This nation and its people have been on a lengthy journey
toward a more perfect union and a form of governance that aspires to be true to
our identifying ideals of:
·
liberty and justice for all,
·
equal opportunity to seek a better life in the
pursuit of happiness,
·
support for those who are challenged, and
·
above all, perhaps, the right to speak out and
to bear grievance (protest) against over-reach, under-reach and breach-of-promise
by government (and its office-holders)
It has been stated more than once by political historians
and analysts that Trump is the culmination and epitome of what has gone before
him on the political Right. But, while he may have led us astray in our time,
he is not the only source of our wayward meanderings. There have been others before him who helped
clear a more radical Right-wing path that borders on “de-construction” of our
democracy. Without going into detail, let
us at least review some of the elements that exemplify an underlying antipathy
to our fundamental principles. Of equal
gravity, let us be aware that many of the results and consequences of such
antipathies will be with us for longer than we have anticipated.
1)
Singling out groups (or individuals) as something “less”
than the perceived or instituted ‘norm’ or ‘standard’ (sometimes called
“scapegoating”) such as: denying equal rights, benefits, justice and fairness
to certain groups because of their skin color, national origin, religion,
gender, sexual orientation, personal characteristics, or any other fabricated
“difference” that is often identified with something abnormal, bad or
threatening. It must be said, perhaps,
that this human failing has reared its ugly head far too often in our society
and has left us with scars, harm and institutionalized discrimination that
still prevent us from achieving the fullness of equality that we espouse. It
pains me even to list examples of this fatal flaw, but it must be done, for
this characterizes despotic, tyrannical, fascist ideology and non-democratic behavior
perhaps more than any other:
·
subjugation – slavery, segregation, legal and
illegal restrictions, inappropriate penalties, lynching, harassment & death
by law enforcement,
·
denial of opportunity – lack of access to
adequate housing, food, education, health care, transportation, jobs, wages,
recreation, limited choices on all cultural fronts
·
denial of rights – freedom to vote, freedom to
speak and be heard; right to protest; to be represented fairly and justly in
government, private offices and cultural institutions; to achieve recognition
of talents, ideas and achievements
·
denial of one’s humanity – referred to and
treated as animalistic; treated as cultural and political threats; treated as
“different”, unworthy, and as second-class citizens
TRUMP Scapegoats: Islamic and Latino immigrants, particularly
Mexicans – called rapists, murderers, drug and human traffickers, job stealers;
used a zero tolerance tool to separate children from parents(child abuse) solely
as a threat to other immigrants at southern border); Puerto Rico (too bad about
the hurricane – here are some paper towels!); Gold Star family, Judge, and
football players – unworthy, unpatriotic, un-white; and on and on….
2)
Propaganda -- the cesspool of untruth,
hidden truth, maligned truth and twisted truth – all designed to produce words,
phrases and slogans that seduce, mollify and stupefy a bloc of supporters, who
are, by that process, rendered numb to the implications of their unquestioning loyalty
and fealty to a despotic leader.
What, after all, is “propaganda” but the “systematic,
widespread dissemination or promotion of particular ideas, doctrines,
practices, etc., to further one’s own cause or to damage an opposing one”; connoting
“deception” or “distortion.”
The first thing to
notice about propaganda is the reference to “systematic.” Propaganda is not a few prevarications, or
willy-nilly phrasing, or once-uttered slogan or bumper-sticker
phraseology. This is systematic: purposeful, planned, and persistent. It is meant to flood one’s senses, to rile
emotions and to strengthen in-bred biases or prejudices that form a core of “beliefs”
or myths guiding a certain cohort of true (or possible) believers or
sympathizers.
The second note of import is that propaganda is “widely
disseminated.” It is not meant just to
reach a “core” group; it is aimed as well at a vast number of more open-minded
people in order to dull their senses; to frustrate them, to disrupt their
thinking and possibly to discourage their underlying beliefs. It is not necessarily meant to “convert” them
as it is to divert them from their normal course and to undermine their
senses and sensibilities. Widespread
dissemination is meant to “make you sick and tired of the whole mess” because
then you are vulnerable to complacency and even to inaction which is the
bedrock for a minor party or a radical movement producing a victory. When there is no strong opposition; where
there is a complacent majority unwilling to protest wrongs and to support what
is right, the propagandists of authoritarianism rejoice – they have succeeded.
The propaganda from the Trump campaign in 2016 did exactly
what it was meant to do; it succeeded. The general election in 2018 was
different. The people rose up and took
control and the ‘Trumpists’ in the House of Representatives went down to a
clear defeat, but only a partial one.
In the election of 2020, the Trumpian propaganda machine must
be exposed for what it is: another attempt to undermine and to destroy our
democracy and our democratic values.
Good progressives must not become complacent because four more years of
Trump and Trumpism would leave us a legacy that may never be overcome. Of what will that legacy consist?
