(The Other) Dr. J.'s Trump Chronicles, 2017
"Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018)
.And I still want the job --- permanently..
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As we come to the end of the first proto-fascist Presidency in U.S. history, in this and the next three columns I will be listing the "columns on Trump and Trumpism" that I have published in this space, one column for each of the four Trump-years, with a brief comment on each one. I say "proto-fascist" because of course Trump did not achieve even a modified version of fascism at the governmental level. But it has been clear for quite some time that that is what he and the forces behind him were aiming for. And depending very much on how he is and/or is not prosecuted for his many crimes (Federal, state, and local), he may well be a major fixture in U.S. politics for some time to come. And of course, if he doesn't make it to the role of First Fascist Dictator for the U.S., there are many true Republicans more than ready to stand in in his place, beginning with Ted Cruz (from whom the fascist-wizard Steve Bannon --- and he is a real wizard, not like the one in "The Wizard of Oz" --- originally came to Trump, along with Kellyanne Conway). This all depends, of course, in which direction the dominant sector of the U.S. capitalist ruling class wants to go.
And so, here they are:
1. "Warning (Warnung, auch)"
Click Here. This column is about a remarkable book published in 1935 which predicted, with remarkable accuracy, which way Nazi Germany would be going, in both foreign and domestic policy, in the then-coming years. Perhaps there will be a similar one published about Trump and the Trumpites.
2. "Why the Muslim Ban?"
Click Here. Recall that one of Trump's first moves was a "Muslim ban," a typical fascist "aim-at-a-foreign-origin-minority as a cause of much evil" move.
3. "Why They Are Coming for the Immigrants"
Click Here. The xenophobia broadened and of course led generally to "the other" as the enemy. Nazi Germany showed us the consequences of that movement. As I said in the introduction to that column: "First they came for the immigrants, but I wasn't an immigrant. Then they came for the Muslims, but I wasn't a Muslim. Then they labeled the LGBTQs, but I wasn't one of them. Then they came for the true radicals, but I wasn't one of them either. Then they came for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ folk and their allies, but I wasn't one of them. Then they came for the trade unionists who they hadn't bought, but I wasn't one of them. Then they came for the just plain critics of the regime. And by then it was too late. (With thanks to Pastor Niemoller.)"
4. "The Russia House: A Class Analysis"
Click Here. Of course there was (? is?) a Trump-Russia connection (is the reason that Putin has yet to congratulate Biden on his victory that Putin is still hoping that Trump may yet pull it out?) When the full text of the Mueller Report, which Barr was so eager to hide, for obvious reasons, is released, we will know a lot more about it.
5. "Trump: The 'Shift' and the Ruling Class"
Click Here. This column looked at the beginning of the Trump policy shifts as they moved from what he said he was for in his campaign (although certainly keeping with the xenophobic/racist stuff) to backing the primary ruling class interests.
6. "Trump's Triumphant First 100 Days (for the Ruling Class)"
Click Here. This column was about precisely what the title says it is about.
7. "Trumpism and the Ruling Class: Will the U.S. Ever Recover?
Click Here. This column details the rabidly traditional Republican agenda of Trump's first year. With President Biden coming in, we will be discovering if recovery from Trumpism is even half-possible.
8. "Trump and the War on the Media: On the road to Fascism"
Click Here. A central element of Nazism, both before and after Hitler took power, was the unending attack on "Die Luegen Presse," The Lying Press. Sound familiar? And Hitler kept it up after he seized power, aiming his invective at the foreign press, since of course after a few weeks there was no longer any independent media left in Germany.
9. "Trump, Bannon, Poland, and 'The Triumph of Will' "
URL: Click Here. Trump just loved the Polish Right in 2017. And he still does.
10. "Trump and His Base"
Click Here. Every fascist has his base. And if you want to know many of the standard characteristics of the typical one, just look at Trump's.
11. "The Right-wing Imperative, the Republican Party, and Trump"
click here. Since Goldwater, the Republican Party has been the captive of what I call The Right-wing Imperative." In this column I explain what it is and how it plays out in the Republican Party.
