"Drain the swamp" has been with us longer than Trump. Bill Clinton ran as an agent of change, the "Man From Hope" who would stand up to Washington insiders. Obama worked the reformist angle even better, convincing a new generation of voters that he would produce "Change We Can Believe In."
Clinton and Obama were clever charlatans, praying on the frustration of the majority at the outright corruption of the few. Once in office, they did the bidding of these same elites, enriching themselves in the process.
Trump's message was virtually the same, but with racist overtones. Once in office, he blamed the powerless for the corruption in Washington and the lack of economic progress for most of Americans. He attacked gays, immigrants, Blacks, and Muslims, and allied himself with white supremacists. The failure of both major parties to change the economic inequities in our society had created the opening for a demagogue.
The most dangerous of demagogues have spoken to inner needs of the lower classes, and Trump is no exception. He creates a fable of white America and promises to restore its ethnic, racial and sexual purity. He will make us great again.
By 1928, many industrialist in Germany had cast their lot with Adolf Hitler. So too have many billionaire corporate leaders given their support to Trump. He, like Hitler, personifies the end point of corporate corruption and its dominance of the political process.
We the people must fight to save our democracy while there is still time.
Fred Nagel
