Another example is some GOP members are working to destroy the credibility of investigator Robert Mueller. That prompted Melissa McEwan of Shakesville to write:
One man does not subvert our democratic norms and systems to usher in authoritarianism on his own. He has help, and lots of it. The Republican Party is willing, even eager, to provide all the help that Trump needs.
The inaction and even assistance in Congress has me thinking whatever authoritarian actions the nasty guy does the rest of the GOP wants it too. Don’t upset the guy when he is doing exactly what they want him to do. They’re as much authoritarian as he is. They want that. They’ve been working towards this moment for decades.
Sarah Kendzior proposes another possibility for the way the GOP sucks up to the nasty guy.
Blackmail.
Perhaps a year ago (I don’t remember the date – at least a year, maybe 18 months) there was a lot of news that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was hacked just before the Democratic Convention. Some of the info gained in that hack was dribbled out over the fall campaign and made a difference in the results.
Very little has been said that the RNC was also hacked (and, apparently, Sen. Lindsay Graham’s personal email) at about the same time. Little was said because that info wasn’t used during the campaign. But it certainly wasn’t forgotten. The nasty guy could be hanging it over certain members of Congress.
There may be other reasons for all that praise for the nasty guy. Kendzior lists a few:
* One is the careerism and opportunism I mentioned above. Take the chance to impose the nasty policies while we can. Kendzior dismisses this. It’s just everyday politics. But everyday politicians don’t heap praise like this.
* Threats to family and friends.
* Contamination – of being on the outer edges of the administration’s criminality. This could include bribery by the nasty guy’s donors (but that’s also everyday politics).
* Threats to the country, such as provoking another country to attack America or disrupt our infrastructure.
Kendzior says these threats can be used against more than Congress – they can be used against any government official. And even mass media.
When these threats are wielded against the media our news begins to sound like propaganda or at least the stories that expose a lot are killed. Either action could be because of fear.
When officials are threatened they become afraid to criticize the executive branch, perhaps even afraid to state concerns privately. This comes from a suspicion of surveillance. Self-censorship becomes a survival mechanism.
When it gets to this point – when you self-censor by instinct, when you’re always on guard, when punishment always looms, and accountability is annihilated, you’ve passed into authoritarianism.
We’re not there yet. But we’re getting close.
It is important not to let them change your values, your morals, your individuality. Authoritarianism isn’t just a matter of external control; it’s most insidious aspect is what it does to you inside.
That prompts a question. Are GOP members naturally authoritarian or are they being blackmailed into it? Perhaps both? That they have been acting authoritarian is demonstrated by the scam masquerading as a tax cut bill. Yeah, the giveaways to the rich and the resulting threats to the social safety net is bad. What is worse, says Will Wilkinson writing for the New York Times, is the contempt they showed for democracy in the process. There were no hearings or debate on the bill. Sections were rewritten by hand and a vote was forced before anyone could read it.
Wilkinson explains this isn’t an issue of “makers” protecting themselves from “takers.”
Democracy is fundamentally about protecting the middle and lower classes from redistribution by establishing the equality of basic rights that makes it possible for everyone to be a capitalist. Democracy doesn’t strangle the golden goose of free enterprise through redistributive taxation; it fattens the goose by releasing the talent, ingenuity and effort of otherwise abused and exploited people.
A bit more on that tax scam bill. The Center for American Progress estimates the nasty guy will save somewhere between $11 million to $15 million a year on taxes. His children and the children of many in his cabinet will save $4.5 million in estate taxes.
So Joy Reid said on Twitter journalists and constituents should be busy asking every GOP Congresscritter five important questions:
* What is your net worth?
* How much will you gain financially from the bill?
* Did your voters urge you to vote for it?
* How much will the average person in your district see in tax relief?
* Will you vote to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to cover the deficit?
One of Reid’s Twitter replies suggested showing the size of the Congresscritter’s houses. Yeah, they’re big.
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