Trump the Grump put on his best face- but the xenophobia and racism still poured out liberally from his noisehole at the annual "State of the Union address" before Congress, a key political ritual of the U.S. political rulers.
He made a big deal, once again, about the horrible tidal wave of murderous drug dealing migrants pouring across the southern U.S. border, and vowed for the 7,000th time to "build'a wall!" Trump campaigns on appeals to anti-Hispanic racism and xenophobia, and he campaigns permanently. This was the longest part of his speech.
Trump also couldn't resist complaining for the 2,796th time (give or take) about being investigated. He claimed the Mueller investigation would damage the U.S. economy (apparently a stab at humor that the audience missed- not really) and threatened/pleaded that if the House Democrats launched investigations of him, that would stymie the passage of legislation. (A good thing, in my opinion, since the only laws both ruling political cartel parties agree on these days are horrible- they invariably increase domestic repression and the military budget, and back U.S. imperialist crimes, such as the recent open attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government, hailed by almost all Democratic party politicians in lock step with their Republican "rivals.")
Speaking of Venezuela, Trump took the opportunity to attack the government of Venezuela, while declaring the U.S. puppet Guaido the "legitimate" government, an act of naked subversion that both corporate capitalist parties fully support. And in the very next paragraph he used his denunciation of Venezuela to redbait the handful of genuinely leftist politicians in Congress: "Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — and not government coercion, domination and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country."
This kind of vicious demonization goes back as far as the late 19th century in the U.S. The capitalist ruling class has always been fanatically ideological as far as that goes. You can find the same sort of verbiage at any point in the last 130 years or so. And before that there was ruling class hysteria about the French Revolution and the Haitian revolution. The U.S. is reactionary at its very core.
The power establishment's media "analyses" of Trump's speech were completely oblivious to the extremely reactionary nature of the screed. To them, hard right politics are just normal.
In addition to the redbaiting, which the bourgeois media failed to denounce of course, Trump took the opportunity to break a campaign promise on abortion. During his campaign he said he wanted the Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, and let each state decide its own abortion laws. Well no more. NOW he wants Congress to ban late term abortions. He attacked New York State specifically for a new law finally legalizing such abortions in the state, which Trump falsely claims in inflammatory rhetoric that "the late-term abortion of children [sic]" has babies "ripped from the mother's womb moments from birth." This is the kind of demagogic lie that causes fanatics to murder abortion doctors.
But then, Trump has no problem with such violence.
Trump also called for "unity-" behind HIS policies, of course. Like every ruler, strongman, dictator, and "president," what Trump means by "unity," is "get in line and conform to my rules." Calling for "unity" doesn't mean "let's find a way to compromise together," it means "agree with ME!"
Of course the "opposition" party, the Democrats, agrees wth most of what Trump is doing and wants- like an ever-increasing military budget, shoveling endless billions into the maw of the military-industrial complex, and overthrowing "socialist" regimes, having a reactionary Supreme Court, lame regulation of business and light taxation of the rich. On those last two points, the differences between the parties are a matter of degree.
The Republican Congressmen leapt to their feet to bellow lusty cheers every two or three sentences of The Leader's Speech, some whistling in ecstatic enthusiasm. At one point the assembled party apparatchiks started chanting "USA! USA! USA!," a jingoistic standard.
No Trump speech or even off-the-cuff remarks would be complete without an absurd boast. Here's one from the speech: "If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea." Now, certainly the situation is better than it was under Obama, or Bush, or Clinton. But Hillary Clinton is too cautious to have gotten into a war with North Korea. But to show how phony these rituals are, this ridiculous remark was NOT greeted by laughter.
As is standard for these rituals, the entry of El Presidente is treated like the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, with wild, prolonged cheering and a sustained standing ovation. The Big Man's exit is marked by another display of bombastically phony enthusiasm by the assembled political hacks of the Leader's own party.
A CBS "News" propagandist deemed the ending "deep poetry" and a generous offer to the Democrats. Just what was this profound windup? A bunch of mawkish platitudes. After bragging about America defeating "communism" and battling "evil empires," here's what he said:
Here tonight we have legislators from across this magnificent republic. You have come from the rocky shores of Maine and the volcanic peaks of Hawaii. From the snowy woods of Wisconsin and the red deserts of Arizona. From the green farms of Kentucky and the golden beaches of California.
Together, we represent the most extraordinary nation in all of history. What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered?
I ask the men and women of this Congress: Look at the opportunities before us. Our most thrilling achievements are still ahead. Our most exciting journeys still await. Our biggest victories are still to come. We have not yet begun to dream.
We must choose whether we are defined by our differences — or whether we dare to transcend them. We must choose whether we squander our inheritance — or whether we proudly declare that we are Americans: We do the incredible. We defy the impossible. We conquer the unknown.
This is the time to re-ignite the American imagination. This is the time to search for the tallest summit, and set our sights on the brightest star. This is the time to rekindle the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that link us together as citizens, as neighbors, as patriots. This is our future — our fate — and our choice to make.
I am asking you to choose greatness. No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together.
We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America’s destiny — that one nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you very much.
