{"id":8970,"date":"2021-10-02T03:21:50","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T13:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=8970"},"modified":"2021-10-02T03:21:55","modified_gmt":"2021-10-02T13:21:55","slug":"neither-pacquiao-nor-trump-fit-for-the-presidency-of-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2021\/10\/02\/neither-pacquiao-nor-trump-fit-for-the-presidency-of-anything\/","title":{"rendered":"Neither Pacquiao Nor Trump Fit For The Presidency of Anything"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Emil Guillermo

<\/em>Manny Pacquiao wants to be president of the Philippines. That\u2019s no joke. But it should be.

Not even I want Manny Pacquiao to be president of the Philippines. Not when you know how anti-gay and homophobic he\u2019s been based on his religious beliefs. In other words, the man is a bigot.

That\u2019s not a man who should be president. He should be pope. Then he could kick out all the pedophiles that have destroyed the Catholic Church.

The fact is, Pacquiao\u2019s just looking for something to do since he can no longer box for real.

I have suggested that he fight me. I\u2019m serious. I\u2019ve taken an online boxing course!At this point in his career, I\u2019m the ideal Pacquiao opponent: someone older, who has no experience in the ring. Why fight some old washed-up boxer when an older non-boxer is available? I\u2019m the perfect fight opponent for Manny.

Don\u2019t run for president, Manny. Fight me!

In 2008, I admit to being taken in by the Pacquaio charisma. It was the same time as Obama\u2019s rise. Smart people at UH-Manoa warned me to beware of what I wished for. They said Pacquiao would be ripe for manipulation, and that he would not be the right person.

They were right. I was wrong. Pacquiao has a lot in common with Donald Trump.

Pacman\u2019s an anti-intellectual, anti-politician with a populist\u2019s touch. He\u2019s definitely not what the Filipinos need right now.

Trump isn\u2019t what America needs now either.

But even though Trump lost that bogus recount in Arizona, he continues to fight for every last vote, everywhere. To what end? To cast doubt on the integrity of American democracy, as if we should believe a man who has zero integrity.

The man needs a job. Maybe he should fight Pacquiao?

The Arizona recount found that Biden won even more votes to defeat Trump. That plus the dismal turnout at the \u201cJustice of J6\u201d rally, shows there are clear signs that the facts are getting in the way of the Trump fantasy.

That Washington Rally<\/strong>
If you saw the embarrassing turnout for the \u201cJustice for J6\u201d\u00a0Washington, DC rally that an ex-Trump aide promoted this past weekend to support the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, you have to conclude that the Trump influence is wearing off.

Not even Kene Brian Lazo, the man dressed as a Filipino Captain America holding a shield and a\u00a0walis tambo<\/em>\u00a0was there.

The Norfolk, Virginia, the man was one of the more than 600 arrested on Jan. 6, who then pleaded not guilty for participating in the insurrection, and was released. Only the most violent insurrectionists are still being held. But maybe with Lazo, they made a mistake. He was back in Norfolk on Aug. 22 and charged with\u00a0sexually assaulting a child<\/a>.

That\u2019s the sort of folk who answered the call on Jan. 6 to come out and decertify the official U.S. presidential\u00a0 election.

But most of them didn\u2019t show up on Saturday. If they\u2019re not in jail like Lazo, I think they\u2019re crawling back under their rock. And that\u2019s a good thing for America.

Smart Republicans seem to be waking from the spell of Trump and possibly coming to their senses. Fewer than 400 people showed up at the Capitol for the protest, and half of them were media.

There were hundreds of more police backups to make sure the protest was peaceful. It was. Everyone had their say. And Trump still didn\u2019t win last November.

Coming on the heels of the California Recall, it is a trend worth noting.

Anti-Recall Margin Expands<\/strong>
\u201cRecall Repulsed Convincingly in California.\u201d That would have been my election night headline this past month.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, elected three years ago by the largest margin in nearly 70 years, can now stay in office to lead the state with the most Asian Americans in the nation.

Out of 17 percent of eligible Asian American voters, 7 percent of the electorate was AAPI, according to exit polls.

Congratulations to all who voted. Your franchise in our democracy is worth more than any number of Jollibees. But don\u2019t take your vote for granted. Anywhere. There are still political forces out there that want to take away the power of your vote.

I\u2019ve waited to comment further about the election because the leading replacement candidate, Republican Larry Elder, hinted before the election\u2013without evidence\u2013those lawyers were at the ready in the event the vote was rigged. Sure, he was trying to show a touch of grace after the election when he said, \u201cWe may have lost the battle, but we are going to win the war.\u201d

But that doesn\u2019t say he\u2019s dumped the idea of challenging the results. I wanted to call his bluff.

The Calif. Secretary of State reported these results as of Sept. 25, 2021.YES to Recall had 4.7 million votes.The NO to Recall side had 7.8 million votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a 3.1 million vote difference. That would require a lot of rigging or dead people voting. The state has 26 days to count and certify all the ballots.

The only mention of anything suspicious has come from the electoral conspiracist-in-chief, the rigmeister himself, Donald Trump, who released a statement election night alleging \u201crigged voting\u201d in California with zero evidence.

