We'll be OK, right?

I don't know.

Arizona history has been a comforting topic of late. Writing on contemporary events is too much. I'm still poleaxed that Hillary Clinton isn't the president, that at best 70,000 voters in three states determined our nightmare, that it had even been that close. The evidence mounts — latest with a blockbuster article in The New Yorker by Jane Mayer —  that Trump is not merely uniquely unqualified for the Oval Office but a traitor, a Russian Quisling. I'm old enough to remember when the Republicans warned that the Democrats would surrender us to Russia. How does one write about these things, even read them, without a certain madness setting in?

David Brooks, the stopped clock of American pundits, recently wrote:

...once the norms of acceptable behavior are violated and once the institutions of government are weakened, it is very hard to re-establish them. Instead, you get this cycle of ever more extreme behavior, as politicians compete to be the most radical outsider. The political center collapses, the normal left/right political categories cease to apply and you see the rise of strange new political groups that are crazier than anything you could have imagined before.... Vladimir Putin’s admirers are surging. The center is still hollowing out. Nothing is inevitable in life, but liberal democracy clearly ain’t going to automatically fix itself.

Indeed. So will we be OK? I'm less worried about nuclear war than two months ago — but that could change in a late-night Trump tweetstorm. Otherwise, who knows. The Roman empire endured for almost 500 years in the West and another thousand years in the East after the death of the Roman Republic. So might it be with the American Empire. Or not, after one or more Sino-American wars and/or the disruption of climate change. But I'm not sure we're going back to the country we knew, flaws notwithstanding.

If you ask my few remaining Republicans friends on Facebook — mostly real friends from high school who never went to college or left the state — they think everything is fine. That we're righting ourselves from the depredations of the illegitimate presidency of Barack Hussein Obama. Other people ask me why the Republican Party doesn't step in and put a stop to Trump — for whatever Robert Mueller finds, only the Congress can impeach and remove a sitting president?

The answer is three-fold. First, the GOP is getting everything it wants from this administration, from tax cuts to wrecking agencies from the inside. Second, Republican leaders fear Trump's base. Finally, thanks to Citizens United the oligarchs such as the Koch brothers have nearly total control of the federal government and many states (not least Arizona).

I'll believe the Blue Wave when I see it. For one thing, people like my Republican Facebook friends get their information from the likes of Fox "News" and Sinclair outlets. They don't believe the mainstream press — most don't read newspapers. And the reflexive search for balance by the press leads to misinformation. The president is a liar and there's an end to it. But few will say it, except for the Washington Post. These millions who subscribe to right-wing propaganda are hostile to facts, history, civics, and science. Mayer's meticulously researched article is mere "fake news." They don't believe in climate change, the existential threat bearing down on us.

Nothing will change their minds. They didn't vote for Trump as a populist Hillbilly Elegy economic revolt against neo-liberal elites. It's all about white majoritarianism, backed by a mammoth ignorance of the good the federal government has done for the advancement of the nation. They lie to pollsters, so support for Trump and the Republicans is wildly undercounted. Nor will the young necessarily save us — many are quiet white identity right-wingers, and almost all have been impoverished by the lack of teaching history and civics, while having their self-esteem disastrously inflated for their entire lives.

The Democrats are deeply divided. One faction wants to retain a big-tent mass political party. Another wants to turn the Democrats into a left-wing version of the Republicans. My problem with the latter is that it is antithetical to the compromise that is essential to constructive governing and functioning liberal democracy. The other problem is, as they say on the ranch, when it gets to nut-cutting time the right will win. Even without gerrymandering, vote suppression, and Kremlin interference, American history lacks a single example of a left or social democratic national victory. Ask President William Jennings Bryan or President George McGovern. What about the millennials? Maybe they will create something like this in already blue states, and the left intolerance I see in Seattle is deeply disturbing. They'll never do it in the red states. Only a constructive center-left party can flip the red states. Even then, it's a tough battle.

Maybe we'll get one more chance in November, especially if Democrats take the House. But I'm reminded of Obama's victory in 2008 and the genuine hope that the disastrous George W. Bush years would be a repeat of what Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression did to the Republicans. Instead, they were back in two years, using Congress to retard Obama's attempts at progress.