In the introduction to the column, I said: "Are Trump's racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, xenophobia and homophobia: anything new, for a Republican? No, not in terms of policy. But the attempts have always been made to cover these things up, to introduce 'deniability,' Reagan's classic 'dog-whistle.' The strategy/tactic goes back 50 years, under the hood of the 'Rightward Imperative.' Trump has just undressed Republican doctrine in public, taken the hood off as it were, bringing it all out into the open."
13. "Is Trump Crazy? Personality disorder? Or crazy like a fox?"
Click Here. As I said in the introduction to this column: "There is much speculation about President Trump's mental state. Crazy? Personality disorder? Or crazy like a fox? I hold to the latter view. As I said then: 'I think that this man is not out-of-control, ever. I think that he only appears to be, on occasion, and I think that that is planned.' I make one exception to that observation. (I am a physician, but not a psychiatrist, and therefore I am not limited by the 'Goldwater Rule' in commenting on Trump's mentation.) Low self-esteem is a common problem. NO self-esteem at all, not-so-much."
14. "The Star-Spangled Banner and What It Truly Stands For"
click here. As I said in the introduction to this column: "It is well-known that for some weeks now President Trump has used the 'Star-Spangled Banner' as a verbal battering ram against (mainly African-American) athletes in a variety of (mainly professional) sports. During its playing at the beginning of sporting events, they are using one form or another of non-verbal expression to protest various aspects of U.S. society's treatment of African-Americans and other minorities." This column traces the history of Star-Spangled Banner, and discusses the full text, in which the commonly appearing word "free" [about which Trump did not know, and still doesn't) contrasts with the racist sentiments expressed in the 3rd and 4th verses.
15. "The Triumph of Capitalism and the Rise of the Radical Right"
click here. I concluded this column with this paragraph: "In summary, in many of the industrialized capitalist countries, capitalism has triumphed to an extent never before seen. On its way to victory, capitalism destroyed most vestiges of effective opposition that it had previously allowed within the system. But workers have grievances and they are intensifying. And so, if there is no Left, where do they go? Some, particularly those susceptible to the racism and xenophobia of Trump and his cohorts, go to the Right, of course. The rest wait for the Rebirth of the Left."
16. "21st Century Fascism: Trump Style -- Part I"
Click Here. From the "Introduction" to this column:
"Just because there are elections and an elected government, don't think that there cannot be fascism. One needs only to look at the Nazi German example. For some years before the German President Paul von Hindenburg named Adolf Hitler Chancellor (Prime Minister) of Germany on January 30, 1933, the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party had simply been one of several major political parties in Germany. They usually received in the neighborhood of 1/3 of the vote in the then fairly frequent German elections. Hitler assured the aging President that despite his party's tradition of violent rhetoric, he would rule in a Constitutional manner. And the non-Nazi Rightists, like ex-Chancellor Franz von Papen, assured Hindenburg that they would keep him 'under control.' We all know what happened, beginning the very night of Hitler's assumption of the Chancellorship with the rounding up and imprisonment without trial of Communists and Socialists. But he did come to power constitutionally. So, it can happen here."
17. "21st Century Fascism: Trump Style -- Part II"
Click Here. I concluded this column with this short paragraph: "This Doctrine of Functional Fascism finds a very happy home in the modern the Republican Party. It is of course the outcome to date of the Republican Rightward Imperative which has controlled the direction of the Party since the time of Goldwater."
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And so we come to the end of the first year of "Trump columns." I must say that looking back, even though it was only the first year of his Presidency, the theme of fascism arose and keep on coming with great frequency. At the time, one wouldn't have thought it. With the contesting of the results of the election, at several different levels --- in the courts, at the legislative level (in the states, so far), and at the street/mob level --- it is now right in front of us, in our faces. When people like Michael Steele and Joe Scarborough are saying that this is the principal challenge we face, it is time to listen to them. For one thing, I say to my friends on the Left, THE enemy is Trump and the fascist forces behind him, not Joe Biden and the classical constitutional-capitalist forces behind him.