This strange behavior makes me think of the dysfunctional family that
fights with one another and screams insults, and even physically
abuses its members, only to turn a united face to any "outsider" who
dares to "meddle" in the family's affairs.
Do you want proof that we are living under a One Party Government?
Well, here it is.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/15/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
And most disgusting, Obama has been reassuring world leaders that
everything
will be fine. Why?
Miriam
Truthdig
Right on Cue, Media Begins to Normalize Trump
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/right_on_cue_media_begins_to_normalize_t
rump_20161114/
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Posted on Nov 14, 2016
By Adam Johnson / AlterNet
(http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/right-cue-media-begins-normalize-trum
p)
Donald Trump and his family are interviewed by 60 Minutes. (CBS News)
Editor's update 11/14: CBS News is under fire for waiting two days
(http://thehill.com/media/305823-cbs-news-under-fire-for-holding-clip-of-tru
mp-telling-supporters-not-to-attack) to release a clip of Donald Trump
telling his supporters not to attack minorities.
Throughout the election, critics often
(http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/magazine/the-normalization-of-trump-and-w
hat-comes-after.html) savaged the media for "normalizing Trump," broadly
defined as the act of treating his rank sexism, xenophobia and fascist
dog-whistles as just another policy difference against equally valid
opponents. This trend, borne largely by a combination of cognitive
dissonance and access, is being accelerated now that Trump has won the
election, and its continuation, if left unchecked, could undermine
opposition for years to come.
Oprah Winfrey, in an interview
(https://twitter.com/BroderickGreer/status/797199418101534722) with
Entertainment Tonight, said Trump's recent visit to the White House gave
her
"hope" and suggested he has been "humbled" by the experience. The
Guardian's
Simon Jenkins told his readers
(https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/10/donald-trump-will-not
-go-unchallenged) to "calm down" and that Trump wasn't the "worst thing."
His college, Nouriel Roubini, insisted
(https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/11/oval-office-will-tame-us-p
resident-donald-trump) the Oval Office will "tame" Trump. People magazine
ran a glowing profile of Trump and his wife Melania (though
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-people-cover_us_5824bc56e4
b0c56101d5c946) a former People writer accused Trump of sexual assault).
The New York Times' Nick Kristof dubiously added
(http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/opinion/gritting-our-teeth-and-giving-pre
sident-trump-a-chance.html) that we should "Grit our teeth and give Trump
a
chance." The mainstays-Washington Post, New York Times and CNN-while
frequently critical, are coving Trump's transition as they would any other.
President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have all issued
statements recognizing Trump's legitimacy and pleading we give him a
chance.
Overall there's a creeping sense that we're stuck with Trump and we should
make it "work" in some type of do-goody liberal appeal to patriotism.
But this is wrong, both tactically and ethically. Trump isn't normal and he
should never be treated as such, regardless of what President Obama and
Clinton and Sanders say. These people are politicians, bound by a different
covenant. The media, namely progressive media, is subject to no such
charge.
The overall message of normalizing Trump is that you can steamroll women,
LGBT people, the disabled, Muslims, and people of color, yet everything
will
be okay so long as you win. Indeed, when asked
(http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-rhetoric-not-sorry-2016-11)
if he thought his rhetoric had gone too far, Trump responded, "No, I won."
This is the logic of a fascist, and liberals are acquiescing to him by
pivoting to "Trump as our kooky uncle" normalization mode.
In addition to it working in Trump's favor in the present, it creates a
moral hazard for all future Trumps: you can go as far right as you want and
smear as many vulnerable populations you want, so long as you surpass 270
electoral votes come fall.
Had Trump lost, he would likely have been cast out of proper company, left
to build his own Breitbart-like brand operating on the margins of
acceptable
opinion. Influential and profitable to be sure, but not mainstream.
Political principles, to say nothing of morality, should not shift based on
the outcome of an election. If Trump was a vulgar racist and sexual
predator
before November 8, he still is after, regardless of his new position.
So what to do?
Those not appealing to bromides about "working together" are staging
massive
protests
(http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/09/501513889/anti-trump-prot
ests-break-out-in-cities-across-the-country) throughout the country, from
Austin to Portland to Kansas City to New York. As expected, the same pundit
class that neither predicted nor adequately combated Trump's rise are
concern trolling those taking to the streets to show their revulsion. The
Daily Show ran a boring segment
(https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/797144376296148992) hand-wringing
over some overturned cars. New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait insisted
(https://twitter.com/jonathanchait/status/796698637124374528) the people
shouldn't denounce Trump the day after the election because it was "a
little
soon." Too soon? Given the stakes, one is compelled to ask, why wait?
Israel has already signaled
(http://europe.newsweek.com/israel-push-ahead-settlement-building-after-trum
p-victory-519998?rm=eu) it will expand settlements with the blessing of
the
president-elect. The cabinet looks like it will be stuffed
(http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/13551988/donald-trump-cabi
net-cronies) with unqualified Trump cronies. Virulently anti-poor people
Paul Ryan has effectively been put in charge of budget priorities and is
floating Medicare cuts
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/11/11/is-paul-ryan-al
ready-eyeing-medicare-cuts/) . A climate change denier is selecting
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/11/11/meet-t
he-man-trump-is-relying-on-to-unravel-obamas-environmental-legacy/) the
head of the EPA. Why wait to use every available avenue to undermine Trump
on the altar of civility?
Instead of appealing to civility or plotting a run four years down the
road,
pundits who truly want to undermine Trump as much as possible should spend
more time supporting their local anti-Trump protests and far less time
treating Trump like just another politician. The left can only combat Trump
by leveraging both its political and activist wings, not indulging in
Sorkinesque gestures of "working together."
Adam Johnson is a contributing analyst at FAIR and contributing writer for
AlterNet. Follow him on Twitter @AdamJohnsonNYC
(https://twitter.com/adamjohnsonNYC) .
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