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The Deep State is Growing!

In the US it seems ever greater numbers of people are becoming part of the deep state. More and more members of the Republican party are starting to contradict the presidential view of the world. Even some of the party’s long time strategists like Karl Rove, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff under GW Bush, has stated that the election result will not be overturned. That, in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal. Even Fox news has called out against the president.

Many of the GOP’s leaders are finding ever more convoluted ways of supporting the president. Very much trying to hide behind a commitment to observing the law. Trying to pretend that baseless legal challenge is a concern for procedural propriety and not an attempt to subvert the democratic process.

An agency of the president’s Department for Homeland Security has supported a daily initiative to address rumours about election fraud. In a joint statement the Elections Infrastructure Government Co-ordinating Council and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive (to be fair some parts of the state need to be deep, in fact the deeper the better!) stated “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American History.”

Those responsible for the election process in the swing states have been quick to address and rebut claims of fraud. Of course they have only been rebutting such claims with facts, and there may be “alternative facts” out there, nay possibly an alternative universe in which larger numbers count for less than smaller ones, and in which a second Trump term is in prospect. Here on planet earth, however, more and more people, Republican as well as Democrat are recognising the reality of a Biden win.

As the numbers of those who accept the result increase, the numbers in the deep state increase. As it deepens and widens what happens when the vast majority are in the deep state?

All of this, of course is ridiculous. In a film it would be a fantasy comedy. In reality however it is serious. The lives of dedicated election employees, and volunteers, are being threatened; a smooth transition of power is being prevented; worst of all there is an attempt to undermine faith in the keystone of the democratic process – free and fair elections.

President Putin is not going to contact president-elect Biden until president Trump’s legal challenges have been through the courts. I wonder if he has spoken to president Trump since the election. He may well prefer another four years of Trump but I am sure he is happy with the outcome to date.

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The Coming Victory of Democracy.

In 1938 Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize winning novelist, carried out a coast to coast speaking tour of the United States. He started his talk as follows:

“The expression “to carry owls to Athens” is a familiar humanistic expression in Germany. It denotes an act of superfluous effort, the transfer of an article to a place where such things already exist in abundance…

In undertaking to speak on democracy in America, ladies and gentlemen, I feel as if I, too, were carrying owls to Athens. It looks as I were not aware that I am in the classic land of democracy, where the mode of thought and the type of social structure which are characterised by this name are essentially at home and a universally ingrained conviction; where, in short, democracy is an all-pervading matter of course, upon which the Americans need no instruction – least of all from a European.”

How disappointed would he be with the quality of the current leadership of the City on the Hill? The refusal of President Trump to concede is appalling but worse yet is the moral bankruptcy and craven fear of the GOP.

There are many explanations put forward for the failure of leading Republicans to call out the unconstitutional behaviour of the President. Their use of the slippery language of a razer parsing literalist lawyer to pretend that what is happening is perfectly normal when the world cries out against them.

It is said they are frightened of Trump because he may stand for election again in 2024 and wreak his vengeance on those who fail the loyalty test. The are worried he will set up a PAC and use its funds to attack those he sees as traitors. They believe Trump will turn his 70 million voters against them. If anything these are all reasons for action against an incipient tyrant.

At some point it might just be worth their thinking about what is the right thing to do rather than what is in their short term political interest. Further they may not even be right about that interest. They might reflect on the fact that many Republican voters may retain that, “universally ingrained conviction” for democracy which Thomas Mann spoke so passionately about. Whilst they voted for President Trump their belief in him may evaporate if he clearly appears to be trampling on the democracy which they engaged with in such large numbers.

Thomas Mann’s reticence to offer advice from Europe remains valid. The title of his talk however is germane to the current context. Whilst America might need no lessons in democracy, it seems clear their current president and the leadership of the Republican Party could do with a few owls.

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Republicans Back Trump’s Refusal to Concede, Declining to Recognize Biden – The New York Times

“President Trump is 100 percent within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options,” said Mr. McConnell, the majority leader. “Let’s not have any lectures about how the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election results from the same characters who just spent four years refusing to accept the validity of the last election.”

Northern Comment – On 9th November, following the election on the 8th  November, Hilary Clinton confirmed to her supporters that she had called Donald Trump the  night before and congratulated him on his win and offering her support. She said to her supporters, “… Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.” On 10 November President Obama invited President Elect Donald Trump into the White House to begin the process of transition.

The Republicans don’t even control the present any more much less history.  It is a sad reflection of the loss of direction within the GOP that most Republican voters are better than their representatives. Undermining the legitimacy of the election is a very dangerous game. It will rebound to the Republican party’s discredit, probably as much amongst their own as Democrat voters.

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Republicans Back Trump’s Refusal to Concede, Declining to Recognize Biden – The New York Times

Republicans Back Trump’s Refusal to Concede, Declining to Recognize BidenSenator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, slammed Democrats for expecting the president to quickly concede and said he had every right to pursue legal challenges.Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, said the nation’s legal and political system “will resolve any recounts or litigation.”

The New York Times By Nicholas Fandos and Emily Cochrane

Leading Republicans rallied on Monday around President Trump’s refusal to concede the election, declining to challenge the false narrative that it was stolen from him or to recognize President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory even as party divisions burst into public view.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the top Republican in Congress, threw his support behind Mr. Trump in a sharply worded speech on the Senate floor. He declared that Mr. Trump was “100 percent within his rights” to turn to the legal system to challenge the outcome and hammered Democrats for expecting the president to concede.

Northern Comment – The GOP in general and Mitch McConnell in particular have a great deal to answer for in the nightmare risks they have been willing to take with Donald Trump. However, we should not confuse a naked desire to retain power with devotion to the person of President Trump.