When It Comes To The GOP's War On Women, Trump Is Right At Home

Doral is a city in Miami-Dade County about a mile from Miami International Airport and it's in the heart of the 25th congressional district. Over 50,000 people live there, many of them Venezuelan immigrants. In fact, the city is sometimes referred to as Doralzuela and there are more Venezuelan-Americans there than in any other city in the country. Doral is 80% Hispanic and the mayor is from Venezuela. It's the home of a lot of people who are fans of 39 year old actress and former Miss Universe, Venezuela born Alicia Machado. She became a U.S. citizen in May and has been helping register Venezuelan-born residents of Doral, a town her former tormenter, Donald J. Trump has a big property.

When the Doral Golf Resort & Spa went bankrupt in 2011. Trump bought it for $150 million, taking out a $125 million mortgage and he's challenged the local property tax assessment every year since buying it. Within months, the resort was ordered by a judge to be foreclosed on because Trump-- as is his habit-- refused to pay his contractors and was fighting dozens of suits. The infamously ugly giant painting of himself by Havi Schanz that he bought illegally with money from his fraudulent charitable foundation hangs on a wall in one of the resort's bars.

The Blue America-endorsed candidate for Congress there, Dr. Alina Valdes, lives nearby. She's running against Mario Diaz-Balart, one of the only Cuban-American elected officials still clinging to Trump, although, presumably, not that Trump's illegal commercial activities in Cuba have been exposed, it may prove even too much for Diaz-Balart. We asked Alina how she feels about Trump's derogatory and sexist statements towards women and she wrote a few paragraphs I want to share. As you read them, please consider contributing to her campaign by tapping the the thermometer on the right.

Men Who Respect Women, Don't Go On TV And Call Them "Miss Piggy"
-by Alina Valdes

In a June 19, 2016 blog titled They're Bringing Drugs, They're Bringing Crime, They're Rapists, DownWithTyranny reported on Alicia Machado, the Venezuelan former Miss Universe, who was belittled by the Republican Party nominee, Donald J. Trump.

She was called "Miss Piggy" because of her weight, and "Miss Housekeeper" because of her Latin roots and accent in front of a room full of people-- an effort to demean and degrade her. She was put on display, like a trophy, working out in a gym with trainers, in order to show the world how a Miss Universe had let herself gain weight. When this was brought up during the last debate, he was astounded and asked where this information was gotten. Well, Donald, it is a matter of public record and you obviously did not care about how you treated her, a woman, a Latina, a Miss Universe.

It would have been very simple for you to apologize, stating that this event happened decades ago but you again doubled down on your hurtful words. You apparently have not learned that insulting people because of their race, their ethnicity, their sexual orientation, or any other differences that make them unique and diverse is not humane let alone "presidential." You live in a country full of immigrants but continue to treat others different from you as fodder, to be used and abused for your amusement, stating that you employ Latinos and African-Americans in your many business ventures. You do this because you can underpay and overwork them to further amass your wealth and many of these are here on work visas... because you dare not take advantage of people who can speak up and have legal recourse to sue you. Miss Machado is not only an American citizen now but is speaking out about the cruelty of your treatment of putting her on display to embarrass her. All you needed to do was speak to her privately but your pattern of disrespect in order to belittle others to elevate your status, has apparently not changed. You continue to insult women when you decide they do not meet your standard of beauty while you have paraded your three trophy wives, two of whom are immigrants, so people can see "what a man" you are. You even allowed your testosterone level, which is a test not routinely done on a physical, to be disclosed for all to see.

Miss Machado has settled into a meaningful life as an American citizen but the words you used to degrade her were very hurtful. As women, we are all expected, for people like you, to fit a certain profile of what is considered beautiful. Men are described as "stocky" while women are labeled "fat" and this double standard persists in describing male/female differences. A man exerting his authority is described as "assertive" and "authoritative" but a woman displaying the same is labeled "aggressive" and "bitchy"; a man cheating on his partner is lauded as "a stud" whereas a woman is labeled "a tramp." There are so many negative labels placed on women, by social throwbacks like yourself, where the same qualities in men are applauded and even dismissed with the phrase "boys will be boys."

I applaud Alicia Machado for taking the high ground, moving on with her life, and speaking out against unfairness and injustice. By so doing, she has shown what a class act she actually is and how low Trump has gone. He apparently has not changed because he regrets nothing and apologizes for nothing. He dares to discuss Bill Clinton’s indiscretions when talking about Hillary but all he needs to do is look in the mirror and see how he has devalued and degraded women his entire life by his actions and his words.

“As my mother always used to say "Dime con quien tu andas y yo te digo quien tu eres," which translated roughly means "Show me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are." Never have these words been truer as they are with the Republican Party 2016 and their presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump. They have put their party and their careers above the country they have sworn to defend from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Never has a domestic threat been more real than someone named Donald J. Trump, who is one election away from holding one of the most powerful positions in the world...POTUS. May God help us all!!"