Enlight21

Author: Editorial Board | Category: Politics National | Date: 10-31-2020

by The Editorial Board of Enlight21.

We, the editorial board of Enlight21, endorse the Democratic Party ticket.  Simply put, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the only viable alternatives at this critical juncture as the desperate times that we now face were largely created by Donald Trump. Four more years of Donald Trump would send us over the edge, plunging us into a black hole of death and destruction. And it will be the end of our democracy.   

First, let’s review the most destructive consequences of Trump’s four years in office:

The Destructive Consequences of Trump’s Tenure:

1.     Trump has mishandled the Coronavirus pandemic crisis to such an extent that America is worse off than the vast majority of developed countries (more).   Despite the fact that new cases in the U.S. are at their all-time peak, with close to 1,000 deaths a day, he is dismissive of preventive measures such as mask wearing and publicly insists we are “rounding the corner.” He has discredited the wise advice of esteemed infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, and instead urged the nation to put their trust in his hand-picked, anti-mask task force advisor, Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist who is utterly unqualified for the job. It has been chilling to hear Trump’s rally goers shouting,”Fire Fauci.”

2.    Trump has undermined science through his self-serving politicization of the pandemic—against the warnings of our top scientists, Trump has downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic,  thinking that by so doing, his election chances would be enhanced.  This is especially egregious since we now know, through interview recordings, that Trump knew how Covid19 infections had much higher death rates compared to flu viruses, but chose to ignore science in order to spread misinformation for his own political benefit.  Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, was tasked with organizing a national pandemic task force back in March, but the plan was scrapped because of politics:  at the time, the blue states (states that favor Democrats) were the hardest hit, so Trump's inner circle did not want to make blue state governors look good. (more).  We still do not have a national pandemic control plan today.

3. Trump has fanned the flames of political division to such an extent that right-wing domestic terrorists, mostly white supremacists, are now motivated to kidnap politicians who disagree with him, carry out voter intimidation to ensure his reelection, and use violence against peaceful protester. (more)

4.    Trump has appointed people who have severely undermined the very mission of the federal agencies they are in charge of—under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency, for one, has dismantled many important environmental regulations, paving the way for dirtier air and water and the acceleration of global warming.  Government agencies such as the Justice Department under Bill Barr have been turned into Trump's personal weapon for attacking his political enemies and protecting him from the law.  Three months into his tenure as U.S. Attorney General, Barr showed that he was all too willing to prioritize politics over justice. When the long-awaited Mueller report providing definitive evidence of ongoing Russian interference in our elections and citing many examples of Trump’s misdeeds, his minions welcomed it. And Barr was ready. He issued a mischaracterized summary of the report and released a heavily redacted version. Supporting documents were withheld from Congress. Trump came out smelling like a rose, and Republicans relished calling the report a “nothingburger.” Sadly, despite Mueller’s dire warnings, Russian interference continues. The Russians know that if the findings were taken seriously by the U.S., it would delegitimize Trump’s 2016 win, so why would Trump want that?  

Just recently, a woman who stated that she was raped by Trump filed defamation charges against him for lying and slandering her was told by Barr’s Department of Justice that she basically could not press charges against Trump because Trump was acting in his “official capacity” as president when he denied the charges.  In other words, using this specious argument, suing Trump would be equivalent to suing the government.  This is an extremely suspect legal interpretation and is a step that brings us closer to lawless authoritarianism and away from equal justice and the rule of law. (more)

5. Trump has repeatedly invited and coerced foreign leaders into helping him smear his political opponents.  The Ukrainian scandal in which Trump threatened to withhold U.S. military aid in order to force the Ukrainian president to announce that he was investigating Biden and his son led to his impeachment by the House. William Weld, a respected Republican and former governor of Massachusetts, said this about Trump’s Ukrainian scandal: “It's treason pure and simple, and the penalty for treason under the U.S. code is death. That’s the only penalty.

6.  Trump has used his position to enrich himself and his family—more than any other president in American history.  (more) Such corruption (using an official government position to benefit yourself) is not allowed in most countries, including ours, as such financial malfeasance violates the emoluments clause in our constitution, which prohibits the president from using his position to benefit himself.  In other words, if Trump is tried in a court of law (and he might very well be after he is no longer in office), he will serve time if convicted.

