Steve Bannon manipulated the incompetent, vacuos Donald Trump into letting him into the White House to influence our government with anti-democracy ideology. An August 2021 Time Magazine article summarized Bannon’s 7 month right-wing reign as Trump’s chief strategist. His influence caused a hard-line racist, anti-international alliance agenda that Trump continued throughout his presidency. The article said, ” his ascent was seen by many as bringing the fringe voices of white nationalists and the alt-right directly into the West Wing.”
Bannon does not want American democracy to survive. He detests both political parties. He wants the U.S. to resemble other foreign countries run by autocrats. His white-nationalist agenda fueled the Muslim ban and his opposition to alliances with democratic allies influenced Trump’s weakening of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and North American Free Trade Agreement. He is dangerously intelligent, racist, money-motivated and is amassing millions of followers to reject American democracy. To quote, the Time Magazine August article;
“One of the loudest voices urging Donald Trump’s supporters to push for overturning the presidential election results was Steve Bannon. “We’re on the point of attack,” Bannon, a former Trump adviser and far-right nationalist, pledged on his popular podcast on Jan. 5. “All hell will break loose tomorrow.” Hopefully, the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection is planning to subpoena Bannon’s social media and phone records. It sounds like he knew about the plan for an attack on the Capitol to block the peaceful transfer of power.
Senator Joe Manchin is acting as if protecting democracy is no longer part of his oath. He uses oppositional attitudes to grandstand for attention and block legislation that is fighting to preserve the fundamentals of our democracy. He proclaims that his reluctance to be the tie- breaking 50th vote to support Biden’s agenda is his belief that preserving bipartisanship is akin to saving democracy. That sentiment sounds patriotic, however it misses the fact that Trumpian members of Congress are committed to hating and opposing anything related to the politics of Democrats. Hasn’t he paid attention to Senator Mitch McConnell’s pronouncements to that regard? Republicans are disinterested in working with Democrats. They are seeking a one-party system of government.
An article on June 7th in the Intelligencer reported, “if the Senate fails to act, then we’ll have deepening partisan divisions plus state-level partisan voting restrictions that, in Manchin’s own estimation, will destroy democracy. And that, somehow, is the outcome Manchin says he has chosen”. The Virginia Senator could literally vote to save the U.S. democracy, but instead keeps trying to please and appease Republicans. His defiance might be more dangerous than Bannon who does not hold an elected position bestowing any actual power.
Last but not least is the insecure, hypocritical, Minority leader Kevin McCarthy. He has reduced his role as minority leader to a kissing Trump’s ass, welcoming and protecting the conspiracy theorists in our government and obstructing and opposing investigations that seek the truth and preserve the stability of our democracy. Enough said about that corrupt, political embarrassment to himself and the country.
PS. Donald Trump hates you Kevin because he will never forget that you said he had responsibility in the Jan 6th insurrection.
PS #2 You will never be Speaker of the House.
