National political developments are felt in Cambria

Letter writer Eric Hoffberg of Cambria posted his views in the March 17 Cambrian, wondering why a sportswriter is given space for a biweekly column. He also objected to the essence and tone of my piece published on March 10.

The truth is that I am a research editor, a freelance writer, a journalist and columnist who coincidentally reports on local sports as well. I handle play-by-play broadcasts of Coast Union football, basketball and baseball (for KTEA-FM), so I am in a fortuitous position to report Broncos sports activities for the paper, which I have been doing for eight years in Cambria.

Moreover, a column is dissimilar from a regular news or feature story in the sense that the columnist has the opportunity to express views that don’t necessarily always pinpoint issues germane specifically to this lovely community of Cambria. Personal experiences and viewpoints are the hallmarks of a newspaper’s column contributors. To wit, read Kathe Tanner’s excellent writing, and Dianne Brooke’s thoughtful pieces.

Mr. Hoffberg asserted that I “veered off from the topic of sports or local wildlife,” and he objected to my “long-winded opinions” on national politics. Actually, I was comparing the Nixon-Kennedy debates in the 1960s with the raucous, boisterous, name-calling we see in some debates on television today.

In that March 10 piece, I took issue with Donald Trump’s vulgarity, insults, bigotry and his lack of grace, notwithstanding his dominant position at the top of the GOP polls. That may have irritated Mr. Hoffberg, and his opinion is as valid as mine.

But let me add: For those who don’t think national politics has any link to Cambria, I must counter that argument.

According to U.S. census, about 22 percent of Cambria’s population is Latino; City-Data.com puts the percentage of Latinos in Cambria at 23.2 percent. They are neighbors, co-workers, friends. Their children excel in academically, with the FFA, the ASB and in team sports.

Trump has referred to Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and “criminals,” but some, he assumes, “are good people.” Having a president who regularly insults our citizens is unconscionable.

Should Donald J. Trump become president, his policies will certainly impact citizens in Cambria. He threatens to abolish Obamacare. It’s not known how many Cambria citizens — out of the 18 million Americans who been able to afford health insurance since the program started — are insured under Obamacare.

I also received an email in response to that same March 10 column from a Cambrian reader in Thousand Oaks. He and his wife honeymooned here and they visit regularly. He agreed that Trump is a “blowhard” embarrassment to the Republicans, but he chided me for not taking Hillary Clinton to task for her email/server security issues and for her part in the Benghazi tragedy.

I wrote back and thanked him for his letter, admitting that Clinton has flaws but suggested “that notwithstanding those email issues and Benghazi, juxtaposing Hillary Clinton next to Trump — in a national election — will be like comparing beauty and the beast.”

He answered and thanked me for the “civilized chat” we had engaged in. I offered to take him and his wife to a prized spot for ocean viewing next time they come up. He accepted.

What he did write that rattled my cage a bit was his referencing of Barack Obama as “an ineffective president.”

Frankly, Obama has accomplished more than any president since FDR. To wit:

▪  When he took office, the country was shedding nearly 800,000 jobs a month; more than 13 million private-sector jobs have been added in his tenure (CNN Money).

▪  When Obama took office unemployment was higher than 10 percent; today it is 4.9 percent.

▪  About 18 million Americans that were previously not covered with insurance today are insured under Obamacare; the uninsured rate has dropped by 45 percent.

▪  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus) saved 300,000 education jobs and thousands of police and firefighters’ jobs.

▪  Obama opened the door to Cuba after 50 years of a failed policy of isolation; Cubans support the move, and 70 percent of Americans support it.

▪  The U.S. auto manufacturers faced bankruptcy, but Obama bailed out the industry and auto sales hit an all-time high in 2015 — 17.47 million cars; a million jobs were saved and the money was paid back to the U.S. Treasury.

▪  The president cut a deal with Swiss banks allowing U.S. Justice Department officials to gain access to bank records of criminals.

▪  Obama changed rules to make it harder for employers to avoid paying overtime.

▪  He implemented the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.

▪  Obama ordered all federal contractors to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour; many states and cities followed the president’s lead.

▪  He implemented the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to protect women against pay discrimination.

▪  He named Janet Yellen the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve.

▪  Under Obama, the U.S. produces more oil than it imports, the first time that has happened.

▪  He ended the policy that prevented families from visiting Dover AFB when the bodies of their loved ones arrive.

▪  He signed a global agreement on climate change with 190 nations.

▪  With China, France, Russia, the UK and Germany as partners, Obama negotiated a deal with Iran that will prevent the Iranians from building a nuclear weapon.

Who will be the next U.S. president? I can’t believe Trump could insult and bully his way into the White House. On the other hand, I didn’t believe the Giants would win three of five World Series, and I doubted Arnold Schwarzenegger could be elected California governor after six women publically testified he had groped them.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 11:20 AM with the headline "National political developments are felt in Cambria."