DEVIL’S BARGAIN
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
JULY 18, 2017

IS DONALD TRUMP ACTUALLY FASCIST, OR JUST RIDING IT BECAUSE ITS’ THE FASTEST PONY AROUND RIGHT NOW? IS HE A SERIOUS PROPONENT OF ANYTHING AT ALL? I DOUBT IT, BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE HIM ANY LESS DANGEROUS. HE IS DEFINITELY A MEGALOMANIAC, WHICH WAS A. HITLER’S PRIMARY CHARACTERISTIC.

BEFORE READING ABOUT TRUMP’S FASCIST LEANINGS, AS THEY MAY BE, HAVE A LOOK AT THIS ARTICLE ON THE VARIOUS ISMS AND THEIR ORIGINS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism_and_ideology. WE TEND TO MIX THEM UP TOGETHER LIKE A CHOPPED SALAD, AS LONG AS THEY SEEM OVERLY RESTRICTIVE. A 70-YEAR-OLD SOUTHERNER IS LIKELY TO FEAR “COMMUNISM” MORE THAN “FASCISM,” ESPECIALLY IF HE IS A REPUBLICAN, AND WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY CRY “COMMUNIST.” REPUBLICANS ARE INTO MONEY, AND DEMOCRATS ARE INTO MUCH BROADER SOCIAL ISSUES, WHICH AMOUNT TO KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY VERSUS DARKER THINGS LIKE ABUSE OF OTHERS BASED ON FINANCIAL, ETHNIC, RACIAL, EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL CLASS.

THOSE ARE THE WORST THINGS ABOUT NAZISM IT SEEMS TO ME. I BELIEVE THERE IS LESS OF THAT GOING ON IN THE WORLD THAN WHEN I WAS YOUNG; BUT SINCE THE WILD ANTICS OF TRUMP IN HIS CAMPAIGNS, AND SEVERAL OF HIS COMMENTS DEMEANING PEOPLE BASED ON GENDER, RACE AND THAT WHOLE SPECTRUM OF DIFFERENCES IT IS INCREASING AGAIN; QUITE A FEW NEW INCIDENTS OF DESECRATION OF RELIGIOUS CENTERS, ASSAULTS ON TWO MUSLIM WOMEN, POLICE VIOLENCE CASES THAT DO LOOK MORE LIKE RACISM THAN ORDINARY SADISM TO ME; AND HOSTILITIES AGAINST THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY ARE MAKING THE NEWS. THEY ARE THE NEWEST PROTECTED CLASS, I THINK, BECAUSE WHEN I WAS YOUNG, THEY WERE CONSIDERED WITH SOMETHING LIKE FEAR. THEY ARE SUSPECTED NOWADAYS OF BEING PRONE TO PEDOPHILIA, BUT BY NO MEANS ARE ALL PEDOPHILES GAY IN THEIR TENDENCIES. IN FACT, A GOOD MANY OF THEM ARE MARRIED TO WOMEN.

THE OVERALL TAINT OF HOSTILITY IS WHAT WORRIES ME MOST, THOUGH. WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL I HEARD NOTHING ABOUT KKK MARCHES, BUT NOW A HEAD OF THE KKK HAS WON POLITICAL OFFICE, AND DONALD TRUMP REFUSED TO SPEAK AGAINST HIM WHEN HE DONATED MONEY TO TRUMP. WE COULD SAY THAT TRUMP JUST CAN’T EVER GET ENOUGH MONEY, BUT I DON’T THINK THAT’S HIS ONLY PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH THE SEVERAL DIFFERENT ALT-RIGHT GROUPS WHOM HE OPENLY CULTIVATES IS THAT SIMPLE. I THINK HE LIKES THEM. HE IS NOT A “NICE MAN.” IT DOES SEEM TO ME AS THOUGH WE ARE MOVING BACK INTO THE DARK SIDE AGAIN.

