{"id":8560,"date":"2019-08-17T00:09:22","date_gmt":"2019-08-17T00:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=8560"},"modified":"2019-10-07T00:01:17","modified_gmt":"2019-10-07T00:01:17","slug":"one-nation-after-trump-a-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=8560","title":{"rendered":"“One nation after Trump” – a book review…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

I called the first draft of this post, “Cultural elites and Trump.”\u00a0 But then I ran across – at a local library days ago – the 2017 book, One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-yet Deported<\/a>.\u00a0 (E.J. Dionne Jr.<\/a>, <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> Norman J. Ornstein<\/a> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>Thomas E. Mann<\/a><\/span>.)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em> Needless to say I was intrigued.\u00a0 And not least<\/em><\/strong> of all because I too look forward to an America without Trump.\u00a0 Something I noted in Belated 4th of July meditation<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>:<\/p>\n

Whether by vote in 2020 or operation of law in 2024, Trump will<\/em> <\/strong>end up leaving the White House.\u00a0 What happens then?\u00a0 Aside from the cheering, the dancing in\u00a0 the streets, the fireworks and parades, a new nightmare will begin \u2013 for Donald Trump.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And when it might be said – yet again – “Our long national nightmare is over<\/a><\/span><\/u>.”<\/p>\n

But first let’s go back to Some thoughts on \u201cthe Donald<\/a>.”\u00a0 That post came in December 2018, but looked back at posts “from two years ago<\/a>.”\u00a0 That is, two years before 2018, to a post I did in December 2016<\/em><\/strong>, right after Trump’s election.\u00a0 Among other things there was a prediction in 2016 – by Professor Allan Lichtman<\/a> – that Trump would be \u201cimpeached<\/em><\/strong> within two years<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which hasn’t happened.\u00a0 He may yet be impeached – by a Democrat House of Representatives.\u00a0 But he won’t<\/em> <\/strong>be convicted by the Republican-controlled Senate.\u00a0 (It would take 66 votes.)\u00a0<\/em> Which brings us back to the hope offered by\u00a0One Nation After Trump<\/a>.\u00a0 I just started reading it, but hear are some sample reviews.\u00a0 Like the one from the Amazon blurb<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Yet if Trump is both a threat to our democracy and a product of its weaknesses, the citizen activism he has inspired is the antidote.\u00a0 The reaction to the crisis created by Trump\u2019s presidency can provide the foundation for an era of democratic renewal and vindicate our long experiment in self-rule.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"AndreaOr consider the conclusion of The Guardian<\/a>, the British daily newspaper (now online)<\/em>, founded in 1821 as The Manchester Guardian<\/i>.\u00a0 See One Nation After Trump review<\/a>:\u00a0 “In everything from the Women\u2019s March on Washington<\/a>\u00a0[at left]<\/em>\u00a0to the ad hoc groups of lawyers who flocked to airports across the country to help victims of Trump\u2019s travel ban<\/a>, the [authors] see strong evidence that the rational part of the country is finally ready to take back America.”<\/p>\n

Then there was a New York Times<\/a> review, which opined that Trump’s rise to power. . .<\/p>\n

. . . reflects the longer-term trends that have shaped the modern Republican Party: the four-decade war on the \u201cliberal media\u201d; the delegitimatization of political opponents; the appeals to racism and xenophobia; the hostility to democratic norms. \u201cTrump is less of an outsider than he seems, and he was building on rather than resisting recent trends within the G.O.P.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And which concluded – depressingly – that “Reading this important book, one gets the nagging sense that even after Trump, Trumpism will persist.”\u00a0 Let’s hope not.<\/p>\n

Which brings us back to\u00a0“Cultural elites and Trump.”\u00a0 That is, before starting to read\u00a0One Nation After Trump<\/a>, I tried to figure out how Trump got elected in the first place.\u00a0 I initially wrote:<\/p>\n

It finally hit me.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the attraction with Trump?\u201d\u00a0 The answer?\u00a0 Donald Trump is \u201cAmerica showing its ass.\u201d\u00a0 (Or mooning<\/a><\/span><\/u>, to put it more politely.)\u00a0 Put another way, Trump \u201crepresents\u201d \u2013 and I use the term loosely \u2013 a certain segment of American society which now chooses to thumb its nose at \u2013 or more precisely \u201cmoon\u201d \u2013 both the rest of the world and that \u201ccultural elite<\/a>\u201d part of American society that it hates so much.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"PresidentWhich got support in articles like\u00a0Send Her Back! Send Her Back! \u2013 The Bulwark<\/a>.\u00a0 It noted “acts of deliberate transgression against what many Trump supporters have come to view as the supposedly stifling ethics of our cultural elites,” and<\/em><\/strong> sending \u201dthose damn media types into a tizzy.\u201d\u00a0 Also that his verbal attacks – though not including the one where he “fat shamed his own supporter<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>” – are just another “handy weapon for triggering the pearl-clutching libs.”\u00a0 See also Class warfare between workers and elites explains Trump<\/a>:<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening in America is an echo of what\u2019s happening in democracies around the world, and it\u2019s not happening because of Trump.\u00a0 Trump is the symptom of a ruling class that many of the ruled no longer see as serving their interest, and the anti-Trump response is mostly the angry backlash of that class as it sees its position, its perquisites\u00a0and – perhaps especially – its self-importance threatened.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which definitely presents a problem for those of us yearning for “the America of past years.”\u00a0 And especially of past presidents, none of whom now seem so bad.\u00a0 But now:\u00a0 Do you see the irony?\u00a0 Of Liberals and Independents trying to “go back in time,” while today’s “Conservatives” seem bent on tearing out all of America’s democratic institutions root and branch<\/a>?<\/p>\n