TRUMP Legacy
·
Truth will often be seen as optional and
many-sided and therefore elusive,
·
Lying will garner greater acceptance as a tool
to use to advance one’s own narrow Party agenda or ideology rather than supporting
the imperative of accountability in all aspects of the democratic process,
·
Government will be trusted to a lesser degree because
of the Trump attack on a fictional “deep state” that supposedly contains a
corrupt philosophy and actions of the Left, said to be opposed to democracy and
its values; the constant call to de-construct such a ‘state’ will lead us all
in the reverse direction from our Constitutional Mission;
·
The presidency will continue to be seen as needing
to be led by a strongman (woman?) who will stand against all those who do not
put America first; a strident advocate
for America first before anything else, including its own intelligence agencies,
its Allies, and even its own people
3)
Checks and Balances – it could be argued that this concept is at the very core of
our system of governance, for it is based on what most disturbed, frightened
and restricted the Colonists and prevented their leaders from carrying out what
was best for the people in their daily lives.
In their Declaration of Independence, one of the strongest and obvious
complaints had to do with the use and misuse of sovereign POWER by the English
King and Parliament. Not only is this
the focus of the Declaration, but it undergirds our Constitution. And, in the end, it is probably what defines
all governments and systems of governance.
After all, one basic question confronts all governments (and
citizens): what power do we
have and how will it be used[TT1] ?
The subject of the locus of power, the amount of power, and the use (or
abuse) of power is unavoidable. Our
Founding Fathers confronted it and came up with a big compromise that based
government on the power of the People, divided power between federal and state
governments, and came up with checks and balances between the Executive,
Legislative and Judicial branches of the federal government. The ultimate check on all of them, of course,
is the right to vote: the People’s power to turn politicians out-of-office if
they do not perform as expected (or more positively, to vote into office those
they believe will serve their interests to the extent required.
It is over the misuse of power that governments (and administrations) rise
and falter and fall; it is on the question of power that policies, much
legislation and regulations are developed and put into practice. The question
about power is a constant challenge that arises from various sources who want to
divert power to an entity other than the People: to a despot, a class, a group or a cause, but most
often to a strongman who will be an authoritarian leader.
Even
now, as in our past, we have fascist, fundamentalist, white nationalist, Ku
Klux Klan-type groups exerting their anti-democratic philosophies by any means
possible, including violence (as at Charlottesville). Along with unquestioning support of toughness,
comes their call to physical violence and rejection of nations and leaders who
do not put “America first.” Such support for a despotic leader is always
available, even if sometimes hidden.
TRUMP POWER-GRABs:
·
neutralizing
the power of other branches; of investigative agencies; appointments of Right-wing
judges throughout the federal judiciary system, majority on Supreme Court
(Cavanaugh); using Republican congresspersons as agents of the White House
(Nunes, Graham, McConnell, for example)
·
instituting
policy (that should be legislated) by Executive Order, Tweets, or moving money
between departments without congressional authorization
·
declaring national emergencies or government shut-downs
when he sees them as needed, and letting Congress or the Courts know they should
not ‘interfere’
·
“gag rules” initiated in various departments:
attack on women’s health care especially in regard to abortion and contraception
– latest rule under Title IX would restrict abortion referrals
·
using government processes and contacts to
increase personal fortune; acceptance of foreign financial support (emoluments)
for political campaign and for inauguration ceremony
·
we are ominously hearing much lately about an absolute power that the President
possesses:
o cannot
be indicted while in office;
o absolute
authority to override intelligence agencies and grant top security clearance to
anyone (including his son and daughter) without regard to precedent or threats
to our national security;
o absolute
right to shut down the government;
o absolute
right to hire (and fire) anyone he pleases, including heads of ‘independent’
agencies like the FBI;
o absolute
right to move funds around in order to build a wall at our southern border,
o absolute
right to separate immigrant children from their parents at our southern border
and to allow them to suffer abuse in cages at the hands of government employees
and contractors.
·
And now, above all, we find that we may very
well be seeing the President of the United States engaged in criminal
conspiracy, witness tampering, election fraud, financial schemes that break tax
(and other) laws.
In other words, we are falling into black holes of criminal
behavior that is so far un-indicted and unpunished – all because of overwhelming
propaganda that not only creates chaos and complacency, but that pushes an
absolutism that does not exist. It is fabricated,
like every fiction that this administration uses to brainwash and capture the
minds of a malleable portion of our electorate.
4)
De(con)struction – this is one of those
slogans or chosen words that speaks several messages at-once. It tends to:
·
enable getting rid of everything (ACA, EPA, Consumer boards,
regulations, etc.) that keeps administration from doing what they want to do
·
epitomize the continuing disagreement about the
nature of this government: is it meant to be a confederation of states with a
weak federal government, or a strong central government sharing governance with
the states?
·
From the Trumpian viewpoint, “deconstruction of
the administrative state,” apparently intends to communicate a deep problem
with a strong central government and its bureaucracy.
