Our ‘Look-back’ begins in July of 2016
when Donald Trump was nominated by the Republican Party Convention to be the
next President of the United States.
Most of us probably thought it to be a terrible joke, but I chose to stress an
awful reality and a bigger picture:
“Donald
Trump takes pleasure in being the “Law and Order”
candidate. Why? Because it fits with his bullying
persona, his business values of cut-throat competition where only the strong
survive, and his view of the world which is seen from a Tower bearing his
name. “In spite of the rosy words surrounding him from other
convention speakers, Donald Trump has been named in at least 169 federal lawsuits,
according to a LawNewz.com investigation. “They read like a history of Trump’s
business failures, successes, and bombastic personality. The federal
lawsuits… date back to 1983 and involve everything from business disputes,
antitrust claims and, more recently, accusations that Trump’s campaign statements
are discriminatory against minorities. He’s been sued by celebrities, personal
assistants, prisoners, people in mental hospitals, unions, and wealthy
businessmen.
“The
White House and the Oval Office are meant to be different – the ‘Peoples House’
-- in modern terms it is meant to be the place where the People’s business is
transacted in ways that will benefit them, bring justice, and solve problems,
dependent to a great extent on the attitudes and beliefs of the one who holds
the Office and on those he/she appoints.
“In
view of the useless, negative and meaningless rhetoric of Trump family members,
politicos and others, on the campaign trail and in the convention hall in
Cleveland, it all comes down to this: Donald Trump has demonstrated that he is not fit to be President of the
United States. The directions he has proposed are contrary to
our cherished ideals of liberty and justice for all; to providing opportunities
for the vulnerable; to protecting all people equally; to meeting the legitimate
needs of our people and providing for the General Welfare of all the people
within our borders (not just citizens), plus honoring treaty provisions of
common defense (of other) nations.
“The
fact that his acceptance speech contained just one ‘concrete’ proposal for change
-- building that wall on our southern border – is demonstration enough that he
is unqualified for this office. Rather than propose specific steps
to be taken to change policy or regulations (beyond Obamacare repeal and two
treaties re-negotiated) he made it abundantly clear that everything depends on him as the
change Agent, as the Facilitator, as the Negotiator. That is
equivalent to authoritarian leadership -- the strongman who has charge of
everything and everybody.
“Beware
the meaning of Trump leadership – being the Champion, the Voice, the ‘Only One’
who can make something happen. Democracy does not work that way, and
Donald Trump is spouting fascist ideology of the cult of ‘der
Fuhrer.’ The continuing consequences of putting such a cult
leader in charge of our government are found in the histories of many nations
across our globe. Democracy is “messy” but authoritarian leadership
is brutal and lethal. We’re in danger of losing (our democracy) because
we’re not looking at the bigger picture.”
[FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016 Trump
Presidency: A Bigger Picture]
This came out of earlier warnings I had
issued about the antics, strategies and words of Donald Trump during his
campaign leading up to the GOP nomination. On MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015, I began
a series of posts about a topic we do not like to discuss in great depth – the
far right-wing love of control, dominance and exertion of ultimate power based
on those authoritarian values. I spoke
about Fascism and its unfortunate strategies for gaining and maintaining power
over a People and a nation, beginning with the “Niemoller Warning”, followed by
a 3-part series of posts called: “Send in the Storm Troopers.” (11/17, 11/21/
and 11/30/2015).
“First,
they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither,
so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I
did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak
out for me.” --
Martin Niemoller
“What hurts one individual or group will eventually hurt us
all. For we are not simply a gathering of separate individuals,
walled-off by certain characteristics. We are a nation; we are a People;
we are a commonwealth. We are a community of inter-connected individuals
bound together by our human nature and inalienable rights. “As injustice
and intolerance always do – they catch up to us and take away something precious
from our lives and from the ideals upon which this nation was founded. We
cannot maintain our form of democracy by ignoring threats to liberty, equality
and justice for all. (For instance), the subject of Civil Rights is never
just about people of color. My civil rights…and your Civil Rights are
inextricably intertwined. Restricting the ability of certain groups to
cast a ballot in a free and unfettered process is anathema to a democracy.
“Civil Rights and Voting Rights are not ‘passing fancies.’
These rights go to the essence of our form of governing. We must act
toward them as Guardians of our Republic, not as Protectors-at-all-costs of a
political Party. Likewise, when we see what happened to that young
teenager in South Carolina, we must recognize its universality, for it happened
to us all. Our Civil Rights were abrogated; our bodies were
slammed. Our sense of equal justice and of human dignity was brought
low. We were all attacked because she was attacked. Speak out now, for tomorrow may be too late
and you and I could have no one left to speak on our behalf when our rights are
trampled and denied.”
