Ray Mariano: The convention speech Kamala Harris needs to make, part 1

Donald Trump is a one-man wrecking machine. His rhetoric knows no bounds. If Kamala Harris expects to compete with Trump, she’s got to follow Trump’s own rule: When they hit you, you hit back harder.

The speech Harris should give

My fellow Americans, we’ve made a serious mistake in our campaign — we’ve been wasting time telling you things that you already know. Everyone already knows that Donald Trump is a pathological liar, a cheater, a tax fraud, a felon and a sexual predator. He’s padded the pockets of the wealthiest Americans and added crushing debt onto the shoulders of average Americans. Historians rank him as one of the worst presidents in American history. But you already know all of that.

So, let me give you nine reasons why electing Trump will have disastrous consequences for the country we love.

First, Trump has made it clear that he intends to destroy the independence of the FBI and the Department of Justice. His plan calls for replacing career professionals — Democrats and Republicans — who work tirelessly to ensure the rule of law with political stooges who pledge loyalty only to Trump.

Think of how frightening that would be. There will be no one there to stop Trump from trampling on the rights of people who have had the courage to disagree with him. He will be free to do the terrible things he has already promised to do. Trump said that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney should face a military trial and that Gen. Mark Miley, the former head of the Joint Chiefs, has committed treason.

Trump has suggested that action should be taken against senators and judges that he believes have hurt him. He wants to see Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Fulton County DA Fani Willis and Attorney General Merrick Garland charged with conspiracy and racketeering. On three separate occasions, he’s even threatened to prosecute former President Obama. And with his stooges in place, there will be no one there to stop him.

Like Putin and other dictators, Trump will be free to destroy anyone who dares to stand up to him. The rule of law that we cherish will be gone.

Second, if Trump is elected, he will bankrupt the country while lining the pockets of billionaires. He’s promised to roll back the taxes of the richest Americans and leave that burden to be shouldered by hardworking Americans.

Remember that 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists have made it clear that Trump’s unhinged fiscal plan will destabilize America’s economy and fuel inflation.

Third, it’s been widely reported that Trump asked oil company CEOs for $1 billion to stuff into his campaign coffers. In return, Trump has promised to scrap rules that protect our fragile environment, removing barriers to drilling, reversing rules aimed at cutting car pollution and scraping policies on electric vehicles and wind energy.

It doesn’t matter to Trump that oil companies are already raking in record profits. And it doesn’t matter to Trump that we have already begun to see the devastating damages of climate change. Trump is willing to destroy the world that we live in to gain political power.

Fourth, after installing his stooges in the Joint Chiefs and Department of Defense, Trump will be free to crush any dissent sending military troops to put down peaceful protests on American streets.

He won’t hesitate to use those troops to separate children from their mothers at the southern border and round up immigrants sending them to internment camps — just like the shameful ones built to hold Japanese Americans during World War II.

Reason five: Trump will destroy a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. Never forget that he’s bragged about eliminating Roe v. Wade and he said, in a televised interview, that any woman who seeks to make a decision about her own body should be punished.

If Trump and his crowd of right-wing fascists take control of the Oval Office, every woman in America will be faced with the unthinkable reality of living in a Handmaid's Tale.

Six, Trump will destroy voting access and rights for millions of Americans. He will allow the system used to elect members of Congress to be so badly manipulated that, in many districts, only his chosen candidates will have a chance at getting elected. Just like in Russia and other dictatorships, only puppet candidates will end up sitting in Congress.

Seven, Trump and his radical allies will gut Social Security and Medicare, allow Big Pharma to jack up the costs of lifesaving medicines and rip health care coverage from millions of our most vulnerable citizens.

Eight, Trump will weaken our alliances and leave America more vulnerable. He’ll allow Putin to crush Ukraine and threaten the rest of Europe. In the Middle East, he’ll allow Gaza to be wiped off the face of the Earth without batting an eye. With Trump as president, world peace will be in jeopardy.

And nine, Trump won’t be happy until America is flooded with guns and assault weapons. It doesn’t matter to Trump that America already has more guns than people. It doesn’t matter that guns are the No. 1 killer of children and that America leads the world in gun deaths. Trump has sold his soul to the NRA.

These nine reasons are just the beginning of the damage that Trump will cause if he’s elected.

My fellow Americans, our nation should reject Trump not because he’s a pathological liar, a cheater, a tax fraud, a convicted felon, and a sexual predator. We should reject Trump because he will destroy our democracy and then burden hardworking American with crushing debt. We should reject Trump because he will persecute those who oppose him, crush any dissent and destroy the rights of women, minorities and LGBTQ+ folk.

Donald Trump’s running mate once called Trump a monster and America’s Hitler. I call him America’s worst nightmare.

Now let me tell you my vision for the next four years. In my first 100 days…

To be continued next week.

Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram.His endorsements do not necessarily reflect the position of the Telegram & Gazette.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ray Mariano on Democratic convention speech Kamala Harris should make