Seat of
the National Gaslighting Center of America
(Aka:
Trump Empire, Inc. Annex)
Used frequently (daily actually) by the G-in-C
(Gaslighter-in-Chief)
INTRODUCTION:
I first heard and read about the term “gaslighting” in
the CNN article noted below wherein they pose this question:
“How can a highly unstable President, whose agenda
revolves around white nationalism and “America First” so dominate politics in
2018?”
That
article is from CNN vis-à-vis Bob Woodward’s top selling book: Fear — article by Julian Zelizer, CNN Political
Analyst, and it is an excellent article.
(Note: Some of my editing and highlights are used
to make it fit the blog … check out whole piece at the CNN link – it is keeper
for sure).
Fifty years
after the civil rights movement transformed the country by pushing it in a
progressive direction on matters of social justice, we seem to have taken a
massive step backward.
Fifty years
after it seemed that George Wallace's brand of politics was banished forever,
his legacy lives on in the Trump White House. Our political processes were so
broken that a political novice with a checkered business history and claim to
fame from reality television rode his way to the presidency.
While many
people in the electorate were not happy with Trump or the system that produced
him, and he actually lost the popular vote, the President was still able to
win, thanks to the Electoral College. His victory was likely enabled by a
combination of factors – including (1) a growing inequality and the uneven
recovery from the Great Recession, (2) the rot in our campaign finance system,
(3) the failure of Congress to govern effectively, (4) the flaws of Hillary
Clinton, (5) the growth of conservative news media, (6) the use of social media
by Russian hackers, and (7) the continued popular strength of reactionary
social ideas in certain parts of the nation.
As a matter
of fact, Trump's support among Republican voters stands at some 85%. They would
not tolerate this from any DEM president (cite: Obama in particular), so why do
they tolerate Trump?
Why is this
happening? The answers have less to do with the President than with everything
that surrounds him. These are questions that demand the historian's interest in
context rather than the reporter's thirst for detail.
The
questions need to start with the Republican Party, which has provided a safe
home for the reactionary brand of politics that Trump champions.
As has been well-documented, despite every offensive
or false statement and tweet that comes from this White House, and shocking
policies such as family separation at the border, Republicans in Congress
essentially do nothing.
When serious
questions have been raised about the ethical practices of the commander in
chief or about how much he will do to protect our election processes,
congressional Republicans haven't acted to constrain Trump.
Even as the
President mounts an all-out assault on the free press, some Republicans on the
Hill yell and scream but undertake no real oversight. Partisan loyalty too
often trumps political courage in an age of intense polarization.
More and
more Republicans have been willing and eager to have the President's
endorsement in the primaries. And so, the story of Trump has raised as many
questions about the state of the GOP as it has about him.
The Trump
presidency also raises serious questions about our cherished system of checks
and balances. Just how much can we count on the checks to restrain an
out-of-control president? Hollywood filmmakers have imagined scenarios where we
end up with leaders willing to do dangerous things. But audiences tend to
believe this couldn't happen in real life.
My 2 cents: Related to that assessment which I agree
with is this
from Pogo.org re: Trump blames the DEMS (as usual) for the high death
toll following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico as their way to harm him.
What a
shameful, shameful man – yet one who remains shameless, too – how ironic is
that? Pogo’s main point and excellent summary to all this is simply this: Gaslighting the country by pretending
that thousands did not lose their lives is beneath the Office
of the President.
Then this gaslighting ref from
Psychology Today:
Thanks for stopping by.
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