Edmund Burke said :The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
It is time to admit that evil has prevailed in the Republican Party and it is possibly beyond redemption at this stage. Those who support the GOP because of historic political affiliation or an intellectual inability to think beyond party labels are tacitly supporting domestic terrorism, voter suppression and insurrection. With examples such as the decision by Ohio GOP Congressman Anthony Gonzalez to not seek re-election, the GOP attack on Liz Cheney, deafening silence about alleged sex trafficker Matt Gaetz, or extremely embarrassing sycophantic actions of officials such as Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cruz and Lindsay Graham, the party has become a cult of personality not unlike the followers of Damien Thorn in Omen 3 the final conflict.
America needs a way to regain its internal stability. The Build Back Better plan put forth by President Biden is like a Rorschach test subject to interpretation contingent upon who’s looking at it. Nonetheless, this plan if expanded could possibly move the nation away from the Trump/GOP cancer and reduce the Trump Republican electorate to the ash heap of history. Suffice to say the GOP was already headed in this direction and the previous administration put that movement on steroids. Trump was a creation of the modern GOP not the creator. Present GOP officials who remain quiet about their parties moral decline cannot fall back on Frank Thiess’ notion of inner emigration.
Unfortunately, at present Biden’s Build Back Better concept does not go beyond its infrastructure component and it’s appeal as a political slogan. While the infrastructure component will ultimately pass, it needs to be expanded so that it’s impact goes further than the much-needed renovation of the nation’s physical infrastructure which is getting battered more frequently and violently.
America has been through great turmoil over the last several years. After an attempted insurrection, COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent vaccine wars, ending of the war in Afghanistan, attempts at restricting voters, efforts to deny a women’s right to choose, Pennsylvania’s attempt to gather voter’s personal information, the nation’s collective nerves are frayed. While the soft infrastructure proposed by the progressive wing of the Democrat party will more than likely be passed through budget reconciliation, Build Back Better in its present form is insufficient for what needs to be done in the nation at this time in history.
One of the blind spots of America is its refusal or inability to see that it is presently existing on the edge of a precipice. It maintains a childlike belief that certain things cannot happen here. As a result it has largely sought to move on from the January 6th insurrection. History presents instances of democracies including Germany, Venezuela and recently perhaps El Salvador that were transformed into totalitarian governments while the people just went on about their daily lives. While America falsely considers itself immune from these historical precedents, there is a crack in the social and political fabric of American society which if left to fester will only grow worse. Elected officials like North Carolina GOP Congressman Madison Cawthorn, sounding like a lightweight version of Robespierre during the Reign of Terror, has deemed the insurrectionists of January 6th to be political prisoners. He went on to say at a recent fundraiser “I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there is nothing that I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American. And the way that we can have recourse against that is if we all passionately demand that we have election security in all 50 states,”
Taken at face value these words are chilling coming from a United States congressman. It is reminiscent of Trump’s “stand back and stand by.” To the naive who claim Trump said “peacefully and patriotically” during his speech on January 6th, it is similar to a mob boss telling someone “ I heard you paint houses.” The specter of violence for the so-called J6 rally September 18th was a clear possibility when white supremacists were called to once again gather at the capital in support of their jailed insurrectionist comrades and their messiah. While the rally was a failure in terms of the turnout the virulent anti-democracy rhetoric that spews from these groups has not declined.
The insurrection was not an isolated event but a culmination of the unleashing of pent up antagonism against immigration, progressive policies, minorities and women. This virulent feeling towards these groups cannot be rationalized by alluding to them as patriotic, church going people. They are not and should be called out for what they are which is enemies of the state.
America is a diverse nation when it comes to competing self-interests. These competing interests make it difficult for any one segment to have total and complete control over the political and economic mechanism which undergird the nation. Nonetheless, the danger is that in President Biden’s constant search of kumbaya, those who seek to destroy the nation are patted on the head with a “there there mommy understands” response.
Building back better must be expanded to include rebuilding the social fabric of the nation. The physical infrastructure portion of the bill might indeed pass but without addressing the ever increasing fault line America may have brand new bridges on a faulty political foundation. Like the levees of New Orleans were fortified over the last 16 years, American democracy must be fortified to hold against the white supremacist aspect of the nation. While many point towards external terrorism as a threat to America, the nation’s security agencies point to the fact that it is domestic terrorism that poses the greatest threat to America today. It is this threat that is credentialed by too many elected GOP officials who value their perks from being in office rather than the nation. Recent comments by looney GOP Congressman Louis Gohmert that federal agents might have egged on the rioters is an example of the disdain the GOP has for the nation.
President Biden‘s overall view is that government’s primary purpose is to enhance the quality of life for citizens which is diametrically opposed to President Ronald Reagan’s famous axiom “government is not the solution to our problem government is the problem.” Biden’s overall success will be judged by his ability to prove Reagan wrong.