Just recently, Americans found out that Trump not only has a secret Communist Chinese bank account but in 2017, one year after Trump became president, one of his companies, THC China Development, received an unusually huge revenue infusion—about $17.5 million—and it was reported that Mr. Trump immediately withdrew and pocketed $15.1 million.  To repeat, this occurred AFTER he became president, so it certainly looks like he benefited from his position as president. (more)  This case has not been litigated yet, but again, if found guilty of corruption, he will be behind bars for quite some time.  Many Americans know now that the reason he has refused to make public his tax returns—the only presidential candidate to refuse to do so in 40 years--was most likely because of suspect financial dealings such as this one.

Beyond his gross abuse of power, the ramifications of such behavior for our democracy are serious:  if we allow our rule-of-law system to deteriorate to the point that leaders are no longer held to the same standards and can engage in corruption without consequences, then we will end up becoming no better than the lawless dictatorships that we denounce.  And our government will be starting its descent on the slippery slope towards autocracy.  

7.  Emboldening White Supremacists:  Trump is a president who is known for propagating lies, false information, groundless conspiracies, and hate.  He has even attacked handicapped people and Americans who have sacrificed their lives for our country. Furthermore,  he is infamous for mocking and taunting everyone who disagrees with him and at his rallies, he has called for physical violence against them.

Such incendiary words have real life consequences:  

In early 2020, ABC News conducted a study of officially-documented criminal cases filed in state and federal courts involving people who committed violence in the name of carrying out Donald Trump’s commands.  The study found 54 documented cases-- most of the perpetrators were white men and the victims were almost all racial or religious minorities.  The study also pointed out that in contrast, there were NO acts of violence made in the names of Presidents Obama and George W. Bush during the combined 16 years they were in office. (more)

Jewish-Americans and Asian-Americans, the so-called “model minorities,” have also seen surges in the number of attacks by Trump supporters.  In the case of Asian-Americans, Trump’s repeated reference to the Covid19 virus as the “Chinese virus” has led to a huge increase in violence against Asian Americans, so much so that the UN has declared that hate crimes against Asian Americans have reached “an alarming level.”  

Jewish-Americans have seen an increase in anti-Jewish attacks as well. Beginning with the August 2017 incident--when white supremacists and neo-Nazis, displaying swastikas and changing anti-Semitic and racist slogans,  killed Heather Heyer, a young woman who was protesting against racism, Jewish Americans have been prime targets of Trump supporters –The New York City Police Department has reported that over half of the 423 hate crimes in the city in 2019 targeted Jewish Americans. (more)

Christopher Wray, the FBI director, announced recently that based on the FBI’s investigation, America’s domestic terrorism is primarily perpetrated by White supremacists, not by leftist groups such as Antifa, despite the lies spread by Trump and his minions.  

Inciting violence against racial minorities is merely the tip of the iceberg, or the most visible manifestation of the destruction that Donald Trump has wrought in our country.  More subtle are the attempts to undermine the rule of law and to run the federal government like a Mafia operation in which loyalty to the boss—not to the Constitution or democratic principles and procedures—is demanded.  

                             Trump and Fascism

While there is no absolute consensus as to what constitutes fascism, the following are some key characteristic that are found in fascist regimes, past and present, and the parallels in Trump’s America.

Fascist regimes will have at least a few of these prime characteristics:

1.     Fascists idealize an autocratic-dictatorial nationalist model of governance that centers around the cult of an omnipotent leader who claims that only he can solve the country’s problems.    Trump has been marching in this direction:  His spineless attitude towards Putin and his love affair with Kim Jong-un are well-known—according to Ben Sasse, a Republican senator, Trump “kisses dictators’ butts.” And Trump’s megalomaniacal bragging about how “I alone can fix it” is a constant refrain, often heard after he talks about a problem.    Such behavior is reminiscent of Hitler’s in his quest for power in Germany. (more)

