Let us talk about what the phrase ‘New York Values’ apparently means for Donald Trump. I mean, he’s from New York, and he champions these values now, so what does all of that mean to him? Well, based on his record (this list is hardly exhaustive)…

• It means that Trump talks about how rich he personally is, and how much money he makes. And yet, he took took a property tax credit that you absolutely cannot take unless you’re making less than five hundred grand a year. Which means that either Donald Trump is lying, or a tax cheat. My guess is ‘liar,’ but if you want to say ‘tax cheat’ I can’t stop you.
• It means that Trump wrapped himself in the bloody shirt* of 9/11, yet went a decade without ever giving any of his own money to legitimate 9/11 charities. Which goes beyond simple ‘cynicism.’ It goes so far beyond it. We lack a good word for it in English, in fact.
• It means that Trump thought that it was all right to belly up to a good spot at the trough and gobble up federal 9/11 recovery money intended for small businessmen.  Again: Trump’s either a ‘liar,’ or – worse, from his point of view – really just a ‘small businessman.’ Or perhaps we should embrace the healing power of ‘and’ in this case, hey?
• It means that Trump bragged about giving away over a hundred million dollars to charity, and never mentioned that it wasn’t always to charities and always wasn’t his own money.  No option here, folks: it’s ‘liar’ all the way down.

I mention this simply and solely because it is absolutely important that nobody should be able to say after this election: But I was never told!  …No. Many people have been talking about this. Talking, shouting, screaming, rasping out the words through gritted teeth: the works. There’s a reason why Donald Trump hasn’t consolidated Republican support by now, and it’s because he is Donald Trump.

And Trump’s values are not “New York Values.”  Because – and I say this as somebody who was born in NYC, lived in Brooklyn until the family moved to the Jersey Shore (read: ‘the colonies’), and who worked in the City during the full bloom of the Giuliani Renaissance – there’s one thing about New Yorkers: they’ll never say something behind your back that they wouldn’t say to your face. But then, we all know the real reason Donald Trump won’t do any more debates, and won’t go on any venues that are more challenging than Sean Hannity’s; it’s because Trump’s a sneak and a coward.

And you can’t make me vote for somebody like that.

Moe Lane

*Yes, I am well aware of the origins of that phrase. It seemed appropriate, under the circumstances.