March 16, 2019

  • Mr. Mueller, SAVE US!

    This has gone on long enough, hasn’t it? Have we not suffered more than necessary already? All of the taunting and teasing, the chest-thumping, and the never-ending suspense? When will this madness come to an end?

     

    If you read that thinking I was talking about the Trump Presidency, then I can forgive you, because that really must come to an end as well…and for all the same reasons (and more!). What I am really talking about here is the seemingly-endless, made for television saga of the looming Mueller Report. I don’t write this to disparage the special counsel or to diminish the importance of the investigation over which he presides. Rather, I am composing this blog entry for a number of reasons: 1) to stress the importance of a speedy conclusion, 2) to warn of the potential for it to backfire, and 3) to caution that this drama is sucking all of the proverbial oxygen out of the room.

     

    I’m a dyed-in-the-wool progressive who supported Kucinich in 2004 and 2008, supported Bernie in 2016 and supports him today. Yet, I also don’t join many of my fellow so-called “Berniecrats” in denying that there is legitimacy to the allegation that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that they did so in concert with the Trump campaign. Too many of my fellow firebrand progressive revolutionaries are quick to dismiss what they deride as the “Russia narrative”, because they see the political and media establishment exploiting what Russia and Trump did in undermining our democracy as an excuse to ignore the very real systemic problems which made it possible for Trump to win in the first place.

     

    The ongoing danger is that the media and the mainstream politicos are milking the fact-finding mission of Mr. Mueller for the ratings-grabbing, politically-exciting soap opera that it is rather than using this precious time to discuss the suffering of our working class citizens, the degradation of our democracy, and the increasing threat of climate change all due to the failures of our current economic and political systems. None of these REAL issues are of importance to those who control and profit from the media because a real discussion about such would force a collective review of the power held by the handful of people who profit from those same media outlets. Likewise, the political establishment has no interest in a frank discussion of the issues because it would draw attention to the financial ties between many of them and the very same corruptive players in this political and economic game among the elites.

     

    Let’s be honest here, it isn’t Mr. Mueller’s fault that his work is being used as a distraction from the plethora of issues affecting the working class. He is simply doing the job he was assigned to do and the established forces in politics and media are capitalizing on the unfolding drama instead of leading or facilitating a deeper discussion. I seriously do not blame the former FBI Director at all and I look forward to his report: whatever it may say. Nothing I say here should be construed as an attack on Mueller or his team of skilled and highly-professional investigators. They are doing their job, but we are not doing ours.

     

    What’s problematic is that the longer this investigation takes the more “cliffhangers” we are subjected to by the media and the more “wait and see” explanations we get from our elected officials. This is where the danger of our media not reporting the news for information but rather for entertainment comes to play and where our officials serving themselves instead of us all becomes obvious. We are told - constantly – to brace ourselves for the latest “breaking news” about some court filing, court ruling, or some inside information about what is about to go down in the showdown between the ostensibly inviolable Robert Mueller and the villainous conman Donald Trump. Meanwhile, those in positions of power – that is, the power to hold this president to account – do everything in their ability to use the Mueller Report mystery to stave off legitimate calls for the impeachment and removal of a genuinely dangerous president. For many (if not most, or all) of these officials, the goal is to use this shroud of shame as a political weapon against Trump and the Republicans in the 2020 Election in the hopes that it can usher Democrats into power without having to lift a finger to demonstrate that they’ve earned such by way of regaining the trust and support of the working class.

     

    The longer this investigation takes the more long-term damage is done. As of right now, the seeds of distrust in ANYTHING DAMNING the investigation’s report finds have been sewn deep in the psyche of Trump’s base – which is the dominant force in the Republican Party – and that distrust has been implanted not only by the President himself but by his allies throughout every level of his party and by the numerous conservative media outlets. So, no matter what Mueller reveals to the public, an overwhelming majority of Republican voters will not believe anything which defies their belief that Trump is the greatest president in decades. As a consequence, those same voters will keep Republican members of Congress on edge so that most of them never act in a manner which suggests that they believe Trump has done wrong. A lengthy investigation – while it may be necessary under normal circumstances – is actually counterproductive since it helps the opponents thereof make the argument that this is being drawn out for the purpose of “partisan politics”. What we need is to get to the resolution as quickly as possible so that we can look into it and move beyond it.

