After the election, a member of the choir I sing with let us know that he had voted for Trump. I think that he is the only one of us who did. He is a gay man who immigrated from South America and recently became a US citizen. When I asked what had motivated him, it was basically resentment of undocumented immigrants who didn't go through the procedures and expense that he did to immigrate legally. This pattern of divide and conquer is as old as the country.
Shortly before the election, there was segment on PBS news about a meeting of Harris and Trump supporters to discuss their differences. A Trump supporter and a Harris supporter found themselves in agreement about the relationship between illegal immigration and the exploitation of workers in agriculture and the hospitality industry, but the commentators did not pick up on it.
Now even the New York Times is finally covering the story. Given the history of use of undocumented workers by Trump Industries, one might think that Democrats would highlight this issue. But, while agribusiness contributes twice as much to Republicans as it does to Democrats, both parties rely on donations from businesses who are complicit in this arrangement. Now that the Democrats will no longer be part of the Federal establishment, it is time to take Robert Reich's advice and finally tell the truth about corporate ascendency over the past 50 years. If that means forswearing donations from much of corporate America, it will only give more credence to the message.
I started by sending the article about the exploitation of undocumented immigrant to my fellow chorister, who told me he is reading it with interest.