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| Congressman Jim Jordan (image from flickr) |
Tried checking in with the "Morning Joe" TV show this morning, but they started out talking about baseball. "Joe" is supposed to be a place for politics enthusiasts. And besides, do they not realize that hardly anyone cares about the "World Series?"
Did you see the item the other day about how there are no African-American players in this year's Series? So amazing: there was a time when major league ball literally banned African-Americans. Today the majors would love to get them back. So "Morning Joe" started out with a light discussion on the Series, as if a whole lot of people cared, and I became chagrined. (I watch this show through YouTube.)
There will be plenty of interesting news/talk later today. There are some big stories. We're on the doorstep of the mid-terms. The Republicans are poised to get in a very commanding position all over. And what will they do with all that power?
America has been going through convulsions. Maybe it's hard for some to notice because change can happen slowly. There's this meme out there now that "white people" are scared, scared of losing their traditional preeminence. So this is offered to explain the more troubling behavior and rhetoric of Republicans on the national stage.
However, are these prominent people really reflecting their "white" constituencies or are they behaving as opportunists, a common politician instinct? Whipping up fears and anxieties where otherwise the waters would be calm? Don't people of color really just want a lot of the same things as the "white" people? ("White" people are not really white.)
Republicans are playing to the fears. Are they really being direct with us? Are they really stating what is on their minds? Republicans have a pretty consistent agenda: lower taxes, the transferring of wealth to people who are already well-off, and nixing of regulations that stand in the way of optimal profits.
Causes in this vein are not always without merit. It is important to keep the principle of individual incentive propped up. Republicans tend to pervert this, though. They do it with rhetoric that they have found strikes a chord with a large constituency. Playing to fears is a big part of this.
Most white people if left on their own would stay pretty calm about things. They would not retreat so much into an us-against-them mode. Politicians seeking support push buttons. Extreme rhetoric gets the attention of the media. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a household name. So if that's your thing - getting famous - you know what you have to do.
What would my late uncle say, the bank president who showed us his Goldwater cigars back in '64, if he were to learn of the joking about the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband? Kari Lake got laughs from her audience with her light approach on this. An 82-year-old man had his skull fractured. My late uncle was a classic Republican, a person of high moral integrity and personal modesty. Conservatives used to believe in a steady flow of society without upheavals. Be good to your neighbor, care about the less-well-off, even if it means a few social welfare programs.
But Republicans talk openly now about cutting Social Security and Medicare, about "re-sets" in Social Security or maybe even sun-setting. They retreat a little when they notice some initial pushback. But we can see clearly their stripes on this. Do not be naive. Even when my uncle Howard was alive, Republicans really wanted to "undo the New Deal."
Resigned to it?
I am assuming at this time the anticipated red wave of Republicans will happen. There is a chance it will not happen. I must acknowledge reality and bang the drum to try to remind people of what Republicans are all about. Democrats up until now have retained enough power to be a check. The mid-terms could substantially change the landscape.
Think of the power Jim Jordan would have. He comes across as such a pit bull. Can he get "real" in the end and just simmer down? If he can't, and if others like him are similarly obsessed, we might actually see a layer of extra-judicial power set up in the U.S. This way, the Republicans can bypass our standard judicial process with its judges. A judge might be pushed aside as being "biased." Anyone who is a known Democrat could be neutered away from having any influence in our justice system.
The tone for this attitude was really set by Donald Trump. Would the extra-judicial brokers show any sensible or humane restraint? Would they follow the lead of Jordan's inflamed rhetoric?
Again I warn you: people with a track record of being critical of Trump and by extension critical of Republicans, might find their lives are in danger. We saw the violence on Jan. 6 and again with the attack on Paul Pelosi. America may be headed into a very dark corridor.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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