Alternative Visions - Trump’s Political Legacies - a podcast by Progressive Radio Network

from 2021-01-22T12:04:05

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 as a follow up addendum to a prior week’s show on ‘Trump’s Toxic Economic Legacies’, today’s Alternative Visions show discusses Trump’s Political Legacies. At the top of the list is the deep change in political consciousness among all sectors of US society that Trump’s regime—and in particular his last year in office—have generated. Political elites in Washington have been deeply shaken by the events leading up to and during January 6. They now realize the threat to limited US Democracy (and their own safety) is serious and not limited to the mob that attacked the Capitol that day. Key institutions like the police and even military are infected with right wing radical beliefs & intentions; second, right wing radical movements consciousness has changed as well. They now see January 6 as a ‘success’ to be repeated elsewhere later. And John Q. Public realizes US Democracy has always been fragile, that the Electoral College is anti-democratic, and that even the college can be thwarted and overturned by tactics. These changes in consciousness will be enduring. The second Trump political legacy is the radical takeover of the Republican party under Trump and the forthcoming fight over who will run that party—traditional elites or Trump forces. A split in its structure is likely before 2024. The third legacy is the failure of government and institutions in addressing the US Triple Crisis: Covid, Economic, Political. It will be a challenge for Biden and traditional elites to restore the normal functioning of government soon. Fourth, Trump’s legacy means US global hegemon and alliances are in a shambles. Former allies will never return to status quo ante pre-Trump again and will cautiously pursue independent relations with China and other countries. Finally, the fifth political legacy, is Trump’s legitimization and organizing of the radical right forces in America, in and out of Government. That genie will not soon return to its bottle. (For print analyses of these discussions, visit Dr. Rasmus’ blog, http://jackrasmus.com)


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