No Drama Obama. Eight years, no scandals. He saved us from a second Great Depression — and a Vice President Sarah Palin. By this time after Reagan had left office, all sorts of things were being named for the Gipper. I believe Obama is getting a grade school with his name — otherwise, nada. Don't ask me if we'll be OK. I am afraid for the future, for the first time in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Bradley Dranka]

I hate to say this, but to anyone with half an eye on the international scene, China's ascendance is merely a matter of time.

What that timeframe is a bit uncertain, but I'm guessing that by 2050, and maybe earlier, China will be calling many of the shots around the world, by filling a vacuum trump's "America First" policy has created. China is using its monetary and human capital to build infrastructure in Africa, not only to gain access to resources, but also to gain advantage in leveraging the next cheap labor market.

As America becomes more isolationist, China has boatloads of money just looking for somewhere or someone to influence. Trump's battle cry of "tariffs" will only gain America more enemies worldwide AND push those on the fence to look more favorably at China. Xi Jinping is, as the Chinese like to say, "smiling broadly."

I liken all these small things adding up to a momentum that, once underway, will be incredibly difficult to slow down, much less halt or turn around. It's kind of like that supertanker full of crude oil that takes an unbelievably long distance to stop at full reverse propellers. That figurative Chinese supertanker will run over an American "battleship" that has left itself floating aimlessly--and has put itself in the path of the coming juggernaut.

[phxSUNSfan]

China will not flourish as a result of American missteps. The Chinese are too invested in our economy. China itself suffers from massive overpopulation and extreme pollution that is causing cancer rates to exponentially increase. Let us not forget that they will also bear huge costs as climate change takes its toll on massively polluted and overcrowded coastal and tidal mega cities. While China has invested in some infrastructure planning and building in Africa the ROI is limited. African nations are among the least resilient societies in the world politically, economically and in terms of sustainability.

Now, to the point: How will we endure? I am nervous but not fearful. I believe we will recover nicely as my generation and those younger oversee a liberal democratic surge. The blue wave is coming.

I must admit to now seeing the world through the lens of a New Englander. Residing in the bluest and most liberal region of the U.S. Perhaps I now find myself residing in somewhat of a bubble.

I say somewhat due to the fact that while Massachusetts is home to the bluest, most liberal State House, it also elected a moderate Republican governor. So, I do see how the center can function whilst immersed in this liberal, highly educated outpost.

[Joe Schallan]

"But I'm not sure we're going back to the country we knew, flaws notwithstanding."

"Flaws notwithstanding," really?

The country was founded upon conquest, genocide, and slavery. And on white Anglo male privilege. Cruelty and avarice inhabit its DNA.

I'm ready to give it all back to the First Nations, if Germany will have me back after 150 years. The Diné, Hopi, and Tohono can't possibly fuck it up more than we have.

Except -- as I have discovered -- my German cousins consider me AMERICAN. And the First Nations like a Whopper from time to time as much as us Euro-Americans.

So I -- and they -- are HERE. What can be done?

[Bradley Dranka]

phxSUNSfan, China is likely already ahead of the US in renewable and non-CO2 energy research and manufacturing, and is well on the road to being THE main supplier of this technology to the world. But they have one thing we do not--a leader who is seen as much less aggressive and mercurial than Trump, and in diplomacy and business, confidence in a leader is a key asset.

Trump's policies are doing a great deal to gain America less prestige and confidence around the world, and this is the momentum starting to gain power I am worried about.

It is this vacuum which Trump's "America First" policy will likely create that China is licking its chops over, because this will allow them to become what they have wanted to be since Mao died--the new America.

How the world interacts with us is something America can only partially influence, not only because it is the other nation's perceptions involved, but also their consequent actions that we have marginal influence over. This influence becomes les and less the more America steps back from the rest of the world.

That is very worrisome, indeed.

[soleri]

Breaking the American political system was probably no one's intention. It happened because the forces of identity politics overwhelmed our institutions and democratic norms. Instead of ideas and policies, we argue over intangible things like feelings and grievances. I spend most of my time here blaming the Republican Party for unleashing this hell on America but I know it's more complicated than that. Even worse, the left is now fighting in this swamp of emotion with as much fervor as the right. 40-some years ago, this vandalism probably seemed quite clever. Now it's the nightmare we can't awake from.

Democrats have probably one opportunity left to save the system which made us the world's most stable democracy. I am not hopeful because the purity pouters on the left want a "revolution" that feeds their highly romanticized self-concept. I came of age in this mawkish melodrama where Beautiful Losers like myself stood up to the forces of oppression and got swatted down like mosquitoes at a picnic. Still, the dream never dies and 1968 beckons.

