Saturday, March 28, 2020

Repubicans Have Abandoned Democracy Part V

The earliest expression of the concept of the free press conveyed  in pre-America were the pamphleteers, so well represented by Thomas Paine.  The concept was codified in the Constitution as a key component of a functioning democracy.

Our free press, with all its flaws, misuses, and inaccuracies has saved our democracy over the generations on countless occasions. Truth and facts are durable and  more often than not survive numerous attempts at subverting them in our history.

The current era of Trump lies, distortions and suppression of truth and facts in favor of his fiction is, in my view, the most threatening assault on our free press.  Sadly, early coverage of his fascist rallies in the name of opaque journalism laid the groundwork for his abuse of a free press.  Remember those scenes at his rallies where he ridiculed the press present to cover his events, causing his audiences to erupt in mindless jeering and threatening behaviors toward those journalists?  Remember his calling their work "fake news?"

This was only the beginning of his assault on free speech.   As his campaign ensued he banned some journalists and outlets from his campaign coverage because they had the temerity to be critical of him, or worse, report the truth of what he and his admirers were saying or doing.  The latter press work became the object of his wrath as soon as he was elected.

His spin-meisters populating his press staff immediately began promulgating outright untruths on such matters as the size of his inauguration crowds.  Photographic evidence of their small size were rejected at fake news.  Press spokespersons began a turnover in personnel unprecedented in Presidential history because of their being called out by our free press as liars and fabricators.

Little opinion media is needed in the Trump era as all the media has to report is Trump's own words, more often than not expressed in over 15,000 statements in a little over three years fact checked as outright untruths.  He is largely doing the media's work for them as a result of his compulsive need for public attention.  Tragically, his untruths as related to the current pandemic crisis is creating more than distrust and consternation; it is resulting in putting people in danger of losing their lives.  His lies are documented as having caused at least one death due to improper use of a medication recklessly  mischaracterized by Trump in a public statement.  Countless Lupus patients have been denied this life saving mediction as a result of shortages of this same medicine caused by his statement.

The suppression of factual and truthful reporting soon resulted in the abandonment of White House press briefings as a routine.  This too is unprecedented.

His early pronouncements about creating a "state media," a technique used for generations by dictators and authoritarian rulers around the globe are truly bone chilling. Trump is also on record threatening licenses of broadcast outlets airing statements critical of him.   This is a complete outrage.

The fact is that our free press has provided invaluable insight into his criminal background, abuse of power and use of government action to enrich his family. It is the only source of factual information on what he is doing to our democracy.  This has been an unequaled period of frank disclosure about public crimes committed by Trump and his allies dedicated to dismantling both our government and our democracy to enrich the already rich.

Up to this very moment, Trump has turned press briefings of the Corona Virus pandemic into campaign events led by Trump expounding on untruths regarding the extent of the crisis and infection rates,  untruths about testing regimes, untruths about vaccine initiatives and untruths about the incompetent Federal response to getting this pandemic under control.

So, thank you New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, McClatchy News Services, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS and NBC as well as, yes, some in the news division of Fox News for shining your light on the most anti-democracy President in our history.  Thank you, the investigative reporters at work out there risking your careers in bringing the truth to an often ungrateful America.  Some of you too have given your lives in delivering the truth and we as a nation owe you our support and to the degree possible, protection.