I’M GLAD TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNMENT STANDING UP COURAGEOUSLY INDIVIDUALLY AND IN GROUPS AGAINST SOME SCARY-LOOKING TRUMPIST MOVES, SUCH AS THE 20 OR MORE GOVERNORS WHO WITHIN DAYS DEFIED THE TRUMP/SESSIONS MOVE TO DISENFRANCHISE LARGE NUMBERS OF VOTERS, AND WORSE, DEMAND THAT STATES SEND OUR PERSONAL DATA (SSN, PHONES, ADDRESSES, NAMES, VOTING RECORD, ETC.) TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE. SOME THINK THAT IT’S BECAUSE TRUMP IS TOTALLY PARANOID ABOUT HIS ELECTION NUMBERS BEING LOWER THAN HE IMAGINED THEY WOULD BE. I DON’T. I THINK HE’S TRYING TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT CITIZENS SO HE CAN MAKE A FULL TAKEOVER OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY IN A MEGALOMANIACAL VICE GRIP LIKE HITLER DID WITH GERMANY, POLAND, ETC. HE IS MEETING RESISTANCE ON ALL OF THOSE THINGS SO FAR, BUT HE KEEPS TRYING. I’M PLEASED TO SEE THAT THOSE WHO ARE DEFYING HIM ARE NOT ALL DEMOCRATS, BUT PEOPLE THAT I TEND TO CALL STATESMEN. I THINK THEY ACTUALLY CARE MORE ABOUT THEIR COUNTRY THAN ABOUT THE MILLIONS THEY CAN MAKE IN UNDER THE TABLE DEALS WITH SHADY CHARACTERS FROM FASCINATING PARTS OF THE WORLD.

WE DON’T (YET) HAVE THE TOTALITARIANISM OF NAZISM AND COMMUNISM THAT HAPPENED IN THE WWII AND COLD WAR YEARS. THE PROBLEM, IN MY VIEW, IS LESS THE MATTER OF THERE BEING UNBELIEVABLY WEALTHY PEOPLE IN THE SOCIETY, BUT THAT THERE ARE TOO FEW WHO ARE EVEN SECURELY COMFORTABLE, COMPARED TO THE POOR AND MIDDLE CLASSES, AND THE SCARY DIFFERENCES IN ACTUAL INCOME. IT’S DAMAGING TO OUR SOCIETY AND TO THE INDIVIDUALS IN IT THAT THERE ARE SOME 1% AT THE TOP WHO OWN AS MUCH IN THEIR PRIVATE FORTUNES AS LARGE SWATHS OF CITIZENS OF THE POOR AND MIDDLE INCOME LEVELS PUT TOGETHER.

WE SHOULDN’T ALLOW THAT. I HATE TO SOUND LIKE A DEMOCRAT, BUT WE NEED MORE TAXES ON THE RICH, AND (THIS IS ONE OF BERNIE SANDERS’ SUGGESTIONS) A “GUARANTEED INCOME.” SUCH POOR NUTRITION THAT CHILDREN’S MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IS SET BACK -- TO A DEGREE THAT IT MAY NOT BE RECOVERABLE, EVEN WITH SPECIAL TREATMENT – SHOULDN’T BE HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY.

THERE IS ALSO TRUE PENURY OF THE TWO LOWER CLASSES, “THE POOR” AND “THE WORKING POOR.” THE MIDDLE ISN’T A PARTICULARLY COMFORTABLE PLACE TO BE, THESE DAYS, EITHER. $50,000 TO $70,000 A YEAR ISN’T ENOUGH FOR HOUSES, CARS, HIGH QUALITY SCHOOLING, AND MEDICAL CARE; AND THE SHOCKING CHASM BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR THAT WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY IS SIMPLY UNKIND AND UNFAIR.

