Good Article.
Donald Trump should be crowned as Chief Manipulator. He is proving
his right to this title through his ability to turn his adversaries
into a tide of growing support. But Donald Trump is nothing more than
a visible pimple covering a raging infection. The infection is
called, Corporate Capitalism.
Carl Jarvis
On 8/25/18, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Okay, okay, I understand that all of these investigations of Trump are
red herrings and that they are not in the interests of working people,
but - sheesh! - I do wish that The Militant would stop skirting so close
to sounding like they endorse Trump himself.
https://themilitant.com/2018/08/24/witch-hunt-by-liberals-against-trump-a-danger-to-workers/
Witch hunt by liberals against Trump a danger to workers
By Terry Evans
Vol. 82/No. 33
September 3, 2018
Ex-CIA head Leon Panetta greets Hillary Clinton, 2013. Panetta and group
of ex-spy chiefs defend ex-CIA head John Brennan, who lost his security
clearance after calling President Donald Trump "treasonous." In drive to
bring down Trump, liberals build up the rulers' spy agencies.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Ex-CIA head Leon Panetta greets Hillary Clinton, 2013. Panetta and group
of ex-spy chiefs defend ex-CIA head John Brennan, who lost his security
clearance after calling President Donald Trump "treasonous." In drive to
bring down Trump, liberals build up the rulers' spy agencies.
As President Donald Trump continues to win support for improvements on
jobs and production and in foreign policy, the liberal media, Democrats
and some Republicans are trying to breathe life into their waning
efforts to overturn the 2016 election and drive him from office. They
have seized on the conviction of his former campaign manager Paul
Manafort, a plea bargain by Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, and the
president’s decision to revoke ex-CIA boss John Brennan’s security
clearance.
The president has boosted his support in the U.S. ruling class as the
capitalist economy continues to grow. He lessens military conflicts that
Washington has been unable to win, and pushes for concessions from
competitors abroad, imposing tariffs and sanctions, then offering
one-on-one negotiations. Workers have no stake in backing Washington in
these conflicts.
As a consequence of the capitalist economy’s growth, Trump is gaining
support among many in the working class. While workers’ wages remain
stagnant, many find it easier to get jobs today. And the president’s
efforts to end some of these wars means fewer workers will be killed and
maimed as cannon fodder for the U.S. rulers.
The moves by the White House to tamp down conflicts and lessen military
tensions in Korea, Afghanistan and the Mideast unintentionally create
better conditions for workers there. They open doors to discuss and
debate a road forward against the rulers’ attacks.
The liberal owners of the New York Times, Washington Post and other
media reacted with glee to the conviction of Manafort and the deal Cohen
struck with New York prosecutors. “Twin convictions are a stunning
rebuke of Trump,” Post editors opined. The Times hailed the Manafort
verdict — convictions on just eight of 18 charges — as “Robert Mueller’s
biggest victory yet.” They claimed that it’s no less than “one of the
most successful special counsel investigations in history.”
Special prosecutor and former FBI boss Mueller — supposedly tasked by
the Justice Department to investigate whether the president engaged in
“collusion” with Moscow in the 2016 election — threw a pile of charges
at Manafort for financial fraud, hoping some would stick. None were
remotely related to claims of “collusion” with Moscow.
Cohen pled guilty to financial shenanigans, including campaign-finance
violations by making payments to Stephanie Clifford and Karen McDougal
on Trump’s behalf. The payoffs were in exchange for not revealing
details of relationships they claim to have had with Trump some years
ago. Again, these charges have nothing to do with “collusion.”
After 15 months Mueller has found no collusion. Like all such special
counsels and grand juries, he doesn’t start with an actual crime, but
with a target to bring down — in this case, the president. As former
head of the U.S. rulers political police, Mueller knows how to dig for
dirt on the president’s subordinates. His goal is to squeeze them to
cough up something he can use against Trump. “You know they’re still
looking for collusion,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Charleston,
West Virginia, Aug. 21, the day of the two convictions. “Where is the
collusion? Find some collusion!”
