The Limits of Power: Donald J. Trump

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cross-posted from Afflict the Comfortable

by Bob Buzzanco

Mitch McConnell and Democratic Weakness produced Trump’s successes…….

Donald Trump, it seems, still reigns over the GOP and a good portion of the country.  Senators and representatives visit him to kiss his ring, the RNC is inviting him to speak at its upcoming conference, he and his supporters are unrepentant and still claiming victimhood.  He won’t go away.  The Monster, it seems, lives….

But Trump’s continued status is a continuation of his four years as president, built more on rhetoric, bluster, anger, and spectacle than the way he acted….because, in reality, Trump was far more limited in power than his supporters and, more importantly, his opponents ever recognized. If you want to compare him with evil historical figures, Charlie Manson and Jim Jones are much more appropriate than Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler.

Post-Mortem on Donald Trump: “He was more limited in power than we imagined.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2021
Contact: Professor Robert Buzzanco, buzzanco@yahoo.com or text at 713.269.1508. Available for interviews, podcasts, etc.

Post-Mortem on Donald Trump: “He was more limited in power than we imagined.”

Donald Trump and his MAGA-Movement are still in the eye of the storm. He’s facing impeachment and struggling to find lawyers, yet the GOP continues to cling to him and support him and new acolytes like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are filling the hard-right conspiratorial space he lived in the past four years.

Donald Trump instilled cult-like loyalty among his supporters and deep dread and anxiety in political enemies.  It gave them all the image than he possessed great power, controlled the state, and could dominate American life.

Why We Fight (and Podcast): A Green and Red Manifesto

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cross-posted from Medium

by Scott Parkin and Bob Buzzanco

As we reach the end of the first year of the Green and Red Podcast, we have more clear ideas on what we’ve done both good and not-as-good and where we want to go moving forward.

There are about one million podcasts in America, many of them political and many of them stressing some form of Left or radical politics, at least rhetorically. Finding a place within an independent media and political galaxy of that size is not easy, but we believe we offer information, insight, and even instruction in ways that others don’t.

Green and Red Co-Host Scott Parkin on why 2021 needs more direct action

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In our latest episode, Bob interviews Scott about his recent article “Why 2021 needs more direct action.”

Listen here: http://bit.ly/Action2021GandR

They discuss how elections and electing Democrats and Democratic Socialists won’t be the only way to get us out of the current cascade of crises hitting the world right now (COVID-19, economic collapse, climate change, political crisis around the far right). They also discuss Scott’s past work in fighting mountaintop removal coal mining, Wall Street banks and oil pipelines.

The Reality of the Tet Offensive: Military Failure and Economic Crisis

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Tet Attack on the Embassy

cross-posted from Afflict the Comfortable

by Bob Buzzanco

Tet was a pivot point of the Vietnam War, and it’s been misrepresented ever since……

At the end of January the media will commemorate one of the more important and decisive events of the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive. On January 30th, 1968 the combined enemy forces of the Viet Cong, the People’s Liberation Armed Forces in the South, and the People’s Army of Vietnam from the North attacked virtually every center of military and political importance in the Republic of Vietnam, even invading the U.S. Embassy grounds. Within sixty days, President Lyndon Johnson would reject a request for a massive reinforcement of troops to Vietnam, begin to de-escalate the war, and withdraw from the 1968 presidential campaign. Tet was as determinative as any event in the Vietnam era and has maintained near-mythic status since.

Comics with Comrades with creator Brian Wood

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In this episode, we talk with comic book creator Brian Wood and the influence of pop culture on politics. And vice versa. We discuss his work on Channel Zero, DMZ and the Massive. And how his work in those comics has focused on lefty politics and issues like media activism, far right militias, climate change and direct action. We also talk about Marvel’s The Punisher and the obvious connection to today’s fascist movements. 

Choosing Democracy with Direct Action Organizer Eileen Flanagan

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In our latest episode, we have a lively discussion with Eileen Flanagan (@eileenflanagan) of Choose Democracy about mass organizing efforts to defend democracy from Trump.

Listen here: https://bit.ly/DemocracyGandR

We discuss their efforts to recruit and prepare thousands to hit the streets, taking advantage of “cracks” in ruling class institutions, like Wall Street and the military, and turning anxiety about Trump remaining in power into action.  We also discussed longer term organizing efforts around climate justice and challenging white supremacy.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr., Radical, Democratic Socialist and Opponent of State Violence

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In our special MLK day episode, we talk about the radical politics of  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We discuss King’s democratic socialist  beliefs, his stance against the war in Vietnam, the campaigns he worked  on, –including the 1968 Olympic Boycott and the Poor People’s  Campaign–, and his thoughts on property destruction.   

Why 2021 needs more direct action

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BOSTON, MA: June 3, 2020: Thousands take part in a Black Lives Matter march and rally on the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

cross-posted from Medium

by Scott Parkin

Back in the first week of June, 2020, soon after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin, I found myself once again in the streets marching in the streets of Oakland, CA and taking action for black lives. I’d been here many times before after the murders of Michael Brown, Philandro Castile and Alton Sterling. Beyond that, I’ve been organized and partaken in campaigns, direct actions and mass protests on a myriad of issues from the war in Iraq to knocking Wall Street banks for their financing of fossil fuels to the Indigenous uprising around Standing Rock for decades.

Andrew Bacevich on the Military and Trump, the current crisis, and what to expect from Biden’s foreign policy

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In  this episode, Bob interviews Professor Andrew Bacevich (@AndrewBacevich) about the extraordinary involvement in electoral  politics by Trump and the military, the military public repudiation of  the president, racial and hate group problems in the armed forces,  civil-military relations, the appoint of General Lloyd Austin as Defense  Secretary, what to expect from Biden’s foreign policy team–essentially  putting the Obama band back together–the nuclear deal with Iran, the  insane attacks on Cuba, and a new Cold War between the U.S. and China.

Listen in: https://bit.ly/MilitaryTrumpGandR

Andrew Bacevich is an emeritus  professor at Boston University and President of the Quincy Institute for  Responsible Statecraft.  He’s also the author of several books on U.S.  foreign policy and one of the foremost critics of America’s war and  interventionism for decades now.  He is also a retired colonel in the  U.S. Army, armored cavalry.  And he’s a frequent columnist in The  Nation, as well as many other publications.