LET’S FACE IT, WE DO NOT HAVE AN EQUAL CHANCE TO MAKE OUR WAY, BASED ON EDUCATION, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES SUCH AS DEPRESSION OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE, OR JUST THAT JUMP START THAT RICH KIDS GET IN LIFE. I ALSO DO NOT FOR ONE MOMENT BELIEVE THAT LOW FINANCIAL CLASS MEANS LOW IQ OR “LAZINESS,” ETC. OFTEN IT MEANS THAT THEY DIDN’T INHERIT FROM THEIR FAMILY THAT CUSHION OF $2,000,000 OR SO THAT WEALTHY PARENTS GIVE THEIR KIDS. THEY CAN’T JUMP UP SEVERAL STEPS. THEY HAVE TO CLIMB.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, THE REALLY BAD WORDS WERE COMMUNISM OR SOCIALISM. TO ME, THOSE ARE ECONOMIC TERMS AND LEGAL AS IT RELATES TO THE INDIVIDUAL CONTROL OF PRIVATE PROPERTY AND WEALTH RELATED SOCIAL STATUS, WHICH IS TO ME CLASSIC CONSERVATISM. NAZISM IS THE ONE THAT FRIGHTENS ME. IT IS LESS ECONOMIC IN ITS’ EMPHASIS, THAN IT IS PSYCHIATRIC; SPECIFICALLY, THE FREELY UNLEASED CRUELTY THAT I’VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT, AND THE WORSHIP OF AUTHORITARIANISM. THAT IS, TO ME, THE KIND OF “BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL” THAT IS OCCURRING THESE DAYS, AND I AGREE WITH THIS ARTICLE THAT BANNON IS A KIND OF DEMONIC FIGURE, WHILE TRUMP IS HIS SERVANT -- A FAUSTIAN BARGAIN. NO MATTER HOW CAPABLE OF PERSONAL CRUELTY TRUMP IS, AND I THINK HE IS; HE IS NOT THE TEMPTER, BUT THE TEMPTED.

SO THAT I DON’T GO ALL THE WAY OVER FROM MY KIND OF PERSONAL PATRIOTISM TO GROSS UNFAIRNESS AGAINST THE PRESIDENT, I’M GOING TO SUGGEST TWO ARTICLES ON WHAT TRUMP IS AND ISN’T, OR WHETHER HE IS A SAFE PERSONALITY TO HAVE IN THE OVAL OFFICE. I SAY NAY.

AN EXCELLENT WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE ADDRESSING TRUMP AS A FASCIST OF A SORT, IS ONE OF AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN UNDER THE SEARCH WORDS “TRUMP FASCISM,” BUT AS USUAL, I LIKE THE POST. HTTPS://WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM/NEWS/WORLDVIEWS/WP/2017/03/28/THE-POST-FASCISM-OF-DONALD-TRUMP/?UTM_TERM=.434F82475203. THE WRITER DOESN’T SEE HIM AS A CLASSIC FASCIST, BUT NOT AS A STABLE PRESIDENT WHO IS FULLY QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB, NOR AS ONE WHO IS AN HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY LEADER, EITHER. MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THAT TRUMP IS NOT A SYSTEMATIC THINKER OF ANY KIND, AND PROBABLY HOLDS FEW VIEWS THAT I WOULD CALL PHILOSOPHICAL. I THINK HE IS AN UNSTABLE PERSON WHOSE GOAL HAS BEEN TO BE PRESIDENT, AND WHATEVER HE HAD TO DO TO GET THERE, JUST HAD TO BE DONE. I AM AFRAID HILLARY CLINTON ISN’T AS DIFFERENT FROM THAT AS I COULD WISH. BERNIE SANDERS – PRINCIPLED, HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND STRONG – WAS THE ONLY GOOD CHOICE IN MY VIEW. MEANWHILE, MY JOB IS TO BLOG ON, AND KEEP MY HOPE UP. .

ON A QUESTION WHICH I HAVEN’T HEARD VOICED MUCH SINCE TRUMP CAME IN, MAYBE BECAUSE HE MAKES THE ALT-RIGHT TEA PARTIERS LOOK HONEST AND INTELLIGENT, IS THIS: “IS CONSERVATISM JUST A SOFTER AND GENTLER WORD FOR FASCISM?” GO TO THE FOLLOWING BRITISH ARTICLE. http://www.earlhamsociologypages.co.uk/fasccom.htm, “FASCISM AND CONSERVATISM.” THE WIKIPEDIA GOES INTO HISTORY MORE AND SHOWS CONSERVATISM AND FASCISM TO BE BASICALLY DIFFERENT, AS I TEND TO THINK. I THINK THAT BECAUSE IN THE 1920S ESPECIALLY, AND IN THE 60S, IN THE SOUTH, THINGS WERE DONE BY PEOPLE WHO CALLED THEMSELVES “CONSERVATIVE,” THAT HAVE THE TOTAL LACK OF RESPECT FOR ALL HUMANS (LIFE FORMS) AND THEIR RIGHTS, NEEDS, CAPABILITIES, AND GENERAL WORTH AS DID HITLER’S GERMANY. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS THAT THEY WERE BLACK PEOPLE, SO IT WAS OKAY. MAYBE WE ARE PUTTING TOO MANY PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS TO PURE VILLAINY.