2.     Fascists are anti-democracy and consolidate power by undermining democratic institutions through creating “emergencies,” so that force and abrupt departures from democratic procedures can be justified.  Hitler’s use of “emergencies,” “terrorism,” and “exceptions” to dismantle democratic elections and procedures beginning with the Reischstag fire of 1933 (the pretext for the suspension of civil liberties and the targeting of communists as terrorists) is a strategy that Trump appears to be inclined to imitate.   The use of force against peaceful protesters and the labeling of protesters as the “radical left,” and the refusal to admit the truth-- that most domestic terrorists, as the FBI director said, are white supremacists who are his own supporters—is a dangerous sign that points to possible escalation of this old fascist tactic.  There is some talk about how Trump may declare martial law if the election does not go his way.  His enablers—Republican senators such as Lindsay Graham—have already said that the Supreme Court will choose the next president, which means that the American people will no longer be allowed to exercise their constitutionally-given right to choose their president. 

A recent executive order brings us another step closer to fascist authoritarianism:  Trump’s executive order, signed on October 21st, 2020, will eliminate the rules that now protect federal employees against political influences in their hiring and firing.  This means that federal employees will be at the mercy of the political whims of Trump and his cronies—in other words, unless federal employees carry out their orders, under this new executive order, they can be fired and only people loyal to Trump would be hired.  Federal employees can no longer be objective in their decision-making and must put loyalty to their master first.  This, then, is a huge step away from the rule of law and professionalism and paves the way for a dictatorship. (more)   

Even prior to this ruling, Trump was trigger-happy with his power to fire people who were not 100% loyal to him. Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was fired because she did not find his Muslim travel ban to be “wise or just.” Since then, numerous decent, hardworking civil servants have been dismissed, including five inspectors general who were valuable watchdogs over various agencies. One wonders who will be left to place a check on Trump’s ever-expanding powers.

3.    Fascists harken back to a mythical past, fan the flames of prejudices (demagoguery) and nationalism, demonize minorities, repeat lies, and conspiracy theories, attack/take over media outlets to spread propaganda, and hold mass rallies to spread their own version of reality.  Hitler was extremely adept at this type of mind control, and Trump has used these techniques to consolidate his base. From his “Make America Great Again,” slogan, which harkens back to a white America, to his mass rallies, his encouragement of violence from white supremacists and conspiracy groups such as QAnon, and most of all, the repetition of lies over and over in order to fabricate an alternative reality--all of these tactics were lifted from Hitler’s old fascist playbook.  The parallels can be striking:  In Hitler’s mass rallies, for example, the leaders often unleashed chants vilifying opponents through the use of slogans suggesting violence—such as Hang them up! Bust their ass!  Compare this to Trump’s chants of “Lock her up" and his many words of encouragement to right-wing terrorists to use violence against people who do not support him. (more)

4.    Fascists use paramilitaries, or unlawful armed terrorists,  to control protesters, particularly during the initial stages of their ascendancy.  Trump’s emboldening of unlawful armed domestic terrorists such as the Proud Boys and other right-wing neo-Nazi groups is akin to Hitler’s initial use of thugs, the “brownshirts,” to terrorize people into submission.  Furthermore, Trump’s use of unidentified federal troops to beat, tear gas, and kidnap peaceful Americans who were protesting racism and police brutality in Portland was a first step towards transforming a military pledged to serve our country into the personal army of a fascist dictator.  This parallels Hitler’s  transformation of a previously independent German military into troops that had to take a personal oath of loyalty to him. (more)

5.    Fascists are PHONY POPULISTS:  despite their populist-trade protectionist rhetoric, fascists are anti-egalitarian and anti-union. They practice crony capitalism and support capitalist monopolies/big businesses selectively.  Fascist leaders are also known to use their powerful positions to serve their own financial interests.  Trump has definitely manifested this aspect of fascist rule.  That is, he is a Trojan horse—he uses nationalist-populist rhetoric (claiming that he is on the side of the common person who is being taken advantage of by the elite), lies, and racial prejudice to win over America’s undereducated masses while his actions have consistently contradicted his populist rhetoric in that he has always favored the capitalist elite, especially those who agree with him.    His 2017 tax cut for the rich is an outstanding example of the double talk of fascist leaders. Another example is Trump’s trade protectionism-through-tariffs policy, which backfired and, instead of helping workers, have led to job losses and higher prices. (more). 