Like I said, so much self-righteous, self-satisfied, self-aggrandizing boastful GUFF that's Made In The USA.
He made a big deal, once again, about the horrible tidal wave of murderous drug dealing migrants pouring across the southern U.S. border, and vowed for the 7,000th time to "build'a wall!" Trump campaigns on appeals to anti-Hispanic racism and xenophobia, and he campaigns permanently. This was the longest part of his speech.
Trump also couldn't resist complaining for the 2,796th time (give or take) about being investigated. He claimed the Mueller investigation would damage the U.S. economy (apparently a stab at humor that the audience missed- not really) and threatened/pleaded that if the House Democrats launched investigations of him, that would stymie the passage of legislation. (A good thing, in my opinion, since the only laws both ruling political cartel parties agree on these days are horrible- they invariably increase domestic repression and the military budget, and back U.S. imperialist crimes, such as the recent open attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government, hailed by almost all Democratic party politicians in lock step with their Republican "rivals.")
Speaking of Venezuela, Trump took the opportunity to attack the government of Venezuela, while declaring the U.S. puppet Guaido the "legitimate" government, an act of naked subversion that both corporate capitalist parties fully support. And in the very next paragraph he used his denunciation of Venezuela to redbait the handful of genuinely leftist politicians in Congress: "Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — and not government coercion, domination and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country."
This kind of vicious demonization goes back as far as the late 19th century in the U.S. The capitalist ruling class has always been fanatically ideological as far as that goes. You can find the same sort of verbiage at any point in the last 130 years or so. And before that there was ruling class hysteria about the French Revolution and the Haitian revolution. The U.S. is reactionary at its very core.
The power establishment's media "analyses" of Trump's speech were completely oblivious to the extremely reactionary nature of the screed. To them, hard right politics are just normal.
In addition to the redbaiting, which the bourgeois media failed to denounce of course, Trump took the opportunity to break a campaign promise on abortion. During his campaign he said he wanted the Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, and let each state decide its own abortion laws. Well no more. NOW he wants Congress to ban late term abortions. He attacked New York State specifically for a new law finally legalizing such abortions in the state, which Trump falsely claims in inflammatory rhetoric that "the late-term abortion of children [sic]" has babies "ripped from the mother's womb moments from birth." This is the kind of demagogic lie that causes fanatics to murder abortion doctors.
But then, Trump has no problem with such violence.
Trump also called for "unity-" behind HIS policies, of course. Like every ruler, strongman, dictator, and "president," what Trump means by "unity," is "get in line and conform to my rules." Calling for "unity" doesn't mean "let's find a way to compromise together," it means "agree with ME!"
Of course the "opposition" party, the Democrats, agrees wth most of what Trump is doing and wants- like an ever-increasing military budget, shoveling endless billions into the maw of the military-industrial complex, and overthrowing "socialist" regimes, having a reactionary Supreme Court, lame regulation of business and light taxation of the rich. On those last two points, the differences between the parties are a matter of degree.
The Republican Congressmen leapt to their feet to bellow lusty cheers every two or three sentences of The Leader's Speech, some whistling in ecstatic enthusiasm. At one point the assembled party apparatchiks started chanting "USA! USA! USA!," a jingoistic standard.
No Trump speech or even off-the-cuff remarks would be complete without an absurd boast. Here's one from the speech: "If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea." Now, certainly the situation is better than it was under Obama, or Bush, or Clinton. But Hillary Clinton is too cautious to have gotten into a war with North Korea. But to show how phony these rituals are, this ridiculous remark was NOT greeted by laughter.
As is standard for these rituals, the entry of El Presidente is treated like the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, with wild, prolonged cheering and a sustained standing ovation. The Big Man's exit is marked by another display of bombastically phony enthusiasm by the assembled political hacks of the Leader's own party.
A CBS "News" propagandist deemed the ending "deep poetry" and a generous offer to the Democrats. Just what was this profound windup? A bunch of mawkish platitudes. After bragging about America defeating "communism" and battling "evil empires," here's what he said:
Here tonight we have legislators from across this magnificent republic. You have come from the rocky shores of Maine and the volcanic peaks of Hawaii. From the snowy woods of Wisconsin and the red deserts of Arizona. From the green farms of Kentucky and the golden beaches of California.
Together, we represent the most extraordinary nation in all of history. What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered?
I ask the men and women of this Congress: Look at the opportunities before us. Our most thrilling achievements are still ahead. Our most exciting journeys still await. Our biggest victories are still to come. We have not yet begun to dream.
We must choose whether we are defined by our differences — or whether we dare to transcend them. We must choose whether we squander our inheritance — or whether we proudly declare that we are Americans: We do the incredible. We defy the impossible. We conquer the unknown.
This is the time to re-ignite the American imagination. This is the time to search for the tallest summit, and set our sights on the brightest star. This is the time to rekindle the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that link us together as citizens, as neighbors, as patriots. This is our future — our fate — and our choice to make.
I am asking you to choose greatness. No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together.
We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America’s destiny — that one nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you very much.
Like I said, so much self-righteous, self-satisfied, self-aggrandizing boastful GUFF that's Made In The USA.
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