     

    Trump’s allies have a long history of attacking the media and its credibility. Throughout the 1990s, I remember hearing, as a kid, the right-wing attacks against this so-called “liberal media”. I also remember that same media’s obsession over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which implicated and led to the impeachment of a Democratic President. That same impeachment trial was a major media event. I know, because I was glued to my television throughout the whole thing as a teenage boy. My point is that the media is NOT liberally-biased and never has been. The media’s ONLY true bias is profit and the media in all mediums makes its money predominantly through ad-buys. In other words, the more viewers, readers, and listeners for their product, the better.

     

    Even so, the right-wing narrative that the media is attacking Trump for political purposes dominates irrespective of the completely nonpartisan absolute pursuit of media profit you find in the past. The media doesn’t hate Trump, they LOVE him. He is the best damn thing to happen to their profitability since the Nixon years. In fact, I am willing to bet that they are secretly hoping he wins reelection just so they can keep talking about him for the foreseeable future. What the media despises is anything perceived as “boring”, because many customers are expected to keep changing the channel and flipping the pages looking for something “interesting”. This is why you only see 1-2 minute segments on something like poverty (if even that) and a full-blown hour on the latest developments in a war or scandal. I will repeat, the Mueller Investigation is to be taken seriously, but it is being used and abused by forces that are not interested in our collective best interest.

     

    With all of this mounting anticipation for what’s in the report, there is another looming threat: the potential for it to be a dud. Since it was revealed early in 2017 that former FBI Director James Comey had launched an investigation into the Trump Campaign of 2016, we’ve been subjected to a relentless bombardment of media and political officials telling us in a variety of ways that the end is near for the Trump Administration. Yes, there is a growing list of Trump officials and related figures that’ve been charged and sentenced with federal and state offenses and that should not be ignored. However, there is now an expectation by the general public that this investigation will take Trump himself down or at least a number of his children. Given the near-three years of investigating and two years of great hype, ANYTHING falling short of that expectation will give the right-wing yet another weapon to use against both the left and our institutions.

     

    Not only that, but in the event that Mueller’s Report does not explicitly connect Trump to the Russian interference in our election, the Democrats will lose their primary message for hammering Trump and his Party in lieu of the actual issues directly affecting working class citizens. While loyal Democratic voters will certainly find a way to explain away why the investigation didn’t “indict” Trump in some way, the average voter with no partisan allegiance will be susceptible to the right-wing claims that this was all a “witch-hunt” meant to hurt the president. It would position the president and his party to – again, and deceptively – appear as the real champions of the working person, because the right-wing will see fit to claim - wrongly - that the Republican Party and President Trump kept their eye on the ball and were determined to keep America safe and the economy rolling as Democrats and the media did everything they could to disrupt that progress in the name of regaining power.

     

    The American Populace began losing faith in our institutions decades ago, long before I was born. As I’ve mentioned before, this deficit of trust in our political, justice, and economic systems are one of the long-standing legacies of the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s. This lengthy investigation into Trump risks further smashing that trust. No matter what comes out of this, a segment of the population will never believe a word of it and will claim it was politically biased in one way or the other (just look at the reactions of certain high-profile investigations in 2016, related to Hillary, for example as citizens all over the spectrum found reasons to claim it was not impartial). Yet, if it concludes that Trump is effectively blameless in the crimes committed against our democracy, you will see everything fall apart very quickly.

     

    In the meantime, as we wait for this chapter of America’s story to conclude, the oxygen is getting sucked out of the room. President Trump is doing real damage to the environment, to education, to democracy, to the balance of power, to the rule of law, to the courts, to women’s rights, to LGBTQ rights, to the rights of workers, to healthcare, to our safety net, and to our economy overall. This onslaught against our principles and every major cause for which the working class has fought so hard gets anywhere between a few seconds to a handful of minutes of mention in our media and by our supposed political leadership, because it is not as “sexy” an issue as what the president did with his unmentionable appendage decades ago or what foreign mob boss to whom he may owe a debt.