As for using his office for his own financial gain, there are too many to list (more).  People should remember that he benefited financially from his presidency, because he refused to divest his ownership of business entities, unlike all previous presidents have done since the 1970s   This violated the emoluments clause in the constitution.  

These strikingly FASCIST characteristics of Donald Trump’s presidency indicate clearly that he has done much harm to our democracy already, and should he be given 4 more years, America could well descend into full-blown fascism.

Let’s end this discussion of Trump and fascism by distilling fascism’s essence into one sentence:

Fascism is an anti-democratic political movement that uses the following—nationalism, prejudice against minority groups, hate, the myth of an ideal past, attacks on established institutions, and unrelenting lies-- to appeal to the masses, so that a dictator who claims that only he can solve the country’s problems can consolidate power.

If Trump wins the election, we have a good chance of descending into the unthinkable abyss of totalitarian fascism.

Therefore, there is no doubt that Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy.

Biden = Not Trump ?

So, is the fact that Biden is not Trump his main appeal in 2020?  

Well, yes.  Many Americans are not crazy about Biden, but given Trump’s horrific record and the looming possibility that many more Americans could die in the pandemic and given that our democracy could be replaced by a fascist dictatorship, these alone are sufficient reasons for many Americans to vote for anyone but Trump.

But There is More:  Biden’s Political Positions Do Matter

While just not being Trump is sufficient for many voters, and expectations for Biden are quite low at this point, we believe that there is more to Biden’s vision for America that should make Americans a little bit more hopeful.   Let’s talk about three important areas that Biden has plans for:

Pandemic Control and Health Care

In stark contrast to the Trump administration that has no plans for pandemic control, Biden has laid out a detailed pandemic control plan:  The essential core of the plan includes rapid expansion of testing capabilities, relieving Americans of all costs related to Covid19 treatment, forming new public health-focused government response teams, accelerate treatment and vaccines, and guaranteeing that hard-hit families, workers, and small businesses will get the economic support that they will need to keep afloat. (more)

Just as important as pandemic control is the related issue of protecting the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), which provides healthcare coverage for many Americans.  The Trump administration and its rigged conservative “Supreme Court” majority could overturn the Act on November 10th when it is scheduled to hear a case related to the Act  (more).   If that happens, there will be other options available to Congress to save this critical healthcare coverage—but only if Biden wins and if the Democrats can maintain control of the House and flip the Senate. 

Income Inequality, the Shrinking Middle Class, and the Threat to Our Democracy: 

Today, income inequality is a serious problem in not only our country but in many other capitalist democracies as well.  There has always been income inequality and there will never be complete equality, so we are talking about degrees of inequality and the dangers to our democracy of extreme inequality.  

From the 1940s to the 1970s, income inequality was relatively stable, with the top one percent earning about 8% of America’s total income.  By 2016, earned income that went to the top one percent doubled to 16% of the country’s income. Put another way, In 1989, the richest 5% of families possessed 114 times the wealth of middle class families at the median (the 50% level), but by 2016, the top 5% held 248 times the wealth of families at the median.   

The causes of this rapidly growing income inequality through the decades are clear:  

1.  The decline in the number of labor unions that used to fight for middle class and workers’ rights and higher pay.   

2. The decline in the top marginal tax rate (top marginal tax rates only affect the rich) from no lower than 70% from the 1950s to the 1970s to 37% in 2018.   

3.  The corporate share of federal tax revenues dropped precipitously from 32% in 1952 to 10% in 2013.  As a result, the share of tax revenues paid by America’s middle and working class has risen steadily over time .  

Because of Trump’s 2017 tax bill, the effective tax rate of the ultra rich, or billionaires, is lower (23%) than the tax rate of the bottom 50% of American households (24.2%).  (more)

The Underlying Cause:  Unregulated Capitalism Dominated by Big Business

While the above are the immediate (proximate) causes of extreme wealth inequality, the fundamental driver of such gross inequalities as currently exist in capitalist “democracies” is the fact that since the 1980’s there has been very little regulation of capitalist enterprises by the government.  Large corporations have influenced government officials through their campaign donations to such an extent that there is little or no incentive for politicians to serve the public good.  Instead, politicians, especially Republicans, are incentivized to help their corporate friends.  Through the decades, politicians have pushed to deregulate corporations and to allow big business to do whatever it wants so that businesses can enrich themselves and their shareholders at the expense of the middle and working class.  Democratic politicians have also engaged in this globalized  “Deregulate Capitalism” movement, but not to the extent that Trump and the Republican party have.  Nonetheless, the involvement of some Democrats is the reason why many people, especially young people, are cynical about both Republicans and Democrats—because they see members of both parties allowing big business to get away with whatever they desire.  