It was just enough innuendo to keep hope alive for his base of Republicans who are still convinced of Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Lie.\u201d

The lie that Trump defeated Joe Biden in last November\u2019s election is still believed by many Americans to this day.

A CNN<\/em> poll this month asked if Biden legitimately won enough votes for the presidency, and 78 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of independents said No. Who do they believe won? Trump, of course.

There aren\u2019t that many Republicans to begin with in California, but had the recall effort succeeded, Elder, who led the 46 replacement candidates, would have been elected governor with a mere 2.4 million votes.

That\u2019s all it would have taken to replace Newsom, who won the governorship by a vast majority of 7.7 million votes in 2018. That\u2019s how ridiculous and dangerous this whole recall effort was to democracy.

On top of it was the cost.

By the state\u2019s own estimate, the cost is around $277 million from California\u2019s General Fund. But add to that the individual campaigns\u2019 expenses and the costs of this recall could easily be double the state\u2019s estimate.

So much for the fiscal conservatism of Republicans who saw the recall as just another reasonable effort to use the \u201cBig Lie\u201d mindset to cast doubt on our entire electoral system. It just didn\u2019t work in California.

Your Vote Is Still Threatened<\/strong>
But that brings us to the bad news. Recall fever, or any form of an election challenge, is not going away. Trump\u2019s made it a \u201cthing.\u201d

It\u2019s the only way a shrinking Republican party\u2013whose actions reveal it to be anti-people of color, anti-black, anti-gay, anti-women\u2013can hope to win elections in a diverse country like ours.

Instead of competing on the issues, Republicans are hell-bent on challenging every election loss and making it harder and harder for everyone, especially Asian Americans and all people of color to vote.

There are 31 new voting laws in 18 states that have added new restrictions on things like mailed ballots and same-day registration\/voting. California has both of those.

The stated fear is electoral integrity, but that\u2019s fraudulent rhetoric from Republicans who are fond of the saying, \u201cWe\u2019re making it easy to vote and harder to cheat.\u201d

No, the laws they\u2019re changing are making it easier for Republicans to manipulate the vote and harder for people of color to exercise their franchise.

Even before the ballot box, the threat is coming in the redrawing of political districts at the state and local levels. That\u2019s always been an issue, but especially this year with the Census showing unprecedented growth among all people of color, including those of one or more races.

The so-called \u201cbrowning of America\u201d demands that all the electoral maps be redrawn with significant public input to reflect a more diverse America.

But so far that\u2019s not happening.

The Voting Rights Working group, a consortium of social justice advocacy non-profits,  just released a statement<\/a> that some state and local governments are \u201comitting, often willfully\u201d opportunities for people of color to make their voices heard in the redistricting process.

It\u2019s time to speak out at the grassroots level, or we can get aced out of the process in the map drawing, even before we get pushed back at the polls.

I said a month ago after interviewing Newsom that considering the real consequences of this recall election, it would not be hyperbolic to say this could be the single most important election for Asian American voters in California, maybe ever.

Four weeks ago, Newsom\u2019s odds to beat the recall was a coin flip. When I got a chance to interview Newsom, he looked weary, and maybe a bit concerned.

Newsom turned it around when he made the Republican attempt to nationalize the election backfire. The national GOP made the recall a referendum on Trump with Black conservative Elder the uber-Trump proxy. But it motivated Democrats who didn\u2019t care about Newsom to come to the polls to save the state from the Trumped-up GOP.

The decisive rebuke of the recall effort is the piece of positive news in this era when Republicans cast doubt on our system at every turn.

Sure, maps will have to be redrawn in California too. But with just four weeks to election, Newsom was able to repulse Trumpism and show there\u2019s still some fairness and integrity in the process.

Our democracy works. But threats exist all over the country. We can prevail, but only if we realize and cherish the true value of our vote.

EMIL GUILLERMO<\/strong> is a journalist and commentator. A former host of NPR\u2019s \u201cAll Things Considered,\u201d he was a former member of the Advertiser editorial board, as well as a columnist for the Star-Bulletin. See his vlog on <\/em>www.amok.com<\/em><\/a> Or on Facebook at emilguillermo.media. Twitter @emilamok.

Read more Candid Perspectives:<\/strong>
<\/em>Grassroots FilAms Part of Vax Americana; Political Parties, 9\/11, and Tennis Star Leylah Fernandez<\/a>
Manny Pacquiao Retired? I\u2019ll fight him for LGBTQ-Rights; Plus, My Filipino\/Afghan Thoughts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Emil Guillermo Manny Pacquiao wants to be president of the Philippines. That\u2019s no joke….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[29,20],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=300%2C180&ssl=1",300,180,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=640%2C384&ssl=1",640,384,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=640%2C384&ssl=1",640,384,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=600%2C480&ssl=1",600,480,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=600%2C480&ssl=1",600,480,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1",800,480,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=540%2C285&ssl=1",540,285,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?resize=375%2C250&ssl=1",375,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Candid Perspectives<\/a> Featured<\/a>","tag_info":"Featured","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CP_PacTrump-color_10022021.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8971,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970\/revisions\/8971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}