...and time is running out for you to use it.
In 2017, the Republican party has been able to achieve control of the Presidency of the United States, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. In just eight months the Republican party has had the opportunity to set an agenda in order to run the United States of America in any way that they, as an institution, see fit. With this unfettered authority over so many arms of the government, their vision for America is clear. Lower taxes for the rich, less healthcare coverage eligibility, and unaccountable corporate activity.
Through having this power, and not using it to squash the existential threat that the president is currently posing through his provocation of an unstable foreign nuclear power, the Republican party is showing that they see self servitude and greed as part of that vision as well.
The office of the presidency in particular, led by Donald J. Trump, has taken unprecedented actions against the norms and principles that keep America’s most crucial systems of governing from crumbling. He has cast doubt upon Americans’ most vital institutions, such as the press and the head of the FBI. He has lied to the American public on a consistent basis (while simultaneously calling any critical coverage of him as “false” in what can especially be seen in retrospect as textbook projection). Donald Trump is a lackadaisical and immature man who has the ability to launch nuclear warheads that could potentially lead to the deaths of millions of lives over the course of generations — either from the resulting conflicts that any nuclear attack would lead to, or the long-lasting damage that a nuclear explosion would do to populations and environments for generations. This is a crisis.
😒
Of course, there are legal procedures within our system of government to remove a president who poses a danger to the life, liberty, and property to the people of the United States. Members of the Senate and House must convene in a special session to remove Trump from office. It is not enough to simply hope, should Trump decide on a whim to launch missiles, that someone down the chain of action would decide to defy the president in an act of bravery. Even in that scenario, who is to say that this hypothetical hero would not be replaced with someone who would follow through with Trump’s order. These are not odds that the fate of the world should ever come close to teetering upon, but here we are.
And yet despite this unprecedented and damaging administration, why did it take nuclear stakes to get the Republicans to act in the country’s interest? Why is the party of conservatism, the party averse to risk taking, willing to risk countless human lives? The answer, simply, is opportunism. The Republican leadership has made a wager that letting Donald Trump continue his reckless behavior in office is beneficial to their party’s ability to maintain power and achieve their political agenda of deregulation and tax cuts on the wealthy.
🙃
And there you have it, Democrats. Instead of arguing over whether critique of three rising stars in the Democratic party is warranted, or the result of the racist left or a misguided move towards socialism, fight for the idea of a government that actually works in the interest of human life. Take Donald Trump’s strategy of putting the ill-defined “powers that be” on the defense, by forcing the party in power to go on the defense. Ask why their solution to healthcare is by working behind closed doors to rush a bill that would cause millions to lose access to health insurance. Demand answers as to why Republican officials are silent or apologetic in response to internal terrorist attacks in the United States. And push the Republicans to explain why they are not taking every step necessary to prevent a conflict with North Korea when Americans are more fearful of war in July 2017 than they even were in even February 2017. Democrats, you can win this if you act right now.
Take Donald Trump’s strategy of putting the ‘powers that be’ on the defense, by forcing the party in power to go on the defense.
Fear, used as a tool in politics, is dangerous when it’s misused. It’s also a powerful way to move your agenda forward. The Republicans used fear of “weapons of mass destruction” to promote the war in Iraq, even after his administration admitted that there were no weapons of mass destruction. This war cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Democrats have a unique opportunity to use fear — this time with facts on their side — to save lives and advance their burgeoning political agenda in the process. The fear of Donald Trump starting a war that no one wants to be involved in is actually imminent now; Democrats must devote all of their efforts towards this cause — for no other cause is worth fighting for if we’re in the midst of a heavy weapons war.
The politics of fear should always be the last resort, because now that nuclear war is within the realm of possibility, the fear behind the politics is justified. In order to perhaps save humanity itself, the Democrats must save the world from the crass and cowardly opportunism of the Republican party.