Monthly Archives: August 2016

TRUMP and the ALT-RIGHT

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Paul Nehlen unsuccessfully challenged Paul Ryan, Republican Speaker of the House in Ryan’s Wisconsin primary bid for reelection. Although ultimately, under extreme pressure as the Republican Party’s candidate for the presidency, Trump endorsed Ryan, he initially refused to endorse Ryan while instead praising Mr. Nehlen.
A movement known as the Alt-Right championed Mr. Nehlen’s effort to unseat Mr. Ryan. Although not succeeding in that case, the Alt-Right achieved two stunning successes in 2014. Eric Cantor, then House Majority leader, was defeated in his reelection bid in Virginia by David Brat, an Alt-Right darling based on his strong anti-immigration stance. Subsequently, John Boehner was forced into retirement from his position as House Speaker largely as a result of Alt-Right reaction to him on the issue of immigration.
So what is this Alt-Right movement? Why are they so concerned about immigration, and what else do they care about?
The Alt-Right fancy themselves guardians of white identity and white culture. They see globalization and multiculturalism as threats to the divine whiteness of Europe and the U.S., thus their high priority around limiting immigration. People from the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are viewed by the Alt-Right as diluting and polluting the whiteness of Euro-America. They consider Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany to be a race traitor due to her actions and positions in favor of immigration as thousands of folks from the Middle East seek refuge in Europe as they flee conflicts at home. Conversely, Briton Nigel Farage is an Alt-Right hero, having led the charge resulting in the United Kingdom voting to exit the European Union in large measure as a reaction to large scale immigration. At a rally in Mississippi Mr. Trump denounced Hillary Clinton as the Angela Merkel of the U.S., restated his resolve to “build the wall” to keep out immigrants, and introduced Mr. Farage with high praise.
Mr. Trump typically claims non-affiliation or unawareness when pressed about his support from white supremacists, an example being his claim not to have known who former Klansman David Duke was. He cannot deny affiliation with the Alt-Right credibly.
Trump’s major financial support comes from a Super PAC funded by hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and managed by Kellyanne Conway until she became Chairwoman of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Mr. Mercer also finances Breibart News, whose chairman, Stephen Bannon proclaims Breitbart the “platform for the Alt-Right. Stephen Bannon is now CEO of Donald Trump’s campaign.
So we see that the Alt-Right, having brought down establishment Republicans not sharing their rigid pro-white agenda are now committed to the making of a President.

TRUMP KNOWS THE POWER OF RACISM

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Donald Trump has taken presidential politics from the ridiculous, past the sublime, lapped the ridiculous, and is in hot pursuit of the rabidly insane. His statements confound most people, even those who doggedly cling on in support of him. He started with “build a wall” to keep out those Latinos he has labeled rapists, thieves, and murderers. He moved on to Muslims, all of whom he considers terrorists or complicit in terror, so “don’t let them in…” When challenged by the son of a fallen Muslim hero, Trump disparaged the wife and mother, “…maybe she wasn’t allowed to say anything…” In case Hillary Clinton might win against him, he encouraged the “…Second Amendment people…” to “..do something about it…” Locking up “Crooked Hillary” just wouldn’t be enough. That was the last straw for some folks, but Donald wasn’t out of straws. He labeled Barak Obama, sitting President of the United States, “..founder of ISIS”. Even worse, to drive home his assertion that international leaders don’t respect the President, Trump says Vladimir Putin of Russia has used the “N-word” in discussing President Obama, although Trump  is alone in his awareness of this. Now, he’s literally inviting voter intimidation under the guise of concern about fraud, urging Pennsylvanians to “..go into those areas and watch what’s going on, and make sure they don’t vote 5 or 15 times…” Does anyone doubt where “..those areas..” are, or who inhabits them?

What is sad is not the fact that Mr. Trump says these things. What’s sad is that the more of them he says, the more popular he becomes with roughly 40% of the American electorate. Bolstered by talk radio and Fox News, these folks are solidly, even violently behind the notion to “Make America Great Again”, essentially by getting rid of those who can be defined as “other”, or those who would defend them.

Decades ago, in an African nation called Rwanda, the media called out for the Hutu majority to do something about the Tutsi minority. It resulted in husbands hacking wives to death with machetes, and members of the same congregation murdering their fellows at church service, because after all, they were “other”, and you’d be better off without them. Trump hasn’t yet called black and brown people “cockroaches” as the Tutsi were labeled in Rwanda, but is the animus not as recognizable?

The hatred is contagious, extending far beyond the American borders. Italian Olympic gymnasts muse about needing black skin to win contests, as their coach asserts that blacks, not suited for management, aren’t buoyant enough to win at swimming. You see, people watch Fox News all over the world.

Common decency, if not common sense, should compel people to reject these notions and their champion, Mr. Trump, before we cross the threshold of lunacy that plunders the world into turmoil and millions to their grave.