     

    We the people are suffering in real time from the right-wing attack on our institutions and the Democrats with the help of a media greedy for turning a profit off of the moment are playing right into the hands of these forces seeking to destroy all that we have taken for granted. Precious time is being wasted on drama which should be used to reconnect with the average citizen by re-earning their trust as the champions of working families. If the goal really is to “resist” the assault on democracy and the slide towards fascism then it can only be achieved by energizing and empowering the grassroots through outreach and education, because a democracy is only as strong as the active engagement of the people therein suggests.

     

    The greatest threat of the ongoing saga that is the Mueller Investigation is that it suspends the accountability of the people; yes, the people. Mueller himself isn’t making this his goal, but the narrative being propagated by the media and exploited by leaders of the Democratic Party is that the people are relatively innocent in the election of Donald Trump. By suggesting that “Russia” is the reason Trump is president, the established forces in this country are attempting to absolve you and me (as well as our antiquated Electoral College, but I digress) of the choice we collectively made in 2016. This is because focusing on the “other” and pointing the finger at some foreign adversary as the root cause of our problems is easier than looking in the mirror and seeing what we have become and asking ourselves how we got here.

     

    Did Russia do everything it conceivably could to interfere in our election? Yes, and every reliable intelligence source agrees on that. The key, though, is recognizing the FACT that Russia did not elect Trump: we did. It doesn’t matter how much money the Russian government spent on polluting our social media with divisive memes and ads. WE are the ones who cast our votes and WE are responsible for whatever WE CHOOSE TO BELIEVE. Russia didn’t do this to us: WE DID. Russia merely saw an opening to throw more garbage in the overflowing can and watch as WE decided to light it on fire.

     

    WE have sat idly by and even cheered at times as a number of our political and media officials have helped to create doubt in our institutions. WE decided decades ago that nothing was to be trusted if it came from an official source – be it media, scientist, government, education, etc. -, and WE intentionally ignored the role played by a wealthy few who pulled the strings in this dismantling of our system long ago. Moreover, WE looked the other way as our political leaders and media did the bidding of the wealthy few regardless of whether it served the common good of truth and true public service. Given the corruption that WE have wrought it is incumbent upon us to have some introspection, search our soul, and resolve that WE will do better because WE are in this TOGETHER.

     

    So, yes, let’s get this Mueller Report. Let’s make it public for all to see. Let’s demand accountability for what its findings reveal about those in power or let’s move on if it concludes that there is “nothing to see here” (provided that said conclusion is not somehow distorted by interference from on high). Mr. Mueller is attempting to serve us in the best way he can as we’ve asked him, but now it is time for us to recognize that we, too, have an obligation to serve one another. In serving our collective well-being, we have an obligation to be ever vigilant against the forces of tyranny and lies by staying informed (with the truth, and sifting through the spreading fog of lies), debating the issues, remaining active, and striving to hold everyone in all of our institutions accountable to the standards set forth by the guiding principles of a functioning and free society.

     

    When we do all that we can to ensure that our system (political, economic, justice, and everything else included) is working for all of us, then you will see an end to and even a reversal in the corrosion thereof brought upon by those seeking to divert the benefits towards the few. This is not something Mr. Mueller can or should do alone. He is not going to be able to save us. To quote Dr. King: “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

     

    Tonight’s Conclusion

     

    Our mission is simple: we must stick together and keep our eyes open. We can both support the work of Mr. Mueller and demand that it come to a swift and transparent conclusion. We are also responsible for demanding that the media and those in power not excuse themselves – using the investigation as cover – from delving into the myriad issues currently being ignored because they require us to change something about ourselves.

     

    If we fail in this mission, the consequences could be dire and the reelection of Trump and the end of our democracy are not out of the question. History teaches us over and over again what happens to a society when its institutions no longer respond to the needs of its people. Suffice it to say: those societies are either no longer around or they faced a revolution.

     

    Ultimately, it is up to us.

     

    Onward.

     

    #NotMeUs #OurRevolution #TheResistance #ImpeachTrump

     

    Purchase my manifesto, “The Pillars of Unitism”.

     

    Until next time…

     

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