But perhaps all is not lost.\u00a0 One thing that One Nation<\/a><\/span><\/u> pointed out – early on – was how slim the margin of victory was.\u00a0 Aside from losing the popular vote by 2.9 million, “Trump’s victory was a very close-run thing – a matter of 77,744 votes in three crucial states.”\u00a0 His win was also “enabled” by\u00a0James Comey reopening a probe into Hillary’s use of a private server while secretary of state<\/a>, and<\/em><\/strong> by Russian interference in addition to <\/b>hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee<\/a>. (Likely by Russian<\/strong> hackers.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet despite all that help this “monumental shift in the nature of the nation’s political leadership was enabled by relatively modest shifts in the electorate.”\u00a0 And by voters rejecting Hillary.<\/p>\n

Some good news? Such numbers “are critical for understanding how fragile<\/em><\/strong> Trump’s hold on the public is.”\u00a0 (I’ve been saying the best weapon against Trump is his own big mouth.)\u00a0 <\/em>Then there’s “Trumpgret,” as in New Hampshire struggle: Voters feeling “Trumpgret<\/a>.”\u00a0 So maybe there’s hope that 2020 voters will again reject this ongoing dark side of American politics…<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 *\u00a0 \u00a0*<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“American As Apple Pie<\/a><\/span><\/u><\/i>?”\u00a0 Americans have always<\/strong> hated immigrants…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0American Anti-immigrant Propaganda\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 “Root and branch.”\u00a0 I Googled<\/em> “tear out root and branch” and got<\/i> Sadly The Hatred Against Syrian Refugees Is As American As Apple Pie<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 From November 2015, it noted:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

As the world faces one of the worst humanitarian crises yet known, several American politicians went out of their way to attack some of the world’s most vulnerable people, continually competing to be the most cruel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A trend that continues “even to this day.”\u00a0 The article concluded that we must “fight the bigots who are acting so cruelly to people so desperately in need of aid.”\u00a0 But we shouldn’t pretend this ongoing sickness is “‘un-American.’ It is a tendency in our history that we must tear out root and branch<\/strong>, but before we do that, we have to realize that it’s there.”\u00a0 See also Root and branch definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary<\/a>:<\/i> “If something has been completely changed or destroyed<\/a>, you can say<\/a> that it has been changed or destroyed root<\/a> and branch<\/span>.”<\/i><\/p>\n

The “fat-shamed” image is courtesy of\u00a0Donald Trump Fat Shamed One Of His Own Supporters<\/a>. The article posted August 16, 2019, in\u00a0UNILAD<\/a>, the “British<\/a>\u00a0Internet<\/a>\u00a0media<\/a>\u00a0company and\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0owned by\u00a0LADbible<\/a>\u00a0Group,” which provides “‘social news. and entertainment to their 60 million followers, and has offices in\u00a0London<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Manchester<\/a>,\u00a0UK<\/a>.”\u00a0 <\/em>The caption:\u00a0 “President Donald Trump accidentally fat shamed one of his own supporters at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire after mistakenly believing them [sic] to be a protester.”\u00a0 The article went on:\u00a0 “<\/em>Trump proceeded to insult a man he believed to be one of the protesters, focusing on his \u2018weight problem.’\u00a0<\/em>However, he didn\u2019t realise the man he was fat shaming was actually one of his very own supporters, an individual who had reportedly been flagging the protesters to security.<\/em>“<\/em><\/p>\n

The references to the “One nation” book are from pages 21-22 of the 2017 hardcover edition.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image courtesy of\u00a0Anti-Irish sentiment – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 The caption, “American political cartoon by\u00a0Thomas Nast<\/a>\u00a0titled ‘The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things,’ depicting a drunken Irishman lighting a\u00a0powder keg<\/a>\u00a0and swinging a bottle. Published 2 September 1871 in\u00a0Harper’s Weekly<\/a>.”\u00a0 Another image from the same article – at right – was captioned, “An Irishman depicted as a gorilla (‘Mr. G. O’Rilla’).”<\/em><\/p>\n