It seems somewhat strange now that I was speaking out about the
Fascist tactics and values that Trump was exhibiting then (and continues to demonstrate
today). The traditional news media was
essentially avoiding the subject as though it was The Plague; until just
recently when it appears to be a more favored subject! When the media does not address controversial
subjects in depth or in a timely manner because of pressures from owners,
sponsors, presidential candidates, and powers-that-be, that is exactly what
Fascists and Nazis and white supremacists want:
a cowered (‘coward’) Press and intimidated TV news reporters. Trump epitomizes that fascist tactic, just as
he demonstrates adherence to 13 other tactics enumerated by Professor Briggs who
has carefully studied the strategies and tactics used by those of similar ilk
(see my 2-part Blog of 11/23/2016).
My
conclusion to Part I may hold some relevance to what I just said about the
Media:
“It
is a disturbing thought that the very events and activities that are taking
place in this country are reminiscent of the takeover of the German nation in
the early 1930s. One of the most prevalent reasons for the relative ease of
that takeover was a blindness of much of the electorate to the implications of
the ideology and philosophy that was eventually forced upon the people. There
was some resistance, but the general population acquiesced in the loss of
rights, property and fundamental values that had previously sustained
them. We are at a similar point in our
own evolution as a nation. Go on to Part 2 if you want to read more.”
At the end of Part II, I attempted to
bring it all to a focused conclusion.
Does it resonate today?
“So,
here’s the point: Our
wounded democracy cannot survive this onslaught of fascist-like intrusion and
power-grab. WE MUST ACT in concert with others to learn
the facts, apply strong rebuttal and protests, and act to curb the destruction
that is occurring already, and that will reach its inevitable conclusion once
all the pieces of this potentially-fascist regime are in place.
The
point is – ignorance or non-involvement does not excuse a citizen from his or
her constitutional duty and responsibility to be the government of the people,
by the people and for the people. It is a fatal flaw to believe that
politicians are the government or that our participation is optional. We are the government; politicians (and their governmental
appointees) represent us with our consent. We must not let that
power and responsibility be appropriated by forces that want to destroy our
fundamental democratic principles.“
I
continued throughout 2017 to stress, not only the fascist tendencies of the
Trump regime, but to stress the undemocratic values that this man and his
minions repeatedly display. We have just
enough space and time remaining to list some of those items with very brief
comment. However, I invite and welcome
you to read further on any of the following topics that may catch your eye and/or
your interest.
v Perverse
Prevaricator – January 31, 2017 --- the
primary thread that I see running throughout these Orders, Memoranda and
Tweets and/or press Releases during these first few days of the Trump
administration is Trump’s uncanny ability to base almost all his agenda
on false premises and outright lies. That’s
right. The Donald is on-course to become the most obvious
manipulator of truth ever seen in the Oval Office – which will also end up
being the underpinning of the legislative agenda about to be foisted upon us
all. It comes under the varied headings of “Fake News” “Alternative
Facts” and the “Big Lie.”
v Unfavorable
Forecast—February 4, 2017 --- As I
have previously warned and averred, this Trump administration, because of the
authoritarian and narcissistic bent of its leader, is a threat to our
democratic principles and to our constitutional structure of government.
Please bear with me as I review some of those past statements and predictions
as they begin to play out, even though this administration is only two
weeks-old!
v Chaos Reigns
– February 16, 2017 --- Not only does Chaos Reign in the early regime, it
inevitably points to more predictions of chaos – check them out!
v Representation—February
26, 2017 --- it is highly questionable that beyond committee assignments (and
those should be related to their value to the district and the voters),
representatives should have a free hand to define their own roles and their
relationship to those roles. The very core of meaning for representation
lies in the fact that the representative is there as the stand-in or proxy or
manifestation of someone else. Losing that core concept is how we
got to where we are. We have wrongly allowed congressional
representatives to believe that they are their own center of authority so that
they do not need to consult their constituents or to solicit voter
authority for what they do beyond the basic delegate role. Two charts show differences of interpretation
of their roles from the office-holders and their constituents: just one good reason
to have a look!
v Values in
Conflict: can Democracy survive? – April 15,
2017 – an interesting comparison of capitalist values and democratic values;
check out the chart!
