Trump is a warning for our democracy
I write in celebration of the narrow Colorado Supreme Court decision to bar Donald Trump from the Colorado primary ballot.
Even assuming that the decision is upheld on appeal, there is still danger to our Democracy. You see, Trump is not the gun pressed to the head of our democratic system; he is only the bullet. He did not create the forces that propelled him to the Presidency in 2016, he only surfed them.
We can trace what is now called “the base” at least to the John Birch Society of the ’50s and ’60s. Let’s compare: fear of threats to the status quo (Birchers: fear of Communism; MAGA: fear of the “Great Replacement Theory” and immigration), extension to moral and cultural issues (Birchers: indolence, pornography; MAGA: LGBTQ issues, abortion), distrust of the government (Birchers: casting Eisenhower as a communist sympathizer, concern about Communist infiltration of the State Department; MAGA: deep state, RINOs), isolationism, creation of militia organizations and willingness to use hate speech and threats; check. Both groups were fed by fanciful conspiracy theories with little or no factual basis.
When the Birchers lost respectability, their members and methods spawned through other organizations: the NRA, evangelical, anti-abortion and PAC organizations. Consider the continuity between Fred Koch (Birch co-founder) and Koch Industries’ current political activities. “America First” was used before Trump, notably by the KKK and Pat Buchanan.
When these radicals found that they could intimidate responsible conservatives in the Republican primaries, they gained a stranglehold. Yet their disconnect with facts has prevented them from developing any substantive policy. They do not propose or promote, only oppose and attack. Lacking Trump, “the base” can and will find others who are willing to “burn it down” in order to achieve personal power and adulation.
Tom Thomas, Louisville
Kaleidoscope – a poem for the New Year
My beloved white dog and I witness the magical debut of the sun.
We watch as grey becomes navy blue,
Streaked with magenta, then pink.
When coral settles into gold, The new day begins.
We must find moments of serenity within it,
To comfort and sustain us,
In this unpredictable, divided world,
And to bring peaceful tones
To the continuing symphony of life.
Maria Greco Cox, Longmont
U.S. Navy is not responsible for entire planet
The U.S. should not spend its resources protecting shipping through the Red Sea. That cargo can go around Africa at a relatively small cost to the consumers. Those ships are by and large not U.S. and are not manned by U.S. personnel. Other than oil, they carry cargo from Asia, primarily China, to Europe. The impact to the U.S. would be minimal.
If all commercial ships stop passing through the Red Sea and on through the Suez Canal, there will be plenty of local pressure to stop the Houthis, without U.S. Navy involvement. Why should the U.S. Navy be responsible for maritime security around the entire planet?
Charlie Hoffman, Boulder
Recent letter misidentified Marx as Jewish
A recent letter about antizionism (Dec. 21,2023) identifies Karl Marx as belonging to a “long standing Jewish social tradition.” However, Marx was never Jewish. His parents were Jewish, but they converted to the Evangelical Church of Prussia. Young Karl was baptized, but he was not religious. Indeed, as an influential author, he wrote against organized religion as the proverbial opiate of the masses. And he wrote about Jews as agents of capitalism, the economic system that he so vehemently opposed. Unfortunately, the idea that Marx was Jewish remains widespread. It is simply untrue.
Paul Shankman, Boulder