If Trump paid for the silence of those he is alleged to have had
relationships with, it won’t come as a surprise to most workers. Those
who voted for him weren’t looking for a saint. And they won’t judge him
based on the liberals’ outcry.
They backed Trump because they were attracted to his call to “clean the
swamp” of Democratic and Republican politicians in Washington, who for
years showed no interest in the widening impact of the U.S. rulers’
wars, joblessness and the broader social crisis affecting workers’
lives. They’ll pass judgment on Trump based on his actions on these
questions, and so far a lot think he’s doing OK.
Ex-spy bosses boost witch hunt
The president yanked ex-CIA Director Brennan’s access to Washington’s
vast state secrets Aug. 15. These “secrets” were acquired through
Washington’s spy operations at home and abroad. Trump cited the fact
that Brennan is a big supporter of Mueller’s open-ended witch hunt.
Brennan was responsible for leading the expansion of Washington’s
murderous drone assaults in Pakistan and Yemen; for targeting people,
including U.S. citizens, for assassination; and managing CIA torture
programs that the spy agency euphemistically refers to as “enhanced
interrogation.”
A dozen former CIA directors, including Robert Gates, David Petraeus and
Leon Panetta — all of whom served under Barack Obama — issued an
indignant open letter opposing the president’s decision to pull the
clearance, accusing him of stifling free speech.
When another 175 former national security operatives, spies and other
political appointees joined the defense of Brennan’s “free speech”
rights, Trump responded. “Everybody wants to keep their Security
Clearance, it’s worth great prestige and big dollars, even board seats,”
he tweeted, “and that is why certain people are coming forward to
protect Brennan.”
Since Trump’s July meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
Brennan has repeatedly claimed that the president is “treasonous.” He
appears to revel in making unsubstantiated accusations that Putin “may
have something on” Trump. You’re supposed to think his clearance gave
him access to something you don’t know.
Brennan’s right to say what he thinks was not encroached one iota when
he lost his security clearance. He has generous access to the pages of
the Times and the Post whenever he wants.
Assaults on free speech and freedom of assembly are being carried out
today. They’re being organized by a layer of Trump’s liberal opponents,
like Maxine Waters, who urges mob attacks on government officials to
hound them from public life.
In a series of coordinated editorial columns, the liberal owners of some
350 newspapers around the country claimed the president was attacking
press freedom when he tweets about fake news.
But Trump’s remarks have nothing to do with imposing constraints on the
press. More and more of these papers have given up any pretense at
printing “news,” instead running article after article arguing with
Trump and calling him a liar.
As they trade conjectures about the effects the court rulings on
Manafort and Cohen, and “treason” calls by Brennan, will have, most
bourgeois commentators agree there’s little chance Trump will be
indicted or successfully removed from office.
Their conclusions? All out for the Democrats in 2018! And, if they have
to, against Donald Trump in 2020.
The Socialist Workers Party is fielding candidates across the country,
speaking out about the capitalist rulers’ assaults on working people and
the oppressed, and championing labor battles and social protests. The
party explains that the road forward is for the working class to break
with all the parties of the capitalist rulers and chart a course to take
political power into their own hands.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Witch hunt by liberals against Trump a danger to
workers
•US, Turkish rulers clash over course in Mideast
•SWP: Speak out against bosses, gov't attacks, abuse
•White nationalist rally shows less support for racism in US today
•Join fight to end prison officials' censorship of the 'Militant'!
•Demand US rulers sign peace pact ending the Korean War!
Feature Articles •‘Teamster Bureaucracy’ is a must read for workers today
Also In This Issue •Working people welcome Eritrea-Ethiopia peace deal
On the Picket Line •Workers at Indiana construction site walk out
against racist firings
•Puerto Rico teachers protest ‘worst school start in decades’
•Teachers in New Zealand strike over pay, conditions
Books of the Month •Fidel Castro: ‘Maurice Bishop was a true revolutionary’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Corrections
© Copyright 2018 The Militant - 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor - New
York, NY 10018 - themilitant@xxxxxx
