Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Friday, May 23, 2025

All Of The Above

 Richardson points out something that I think really needs to resonate with those who are trying to oppose Trump and his cabal of fascists. There's a question as to whether to focus on the oligarchic concentration of wealth, the authoritarian anti-constitutionalism or the racism. As HCR notes, they are mutually reinforcing. You could argue that one could not exist without the other. 

The rather blatant racism - like the kind exhibited in the Oval Office the other day - is not popular beyond the base, but threatening demagoguery about immigrants works, right up until someone's friend gets deported. Same with the corruption, few people think it's OK. 

What you wind up relying on is the authoritarian forms of government. Yesterday's assault on Harvard is a good example of this dynamic. This can't possibly be legal, but by attacking with the resources of the Federal government, they hope to cow other institutions. Browbeating opponents creates a reflexive crouch that they can exploit to do really, really unpopular things. In the end, too, they are cruel people; cruel people are usually stupid but arrogant. 

It all goes together. 

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