Which supports the claim that Americans have always<\/strong> hated immigrants.\u00a0 See also\u00a0got<\/i> Sadly The Hatred Against Syrian Refugees Is As American As Apple Pie<\/a><\/em>, which noted that this American “hatred” goes back as far as 1790:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Just look at the Naturalization Act of 1790<\/a>, one of the first important pieces of immigration legislation. It limited citizenship to those who were “free white persons.” One year before the passage of the Bill of Rights, those vaunted rights were effectively being limited to white men. \u00a0When waves of Irish immigrants came over in the mid-1800s, they were feared and hated, commonly depicted as ape-like by native born whites…\u00a0 These nativists didn’t just spread hate, they burned Catholic churches<\/a>, and instigated anti-immigrant riots.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Here are more notes from my research on “Trump’s attraction.”<\/em><\/p>\n

See Trump\u2019s dislike of \u2014 and desire to be a part of \u2014 the \u2018elite<\/a>.’<\/em><\/p>\n

“Trump has since made a name for himself – in New York City and, more unexpectedly, in Washington. As he reminded his Minnesota supporters, he won the presidency – which by one definition<\/a> automatically puts him among the elites:\u00a0\u201ca group of persons exercising the major share of authority or influence within a larger group.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

“By all accounts, Trump supporters . . . exercise the major share of authority and influence within the Republican Party, which is the governing party in the United States.\u00a0 The group\u2019s values on racial issues, the economy, immigration and other cultural issues has a louder and bolder advocate in the Oval Office than at any other time in recent history.<\/em><\/p>\n

“But perhaps the reason it is difficult to embrace that\u00a0definition\u00a0is because Trump and many of his supporters believe that winning isn\u2019t all that matters.\u00a0 It matters that you be viewed as a winner.\u00a0 And for a president who has been quick to lob the\u00a0label ‘loser’ at those with whom he didn\u2019t find favor, knowing that there are many Americans who don\u2019t want him in their club is a great source of anger.”<\/em><\/p>\n

See also Elite \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>, defining the term as a “small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth<\/a>, privilege<\/a>, political power<\/a>, or skill in a society. Defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, the ‘elite’ are ‘those people or organizations that are considered the best or most powerful compared to others of a similar type.'”<\/em><\/p>\n

Or, a “relatively small, loosely connected group of individuals who dominate American policy making. This group includes bureaucratic, corporate, intellectual, military, media<\/a>, and government elites who control the principal institutions in the United States and whose opinions and actions influence the decisions of the policymakers.”<\/em><\/p>\n

And see Why a lot of Americans resent the cultured \u201cNew York City elite<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

“I think this feeling was shared by some of the voters who went for Trump \u2013 as well as Brexit beforehand.\u00a0 Trump, a masterful populist, has manipulated this very real bitterness, raising his 18-carat pitchfork against \u201cliberal elites\u201d for his own political gain.”<\/em><\/p>\n

It added that a “cultural elite may be disliked for reasons that are as not particularly economic: college professors, experts, NGO staffers and psychotherapists are not corporate titans, after all. It\u2019s a new variation of an old-fashioned populism that is anti-intellectual and anti-expert.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Trump and his family may be mining this anti-elite anger, but they are, of course, preposterously upscale, living in Trump Tower, attending expensive private schools, flying about in private jets (now with in-flight Secret Service) and dining in five-star restaurants… <\/em>Republicans are benefitting from the cultural resentment of their non-elite electorate. They also aren\u2019t proposing anything that could make life better for the people who actually live in small towns or in ‘flyover’ states.”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

My own thoughts:\u00a0 I defined the “elite” as that “portion of American society that has pretty much ruled America during the latter half of the 20th century, and the 21st century as well, up to Election Day, 2016.\u00a0 Since the end of World War II, the rest of the world has looked at America as that ‘city on a hill’ it has claimed to be since the beginning.\u00a0 And America has responded \u2013 by and large \u2013 by accepting the mantle of world leadership.<\/em><\/p>\n

“And because America is a land of such promise, people from other countries keep trying to come here. But \u2013 by and large \u2013 they are no longer white, English-speaking and mostly European. Which frightens a large segment of American society.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Aside from that the mantle of world leadership is heavy. It means not going off half-cocked. It means being responsible, and thinking through what we say and do. And many Americans seem to think we should act more like Russia, imposing our will on the rest of the world by sheer force. Which \u2013 from all accounts \u2013 is what we used to do in the days of Teddy Roosevelt.<\/i> And it could be that the Americans who support Trump would love to see a return of a bit of American imperialism.<\/em><\/p>\n

“On the other hand, if that\u2019s true, why did Russia try so hard to get Trump – not Hillary – elected?”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * I called the first draft of this post, “Cultural elites and Trump.”\u00a0 But then I ran across – at a local library days ago – the 2017 book, One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-yet Deported.\u00a0 (E.J. Dionne Jr., […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8560"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8560"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8716,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8560\/revisions\/8716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}