"Democracy dies in the dark"
- Masthead of the newspaper that turned off the lights
Republicans govern with audacity. Whatever levers of power they control are declared to be the most representative of the people, an assessment that shifts with election results. They declare mandates when none exist. When reality does not fit their needs, they create a new one.
This did not start with Trump. Republicans have consistently held up the President as the representative of the people; that is as long as they control the Oval Office. Junior Bush governed like he had the broad support of the American people even though he only held the office because the Supreme Court gave it to him. Hilary Clinton's attempt to reform health care failed after Republicans convinced Americans that continuing toward for-profit health care was in their best interests.
Trump didn't write the playbook, but he has perfected its use. He eschewed any semblance of bipartisanship during his first term even though he lost the popular vote, continues to deny he lost in 2020, and pretends that he won overwhelmingly last year despite not even earning 50% of the vote. The current President cheered every courtroom loss by Biden but now calls for arresting judges who rule against him. Trump proudly took credit for positive stock market results a year before his return to office but blames his predecessor for losses that occur now while he presides over the economy.
The Democrats have been getting their asses kicked for decades but still have not learned how to fight back. Republicans stand by Trump even as he shreds the Constitution. In contrast, some Democrats joined the opposing party to vote to impeach Clinton for lying about a sexual encounter. They wasted an opportunity to end Republican obstructionism by reforming the filibuster with an excuse that they would need it when they were in the minority, only to fail to use it when it was most needed. Our most vulnerable countrymen will now suffer as the safety net is dismantled so that billionaires can amass more wealth.
This capitulation by the Democrats plays against the background of a media that cowers in fear of the aspiring despot. Republicans have benefited for decades from the Fox propaganda network but Trump has declared any coverage critical of him to be illegal. While Fox coverage often includes carefully edited footage to make Trump look more coherent, a 60 Minutes profile of Kamala Harris drew a $ 20 billion lawsuit from Trump because he did not like the way that it was edited. ABC was also sued when George Stephanopoulos dared to call it rape when Trump forcibly inserted his fingers into E. Jean Carroll. How will a resistance of all Americans form if they don't have access to the truth?
Even though Trump had little legal justification for his complaint, ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, took the unusual step of providing $15 million for Trump's presidential library, which will make it the first one funded through an act of sexual assault. This settlement emboldened Trump and his ongoing efforts to control the media message by harassing them with lawsuits. His next victim was the Des Moines Register, which was accused of committing consumer fraud and "brazen election interference" after they released a poll showing Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump in Iowa days before the election.
It is not just media corporations bowing down before the President as he seeks to return us to a time before the challenges faced by minority groups were recognized. After Trump threatened to use laws meant to end decades of discrimination, corporations embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)--Walmart, McDonald's, Amazon, Ford, Lowe's, Google, and Target--rolled back their commitment to these programs. They did so even though numerous studies have shown that DEI strategies "help foster work environments that studies have shown are more productive than ones where diversity isn't emphasized".
There is no doubt that Trump will bring change to America, but is that change the type that will make us great? Only weeks into his presidency, the damage to democracy has been significant. The federal workplace has been torn apart, perhaps beyond repair, affecting the ability to provide vital services to the American people. Judges' orders have been blatantly ignored, eroding the separation of powers detailed in the Constitution. Our foreign policy is in shambles with decades-long alliances being thrust aside and power being handed to dictators like Putin. Without resistance, is there any way to escape the black hole of fascism?
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, and serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
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