Vigil for Democracy draws more support as ‘Tax Day’ approaches

On Wednesday, April 12, Len Sherp’s “Vigil for Democracy” protest of the Trump administration agenda saw its largest turnout – around 20 people over the course of the noon lunch hour – and its first national attention in the person of Washington Post reporter Jenna Portnoy.

Actually Sherp explained that he ran into Portnoy at the weekly Sixth District “Open Door” meeting hosted by staff of Congressman Bob Goodlatte at Samuels Public Library that morning – “I think her normal beat is the Virginia congressional delegation, and she was out here to see what was going on at the constituent meetings, which is where I met her and told her about the vigil.”

A variety of signs and issues at the April 12 Vigil for Democracy in Front Royal. Courtesy Photo

Of that April 12 vigil Sherp said, “Wednesday’s turnout was the largest yet, more than twenty sign-holders, and plenty of newcomers.  More than a handful were walk-ups who joined us, several of whom were from out of town.  In addition to those of us in the line, we had several appreciative hand-shakers, lots of horn-honks and thumbs up from passing motorists, and only a smattering of boo-birds,” Sherp said.  “We also launched a website this week – vigilfordemocracy.org – encouraging folks in other communities to start their own vigils and to keep us all aware of what’s going on.”

Six days before the extended April 18 tax deadline, one focus of those assembled was President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-released tax returns; as well as Congressman Goodlatte’s complicity in keeping Trump’s tax returns hidden from the American people – almost 75% of whom when polled during the 2016 campaign, stated they wanted them released.

As is common knowledge by now, there is no legal block to the release of under-audit tax returns – as American billionaire Warren Buffet pointed out during the 2016 presidential campaign.  Trump’s refusal to release his tax return breaks a precedent dating back at least 40 years, seven presidents and myriad presidential candidates.

Taxes and tax returns were on some people’s minds. Photos/Roger Bianchini

And with tax reform – early outlines of which indicate additional tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans – a stated priority of one of the wealthiest presidents in American history, Trump’s tax history is an ongoing target of his critics, including those gathered at the main historic downtown intersection of Front Royal, Virginia on April 12.

“Some of this week’s gatherers had signs related to taxes, but I’m expecting a much greater focus on that next week, April 19, since that’s the day after the filing date for federal income taxes,” Sherp observed.

But in the fluid, sometimes chaotic and often confusing first 75 days or so of the Trump presidency, there were a variety of other themes of discontent expressed by those joining Sherp into his second month of “Vigil for Democracy” protests.

One read, “Let’s Make America Kind Again” – a reference, not only to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan; but also his negative profiling of immigrants and refugees based on their nation of origin.

Kindness is good – the sign pointed toward the street in foreground says “Your children will pay for the WALL!” and Sherp approaches in background with a “Say NO to Nepotism” reference to Trump daughter Ivanka and hubby Jared Kushner’s roles at the White House.

Another said, “Stop Paying for Trump’s Penthouse” – a reference to the soaring security costs resulting from the inordinate amount of time President Trump and/or the First Lady have spent outside the White House, in either Trump Tower in New York City or at various Trump-owned golf and vacation resorts from Virginia to Florida.  Those costs include an estimated $25 million alone for the president’s seven Mar-a-Lago weekends during his first two-plus months in office.

‘Spicing’ up history

But being a history, more than a numbers buff, one of this reporter’s favorites was a handwritten sign – “Sean Spicer: Hitler was NOT a good guy” – a reference to Presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s favorable comparison of Nazi leader Adolph Hitler to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.  That ill-received comparison came at a press conference in the wake of Trump’s unilateral decision to bomb Syria in reaction to Assad’s believed chemical attack on a rebel-held city that resulted in 87 civilian casualties.

That one on the right sounds familiar … OH YEA, circa 1973, the Watergate investigation and Nixon resignation – and THERE in the small print is that Spicer-Hitler history lesson sign.

Those casualties included suffering children graphically-portrayed on American TV.  They are children, one might note, who along with their parents, Trump has put on his blanket “travel ban” list as potential Muslim terrorists due to the nation of their birth.

NON-FAKE NEWS ALERT – I am NOT making this up, these are the direct quotes of Trump Press Secretary Sean Spicer when asked why he thought Vladimir Putin might withdraw his support of Syrian President Bashar al Assad in the wake of the April 4 chemical attack – “I think a couple things, you look, we didn’t use chemical weapons in World War II; you know you had someone as despicable as Hitler, who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” Spicer began.

(Historical footnote: German Nazi leader Adolph Hitler is documented to have authorized the mass murder of millions of largely domestic prisoners by gas.  That systematic genocide of his own people began with disabled Germans deemed “unfit for life” due to their disabilities; and evolved into much larger numbers, including millions of Jews, who along with other dissidents, minorities and political opponents, were gassed in concentration camps, often under the pretext of going to the shower.)

Asked to clarify his statement about the Nazi leader, Spicer replied, “I think when you come to sarin gas, he was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Ash-ad (miss-pronunciation in context) is doing (well Sean, I guess the Syrian president didn’t order those 87 fatalities to take showers as the bombing commenced). I think clearly there was no, he was not (aside to another reporter); he (Hitler) brought them into the holocaust centers, I understand that.”

Here, Spicer is apparently referring to concentration camps as “holocaust centers”.  That latter name is generally used to reference museums memorializing the genocide of millions of German and Eastern European Jews between 1939 and 1945 – a historical event that became known as the holocaust.  To this reporter’s knowledge, to date no one has EVER been gassed in a “holocaust center”.

But if there is a holocaust center gassing within the next week, I’m sure someone will have a sign about it at Sherp’s April 19 “Vigil for Democracy”, right here in old red-voting (does that have a double meaning now?) Front Royal, Virginia.

And the ‘loyal opposition’ to the vigil opposition of the president was expressed by Ralph and Michael Waller – who followed their pro-Trump/Pence statement up with a friendly exchange with the DC and local media inside their Chester and Main pawn shop.

As we have pointed out elsewhere on our pages, to every action in the universe there is a reaction.  And the majority Front Royal-Warren County conservative population that gave Trump a 66% to 29% margin over Hillary Clinton in November WAS represented across Chester Street on April 12.  On a bench in front of their pawn shop, Ralph and Michael Waller proudly displayed the “loyal opposition” with a Trump-Pence poster.  In fact, we followed Post reporter Portnoy into the pawn shop after the vigil broke up at 1 p.m. to make sure my old friends weren’t picking on the out-of-town “liberal media” too hard.

“I can take care of myself,” Portnoy laughed about my expression of media solidarity as she cast an appreciative glance at my Royal Examiner “Don’t Mess with the Press” T-shirt.  And the subsequent discussion with the Wallers was friendly and good natured – the way American political discourse and media relations should be.