Trump weakening the democracy that makes America strong
29th January 2024 · 0 Comments
By Rev. Jesse Jackson
Guest Columnist
Have Republicans turned into Donald Trump’s party? As this is written, Trump is about to win the New Hampshire primary. Unless Nikki Haley, the last opponent still standing, pulls off a last-minute surprise, he will essentially lock up the nomination. Trump will hail the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement as triumphant.
This is the result of a long and shameful history. In 2016, the establishment in both parties dismissed Trump and scorned his appeal to working people who felt economically abandoned and politically ignored. Trump won the nomination handily – and then while losing the popular vote, won the presidency. His presidency inherited a growing economy. He challenged our ruinous trade policies and used immigration as a blatant racial appeal to divide Americans. But the chaos of his administration, particularly in the face of the worst pandemic since the 1920s, made him a loser in the 2020 re-election campaign.
At that point, Trump went off the rails. His attempt to overturn an election that he knew he lost was an illegal and outrageous violation of the laws and the Constitution, ending in the sacking of the Capitol. Lives were lost, as an overwhelmed Capitol police force suffered casualties in hand-to-hand conflict while Trump watched, apparently approvingly, on television. The Republican leaders in both the House and Senate denounced Trump, correctly naming him as responsible for the violence.
Then the retreat began. Senate Republicans refused to convict Trump when the House impeached him. The attempt to overturn the results of the election became a partisan issue rather than a patriotic one. When Trump was indicted for his various misdeeds, Republicans chose to portray the indictments as partisan.
When Trump began his campaign for re-election, the leading contender – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – ran as Trump-lite, without the chaos – adopting Trump’s policies, defending his behavior, while saying he would do it better. Nikki Haley, the last candidate standing, was more personable than DeSantis, more independent on foreign policy questions, but also tried to straddle embracing Trump rather than challenging the direction he wanted to take the country. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who ran a shoestring campaign, was the major candidate calling out Trump – yet he made his attack far more personal – criticizing Trump’s lies rather than his policy or direction.
Essentially, the leading candidates conceded that Trump represented the majority of the party, and that they had to succumb to those prevailing winds and racist dog whistles. Not surprisingly, this turned out to be a losing strategy.
Trump, however, does not represent the majority of America. And if his views now define the Republican Party, that party is wedding itself to a minority position.
Trump wants to weaken the democracy that makes America strong. He – and the justices that he and Republicans have appointed – are gutting the Voting Rights Act, making it open season on political gerrymandering, making voting more difficult, particularly for working and poor people. Most dangerously, they refuse to accept the results of elections if they don’t come out the “right way.” Americans believe in majority rule, so much so that they have a hard time believing that it is at risk.
Trump and his justices have stripped women of the right to abortion and are intent on creating a religious exemption from basic civil rights and liberties. This position offends the basic beliefs of the vast majority of Americans.
Trump wants to divide Americans, railing against civil rights, arguing that immigrants (read people of color) are poisoning our blood. Most Americans understand that diversity is our strength, that equal protection under the law is our promise, even if too often and too long violated in practice.
Trump’s leading economic policies are to roll back all efforts to address climate change, dismantle environmental protections, weaken antitrust efforts, end efforts to hold banks or CEOs accountable, while continuing to cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Most Americans do not support this as the way forward.
Trump’s foreign policy is centered on throwing more money at the military and revving up a full confrontation with China. But the simple reality is that the U.S. already spends more than the next 10 countries on its military, while China manufactures more than the next 10 countries (including the U.S.). We make smart missiles; they make smartphones and cars and solar panels. We need to make more of what people need, not more of what the Pentagon wants.
Trump is a talented performer. News coverage focuses on his outrages and his grotesqueries. What’s needed is a clear challenge to his policies and his priorities. What he promises to do to America is far more offensive than his lies, slanders and name-calling. Sadly, the Republican primaries have failed to make that clear. Hopefully, Joe Biden will not make the same mistake.
This article originally published in the January 29, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
