{"id":45677,"date":"2015-08-05T05:12:27","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T05:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=45677"},"modified":"2015-08-05T05:39:31","modified_gmt":"2015-08-05T05:39:31","slug":"elite-failure-and-populist-trump-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=45677","title":{"rendered":"Elite Failure and Populist Trump It"},"content":{"rendered":"

[by Mark Safranski<\/strong>, a.k.a. “zen<\/strong>“]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

GOP Front Runner, Donald J. Trump<\/strong><\/p>\n

A friend sent an essay by the prolific IR scholar,\u00a0Professor\u00a0Angelo Codevilla<\/a><\/strong> that had been posted<\/a> at Powerline Blog<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0It was good.<\/p>\n

For the unfamiliar, Codevilla often writes on national security and intelligence matters and some readers may be familiar with his (with Paul Seabury<\/a><\/strong>) book, \u00a0War: Ends and Means<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0; but in recent years Codevilla has, like Walter Russell Mead<\/a><\/strong> and a number<\/a> of<\/a> other<\/a> intellectuals<\/a>, turned his attention to the shoddy performance, ethical deficiencies and arrogant demands <\/a>of the new American “ruling class”, writing a biting critique<\/a>\u00a0of their “meritocratic regime”.<\/p>\n

In his essay for Powerline,<\/strong> Codevilla turns his attention to the political phenomenon of the improbable GOP<\/strong> presidential front runner, billionaire and reality TV star, Donald<\/a> Trump<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Unsurprisingly, Dr. Codevilla is not a huge fan of the bombastic Mr. Trump, but his analysis of why Trump has captured the moment so easily has some astute insights about the decaying state of our political system and the seething anger of the electorate<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Does Trump trump?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the land of the blind,\u201d so goes the saying, \u201cthe one-eyed man is king.\u201d Donald Trump leapt atop other contenders for the Republican presidential nomination when he acted on the primordial fact in American public life today, from which most of the others hide their eyes, namely: most Americans distrust, fear, are sick and tired of, the elected, appointed, and bureaucratic officials who rule over us, as well as their cronies in the corporate, media, and academic world. Trump\u2019s attraction lies less in his words\u2019 grace or even precision than in the extent to which Americans are searching for someone, anyone, to lead against this ruling class, that is making America less prosperous, less free, and more dangerous.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s rise reminds this class\u2019s members that they sit atop a rumbling volcano of rejection. Republicans and Democrats hope to exorcise its explosion by telling the public that Trump\u2019s remarks on immigration and on the character of fellow member John McCain (without bothering to try showing that he errs on substance), place him outside the boundaries of their polite society. Thus do they throw Br\u2019er Rabbit into the proverbial briar patch. Now what? The continued rise in Trump\u2019s poll numbers reminds all that Ross Perot \u2013 in an era that was far more tolerant of the Establishment than is ours \u2013 outdistanced both Bush 41 and Bill Clinton before self-destructing, just by speaking ill of both parties before he self destructed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s barest hints about what he opposes (never mind proposes) regarding just a few items on the public agenda have had such effect because they accord with what the public has already concluded about them. For example,Trump remarked, off the cuff, that \u201cMexico does not send us its best.\u201d The public had long since decided that our ruling class\u2019s handling of immigration (not just from Mexico) has done us harm. The ruling class \u2013 officials, corporations, etc.- booed with generalities but did not try to argue that they had improved America by their handling of immigration. The more they would argue that, the more they would lose. At least if someone more able than Trump were leading against them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

….The point here is simple: our ruling class has succeeded in ruling not by reason or persuasion, never mind integrity, but by occupying society\u2019s commanding heights, by imposing itself and its ever-changing appetites on the rest of us. It has coopted or intimidated potential opponents by denying the legitimacy of opposition. Donald Trump, haplessness and clownishness notwithstanding, has shown how easily this regime may be threatened just by refusing to be intimidated<\/span>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Emphasis mine]<\/p>\n

Read the rest here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Codevilla is right. He may even be understating the nature of the problem, as remarkable as that may seem.<\/p>\n

Our bipartisan ruling elite have, in the short space of fifteen years, managed to:\u00a0lose<\/a> two<\/a> wars; collapse at least<\/a> three<\/a> states <\/a>into permanent anarchy;\u00a0turn Russia<\/strong> into an enemy <\/a>again; suffer the greatest<\/a> counterintelligence<\/a> failures <\/a>in history; \u00a0nearly melt down the entire global economy <\/a>and\u00a0vastly enrich themselves<\/a> while presiding over the greatest loss of household wealth for ordinary Americans in history<\/a>, save for the Great Depression<\/strong>. If that is not a level of incompetence that should disqualify them from public office forever, I’m not sure what would.<\/p>\n

Despite this track record of utter failure and brazen venality, our elite have managed to remain firmly in the saddle. Why is this ? In a normal countries they typically have revolutions and coups over far less, but our leaders of both parties managed to cruise from disasters to debacles to win re-election, often by substantial margins.<\/p>\n

