Many Americans would not be surprised if on Jan. 20 Vladimir Putin administers the oath of office to Donald Trump, the Ku Klux Klan youth choir regales the inaugural crowd with a stirring rendition of “Dixie,” the Chamber of Commerce orchestra performs “Hail to the … Continue reading
Source, Peter Dreier: Preparing for President Trump – BillMoyers.com
A terrific article in the what-do-we-do-now? category from Peter Dreier on BillMoyers.com. Really, you should read the whole thing and not trust my minimal excerpts; they do not deliver everything you need and want to know.
Dreier offers ten points:
1. Don’t forget: Trump does not have a mandate.
2. Challenge Trump’s Nominees.
3. Don’t Normalize Trump.
4. Focus on Real People. Reporters should focus on how Trump’s rhetoric and policy ideas affect real people.
…They also should maintain a running count of hate crimes and violence triggered around the country by Trump’s election and rhetoric…They should not, as Boston Globe columnist Michael Cohen suggested, “treat Trump’s actions as a topic of political debate” but instead “as evidence of his derangement.”
5. Protest and Engage in Civil Disobedience.
6. Oppose Trump’s infrastructure plan.
…As Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote, the Trump plan is “basically fraudulent,” a scam that would “enrich a few well-connected people at taxpayers’ expense while doing very little to cure our investment shortfall. Progressives should not associate themselves with this exercise in crony capitalism.” Trump’s plan involves “huge tax credits: billions of dollars in checks written to private companies that invest in approved projects, which they would end up owning.” Krugman also points out the Trump plan won’t address infrastructure needs that can’t be turned into profit centers. “Our top priorities should include things like repairing levees and cleaning up hazardous waste; where’s the revenue stream?” Krugman calls the Trump scheme a “gratuitous handout to select investors.”
Me again: coincidentally, today’s New York Times has a startling and ominous story about what happens to real people–see Dreier’s Point 4, above–when private investment takes over public works, in this case, Bayonne, New Jersey’s water works. (Short summary: nothing good.)
Years ago, I sharply separated the province of government–providing us all with vital services–from profit-making companies’ province: selling us stuff that, apart from food, is usually superfluous.
I’ll do a separate post on vital services. Mr. Dreier’s piece is too important to interrupt further. So, more of his points:
7. Obstruct Trump’s Presidency. People who live in large blue states like California, New York, Washington, Minnesota and Illinois have a particular opportunity and responsibility to obstruct Trump’s presidency.
8. Exploit Republican Infighting.
9. Mobilize for the Next Elections.
10. Start Presidential Vetting Now.
Inspiring.
And hook yourself up to BillMoyers.com, which will deliver a number of important articles to your in-box every week. It’s free and exciting journalism.