Photo Credit: DailyKos
As I sat down to revise this article this morning, the nation
and the onlookers in the rest of the world had another brash
and disturbing incident created by the boisterous billionaire
and current Republican Party presidential campaign frontrunner
Donald Trump to chew on. Trump was holding court at a press
event set up in Dubuque, Iowa. Noted journalist and Univision
anchor Jorge Ramos began to attempt to ask Trump a question
about undocumented emigrants as another reporter was asking a
question. Trump snarled at him, “Sit down, you weren’t called.
Go back to Univision.” The magnate then added more hostile
words, and had Ramos removed from the room. The reporter
was let back in towards the end of the press conference and
had the chance to ask two questions. Yet the media at large,
and some people are essentially using the point that Ramos
spoke out of turn as justification for Trump’s classless statements.
And there is further proof that a cross-section of the American
public is more than comfortable with the toupeed dunce that
lords over this confederacy of GOP presidential nominees. That
fact should scare you.
I know that the temptation is easy to dismiss Donald Trump as
a buffoon, someone who is a distraction more than a viable
political delegate. But to do so is not only foolish, but highly
dangerous. Why? Because Trump operates on the idea that he
is a “rebel”, an outsider who disrupts authority in order to bring
things back to order. An order that is highly xenophobic and
sexist as much as it is nostalgic. Think about the phrase “Go
Back To Univision.” Substitute “Mexico” or “Africa” for the last
word in that statement and you get an idea of what Trump is
all about. He constantly refers to “the Blacks”. He’s made it a
point to go after the fastest growing ethnic demographic in the
U.S., which is the Latino population. And his vile verbal harassment
of Fox News’ Megan Kelly makes the twisted trifecta complete.
Donald Trump is determined to what Mitt Romney wasn’t. See,
Romney was polished, effete to a degree. He was what the rich
establishment wanted you to have as POTUS, never mind the
fact that he was intensely disliked within his own party. Trump
comes off like Rodney Dangerfield’s character in “Caddyshack”
who finally has enough scratch to get into the country club and
offends the other members with his presence - but not enough
for them to outright oppose and disown his tactics. In that respect
he evokes the silent code language of the boardrooms and the
drawing rooms of elitist, white and male American society. Look at his
jumbled and jingoistic statements on immigration, and see how
many of the other 16 candidates have fallen in line to sound
almost like him. Even the candidates of color like Dr. Ben Carson
(who by this point is just there to get the Alan Keyes “Good Job
Good Effort Colored Candidate Award” & call it a day) and Louisiana
governor Bobby Jindal are making heinous remarks about those
who migrate to the U.S., with Jindal being highly fascist.
But what’s all the more alarming is the fact that Donald Trump’s
deplorable behvaior has attracted the open and unabashed
support of white supremacists, most notably ex-Ku Klux Klan
Grand Wizard and failed political player(for those who recall his
1990 campaign to be governor of Louisiana)David Duke. Duke’s
support came in a recent interview, even as he concdeded that
Trump wouldn’t necessarily do what he says. Its the fact that
he’s SAYING it. A known and avowed racist lending you support
would be an instant death knell to any political candidate. But
Trump. He’s essentially using it to his advantage. Look at the
turnout in Mobile, Alabama. He’s deliberately going after the
“Christian brotherhood” of the South and Midwest, that part of
the Republican base that has risen up like gnarled cancerous
polyps. The same base that Sarah Palin, another backer, seized
upon with John McCain in tow, back in 2008 when Barack Obama
became President. Trump is more than willing to use the vile
and veiled racial code language to get what he wants - “Make
America Great Again” is a prime example. It’s language he’s used
in the past - for example, when the Foxwoods casino opened in
Connecticut, Trump called the Mashantucket nation “Michael
Jordan Indians.” This was later cited in an interview on CBS’
“60 Minutes” which Trump brushed aside when questioned on
it. For those that think this won’t lead to anything, look at the
incident in Boston of the two white men who beat up a Latino
man who was homeless. Why? Because they felt Trump was
right. Never mind the fact that the two brothers were found to
be on public assistance and squatting, 2 things Trump has also
sounded off against. These men are representative of the potential
danger that Trump and those who aid him are stirring up.
The Donald is not here to be President. He’s here as a visible
reminder of how the political system - and our own core as the
American people - have been extremely broken for some time.
If he doesn’t win, so what? He’s extended his brand for years
to come. He’s hustled the American public and media once
again, much like he did when he had his own reality show. Or
when his casinos and hotels were once the jewel of the Atlantic
City boardwalk. Trump knows when to cash out, and the time
will soon come when he’s forced to. But it doesn’t discount how
ugly of a game he’s playing. And what his outlandish behavior
obscures from the other appalling GOP candidates - and the
attitudes of those who support them. In that sense, the house
always wins when the gullible put their bets in.