Elfers continues to condescend

Every week, it’s the same message — “I hate Trump.”

Kudos to Rich Elfers again (“To our detriment, nation lacks positive role models,” published June 26). I don’t know how he delivers week after week but as always, in an effort to appeal to the lowbrow readers of The Courier-Herald, he lowers himself to speak to us on our level. Sensational – I’ve never seen a writer do this before. Thank you.

Each and every week he manages to deliver his core message, “I Hate Trump,” in new, clever and magical ways. He’s like Siegfried and Roy without the tigers. How does he do it? Readers in the flyover states can’t figure it out!

His insightful comparisons of Trump to both Washington and Lincoln are brilliant. Of Washington we’re told that “every decision he made as president came after deep thought and consideration of how future generations would see his actions.” That’s good (And I know it’s true because I remember that sentence from my fifth grade history book). He bets the current president doesn’t think like G.W. did… that’s bad. As for Lincoln, we’re told that “his critics were calling him names and drawing negative political cartoons of him…” That’s bad. But he didn’t react to them… that’s good. By inference our current president is criticized… that’s good. He reacts to that criticism… that’s bad. Thanks for the moral clarity – it seemed so nebulous before. “I Hate Trump.”

In like manner, just as Einstein took the mysteries of the universe and reduced them to E=MC2, the writer perfectly distills the nuances, complexities and designed messiness of our democracy into a couple of easy-to-understand sentences for readers. He doesn’t even need mathematics – genius! (Take that Albert!) “Democrats still have compassion (for people who agree with them), but no morality, while Republicans have neither morality nor compassion.” The elegant simplicity of this equation is breathtaking. Essentially, both Democrats and Republicans are bad but Republicans are worse, a lot worse. “I Hate Trump.”

And none are worse than Sen. Mitch McConnell. The writer reminds us that politics should be nice and clean and fair, (kinda like fifth grade). We are to ignore the fact that the senate majority may exercise its political leverage in any way it sees fit, whether it’s SCOTUS proceedings or anything else. (Obama c. 2009: “Elections have consequences.”) Shame on Sen. McConnell for having future x-ray vision and insisting that the majority Republican senate (both before and after the 2016 election) exercise its constitutionally mandated duty to represent its constituents in the two instances cited by the writer. Judge Merrick Garland is good. McConnell is bad. “I Hate Trump.”

Finally, thanks to the writer for doing the dirty work of denouncing Christians. They’re such a hateful, judgmental, self-righteous bunch, always criticizing and thinking they’re better than everyone else, even admonishing others who don’t agree with them. The nerve! I mostly love how he calls them names and questions the integrity of their faith, yup all 240 million of them in our nation (or perhaps just the tens of millions of Christians who voted differently than him in 2016). It was savvy to pre-empt any criticism they may have of him as “an example of their own loss of direction.” Sock it to ‘em Batman. “I hate Trump.”

We are blessed to have this writer in our community. His willingness to speak to us on our level is a gift.

“I Hate Trump.”

Brian DiNielli

Enumclaw