I'm guessing our next national development will be something closer to an authoritarian kakistocracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy). For all of you who hated government because of long lines at DMV or "neoliberalism", or guns laws, you ain't seen nothing yet. We may even elect a president who brazenly leverages power for his personal benefit, lies with impunity, stacks the judiciary with hacks and ideologues, and muses about becoming president for life. I apologize for that cynical thought. It can't happen here.

[Mike Doughty]

After watching politics for 50 years,Ihave come to believe that Mencken was definitely right-"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."The fact that all the southern states are Republican should tell you all you need to know about the party.Throw in a few small predominantly white states by scaring the hell out of them with Willie Horton type ads and the always on-the-make media coverage and you are home free.The U.S. will always be a country that votes for white privlege until it becomes demographically non-white.Until then you are just spitting into the wind.

[Buckobear]

Mike -- there's always this:
"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."
H. L. Mencken

[Bradley Dranka]

Mike Doughty, Unfortunately, I think you are probably right.

There are many White Evangelicals who are White Supremacists in their hearts, and their inner racist dictates their "law and order" voting.

Their greed makes them unwilling to care that their white privilege perpetuating political leanings are a major factor in Black unrest and dissatisfaction. This greed exists because the American Dream says you can have it all, and these "Starbucks supremacists" are absolutely unwilling to share.

The "blue lives matter" slogan is a redundant and a conveniently self-serving way to display that racism in politically correct language.

All of the above exists because, deep down, these supposedly moral and upstanding folks truly believe that all people of color are second-class citizens. True equality will never happen until those who are unequal take it by sheer number that can't be nullified by conservative gerrymandering.

[ed dravo]

Without doubt Republicans can be blamed for most of the policies bringing the country low. Tax policies that deprive government of the money necessary to support institutions making social mobility possible, programs such as higher education, extensive vocational training, and well funded retirement plans, are major drivers of the hollowing out of the middle class.

The Democratic strategy embraced being an advocate for every group with a grievance against social attitudes that didn’t advance their interests, all too often regarding them as ‘victims,’ to make pursuing legal remedies easier. It also made it easier for conservatives to establish democrats as a party that was for everyone but the majority of voters; in fact their enemy. It worked. Fragmenting the population into various identity groups breaks many of the social bonds that enable society to work. A representative government requires subordinating private interests for the good of the whole. Likewise using semantic harpoons like ‘white privilege’ to drown out legitimate concerns by the voting majority isn’t going to win any contests; witness the Democrats absence from most statehouses.

It’s hard to imagine that the notions of sacrifice necessary to build strong societies are going to gain any headway in a society that embraces consumerism and individual expression. We have been fortunate the WWII generation did so much to strengthen the foundation of our national conscience and social norms. It’s too bad the Boomers were too selfish to return the favor for future generations.

[drifter]

"A representative government requires subordinating private interests for the good of the whole."

In a country as large and varied as the USA, how does one determine what exactly is "for the good of the whole." Wyoming and California with their extreme differences in population, possess the same power in the US Senate to decide what exactly is "for the good of the whole". The House with it gerrymander essence allowing Republican population voting minorities to decide what exactly is "for the good of the whole".

Republicans and right wing media have been the ultimate mover in identity politics: manipulating and directing the anger and frustration of less talented and fortunate whites against such foils as government, the "deep state", immigrants and so on.

With a lack of effort in consensus building the US political framework fails. The dark energies of the Confederacy that precipitated the US Civil War still live and breath in the modern era Republican Party. Their ultimate goal is to wreck the Union and put a plantation structured system in its place. The present day Democratic Party's concern for civil rights and fundamental fairness should not be blamed for the party's political losses. The confederate control of the Republican Party and its continuing efforts to break the union will use whatever tools available to accomplish their revolution.

[Mary Tooley]

While I am as terrified at seeing more of our Democracy being destroyed every day as all of the above commentators are, I think you fine gentleman are overlooking a huge ray of hope. Women are very, very angry and are channeling this energy into more than marching around.

[soleri]

Mary, along those lines, it's Stormy Daniels tonight on 60 Minutes. Savor the irony of a porn star taking on The Total Explanation Huckster in his own arena. This may be the grudge match we've dreamed about in WWF America.