The empathetic personality of Joe Biden is a trait that is greatly admired but whose political paradigm represents a past where bipartisanship was a valued commodity. While that may be a worthy goal he must acknowledge that at this point in history, bipartisanship will not happen. He should look at Senator Joe Manchin who has continuously been made to look like a fool by his so-called GOP colleagues. Senator Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy have made it clear they will not support the president. Ultimately history will judge Biden positively on the withdrawal, infrastructure and his efforts against Covid but his seemingly naive paradigm for today’s internal domestic threats and bipartisanship is troubling and may prove fatal for his presidency and more importantly the nation.
What Biden has on his side may stem from a Princeton and Northwestern University report which concluded “The U.S. government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful…” While this belief has been spoken by many people whether at the local watering hole or annual family reunion, Biden thus far has conducted policies that the public generally supports. Some of his policies however, will antagonize what the aforementioned report deems as oligarchs. They will join ranks with the GOP to block as much of Biden’s agenda as possible.
Given this reality the President thus far has not confronted the obvious anti-democratic antics stemming from people such as FOX News commentator Tucker Carlson and public officials such as Kevin McCarthy and Marjorie Greene threatening telecom companies if they hold unto phone records of GOP leaders who were in conversation with Trump on the day of the insurrection.
Whether thru use of the bully pulpit or other means President Biden must address this issue.
Building back better must include a strengthening of institutions which enable a healthy democracy to thrive. This will be extremely difficult as one of the major political organizations has morphed into a cult. The trick is not to confuse normal political conflicts around issues of tax policy, debt etc. The goal is not to lower the temperature between competing philosophies and ideas on various policies. Heated debate is a part of American political history. The goal is to strengthen mediating institutions that will engage in earnest debate on issues that affect the American people rather than the feelings of a psychopath ex-President.
In re-energizing internal institutions that support democracies certain steps must be taken.
First, present GOP leadership can not be given a platform equal to sane and rational voices. Second, those who stormed the capital if found guilty must receive a harsh sentence. This however, will not be enough. Those who funded the January 6th insurrection must be exposed and held accountable. People like Julie Jenkins Fancelli the Publix Super Markets heiress cannot simply be allowed to walk away from their complicity. Congresspersons who in any way aided and abetted the insurrectionists must be held accountable whether by expulsion or impeachment. Lastly, the American electorate must make an effort to ensure that the GOP in its present form does not hold majority status in congress, state houses, school boards etc. until its present derangement syndrome has dissipated. Those who sought to undermine the nation must be shown in unambiguous terms that they will not profit from their actions whether financially or politically. There must be a clear effort to limit the noxious ability of the extreme right to radicalize people in this nation.
Simultaneously organizations must adapt strategies using the same platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Tiktoc and other platforms to promote democratic practices and philosophies.
Third election campaigning must be changed. On the presidential level what is deemed as debates has morphed into oneupmanship rather than debates on issues and policy. Newscasters are more concerned with the pithiest one liner rather than the substance of the debates. Debates as they are presently constituted must be ended. Debate moderators should not be celebrity newscasters. One way to discuss issues is to utilize the Fred Friendly seminars where candidates positions are debated by panels of respected commentators, analysts etc.
There are those who ask why is it the job of Democrats to challenge the insanity of the GOP. The answer is that in a two party system they are the only electoral bulwark left. The challenge to Democrats is to prevent the nation from becoming anesthetized to the reckless and anti-democracy tendencies of too many of the political right.
The will to power is a powerful incentive in the realm of politics. It transcends policy, conviction and morality.
Too often when evil is spoken about, images of Hitler, Mussolini (who Trump tried to imitate on the White House balcony when he come home from the hospital) or Satan come to mind. That makes it too easy to dismiss the evil presently in plain view. Most times it will come in a seemingly innocuous form. Additionally they will often come through a legal process. Hitler took advantage of article 48 of the Weimar Constitution to come to power.
American democracy is not a form of government ordained by God as it was once thought about the divine right of kings. Democracy is fragile and unfortunately within the fruit of democracy lie the seeds of its destruction. Unfortunately, the seeds of destruction have borne some fruit From GOP governors (with exceptions) who refuse to protect school children from Covid 19, Texas patrons who attacked the hostess at Carmines restaurant in New York because she asked for proof of vaccination, to the insane antics including the latest commercial of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green to commentators who disseminate false info and silly anecdotes (including rappers) you have a political party whose strategy is to appeal to the ignorant and uniformed. The woefully ignorant have made their decision to remain that way and will believe and obey anything Trump and his minions tells them Ultimately, the majority of the American electorate will have to decide whether the present GOP, its cohorts and disciples will benefit from their present insurrectionist bent.