Tag: enemy of the people

America Gripped By Bomb Threats

  By

America Gripped By Bomb Threats

By Trevor K. McNeil

Not All

Not everyone who voted for Donald Trump is evil or even stupid. Many are, but not all. It is truly sad, yet also understandable, the large number of people who had once voted for Obama that swung to Trump in 2016. What brought about this radical change? Was it just a terrible Democratic candidate? Or was it an honest, if misguided, wish for change? As far as I can tell the root of Trump’s popularity is that he is not an establishment politician. Something which appeals strongly to the latent, borderline anarchist, anti-government streak in this country dating back to Tomas Paine. It is in our national DNA as shown by the founding documents; which were willfully engineered to maximize individual rights and limit direct government control.

Media Coverage

Until recently Trump’s anti-statist position remained camouflaged. It is popular, and fun, to point out how Trump is the worst president in history; who has done things no one ever has, only to be countered by professional smart ass comedian Adam Conover and opinionated op-ed writers, observing that there is historical precedent for everything Trump has done and is doing. There is, however, one area in which Trump is a true and terrifying original. His relationship with the media is the worst of any President in American history. An ironic fact given the key role media coverage, both positive and negative, has played in his success.

The Historical Record

Looking to history, there have been political leaders in America who have had strained, if not a
borderline adversarial relationship with the press, but until Trump there has never been the fierce and unrelenting daily attacks on the media by a president of the United States. The difference between Trump and the leaders of the past is that the leaders of the past had the knowledge and political experience to hide their disgust of the press and play the political game. Richard Nixon an astute politician knew enough to talk football with the notorious journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who would later become one of his greatest opponents and detractors.

Continue reading

The Free Press vs Donald Trump

  By

Constitutionally Protected
Adrian Walker writing in The Boston Globe said, “I can barely believe it needs to be said, but the free press is not the “enemy of the people.” The press is constitutionally protected, and it is their function in a free society to protect the society from a corrupt and incompetent government. In the case of Donald Trump the need is especially great.

Adrian Walker Writes For The Boston Globe

Editorial Campaign
350 newspapers have joined The Boston Globe in the #FreePress editorial campaign convincing the  commander-in-chief of paranoid narcissism that the press is out to get him. It has become part of the Trump rally routine to slander journalists. He relishes eliciting jeers when he points to journalists covering his rallies. The attack is relentless.

In His Cross-Hairs
Free speech is the biggest enemy to Trump and that is why journalists are in his cross-hairs. Facts and their messengers are Trump’s real enemies and he will do everything within his power to discredit and silence criticism. The need to silence the opposition has no place in a free society, and is the tactic of totalitarian regimes.

Jack Shafer Writes For Politico.com

An Avalanche Of Editorials
Jack Shafer, writing for Politico.com believes the coordinated editorial response is sure to backfire. He opines that for one thing, Trump supporter’s don’t read newspapers. So, in Jack’s opinion “an avalanche of editorials singing from the same script is unlikely to move the opinion needle or deter Trump from attacking journalists and news organizations.”

Media Disapproval
Sadly, I agree with Jack. The public opinion of the media has been below 30% for over a decade. A “national press cabal” convened to oppose Trump may seem to the public as proof that he is being unfairly attacked. OMG, the last thing we want for Donald Trump is to improve his approval rating by convincing the electorate that Trump is the victim of the “deep state” in a coordinated effort with the liberal left.

Calamity Is All About Shining A Light On The Vile & Evil

My Plan
My plan as a progressive “voice” is to continue to attack Trump and his policies. I will not join in any form of coordinated national editorial campaign against Trump. I detest every cell in Trump’s polluted body, but I refuse to give him “fresh material” to use in his anti-journalist attacks. So, as in the past you can expect www.CalamityPolitics.com to make fresh attacks on Trump for everything from his failed orange flop-over to his vile sexism, corruption, tariff policies, environmental policy, climate change and bigotry.

Darlene