One reason may be is that the elite, broadly speaking, have managed to restore a substantial degree of control <\/a>over the information the general public consumes that they had briefly<\/a> lost <\/a>\u00a0in<\/a> the<\/a> early 2000’s and subsequently narrowed and shape<\/a> the terms of “acceptable” political debate in American society more than ever before.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, the mass media ecology was relatively simple and politically reflected what historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.<\/strong> termed “the vital<\/a> center<\/a>” of Cold War liberalism<\/a>. \u00a0The New York Times<\/strong><\/em> editorial page set the general line for informed opinion and most regional and local papers dutifully fell in line, with the Washington Post, TIME, Newsweek, LIFE<\/em> <\/strong>and US News & World Report<\/strong><\/em> generally critiquing whatever debate the Times had begun in greater depth. The three networks ABC, NBC<\/strong> and CBS<\/strong> by contrast simplified and reinforced these narratives with the immediacy and power of television. The “Fairness Doctrine<\/a><\/strong>” effectively made the system an elite monopoly by freezing out dissenting opinions from the Left or Right from radio or television broadcast. Cold War liberalism was de facto<\/em> defined as a politically neutral position not requiring “equal time”. It also represented shared values between most journalists and editors and the American leaders upon whom they reported.<\/p>\n

This center began to lose its vitality when liberalism itself became divided over the Vietnam War<\/strong> between hawks and doves and support for various counterculture and cultural liberation movements; the media landscape began to shift and diversify after the Reagan administration<\/strong> terminated the fairness doctrine and the rise of cable news and talk radio. The era of wailing by the gatekeepers really commenced though with the rise of the blogosphere and the early days of social media which contributed to and coincided with the implosion<\/a> of the newspaper<\/a> publishing industry<\/a> as ad revenue tanked. For a while, the internet meant that the elite lost<\/a> control<\/a> of<\/a> the conversation, carefully constructed media scams were oute<\/a>d, scandals were discovered and online tsunamis of anger came down on the once high and mighty.<\/p>\n

Elite control over discourse has been reestablished to a degree, not as a monopoly but as a loose hegemony based on the principles of Co-option<\/strong>, Coordination<\/strong> and Coercion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The media elite are now fully integrated into the political and economic elite, intermarrying <\/a>with them, sending their kids to the same prep schools<\/a>, Presidents hiring spouses and siblings of network executives<\/a> and political aides<\/a> becoming faux journalists<\/a>. Its as if James Reston’s<\/strong> brother or Walter Cronkite’s<\/strong> wife had gone to work for Richard Nixon <\/strong>and their kids to school with John F. Kennedy, Jr. \u00a0<\/strong>The journalists and editors covertly coordinate<\/a> news<\/a> campaigns<\/a> with each other, politicians<\/a>, the White House<\/a>, parties<\/a> and advocates of causes that they support and when this fails to persuade, the elite like to intimidate. \u00a0From abusing the powers of government to harass political opponents to whipping up tribal partisan mobs on social media<\/a> to furiously abuse or dox<\/a> some hapless private citizen, perhaps trying to ruin their livelihood for daring to express unwelcome of opinions on subjects the elite find distasteful.<\/p>\n

And the list of proscribed beliefs and topics grows increasingly long. The following is a partial list of topics or views generally not supposed to be mentioned by candidates, much less debated by the national standards of American politics and mainstream media:<\/p>\n

Seeking victory vs. intentionally losing wars<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Big<\/a> donors<\/a> and corporations<\/a> which benefit<\/a> financially<\/a> from our foreign policy decisions<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Criticizing crony<\/a> capitalism<\/a> not as vague generalities <\/a>but as systemic corruption<\/a> and identifying criminal behavior<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Islam’s<\/a> role <\/a>\u00a0in<\/a> terrorist<\/a> ideologies<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Muslim immigrant<\/a> radicalization<\/a> and<\/a> participation in terrorism here<\/a> and in Europe<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Anti-semitism<\/a> on<\/a> the<\/a> Left<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Abuse of freedom of speech<\/a>, freedom of the press<\/a> and freedom<\/a> of religion<\/a> by government officials<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Foreign<\/a> money<\/a> in<\/a> our<\/a> political<\/a> process<\/a> and elections<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Mass surveillance<\/a>\/”creepy-state<\/a>” security theater<\/a> abuses<\/a> of the rights of American citizens<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Violent crime statistics broken down by race<\/a>, especially rates of violent crime committed by<\/a> young Black males<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
Disparities in sentencing broken down by race<\/a>, especially <\/a>\u00a0harsh sentences\u00a0for young Black males convicted<\/a> of non-violent<\/a> or<\/a> minor<\/a> offenses<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Successful self-defense with a gun<\/a> (if criminals\/terrorists die – so will the story in short order)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Mexico’s<\/a> narco<\/a>–insurgency<\/a> and its<\/a>\u00a0staggering<\/a> death toll<\/a>\u00a0and ghastly<\/a> atrocities<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Questioning radical feminist ideology’s suitability as a premise for public policy<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Raising living standards<\/a> for ordinary Americans<\/a> as proper intent of government policy<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Anti-white male ideology<\/a> among<\/a> the elite<\/a> and Democratic Party<\/a>; really a crude and reflexive cultural bigotry<\/a>\u00a0against middle<\/a> and working class<\/a> white<\/a> males<\/a>, especially<\/a> Southerners\u00a0<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
That Federal monetary<\/a>, fiscal <\/a>and trade policies<\/a> are intended by design<\/a> to harm <\/a>the interests of the American middle-class<\/a> to the benefit of the very wealthy, large corporations<\/a> and foreigners<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Immigration<\/a>, esp. illegal immigration or that the \u00a0Immigration Act of 1965<\/a> was intended to change national demographics and drive down wages of skilled professionals and unskilled workers.<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Systematically tilting the scales<\/a> against<\/a> admitting the children of middle class<\/a> and working class<\/a> white<\/a> and<\/a> Asian-Americans<\/a> to elite, “gateway” universities<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Erosion of Rule of Law<\/a> \u00a0(including the following)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
\n