Trump speak is hateful and dangerous spews venom on his ugly social media

Echo opinion published in The New York Times:  Debbie Dingell: How to Stand Up to Trump

Unbelievable!  “Rot in hell.”

Those words were part of Donald Trump’s Christmas Day message, spewed at his political enemies. 

Rep. Debbie Dingell

I was married to a great and wise man with whom I shared an incredible love for decades. I miss John every day. On the day that he died, in 2019, he dictated an op-ed to me that would be titled “My Last Words for America.” 

He observed, “In our modern political age, the presidential bully pulpit seems dedicated to sowing division and denigrating, often in the most irrelevant and infantile personal terms, the political opposition.” Months after his death, when I voted for the first articles of impeachment against President Trump, he launched into a brutal attack saying that John was “looking up” at me (implying he was in hell). That’s the Trump way — the cruelty is the point, yet that awareness doesn’t make it any less painful. We’re human. He knows that, and he thrives on it.

https://independentaustralia.net/life/art-display/cartoon-the-trump-tunnel,10632#google_vignette

I am not seeking a fight with Mr. Trump. It’s not easy to tangle with him, especially after that experience involving John. But I do know that hateful rhetoric cannot be ignored or become normalized. We have to stand up to bullies in this country, and we have to call out indignities. My bluntness about “rot in hell” being unacceptable was my unfiltered reaction and I stand by it. In my view, the only way you can deal with bullies is to consistently call out their inexcusable behavior and stand in defense of those they choose to target. Trust me, I know it can wear you down — but we can’t grow tired, and we must push back on the hatred when we see it, calling it out, using language everyone understands and in ways that prevent it from seeping into our everyday lives and routines.

Being in Mr. Trump’s tunnel of hate is not enjoyable. Frankly, it’s often frightening. Like many of my colleagues, I have received hostile calls, antagonistic mail and death threats, and I have had people outside my home with weapons. And it reflects the vitriol, bullying, rage and threats we are witnessing across the country today — from our exchanges on social media to dialogue with each other and with those in our workplaces, schools, gathering places, families and communities. It’s a real danger to our democracy and our safety.

When I expressed my thoughts about his Christmas message, Mr. Trump took to Truth Social to go after me once again as a “loser.” Unfortunately, he also brought John into his rant. I can deal with being called names and subjected to the standard venom that we’ve all become familiar with in Mr. Trump’s social media attacks. But when he brings up John, it’s one of the things that hit me hardest.

It would be easy to say his words don’t hurt, but they do. And I am sure he knows it.

When my husband died, Mr. Trump called me. At the time, I was touched by the president’s sympathy, his taking the time to reach out, and having the flags flown at half-staff. I did not ask Mr. Trump for anything during that call; it was Representative Nancy Pelosi, who was then speaker of the House, who helped with funeral arrangements. John earned the tributes he received. But President Trump cared enough to call, and he lowered the flags. Though we recall it differently, to this day I remember his act of kindness. But that private moment of empathy wasn’t and is not some kind of pass when my duty was to consider articles of impeachment against him, or a permission slip to allow for the public words he chose four years ago or those he used this week.

People don’t know how much I still miss John, especially this time of year, and how easily the tears come. Loneliness is something that is affecting many these days, and the loss of someone who was your total partner, and accepting the painful reality he is gone, does not happen quickly or easily. It is a hard, exhausting process.

But I cannot and will not be bullied or intimidated by anyone. Sometimes tyrants think women will cower. We cannot. We have the strength and courage to do what is right and fight for the betterment of our communities.

Mr. Trump’s style of politics — the disrespect, prejudice, name-calling and malice that too often get swept aside as his just calling it as he sees it — makes healthy debate and discussion virtually impossible. The word “congress” by definition means coming together. Government shouldn’t be about who can make the most noise; it’s about working together to find solutions. Take it from me: What Mr. Trump is doing isn’t honesty or candor, it’s ruthless and deliberate viciousness.

We can be sure Mr. Trump’s rhetoric will get only more fiery, discordant and divisive over the next year leading up to the election. We’ve already seen the dangerous and deadly consequences his words can have, and we cannot become complacent. This isn’t just about one man. We all face a choice in how we react to bullies, and we all have a responsibility to choose civility in the face of cruelty.

What I would encourage people to do, if attacked by Mr. Trump or his supporters, is to not be afraid to challenge the attack. Try to de-escalate the situation by presenting an alternative point of view calmly. Don’t let them bait you to descend to their level. Because that animosity is exacerbating the problem: We are watching very premeditated and carefully chosen words and actions by Mr. Trump that are stoking anger, further fueling a lack of trust in many institutions and creating a climate that is threatening democracy. Beware, the dangers are real.

