A Donald Trump victory may not be likely, but it isn’t totally far-fetched

A Donald Trump victory may not be likely, but it isn’t totally far-fetched, which explains the ever-increasing feeling of unease many Democrats and anti-Trumpites are experiencing as the candidates head into the final stretch.

Trump has no experience in elected office, knows less about public affairs than many average citizens, has mocked a disabled reporter, has belittled a female reporter, has insulted Muslim Americans as a group, has described Mexicans as “criminals,” has praised unstable talk show hosts, has won the admiration of leaders of the KKK, has questioned the capability of a federal judge based on his ethnic background, and has derided fellow Republican John McCain a former POW on his service record.

Hillary Clinton may be dull and uncomfortable at campaigning but she has done nothing to deserve the rabid hatred expressed by voters who seem convinced that she is “bad” because conservative and Tea Party media have spent years incessantly creating and enhancing that image.

Is Hillary Clinton so wonderful that she should never be criticized? Of course not, but the outrageous characterizations of her in hate blogs make her seem like some character in a conspiracy theory novel which is not news and is not fact. There are thousands of people who seriously call her “evil” but remember there are tens of thousands of people who regularly are hospitalized for mental health problems as well.

Hillary Clinton has the ability to make a good president and with good fortune she will be a great president. Donald Trump has the ability to make the White House a set for a reality show for the next four years.

Hillary Clinton released her tax records from 1977 to date and released tax records for the Clinton Foundation too but Donald Trump still refuses to let Americans know what he earns and how much he pays in taxes. Why? His son, Donald Trump Jr., explained that his father cannot release his tax returns even though every major party presidential candidate in the past 40 years has done so because it would make people ask questions. Really?

He told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “He’s got a 12,000-page tax return that would create … financial auditors out of every person in the country … asking questions that would detract from [the] main message.” This is a variation of the answer his daddy gives to reporters.

Trump claims he would release his returns “immediately” if he could, but the IRS is auditing him so he cannot. Trump’s other son, Eric, told CNBC that his father will not release tax records because, “You would have a bunch of people who know nothing about taxes trying to look through and … come up with assumptions on something they know nothing about. It would be foolish.” The Washington Post called Trump “the least transparent major presidential nominee in modern history.”

Public office demands transparency (Mayor de Blasio, are you listening?) and Donald Trump is seeking the highest office in the land and the most important job in the world. He needs to become more transparent.

The Council of Athens in Ancient Greece acted as a collective executive body that set a budget for public spending and controlled the agenda for the Assembly or legislative body in the historical model of democracy. The Council would also audit the financial holdings and history of all public officials who handled public money. Now that is transparency!

We the people would be foolish if we gave our vote to a candidate who refused to let his potential constituents know what he earns, what he does with the money and how much he pays in taxes.

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