right-wing political strategist, Roger Ailes, began broadcasting a propaganda machine in support of radical members of the once Grand Old Party calling itself “FOX News.”

FOX was created with a focus on two goals: increase viewership with stories focused on sensationalism, whether true or not, and the result would be increased advertising revenue.

This began the creation of millions of misinformed Americans who would later become Trump’s “basement dwellers.” FOX was intentionally dividing our nation’s people along political lines.

By 2010, the Koch Brothers, and other billionaires, completed the creation of a radical right-wing branch of the Republican Party, calling themselves the “Taxed Enough Already Party,” now known as the TEA Party.

Outside groups like the Federalist Society, and the Heritage Foundation, mostly composed of former right-wing politicians, began to gain power and influence. The remaking of America had become a “well-oiled machine.”

Then, in 2015, a group of fascist leaning Republicans in the House formed the misnamed “Freedom Caucus.” When Trump declared his intention to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in June of 2015, the Freedom Caucus became his major political tool inside Washington.

HERE WE ARE IN 2024, A NATION CONTROLLED BY POLITICIANS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS IN THE MEDIA

By 2016 it was clear that the mainstream media favored a Trump presidency. Trump received five-times more media coverage than all other candidates combined, Republican or Democrat. The major networks renounced their responsibilities as the “Fourth Estate,” and joined FOX in their belief that “sensationalism sells.”

A side note, I have not watched television news since the morning of November 9, 2016. I refuse to be lied to.

All of the above factors are reasons why the United States has become a nation controlled by politicians with assistance from other influential entities. This is undoubtedly the worst thing which could have happened to our country. Politicians are the worst people in the world. They are “bottom feeders” who prey on the uninformed, telling them what they want to hear, not what is true, knowing that they can steal their precious votes with the use of emotional blackmail.

WHAT THE MEDIA REFUSED TO TELL YOU

Trump is the impetus behind the 922-page right-wing platform known as Project 2025. He would amass ultimate control over our nation, punish his enemies, end public education, assume the powers of the Department of Justice, and eliminate or greatly reduce Social Security and Medicare, among many other fascist policies. You will never hear these facts from any form of the media, legitimate or biased towards one party or the other.

I have high standards when choosing my friends. I have equally high standards when deciding who should receive my precious vote. Before I look at their position on the issues, he or she must have principles shared by the men who created our nation. He or she must have a high moral standard. Honesty and integrity are mandatory.

Trump was eliminated for consideration in 2016 immediately. He has no principles, and by his own actions and words has no morals. Therefore, it was no surprise that his position on every important issue is opposed to my own. Therefore, I could never be a “basement dweller.” I believe human beings should possess self-respect and, unlike Trump’s cult, I could never support an old, obese, white man who lacks basic human values.

Of course, voting is a personal choice, as guaranteed by the Constitution. However, I believe our choices should be based on values which are important to the future of ourselves and those we love. I could never vote for a self-created illusion, I demand substance.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Source: https://www.axios.com/2024/08/20/dnc-trump-stephanie-grisham