One of the joys of subscribing to The Progressive Populist (TPP) is when an essay by Hal Crowther shows up. While our politics may be different; (I believe he was a Republican at one point while I am a little left of Bernie…I’m told that makes me a moderate Canadian), his analyses of politics and culture are thoughtful and beautifully expressed.
In the 3/1/24 TPP cover story, “The Mystery of MAGA”, Mr. Crowther tries to come to grips with the Trump phenomenon and like many of us is totally baffled how such an obvious villain can come to dominate our politics. He joins New York Times columnist Paul Krugman in concluding that “no one knows how this came about.”
At the risk of being extremely pretentious in second guessing Mr. Crowther and Mr. Krugman, I would suggest we can at the very least offer partial explanations. The usual suspects are a disaffected working class whose lives have been hollowed out by neo-liberalism, austerity budgets and global free trade programs, such as NAFTA (although there is evidence that many Trump supporters are more well off than that analysis suggests); White folks who reflect the racism deeply embedded in society (although there were anywhere from 6.4 to 9.3 million 2112 Obama voters who voted for Trump); conservative evangelical Christians, for whom abortion was the only issue; an American political culture characterized by a mistrust of government (often for good reason); etc. While there is truth to all these influences, the one component that sticks out to me is the role of the Democratic Party, especially the “moderate” wing.
In 2016, there is an argument to be made that Bernie would have beaten Trump. We know that Bernie was denied a shot at the nomination in whole or in part by Democratic Party rules and actions that favored Ms. Clinton. We also know Ms. Clinton lost in the Electoral College because of losses in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by narrow margins; a total of around 115,000 votes for all three states. In addition, while Trump was the most disliked politician of the candidates (58% unfavorable), Ms. Clinton was right behind him (55% unfavorable). Sanders, on the other hand, had a favorable rating of 54%. It doesn’t take much imagination to believe that Bernie would have done better in those states. Add in if just 3% or 4% of the Obama voters who voted for Trump were to vote Democratic, Bernie would have been elected and we would have been spared the national nightmare of Trump and MAGA.
There are many other examples of Democratic Party establishment officials acting to undermine progressive candidates … I haven’t even begun to describe how the dominant moderate wing has controlled policy choices. Policies such as Medicare for All, popular with the Democratic base, can’t make it into party platforms and legislative agendas. But the point is that, while not the only reason, it’s certainly an explanatory factor to the “mystery” of a vile and criminal Trump, a MAGA base often at odds with reality, and a cynical and corrupt Republican Party.
IRA EDELMAN, Springfield Mo.
It’s regrettable that our foreign policy is so sclerotic, myopic and disingenuous that we won’t acknowledge the moral failure of any regime, so long as it buys our military hardware. In exchange, we gladly accept the specious rationalizations of such regimes that they are under constant attack from relentless, worse-than-death enemies that only understand violence.
This is the burn we received from Vietnam, from Central America, from Haiti, from the Philippines and from Indonesia. But burns like these fail to leave a mark on our worldview. We just keep touching the hot stove, expecting a better outcome.
Now it is Israel, a nation we still regard as a friend and a democracy, when it has actually fallen under the spell of a self-righteous cabal of rabid dogs. Their only abiding belief is in the Manichean notion of total domination or total destruction, bombing their way to some chimera of peace.
And here we are, enabling our friend with their deadly addiction. Truly, we are addicts also, addicted to the notion that our military power is a force for good, which seemed evident from World War II. It’s hard to unmake a bed that we’ve been lying in, lying for, and relying on for eight decades.
Our self-concept as the great defenders of freedom and democracy is like a coat of paint peeling away to reveal the bare wood of our imperialist intentions. We support Israel, like any colony or client, as an extension of our ambition; so it’s hardly surprising that they have come to imitate our own settler-colonial modus operandi. Withdrawing our support, even now, would require us to forsake our imaginary principles for real ones.
JEFFREY HOBBS, Springfield, Ill.
David Quintero, in his 3/1/24 TPP letter, told how the “Lady of Guadalupe” began as a cult object in the Catholic Church. Our “Christmas” started as a pagan “Saturnalia” (Dec. 25) which the Church changed to Christ’s birthday. Now He is celebrated every Dec. 25 and it made a pagan a Christian.
