Donald Trump’s America
0
0
The Republican party, that GOP, has been bought by Trump and his MAGA forces. In less than 10 years, an American political institution has been brought to its knees by extremists. Donald Trump’s America took over the GOP. Whatever gravitas it may have possessed is long gone, along with respect and common sense. It is now a party with no soul and no appetite for decency or the rule of law. Donald Trump, the property developer and reality TV celebrity, has imbued the traditional party of the right with his own brand of lunacy and grievance politics. A cult has formed around the leader of this once great party, a cult made up of disgruntled, overweight, non-college educated Americans, in the main.
Folk who feel like they missed out on the great American dream.
Trump The King Of Smug America
You know, if you watch American network TV the most profound thing you come away with is a sense of smugness. American smugness portrayed in countless characters in stories brought to life on screen. Donald J Trump was, perhaps, the king of smug on The Apprentice. You get the impression that so many Americans back Trump, despite his criminality and compulsive lying, in support of this shared American archetypal illusion or delusion. The rambling BS that comes out of Trump at his campaign rallies strikes a chord with the populace, obviously.
Make America Great Again should be Make America Smug Again in their overweening conception of themselves. These folk have been fed on a rich diet of idealised smugness all their lives.
The Trump GOP Gaming The Electoral College System
Black men are coming under fire for not supporting Kamala Harris enough in the upcoming presidential race. This is a misdirection, as it is white American men who are not intending to vote for Kamala Harris. Just like they did not vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The USA has never elected a female president in its entire history, by the way. Of course, more Americans voted for Mrs Clinton in 2016 than Donald Trump but the electoral college system gave the victory to Trump. This whole system is a hangover from the days when wealthy white men determined who would be in charge. But hey, that is still true today with Elon Musk, Trump, Jeff Bezos, Zuckerberg, Thiel, Peltz and co spending big on behalf of self-interest.
“The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. However, the term “electoral college” does not appear in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to “electors,” but not to the “electoral college.” “
The popular vote does not elect the US president, rather it is filtered through a series of gerrymandered state controlled pathways. These are controlled by the GOP in the red states, largely located in the south.
Black Men Are Not To Blame
The media are taking aim at African American men to scapegoat them for not all voting for their race and colour of their skin. The facts of the matter indicate that it is much more of a gendered issue across all colours and races. More men are going to vote for Trump and many more women will vote for Harris. Misogyny hides behind traditional values. Lots of white Christian Nationalists with penises have more in common with their Taliban brothers in Afghanistan than they would be prepared to admit. The lies Trump tells ring a bell with men across the country, as lying is a male thing to do. We make stuff up all the time to justify our positions.
Men lie to get laid, to get work, to close deals, and to just get through life full stop. Trump’s lies are understandable to many men.
“Among the much larger group of white voters who had not completed college (44% of all voters), Trump won by more than two-to-one (64% to 28%).”
Only 32% of white male voters voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Black male vote was up around 80% for Clinton. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/resources/ggpresvote.pdf
MAGA GOP Candidates
The Republican party has been infiltrated and taken over by radical reactionary forces. Centrists have been turfed out of the GOP in favour of MAGA aligned nutjobs and crazies. This has been achieved via primaries where, in many instances, only registered Republicans can vote. Thus, Trumpists can muster the votes to win these primaries for their preferred candidates.
“Primaries and caucuses are ways that political parties in each state choose a candidate to run for president or Congress. Political parties in states, towns, and cities may also use primaries to choose candidates for statewide or local office. Depending on your state’s or locality’s voting rules, its primary or caucus elections can be open, closed, or a combination of both. The type of primary or caucus can affect your voting eligibility:
During an open primary or caucus, people can vote for a candidate of any political party.
During a closed primary or caucus, only voters registered with that party can take part and vote.
“Semi-open” and “semi-closed” primaries and caucuses are variations of the two main types.”
Most Americans only pay attention to the democratic process at times of elections, whereas primaries and stuff happen prior to the fervour of these intense periods. Thus, it is easy to organise desired candidate outcomes with far less resources than are required to run campaigns for actual office. Democracies lacking public scrutiny are prone to manipulation by vested interests.
Trump’s America Mark 2
Donald Trump’s America may be about to come to fruition once again and the sequel (like most sequels) may be far worse than the original. The billionaires, like Musk and Thiel want to redesign America in their vision – these sons of South Africa’s white apartheid state. Do these hard working success stories have unfinished business with the world? The Trump bandwagon has so many extremist crazies aboard that it is hard to identify who and what will be worse for a free America than any other. The inequality in the US via the unregulated digital sectors has exploded into a new Gilded Age, with more billionaires popping up than ever before. It is a fact of life that wealthy people are more motivated to protect and grow their own wealth than for any other altruistic motivation they may possess. Biden’s administration did some good work to arrest the unrestrained self-aggrandisement flourishing in the US. This was not universally popular with the rich, as you can well imagine.
The Zero Sum Game Belief
Many men aspire to be wealthy, as this is how the game works in a competitive capitalist free market economy. Thus, men will vote for successful rich folk in the hope of following in their footsteps for some dropped crumbs aka economic opportunities. This is despite the fact that they are voting against their own self-interest in the form of Democrat policies designed to level the playing field somewhat. There is a dearth of deep thinking blokes out there – they simplistically want to be winners themselves and are exploited via this aspiration. See Musk wanna be Musk! Lots of folk do not comprehend the importance of the checks and balances within the economy and society at large. Again, simplistically they see red tape as a barrier to them getting more of what they want. Do away with it, they are told by GOP candidates like Trump, and you will be more likely to accrue wealth. Liberal safeguards are costing them money, they are told by Republican’s running for office. The super wealthy are aligned with Trump for their own benefit, obviously. Attempts to level the playing field are viewed as unrealistic by many men, who have been around the block a few times.
Their cynicism leads them to a winner takes all attitude to work and the marketplace. “F*** the poor and those further down the food chain than me! It’s a zero sum game and I’m siding with the winners. “
Of course, the world aint going to change if people like this get to make the rules. However, Kamala Harris represents an opportunity for a changing of the guard. Old white guys have had their time in the sun and it is way past their use by date. Trump is the old guy losing his marbles in this race now. Generational change is overdue for the US. A smart woman in power is long overdue. American men you wanna think like the Taliban? Maybe its time you piped down and embraced a more realistic vision for the future of America. You wanna make the nation a better place? Put more energy into inclusivity and welcoming folk so that everybody can work together. Expand your vision beyond your own piece of the pie.
Imagine if America could channel all that energy going into spite and polarization. Think of the power that could generate if put into something positive and whole.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump.
©WordsForWeb
Average Rating