To Open The Sky

There's Something Happening Here...

8 November 2024

It Can't Happen Here: Sinclair Lewis' Warning to America (My Thoughts on AI, 4 November 2024)

Trump wasted no time in setting his plans in motion. He reiterated his pledges to impose tariffs and conduct mass deportations, and as always he denied they will harm the economy. He began to assemble the team that will carry out his plans — and what a rogues' gallery it is!

This is what we know now.

People

This will be a sketchy account as Trump's choices trickles in. Later I will revist my original page for Trump's cabinet picks to reflect his new administration. For now, here's the Q&D version.

• Trump's first action was to select as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a stalwart staffer of Republican politicans. She is known for working adroitly behind the scenes. Trump's choice of her (or, it may be, his being forced to choose her in order to keep other support) speaks to a more professional effort this time around. Given that, it's harder to guess who else he will pick.
• Stephen Miller will be Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller was the architect of his immigration ban.
• Tom Homan served in Trump's first administration as acting director of ICE. He is likely to head Trump's deportation operation.
• Elise Stefanik defended Trump during both his impeachment hearings and is a staunch advocate of Israel. She is on tap to be UN ambassador.
• Lee Zeldin is likely EPA administrator.
• Mike Waltz will be national security advisor. He is a war hawk.
• Ambassador to Israel will be Mike Huckabee -- with his "Build Israel Great Again" hat. He thinks there is no occupation, no West Bank.
• Marco Rubio secretary of state -- doesn't support a cease fire in Gaza. Thinks Hamas are animals: "Make sure you post that," he told a reporter.
• The EPA will be headed by Lee Zeldin, who will end its involvement in climate-change mitigation.
• Pete Hegseth is secretary of defense.
• Kristi Noem will be Secretary of Homeland Security.
• Trump's Attorney General will be Matt Goetz, who boldly declared something to the effect of "We will get the government on our side, or we will abolish the FBI!"
• Tulsi Gabbard will be director of national intelligence.
• Marco Rubio will be secretary of state.
• Linda McMahon-- secy of commerce
• John Ratcliffe -- CIA director
• William McGinley -- WH Counsel
• Doug Burgum -- Interior Secretary
• Todd Blanche -- deputy attorney general
• Steven Cheung -- WH communications director

Federal Courts

Trump has asked Senate Republicans to block as many of President Biden's appointments to the federal bench as they can. Thanks to the filibuster, this is eminently possible even though they are in the minority. See Filibustered!: How To Fix the Broken Senate and Save America by Senator Jeff Merkley (The New Press, 2024).

His plan for the new Senate, when his party has the majority, turns on recess appointments. He wants them to declare a recess immediately upon his inauguration, lasting at least ten days. This would allow him to make recess appointments for the judgeships that remain vacant. These unconfirmed judges could serve for two years. Needless to say, they would all be conservatives. To that end, he has called for a Senate majority Leader who would enable this. It requires a compliant Majority Leader. Rick Scott seems to have the inside track.

In addition, he could appoint members of his cabinet and other officials this way. He did that several times during his first term.

References

1. Trump declares Senate majority candidates should allow him to make recess appointments (Julie Tsirkin & Alexandra Marquez, NBC News, 10 November 2024)
2. Trump Weighs Key Personnel Choices, Schooled by His First-Term Experience (Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman & Charlie Savage, New York Times, 8 November 2024)
3. Trump is likely to name a loyalist as Pentagon chief after tumultuous first term (Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, ABC News, 11 November 2024)
4. Trump targets checks and balances less than a week after winning (Steve Benen, MSNBC, 11 November 2024)

The Rule of Law

Trump has promised to pardon those who ransacked the Capitol on 6 January 2021. According to Fox News, he is on track to fulfill that promise.

References

1. Trump to begin mass deportations, pardon Capitol rioters | LiveNOW from FOX (Fox News, 10 November 2024)

Citizens Are the Last Bulwark

Regardless of all the ways the Democratic Party, going back decades now, lost the trust of working people by focusing on college-educated "knowledge workers" and neglecting tradespeople and labor unions; regardless of how the Republican Party sucked up to corporate lobbyists and billionaire donors (many Democrats did too) while gaslighting the public with talk of helping "the forgotten men and women," in Trump's phrase; regardless of shallow media coverage of elections as if they were football games where all that mattered was which team has the higher score from week to week — regardless of all that, citizens have a duty in our democratic republic to know the basics of economics, history, law, medicine and science. They must also know that our president isn't all-powerful (at least, not yet); that a president cannot control the price of eggs or gasoline. And they must be able to spot baloney when politicians try to feed it to them.

A large fraction of the American public doesn't have this essential knowledge. For the people who won this presidential election, and for those who will benefit from the win, this is not a bug but a feature. There's a reason Trump said he loves the poorly educated: they are easier to fool. There is no question they helped elect him by believing his empty promises, and by ignoring all the warnings about him — like how his tariffs would raise prices. This is shown by the spike in Google searches — after the election — for "How do tariffs work?" and "Can I change my vote?"

It's a sad commentary on the fitness of American citizens to fulfill the duties of citizenship and hold onto a government that looks after their interests. There's no way to soft-pedal this: Americans as a whole need to smarten up. If I may riff on Trump's exhortation, "You've got to think real hard or you won't have a country any more."

Trump can't turn America into a latter-day Nazi Germany, nor would he want to. But something like Viktor Orban's Hungary, with all the media toeing the government's line and courts largely doing its bidding, is a possibility. There might also be hints of East Germany's Stasi with its network of citizen informants (or of Texas, where payments reward citizens turning in those who facilitate abortion.) Again, this would not be like a WW II tyranny — but neither would it be like the America we have today.

The Bottom Line

So what can be done?

References

1. It's all on you now, MAGA (Tom Powell Jr, 6 November 2024)
2. YIKES!! Trump Supporters INSTANTLY RUIN Their Lives with Vote (Brett Meiselas, 11 November 2024)
3. TRIGGERED MAGA Bros Want Safe Spaces! | Tim's Take (Tim Miller, The Bulwark, 11 November 2024)
4. Democracy Dies in Disbelief (Steve Shives, 10 November 2024)