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| The Duce |
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| The Trump |
Donald Trump with his
jutting jaw and his grandiose self satisfied demeanor very much
brings to mind the 1930's fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini.
Trump is so far not (not yet anyway) a Mussolini. He has no real
program, no ideology, he is no war veteran, has no mass following
(although a dangerously large one), and has not actually presided
over any 'trains running on time'. But like Mussolini he did get in
by legitimate parliamentary means by using working class discord and
playing the nationalist card and then proceeding to consolidate power.
Trump has a way to go yet but certainly has already adopted some of
the Duce's mannerisms and inclinations, and that's scary.
We have allowed a proto-fascist, cheap hustler to take over the
levers of power. And almost daily he finds new ones to pull with
unknown results (or legality). He is proving to be quintessentially
dangerous both to our country and to the world at large, and must be removed from
office ASAP. But how, when nearly half of the voters support him
either for Republican agenda real politick reasons or are deluded
Kool Aid drinkers? It is clear impeachment can't do it. While our
impeachment process was designed for something exactly like this, it
won't work in this situation. The Repubs have long since ceased being
any kind of 'loyal opposition' and will back Trump even as they
despise him. And Speaker of the House Pelois is wary of 'the
optics' of it and how it can be spun by the WH, the Repubs and
pro-Trump media. As we know the Repubs have misused and thus debased
the tool of impeachment by using it on Bill Clinton over his lying
about his personal life. Impeachment as a Constitutionally mandated
process for removal of a dangerous POTUS, packs far less wallop and
carries far less disgrace than it once did. It now looks too much
like mere political theater (or a cheap political maneuver as in
Brazil with the “impeachment” of Lula's successor).
Nevertheless
I have come around to believe that the impeachment process must be
used even if it cannot actually drive the him out. The
seriousness of the situation increases daily. He is running a muck.
Hopefully the impeachment process will tie up the WH staff and slow
down his rampage. Otherwise unimpeded he will continue to discover
new outrages to commit. His impeachment is our duty to the
institution of democracy even if it might not yield his actual
expulsion. The political warfare will continue with or without an
ongoing impeachment. But let's
take our time. It's needs to be in-process when
the 2020 presidential contest in full force. Trump does not need to
have enough time to portray the failure to impeach as a badge of honor as he has the Mueller investigation's failure to indict. Have it still 'underway' on election day.
Having recently returned from Barcelona I can you tell that post-fascist Spain
with the Socialist Party presently in power at least from a tourista
point of view looks like a worker's paradise compared to the Bay Area
where I live. They have lots of functional if not spiffy public high
rise public housing, clean fast public transportation, excellent
coffee, (somewhat) safe streets etc. I saw no street crazies; I only
saw one panhandler and zero sidewalk tents. And Spain was one of the
hardest hit countries by the great recession. The decaying shab
factor so evident in here in the US didn't seem evident at least in
the parts of Caledonia I visited. After Franco I think they
appreciate democracy. I don't think we do. Many didn't bother to vote
for or against Trump. We have let the Repubs jigger the voting
process so that Demo Party inclined voters (Blacks, Latinos, college
students) have a harder time voting. Also the positions of the
candidates on the issues are less important than their expensive
psychologically manipulative advertising spots. That's sad. Voting is
supposed to be about expressing your position on issues not your
emotional reactions to candidates.
Anyway,
the forces that turned over the House of Representatives to the Demos
in 2018, a laudatory accomplishment, need to again be unleashed and
come together to throw out this bum in 2020!
