Friends of Padre Steve’s World,
The present government shutdown is like none that we have seen before. What is going on now is a blatant attempt by the President to humiliate and destroy his opposition from both the Democratic Party and the few Republicans willing to oppose him. Interestingly enough he is being aided by the two Republican congressional leaders who has already emasculated, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Both have already so compromised themselves with the Trump’s ardent supporters that they know that their political survival is absolutely dependent on what they do for him.
All this is despite the fact that on Friday Senator Chuck Schumer offered the President more than any previous Democratic leader to end the shutdown, even going against the Democratic base by agreeing to fully fund the President’s wall. The President at least pretended to agree to a deal that would protect the people protected under DACA, the “Dreamers.” The legislation to protect them was first introduced in a bi-partisan bill sponsored by Republican Orrin Hatch and Democrat Dick Durbin. It eventual died but was resurrected by President Obama through his immigration policies. President Trump ended that but on numerous times indicated that he wanted to find a “loving” solution to the plight of the children undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country, some as long as three decades ago.
However, less than three hours after the meeting Schumer was told that the conditions that he thought were agreed to were rejected with Presidential Chief of Staff John Kelly saying that they were “too liberal.”
For all intents and purposes these young people that were protected under DACA are Americans but are prevented from becoming citizens because of how they got here. They are not a menace, they are our neighbors and contribute much to this country; their only crime was to be brought here as children, and now they are being demonized by Trump, Ryan, McConnell, and most of the GOP host in ways that fully assimilated German Jews were during the early days of the Third Reich.
By their words, actions, and policies and actions these men are showing that they are committed to only one thing: total victory for Trump. But that is what Trump has been about since he first went into business, for him it is and always has been a zero sum game, whether be it in business, marriage, entertainment, as a candidate, and now as President.
The plan now is to try to make the Democrats loom as the devil behind the shutdown while they simply are doing what Ryan, McConnell and the GOP Congress did in 2011 and 2013. The hypocrisy and lies that they employ to do this will be on full display all weekend and until they achieve their goal, even if the Democrats eventual agree to end the shutdown, and if they do that is when Trump will move in for the kill.
What is happening is dangerous beyond anything that we have ever seen in this country. The danger to the country is greater than at any time since the Confederate States attempted to destroy the Union in the name of White Supremacy and Slave Power in 1861. Sadly, the President is much more like Jefferson Davis than Abraham Lincoln.
On March 14th of 2016, almost eight months before President Trump was elected I wrote these words on this site:
“I am afraid. Over the past few weeks violence has become commonplace at the campaign rallies of Donald Trump. In the past week a reporter from the Breitbart News service, an organization that is solidly behind Trump was assaulted by Trump’s campaign manager, and Breitbart threw her under the bus for him. Protesters have been assaulted, reporters threatened, Trump not only condones the actions, he encourages them, threatening to use the law and courts to ruin people’s lives, and offering to pay the legal bills of his supporters who have been charged with crimes. He labels any opponents as “bad people” who need to be punished. The ultimate cruelty is that though he is the one inciting the violence, he and his supporters blame that violence on the victims, be they Democrats or Republicans, protestors or media, pundits, politicians or preachers. He is creating a frenzy among his most violent supporters that demands victims to satiate their new found bloodlust…
If he succeeds in his takeover bid, it will forever change American politics, especially if he is able to ride the fear, and to the White House. I don’t think the latter will happen, but I would not exclude it from the realm of the possible…”
Well Donald Trump is the President now and anyone who thinks that he can be contained, even by the Mueller investigation is foolish. Today the American system of government so carefully crafted by our founders to prevent such events is now collapsing before our eyes. It is true that over the years that both parties and for that matter almost all Americans bear some responsibility for this, but it is Donald Trump who in the past year has upended almost every societal and political norm in that the founders put in place. Based on his past action and his nefarious personality as well as intent of his supporters; the true believers and the opportunists, we cannot have confidence that our institutions will survive. The only reason that he would cut a deal,with the Democrats would be to further embarrass and degrade McConnell and Ryan, but since they rallied to him Saturday I don’t see that happening.
Historian Timothy Snyder noted:
“The European history of the twentieth century shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary men can find themselves standing over death pits with guns in their hands. It would serve us well today to understand why.”
We I see the words and actions of the President, his supporters and even some friends that I thought I knew, including retired military chaplains I fear for this country. I don’t want to sound like an alarmist but that is what I see going on. This is not an ordinary shutdown and it will not end with business as usual. God, I do hope that I’m wrong, but I know in my heart that I am right.
Until tomorrow,
Peace
Padre Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 