I’m concerned by Mr. Trump’s pledges to rip health care away from Americans and to rule as a dictator, and by his applause of political violence. We need to hold people accountable for their words. I know that if John were here, he would tell me to do exactly what I’m doing now — to stand up and make my voice heard, and not back down. That’s what I’m going to continue to do, and I hope that as we look toward 2024, all our leaders, elected and aspiring, will join me.

Debbie Dingell is a Michigan Democrat and member of the House of Representatives from Michigan.

Health care coverage is a humanitarian right- Medicare4All

Medicare for All: "Everyone deserves healthcare—pandemic or not—and Medicare for All can get us there... We need Congress to put people before profits and support Medicare for All."

Report echo published in Common Dreams

'Everyone In, Nobody Out': Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) introduce Medicare for All Act, with112 Co-Sponsors.

"A system that prioritizes profits over patients and ties coverage to employment was no match for a global pandemic and will never meet the needs of our people."

Medicare4All would have prevented hundreds of of COVID deaths:

"We need to be prepared for the next pandemic, and we can't be under the current for-profit system."

Affirming that healthcare is a basic human right and that people must come before profits, Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2021, on Wednesday, exactly one year after the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Dingell (D-Mich.) unveiled the landmark legislation at a virtual town hall Wednesday afternoon, where they highlighted the devastating effects of a virus that has killed more than 537,000 people in the United States while leaving millions more uninsured due to pandemic-related job loss and underemployment.

The bill (pdf)—backed by a record 112 House co-sponsors—guarantees healthcare to every U.S. resident as a human right. It provides comprehensive benefits including primary care, vision, dental, prescription drugs, mental health, long-term services and supports, reproductive healthcare, and other services. It eliminates copays and private insurance premiums.

In a statement introducing the bill, Jayapal noted that the country is currently experiencing the highest increase in uninsured people ever recorded.

"While this devastating pandemic is shining a bright light on our broken, for-profit healthcare system, we were already leaving nearly half of all adults under the age of 65 uninsured or underinsured before Covid-19 hit," said Jayapal. "And we were cruelly doing so while paying more per capita for healthcare than any other country in the world."

On Tuesday, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen published a report showing that around 40% of U.S. Covid-19 infections and 33% of virus deaths are attributable to a lack of adequate health insurance coverage. At the onset of the pandemic, around 87 million Americans were uninsured or underinsured.

"There is a solution to this health crisis—a popular one that guarantees healthcare to every person as a human right and finally puts people over profits and care over corporations," said Jayapal. "That solution is Medicare for All—everyone in, nobody out—and I am proud to introduce it today alongside a powerful movement across America."

In a statement introducing the bill, Jayapal noted that the country is currently experiencing the highest increase in uninsured people ever recorded.

Dingell said in a statement that "a system that prioritizes profits over patients and ties coverage to employment was no match for a global pandemic and will never meet the needs of our people."

"In the wealthiest nation on Earth, patients should not be launching GoFundMe pages to afford lifesaving healthcare for themselves or their loved ones," she asserted. "Medicare For All will build an inclusive healthcare system that won't just open the door to care for millions of our neighbors, but do it more efficiently and effectively than the one we have today."

"Now is not the time to shy away from these generational fights," stressed Dingell, "it is the time for action."

Representatives of the more than 300 local, state, and national organizations endorsing the bill agreed.

"While this devastating pandemic is shining a bright light on our broken, for-profit healthcare system, we were already leaving nearly half of all adults under the age of 65 uninsured or underinsured before Covid-19 hit," said Jayapal. "And we were cruelly doing so while paying more per capita for healthcare than any other country in the world."

On Tuesday, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen published a report showing that around 40% of U.S. Covid-19 infections and 33% of virus deaths are attributable to a lack of adequate health insurance coverage. At the onset of the pandemic, around 87 million Americans were uninsured or underinsured.

"There is a solution to this health crisis—a popular one that guarantees healthcare to every person as a human right and finally puts people over profits and care over corporations," said Jayapal. "That solution is Medicare for All—everyone in, nobody out—and I am proud to introduce it today alongside a powerful movement across America."

"Physicians cannot give patients the care they need in a fractured and profit-driven system," said Dr. Susan Rogers, a Chicago-based internal medicine physician and president of Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP), in a statement. "For too long, doctors have watched helplessly as our patients delayed or skipped needed care—even walked out of our hospital doors—because they could not afford to pay."

"We can't let Congress sit on their hands while our patients suffer and die needlessly," added Rogers. "It's time to invest in a system that is designed to improve health outcomes, not profit margins. It's time for single-payer Medicare for All."