I think this points out why we need political parties if only to buffer the extremes of the Passionately Certain. Republicans used to nominate boring people to high office before Fox News, Newt Gingrich, and Rush Limbaugh weaponized white identity politics. Then an abyss opened and coughed up Donald Trump. Always be careful when playing with matches near the toxic waste dump.

If women - and possibly, kids - can save America, I'll bow my head in awe and gratitude. A woman stood between us and Trump in 2016 and was deemed insufficiently telegenic. 53% of white women voted for the guy who mused about dating his own daughter. Not to worry! Franklin Graham not only approves, he's convinced Jesus ordained his victory.

[B. Franklin]

Franklin Graham, like his late, unlamented father, proves that there is indeed a sucker born every minute. Make that every second.

Unfortunately, instead of Barnum's freak show to entertain the suckers, we have Trump's freak government.

So the "burn it down" crowd got their wish...And what do we have to show for it, besides an ever growing pile of ashes?

Well, how about a lifelong criminal, and serial adulterer, with a deep indebtedness to Russian oligarchs, and a man crush on Vladimir Putin, in the White House?

How about the most inept and corrupt cabinet in living history?

How about a white supremacist dismantling the Department of Justice?

How about Jared "Side Hustle" Kushner, and various neo-Nazis, scuttling about the West Wing?

How about a Republican controlled Congress, so afraid of Der Trump's frothing at the mouth base, that they sit by silently while he wipes his ass with the Constitution?

The list of abominations is seemingly endless, with something yummy for every freakish taste.

Are you not entertained?

[Bradley Dranka]

B. Franklin, but the trump storm-troopers couldn't care less about the damage he's caused, because they haven't the intellect in their small minds to realize how much they--and the rest of us--will be paying for this upheaval. All they care about in their vindictive giddiness is that the "deep state" suffers, never comprehending that the deep state is what America has to keep order and predictability.

It's kind of funny, if you think about it, that Clint Eastwood (in "Magnum Force") talked to Hal Holbrook in the car on the way to the obsolete aircraft carriers about understanding the idea of getting rid of the police disciplinary hierarchy--but that one needed something to logical and tangible replace it with.

Doing an organizational makeover on the fly is hard enough, but trump seems to have nothing to take the place of what he wants to eliminate.

This almost seems like confusion for confusion's sake, and it makes many of our allies less confident of America's true course when Herr Kapitan Klink acts like an alternatively buffoonish and evil clown.

On the other hand, our rivals and adversaries, chief among them China, are salivating at the geopolitical inroads they think they can make at the expense of a rudderless America.

It is precisely this "long game" that an impatient, petulant, ratings-hungry TV personality like trump has NO conception of. We will pay dearly for electing a man who is so easily "blinded by his brilliance" AND "baffled by his bull$#!+."

[El Kabong]

This is a good piece. Now and then I need to reread a Robinson Jeffers poem.

"That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new. That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.
Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you."

[Cal Lash]

AMERIKA

[Bradley Dranka]

Cal, Wasn't that the name of Hitler's personal train?

[Rogue Columnist]

It was the proposed Luftwaffe bomber that could reach New York and DC. Went nowhere. Our version became the mammoth B-36.

[Cal Lash]

A movie where the Soviets engineer a bloodless coup of the US.

[Mark in Scottsdale]

The B-36 is my favorite bomber of all time, Rogue. As you know, a beautiful example of the "Peacemaker" resides at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, much to our state's credit.

Thoughts on the article:
1)
It's interesting we heard for 8 years how weak and passive Obama was internationally because he tried to use diplomacy and get along with everyone. Now we hear for another 4 years how weak and isolationist Trump is because he doesn't know what diplomacy is and doesn't believe in helping other people.

The question is, does all this really matter in determining our national power and influence, or does America just constantly like to preen and worry about its place in the world while it sails its 20 aircraft carriers around the globe?

Part of me thinks that it all still comes down to economics, military might and foreign aid in the end and once we elect a president who isn't mentally ill, things will look much the same as they did previously.

2)
I do wonder, and fear, if the ongoing demographic shift away from white non-Hispanic majority and primacy is going to continue to be uglier and messier than any of us ever imagined prior to Trump.

I think that's the most fearful thing of all, tectonic cultural shifts can be ugly and divisive and the Trump presidency just brought it all out into the open.

[Rogue Columnist]

Mark, it can't be over-emphasized how much damage Trump has done to the essential norms of the republic, as well as to American leadership in the world.

As to No. 2, yes.