But again, we must emphasize that the Democratic Party is different from the Republican Party, because if you look at the recent history of major legislation championed by Democrats (such as Obama’s Affordable Care Act), Dems still tend to favor advancing the public good much more than Republicans have ever done.

Contrast this to Republican legislators who have tried through the deades to dismantle legislation that prevents big business from harming citizens   Serving the public good is not a concern of Republicans although they never hesitate to lie and say that they do care. If you look at their actions and not their words, you will see that their actions almost always contradict their words when it comes to promoting  the interest of the American people;  just look at Trump’s populist lies touting how he is on the side of working and middle class Americans and juxtapose his words with his 2017 tax bill, which gave households at the top far larger tax cuts as a share of income than what people at the bottom or middle received.  (more)

Do you want to hear more about the hypocrisy of Republicans who say one thing and do the opposite?

The latest news on Trump's 2017 tax bill is this:  Again, despite Republicans' lies about helping ordinary Americans, this tax bill pushed through by Republicans will lead to higher taxes starting in 2021 for everyone except for the people at the top of the economic ladder. (more)

Why is Wealth Inequality Dangerous?

For those who do not care to debate whether extreme inequality is immoral or not, here is something else to consider:  Growing income and wealth inequality threaten the stability of democracies:

Why the decline of the middle class bodes ill for democracy:

“…when there is no middle class, there cannot be real democracy. That's why when elections are brought to nations that are in crisis or that don't have a broad, stable, well-educated middle class—such as Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and the Palestinian territories—the result is aristocrats, "strongmen," or theocrats exploiting those elections as a way of gaining decidedly undemocratic power" (more)

Beginning in the 18th century, an educated, independent middle class, and the existence of significant social mobility from the bottom up have always been strong bulwarks against autocracy and totalitarian rule.  It was no accident that the rise of an independent merchant class (bourgeoisie) in Europe paralleled the rise of parliaments/representative democracy.  This educated middle class wanted to free itself from the oppressive controls and taxes imposed by the aristocracy, so it could conduct business without being fleeced by autocrats.  To achieve that, vocal middle class representatives championed representative government and the civil rights of citizens. (more)

So, for those who could not care less about the immorality of extreme wealth inequality, know that if we do not try to close the wealth gap, we could see our democracy disappear and replaced by fascist authoritarianism even if Donald Trump is defeated.  

There will be more Trumps emerging to take advantage of the discontent of the dispossessed masses.

Joe Biden is currently our best hope for reversing the trend of increasing income and wealth inequality and for  rebuilding our middle class.  

If Trump wins the election and the Republicans keep control of the Senate, it will make reducing the income and wealth gap virtually impossible, given the Republicans’ longstanding commitment to supporting corporations and wealthy individuals .  Furthermore, because the Trump-Republican 2017 tax bill has led to a huge national debt problem (due to the fact that this tax bill cut the taxes of the rich and corporations significantly), Republicans will most likely use the debt as a reason to cut senior citizens’ social security benefits and Medicaid benefits for low-income Americans.  This will most certainly increase the wealth gap significantly and plunge middle class seniors into poverty. (more)

Biden’s Plan to Reduce Income and Wealth Inequality:

Progressives should be hopeful because Biden has moved quickly to assure senior citizens and low-income Americans that he will never cut social security, Medicare (health care for seniors), and Medicaid (health care for low income Americans).  