v If They Only Had a Heart! – May 8,
2017 --- My focus in this piece is the rather obvious and dubious lack of
political attention to the lives of citizens as the top priority for any piece
of legislation, executive order, regulation, contract, grant or policy that
emanates from our national, state or local governmental entities. We seem so
enraptured and captured by the glitter of ideology and pandering rhetoric that
we tend to miss the fact that women, children, workers and retirees – among
others – are being neglected, ignored and abused every time an economic or
political ideology is placed before humaneness as the motive for legislation
and judicial decision-making
v FOLLOW THE MONEY
– June 13, 2017 --- Isn’t there a famous phrase that is often uttered in
circumstances involving multiple threads or leads or circumstances that have
been difficult to decipher, understand or relate to one another? Yes, and
it should be quite familiar to you – FOLLOW THE MONEY!! Let’s
explore some elements that were not even mentioned in Comey's hearing, but
which must be of some interest to the FBI, to the members of the Senate
investigating committees and certainly to the newly-named Special Counsel.
v Is
'Scapegoating': another Signpost? – August 6,
2017 --- sounds so akin to what Hitler and the Nazis did toward German Jewish
citizens in the 1930’s and 40’s that it is absolutely frightening. Innuendos,
lies, inflammatory rhetoric, and manufactured phantom threats (like sharia law)
are all a part of what it takes for authoritarian leaders to cultivate a
rabidly loyal following toward the ultimate goal of dictatorial control. Donald
Trump is imbued with values and verities that challenge democratic ideals, most
likely implanted in his psyche from the shabby (and shady?) business practices
and principles he has absorbed and cultivated over the years. Under the
guidance of Steve Bannon and others, he has begun to act on those values and we
as a country are beginning to show the signs of an entrenched minority who are
fiercely loyal enough to become his staunch…henchmen.
v Charlottesville: Ugly
American Fascism Revealed—August 14,
2017 --- This event in Charlottesville is a benchmark and perhaps a red
line. It has marked the open defiance of avowed fascists against a
fundamental civil right: that of peaceful protest. It has marked the public
demonstration of Fascist and white supremacist ideology and
vitriol. It has identified the violent nature of this country’s
Fascist movement: they will kill innocent people to
advance their agenda (a very adequate definition of
“terrorism”). And, it has released upon this country a plan of
attack that has characterized fascist groups throughout the world (see my Blog
posts of 11/23/2015).
v Trump Budget and Child Abuse—October
10, 2017 --- “The Republican Radicals in Congress have decided to cut funding
for almost every program that benefits, encourages, nurtures and promotes
children: research, universal pre-K education, housing for the
homeless and the poor, adequate funding for all schools and the resources
necessary to bring about a world-class education for all. Instead, they cut Head Start, Aid to children
and families, food stamps, and housing subsidies, and still want to repeal the
Affordable Care Act. They have neglected children with special
needs; have cut Pell grants and neglected to cut back on interest rates for
student loans. They neglect entirely the special needs of homeless
children, children with disabilities, children who will not go to college, and
of those who drop out of school. They have done nothing to reform the
juvenile justice system or the over-incarceration of
drug-abusers. They have neglected the potential of minority children
and have instead laid the groundwork for them to be labeled as perpetual felons
with no vote, no rights and no jobs. I call this abuse and neglect
of children who are our most valuable resource. Impeachment for these
congressional naysayers is too mild.”
v Undermining
Democracy—November 11, 2017 --- What or
who might be undermining the United States of America? It’s looking
a great deal like the Republican Party and its reluctant head, Donald Trump,
are the culprits (with the enthusiastic help of Vladimir
Putin). They seem to be following a game plan put together by the
former special advisor to Trump, named Steve Bannon. Although he is
out of the White House now, he seems to be carrying out, and advising on, a
Plan to de-construct the ‘administrative state.’
It is 2018, and there are some
topics I have not addressed in depth that must be undertaken. One is a return to fundamentals of the
Constitution, another is the importance of something that many of our Founders
thought to be imperative: the working out of vague generalities in the
Constitution such as “high crimes and misdemeanors” and just what standards
should be required of office-holders. Perhaps
an examination of oaths of office is overdue. Impeachment of Donald Trump needs
to be specifically addressed. For that
matter, the questions raised by the courageous women who have come forth to
tell the truth about male dominance and misuse of power to intimidate, harass,
denigrate, diminish and violate women is a subject that cannot be ignored. And,
of course, there is that off-year election that looms in November of 2018. Perhaps of equal importance, is a topic as
old as our nation: are political parties
a danger to our way of governing (as many of the Founders thought), or are they
a necessity?
Do hope you have a progressive and
productive activist New Year with all the goodness and happiness that can be
found in a life well-lived. Also hope
you will come back often to this BLOG to find some thoughts, ideas, actions and
predictions that may appeal to your research and your interests. Thanks for being here right now!
