In a recent news report on the 2016 election, impoverished West Virginia coal miners were asked why they voted for Trump. They said “he seems to be on our side”. I believe they were gravely mistaken.

Trump and the Republican Party are not on the side of working people and they never will be. Republicans like Trump are manipulative con artists who fool people into believing empty promises that are instantly broken on inauguration day.

Whose side are Republicans on? Meet Don Blankenship, who owned a big coal mining company in West Virginia. He played fast and loose with safety regulations until his criminal negligence led to a massive explosion, killing 29 miners. Don briefly went to prison for this, but he’s back in West Virginia running for the US Senate as a Republican.

Republicans are on the side of mine owners like Blankenship. Democrats are on the side of the miners themselves, looking out for their safety and fair treatment.

If you work in a factory, it’s the Democrats who are on your side. Republicans are on the side of the corporate bosses who treat their workforce as a commodity to be overworked, underpaid and discarded.

Democrats are on the side of farmers – people who work the fields, tend livestock, and harvest and process our food. Republicans are on the side of the corporate food processors who underpay the farmers, overcharge their customers, and overpay themselves.

Republicans are on the side of those who poison our air and water, crush our wages, degrade our quality of life, and muffle our voices thru voter suppression and union busting.

So unless you’re rich, greedy and lacking empathy, the Democrats are on your side. Please remember that in November.

As the year 2017 winds down, Democrats, in general, and the La Crosse County Democratic Party in particular; have responded to the shock of a Trump Presidency with vigor and passion.

“The September 17 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contained an article [by Ron Kind and Jim Sensenbrenner]… that [says] that our state is neither blue nor red, but rather purple with a long history of leaders from both parties.  So, the state’s leaders should take a bipartisan, common-sense approach to problem solving, with a culture of respect and appreciation for one another…”