Of course, the Republicans and Donald Trump say that they support these social safety nets too.  But we know from their actions that their words are just lies.  We have already mentioned that the Republicans/Trump’s 2017 tax bill contradicted everything they have said about helping ordinary Americans.  Right now, the shocking contradiction between their words and their actions is again on display loud and clear:  While the Republicans and Trump say that they want to provide Americans with a “great” healthcare system, they have NO PLANS whatsoever, and behind the backs of Americans, they  are busy filing lawsuits that would destroy the Affordable Care Act, which many Americans rely on for their healthcare needs. (more)

Biden, on the other hand, has pledged to protect the Affordable Care Act, which he and President Obama worked on and passed in 2010.  Furthermore, Biden has promised to move towards universal coverage.
Biden has also embraced much of what progressives would like to see in the area of reducing wealth inequality.  He has proposed raising taxes on those making over $400,000 and increasing corporate taxes by 7%.  This is a decent start.

He has also promised to implement policies that would use federal funds and tax credits for boosting economic development in low-resource communities and for small businesses.  Another promising proposal is his commitment to economic justice for historically oppressed minorities—he has pledged to make home ownership more accessible for minorities by directing federal agencies to address economic inequality.  

These measures are by no means perfect nor do we know if Biden will move ahead decisively to fulfill his promises.  That’s why we have to keep the pressure on a new Biden administration.   But Biden gives us a glimmer of hope that we can reduce wealth inequality, rebuild our middle class, and thereby ensure that our democracy survives.

Biden on Climate Change and Environmental Protection

Together with pandemic control/healthcare security and reversing wealth inequality/safeguarding our democracy, the final issue that is a top priority is combating climate change/environmental protection.   

Most of us who follow climate change politics are well aware that the Trump administration has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement (will be effective the day after election day—Nov. 4).  And we know that during his 4 years in office, his administration has dismantled, reversed, or rolled back over 70 environmental rules covering clean air, water, wildlife, toxins and fossil fuels regulation. (more)   Another 24 rules are in the process of being eliminated or watered down.  As mentioned earlier, Trump has appointed many heads of agencies whose aim is to dismantle government regulations and pave the way for big business to profit without regard for the destruction and harm to the environment and to people. (more)

These rollbacks are so massive that they are unprecedented in their scope and if allowed to stand, would lead to not only the acceleration of climate change and the intensification of extreme weather events—severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, tropical storms—but also to widespread ecosystem destruction, which would hasten the extinction of many species.  

So, no more needs to be said about how destructive another four years of Trump would be to our environment.  

Let’s turn to Biden’s plans to protect our environment.

Joe Biden’s Green Energy Revolution and Climate Justice

Joe Biden’s plan to address climate change, climate justice, and the creation of green jobs is straightforward:

His goals for emissions reduction are to end carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 and reduce all emissions to net zero by 2050.  

He pledges to transition away from fossil fuels and to eliminate federal subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.  Biden emphasizes that the creation of green jobs is closely tied to ending America’s dependence on fossil fuels.  A Biden administration will create new jobs through investing in clean energy and carbon removal technologies such as carbon capture.

So far so good.  

But what about Biden’s waffling on banning fracking, you ask?  Well this is a difficult issue for Biden right now as he is trying hard not to alienate fossil fuel industry employees, especially in critical swing states like Pennsylvania.  

As far as we know, Biden’s stated position on fracking is that while he will not ban existing fracking activities, he will not issue new fracking permits.  We shall see what happens, and we must keep the pressure on.

Biden’s Character:

Finally, a word on Joe Biden’s character:  Biden has been in politics for almost 50 years, so we know who he is.  He is not without personal flaws, and he has never been known for his progressive politics, but  he has shown us through the decades that he is, at his core, an honest and compassionate person.  

Yes, the bar is very low this election year because Donald Trump is, in Barack Obama’s words, “not normal.”  Trump’s corruption, incompetence, and pathologically narcissistic behavior has brought us to our present perilous state of living under the twin specters of a deadly pandemic and the threat of fascism.  

We believe that Joe Biden is not just a beneficiary of low expectations.  From what we know about his character and history, we have reason to hope that should he win, the light at the end of our dark tunnel will arrive.

Our coda is simple:  

To our fellow Americans—we urge you to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.  

Your vote for Biden-Harris will be a vote for democracy over fascism, a vote for decency and compassion over deceit and depravity, and a vote for life in the face of death.  

About: Editorial Board