A Tale Of Two Conventions And Two Parties In 2024
The opening line of Charles Dickens’ classic novel of France during the French Revolution was “It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.” That line could accurately describe the United States this year as we get closer to election day in November. I watched some of the party conventions this summer and the contrast between the two major political parties couldn’t be more radically different than they are this year.
The Republican party held their convention in July in Milwaukee Wisconsin, a key “battleground state” in a city that is strongly Democratic. The Democratic party held their convention in Chicago, a Democratic stronghold for a long time, just an ninety minute drive south of Milwaukee. The two convention cities have a lot in common besides both being on Lake Michigan. But the two political parties were worlds apart.
The Republican party was painting this picture of the United States in 2024 as some dystopian society where criminals are running rampant and “out of control inflation” is sapping the people’s buying power while the government is spending billions of dollars on “undeserving” people and encouraging illegal immigrants to freely come into the United States bringing crime, drugs and disease. They said, “if only we had completed Trump’s border wall” this could have been prevented.
Their message was that only their savior, Donald Trump, could fix these problems that plague the United States in 2024. Funny, but I heard the same rhetoric eight years ago when the Republican party held their convention in Cleveland where Donald Trump was nominated for President and in his acceptance speech, he told the audience that “only I can fix it.” He became President in 2017 and had four years to “fix it.” But did he “fix it”?
The Democratic party held their convention just a week ago as of this writing. Their picture of the Unted States was as optimistic as the Republican’s was pessimistic. Since President Biden withdrew from the race in July, the enthusiasm among the Democratic party has been amazing. The party has united behind Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
But the truth about the state of the country in 2024 compared to four years ago is radically different than the “gloom and doom” from the Republican party. Sure, in the summer of 2020, gasoline was cheap as was almost everything. Americans were hunkering down because of the worst pandemic in more than a century. No one was traveling and travel bargains were everywhere. The nation’s economy had crashed with the highest unemployment since the Great Depression of the 1930s. What prevented this from becoming a full-blown recession that would last longer than the pandemic was the government’s actions during that period.
Also, people were not making major purchases and buying houses. Real estate slowed to a crawl as people stayed put. Downtown was a ghost town during the work week and there was an absence of rush hour traffic as workers learned how to work from home remotely.
That was something I had to master forty years ago when I was managing a new sales staff in Asheville North Carolina before the company opened a new field office. Except than in 1983, we didn’t have the computers or the internet like we have now. When I installed an answering machine on my phone so people calling when I was out could leave messages. Many people said that they didn’t like talking to a machine. But mobile phones were a decade away.
So, in the 2020 election, the country turned to an old hand with years of experience in government to “build back better” from the pandemic. Four years later, the proof is in the pudding. Statistics don’t lie and the official statistics regarding the economy has shown that President Biden has successfully delivered on his promise to “build back better” from the pandemic.
Despite what the Republicans and Trump are saying, crime is down substantially since 2020. This is based on FBI and police statistics. In addition, illegal border crossings are also way down as well as border encounters from pre pandemic levels during the Trump presidency. The rate of inflation, which peaked two years ago, is down to a manageable level that is sustainable to a stable economy. Statistics don’t lie. But politicians do lie, and Donald Trump is the “lyin’ king”.
Our alliances around the world are much stronger than they were four years ago. This is especially true regarding our most important alliance, NATO, that is now stronger than ever with Sweden and Finland as new members. There are no American troops on the ground in Ukraine. We have been giving the Ukrainian forces some of our weapons and training their soldiers how to use them and now they have Russia on the retreat.
Americans like to be optimistic. One of Ronald Reagan’s appeals was his optimism. He envisioned the United States as “the bright shining city on the hill that is a beacon of freedom and opportunity.” He also said that “America’s best days were ahead, and not in the rear-view mirror’” People and voters liked that and responded by giving him their votes. Politics is like driving a car; to go forward you put it in D, to go backwards you put it in R.
Lee Kamps
Lee has been working with Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurance since he began working at the Erie County Welfare Department in January 1973 where a major part of his job was determining eligibility for Medicaid. He went into the private insurance business in 1977 with Prudential Insurance Company and within a short time had become one of the company’s top sales agents. In 1982, he was promoted into management where he managed two field offices and as many as thirteen sales agents. After leaving Prudential in 1986, Lee decided to become more focused on health insurance and employee benefits. He has advised many local employers on how to have a more cost effective employee benefit program as well as conducted employee benefit meetings and enrollments for many area employers. The companies Lee has worked with ranged from small “mom and pop” businesses to local operations of large national companies. Lee received his B.S. degree from Kent State University where he has been active in the local alumni association. He has completed seven of the ten courses toward the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist designation. He has taught courses in employee benefits and insurance at Cleveland State University and local community colleges. In addition, Lee is an experienced and accomplished public speaker. He has been a member of Toastmasters International where he achieved the designation of “Able Toastmaster – Silver” in 1994. He has also served as a club president, Area Governor and District Public Relations Officer in Toastmasters as well as winning local speech contests. Lee has also been a member of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association’s Speaker’s Bureau where he was designated as one of the “official spokespeople for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” prior to the hall’s opening in 1995. He has given talks and presentations before many audiences including civic organizations, AARP chapters and many other community groups. With the implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act (Medicare drug bill) in 2006, Lee has shifted his focus to Medicare and helping Medicare beneficiaries navigate the often confusing array of choices and plans available. As an independent representative, Lee is not bound to any one specific company or plan, but he can offer a plan that suits an individual person’s needs and budget. In addition, Lee is well versed in the requirements and availability of various programs for assistance with Medicare part D as well as Medicaid. While he cannot make one eligible, he can assist in the process and steer one to where they may be able to receive assistance.