When one looks at the Bible, one sees a very different birth story. The first book in the New Testament, Matthew’s, begins with prophesies of Christ’s coming, concluding with His birth. Following Chapter 2, up to Chapter 7, which begins, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” And goes on to say, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Verse 15 begins, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Christ goes on to say, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
It concludes, saying that he who does what Christ says, “I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” — not on sand —and will not be destroyed by storms, unlike what happens with other men who doesn’t heed what Christ says (verses 24-27). Verses 28 and 29 ends Chapter 7 with the audience response: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Timeless advice. Ignore it at your peril, even now.
CHERYL LOVELY, Presque Isle, Maine
All of the people quoted below are Republicans, most of them knew and worked with Donald Trump. If you are a Trump supporter, please reconsider your support of him in light of what they said.
“Trump is unfit to be anywhere near power ever again.” Cassidy Hutchinson, aide to Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
“Make no mistake about it: What happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way. President Trump was wrong. His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.” Former Vice President Mike Pence.
“I don’t think he’s fit for office. I don’t think he has the competence to carry out the job.” John Bolton, former White House National Security Adviser.
Trump is a “threat to democracy as we know It.” Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Alyssa Farah Griffin Pence’s Press Secretary, claims Trump is, “wholly unfit for office” and “One of the most, if not the most divisive president in history”.
Former Defense Secretary William Cohen said former President Trump is a “clear and present danger to democracy.”
Trump is a “clear and present danger to US democracy,” agreed conservative former US Circuit Judge Michal Luttig.
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us” and “We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.” James Mattis, retired four-star Marine Corps general and Secretary of Defense in the Trump Administration.
Miles Taylor, Trump’s former Homeland Security Department Chief of Staff, said, “The man that I interacted with years ago was very visibly unwell, was observably unstable, and he was the president of the United States then.”
“A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.” John Kelly, the longest-serving White House Chief of Staff for Trump.
Is Donald Trump the person you want to vote for to be president of the United States?
TPP readers, the above is what I am going to send as a letter to the editor to newspapers in my area. Consider doing the same in your area. Likely, the election will be close, every vote counts. Or as Trump put it in reference to Georgia, “I just want to find 11,780 votes.”
ED GIBBONS, Cedaredge, Colo.
The Founding Fathers had wisdom beyond their years. Steeped in the classics and cognizant of the failures of the ancient Greeks and Romans, they wrote our 1787 Constitution with the intention of succeeding where the Mediterranean democratic republics collapsed and fell into dictatorships.
The Founders were keenly aware that the modus operandi of Western civilizations after the fall was divine right monarchy. Omnipotent rulers with inherited titles of king, emperor, sultan, kaiser and czar claimed their power came directly from God. Their reign came from blood, not ability, was ordained by their religious leaders, and was absolute. Opposing them was both a crime and a sin, with brutal consequences for disobedience to their whims and dictates.
As visionaries, the Founders made the radical decision to divide power three ways—legislative (Congress), executive (President), and judicial (Supreme Court). Congress was further divided into the House of Representatives and Senate. Civics 101. The Fathers did not want a concentration of power in the hands of any potential dictator, especially after fighting The Revolutionary War to depose “the royal brute” George III, the British sovereign.
Why, then, do Americans every four years believe that electing a President is the only vote that matters? To become law, a bill must pass both houses before the President can sign it into law. If one party has the Trifecta (President, House, Senate), then success should be secure. Loss of one component means brokering deals through compromise. Since World War II, the Trifecta has been in place in only 18 of the 41 two-year terms of Congress. Bipartisan legislation is thus the rule, not the exception, in a democratic republic. Without it, expect stalemate and gridlock — like now.
Media know the public prefers discussion of the White House over Capitol Hill, so it plays to what the people like to hear. Good for their ratings, but bad for the separation of powers created to prevent the abuse of power.
If you spend copious amounts of time fixated on Presidential polls, be aware you are hearing only one-third of the electoral story. There is a reason the Founders listed Congress in Article I ahead of the President in Article II in the Constitution. Hail To The Chief if you win, To Hell With The Chief if you lose only tells one-third of the legislative process.
ED ENGLER, Sebring, Fla.
From The Progressive Populist, May 1, 2024
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