TRUMP – ISMs:
a.
red tape (regulations) blocks government
take-over and changing the basic construct of agencies and departments – like
the EPA and DOE;
b.
put people at head of certain departments who
advocate the destruction of those agencies;
c.
regulations restrict administration’s (and corporation’s)
ability to prosper/profit
d.
too many liberals and socialists in office are
blocking Trump plans
e.
too many union members slow everything down
f.
there’s too much government in people’s lives,
so cut social programs, staff and especially those career people who don’t want
us around
g.
undermine big federal programs like food stamps,
Medicaid, affordable health care, Medicare and Social Security and use savings
to enhance the prosperity of those who are the most important – the less than 1%
h.
moving programs to state administration will
bring programs closer to the people, cut benefits and costs, and give states
more control of their own destinies at the same time it enriches large corporations
i.
move de-construction forward by failing to fill
a lot of administrative jobs, assign career officials to meaningless duties to
force retirement or resignations, and cut more operating funds out of
department budgets
As we all know, the election of Democrats to a majority in
the House has opened up the possibility of checking the abusive actions of this
wannabe-a-despot president. Progressive
actions so far have been dramatic and have galvanized the attention of the minority
who have been reduced to fools and clowns trying to defend their co-conspiratorial
actions and the abuse of power demonstrated by their authoritarian Leader. In my opinion, the emphasis on oversight is
the correct avenue to take.
However, I would
also like to conclude this posting by offering some suggestions of tactics and
strategies that may be worthy of some consideration.
#1: Continue bold steps toward Oversight,
but
#2: Match that with bold steps toward problem-solving. We CAN do two things at once!
a.
There must be a barrage of legislative action on
issues and laws that continue to affect the American people, like wages, jobs, education,
the environment, infrastructure, etc.
The important point is to solve problems, not to produce election
propaganda!
b.
We can’t put off legislation until we resolve
all the issues involved – concentrate on taking small steps toward the final
goal while working at the same time on the larger prize; use joint committees
as task forces; get interested Republicans to join-in. Encourage constituents to submit their
comments and suggestions
c.
Example: HEALTH CARE – we need SOMETHING of substance
immediately because reaching the ultimate goal of single-payer health care
insurance is going to take time to develop.
So, why not pass an amendment to the ACA right now that authorizes an experimental
program of a “public option” in states that choose to cooperate in such an endeavor
(and perhaps consult and persuade certain states to opt-in because they have
the ability to make it work!). Place it
under the aegis of Medicare/Medicaid, make it at least resemble an enhanced
Medicare-for-all program, and get it operational by a certain date before the
end of this year! Then learn from the experiments and implement legislation
that goes for the whole enchilada!
#3: Democrats have got to “CHANGE The NARRATIVE”
Right now, Trump is making his voice and priorities heard
above everything else. And his lackeys
in both the House and Senate (and in the red states) echo his words and his
slogans and his agenda. The co-conspiratorial
Base continues to eat up his rhetoric and his behavior. Fox NEWS is his mouthpiece and they provide a
constant barrage of lies and conspiracies that energize that Base. The Right-wing continues to out-perform the
Democrats in terms of reaching and educating the public. We have to change that
situation or we will again lose the battle for the vote!
#4. Democrats
have to better promote and explain their priorities and their message. The People need to know what Democrats AIM to
do, how they are doing it and how it will affect their constituents. Democrats also need to issue a recurring call for
input, advice, counsel and involvement on the part of constituents. My Suggestions:
a.
Establish a central clearinghouse/education
center (call it anything descriptive – just don’t call it a “War Room”). It
could have arms in certain strategic places like the DNC and/or, the Speaker’s
Office, or in a television studio.
b.
It’s sole Mission: produce a solid truthful
message about what Democrats believe, what they seek, how they are proceeding,
and exactly the results of their endeavors.
c.
It is crucial that there be one spokesperson who
can capture the attention of and rapport with the audience; that person’s message
should be echoed by many voices in the Party in their own words, cadence and
style. Instead of being dubbed the
Democrat’s Press Secretary, this person should be referred to as a Communicator
or Voice or Spokesperson.
d.
This must NOT be based on conformity, but on
unity out of diversity; different viewpoints should be explained not denigrated
or covered-up – emphasize the Big Tent. Reports on policies or actions should
include ideas and thoughts that express different approaches. Democrats must support
each other and not denigrate one another;
e.
Point: aim should be to educate the public on
what the Dem Party believes and what it is doing about those beliefs. It cannot be politically motivated, but must
be energized by a need to educate and to be transparent
f.
someone should be appointed to oversee use of social media as well; it should not be used
as a rebuttal to Trump tweets, but as a tool for delivering a positive message
in contrast to those from Trump; with emphasis on positive actions not derogatory
words
g.
There must be continuous research, truth-finding
and telling; information-giving, and input from many sources, including
constituents and voters
h.
Keep it positive; don’t engage with Trump; instead,
call him out by contrasting his words and actions with what Dems are doing or
planning
i.
For example: the aims, plans, and actions of
the investigative committees chaired by Democrats in the House, need to make
their work plain, and need to keep the public educated and informed on a
regular and widespread basis
Enough said. I’ve run
out of room. LET’s GET BUSY before Trump
actions destroy our heritage and our future.