TRUMP AND BANNON’S DEVIL’S BARGAIN IS, ACCORDING TO AMAZON, A THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF SOMETHING THAT I DO WANT TO LEARN ABOUT – WHAT IS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL LINKUP BETWEEN THEM, AND HOW DEEPLY IS TRUMP MIRED INTO CLASS OR GROUP HATREDS AND TRUE FASCISM RATHER JUST A GENERAL LACK OF INTEREST IN ANYTHING THAT IS SERIOUS-MINDED AND IMPORTANT TO THE WORLD FOR IT’S SOCIALLY REDEEMING VALUE.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/devils-bargain-how-steve-bannon-helped-elect-donald-trump/
By DAVID MORGAN CBS NEWS July 17, 2017, 10:52 AM
"Devil's Bargain": How Steve Bannon helped elect Donald Trump

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign in August 2016. But the former executive chairman of the right-wing website Breitbart News has been part of Mr. Trump's trusted circle for many years.

The new book "Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency" (Penguin) chronicles the intertwined paths of both men, and how they reached the White House.

Author Joshua Green writes: "Any study of Trump's rise to the presidency is therefore unavoidably a study of Bannon, too."

Green, a senior national correspondent for Bloomberg Businessweek, has known Bannon since 2011 and has talked to him on and off the record ever since. "He was a filmmaker, he was this kind of fringe character in Washington that not a lot of people knew or thought would be important," Green said.

The book details how Bannon and Mr. Trump came together, as well as the rise of the alt-right and Bannon's years-long plot to tear down Hillary Clinton which, Green says, was what endeared him to Mr. Trump and helped him get elected.

Of Bannon, Green said, "Here's a guy who was very smart, who succeeded in all sorts of different realms, but came from a blue-collar family, deeply traditional Catholic background. Managed to get into Harvard Business School. Survived by his own wits at Goldman Sachs and Hollywood. I think that really gave him a connection to Trump, who saw him as a dealmaker, as someone who spoke his language, as somebody who's comfortable with moguls, and somebody who had ideas that Trump recognized at an intuitive level could advance Trump's career.

Photograph -- time-magazine-steve-bannon-244.jpg, TIME

"And of course then they had kind of a falling out when Bannon's profile rose to a level that Trump wasn't comfortable with," as personified by a Feb. 13, 2017 Time magazine cover shot of Bannon, labeled "The Great Manipulator."

"He had this kind of dramatic fall, and now he's back," Green said.

When asked what Bannon accomplished for the president, Green replied, "I think he did two things for Donald Trump: One is, Bannon was the mastermind of an interlocking group of political organizations funded by a right-wing billionaire whose mission was to tear down Hillary Clinton. The goal wasn't to do that for Trump; this was long before Trump was the nominee, but it was clear Clinton was probably going to be the Democratic candidate, and Trump wound up being the beneficiary of Bannon's efforts.

"We saw in the Republican primaries Donald Trump doesn't think a lot about policy but he's able to kind of dominate the opponents in a way most politicians aren't, and he used a lot of Bannon's ideas to do that and to knock out what everybody thought was the strongest Republican presidential field.

"The other thing he did is, when [Bannon] took over Trump's campaign in August, Trump was really floundering in the polls. Bannon managed to get Trump focused away from Megyn Kelly, away from the Khan family, and use all that anti-Hillary knowledge to keep him focused on the opposition."

Green acknowledged there was a lot of political overlap between the two, as Trump always had populist populist [sic] impulses, even if his earlier target was trade with Japan rather than trade with China. "I think Bannon really brought the idea of illegal immigration and understood its power as a political issue, and Trump really became the vessel for those ideas, and it's what carried him to the White House," Green said.

"They're not together on everything. Bannon, like most of us -- certainly myself -- did not understand from the get-go what a powerful politician Donald Trump was going to be. Bannon was advising him informally as long ago as 2010, thought he was an interesting guy, but nobody thought he was going to win the nomination or the presidency," Green said.

When asked if Bannon believes Mr. Trump could have won the presidency without his aid, Green replied, "I think if you tortured Bannon, he wouldn't answer that question. But my answer to that question is no, I don't think he could have. Bannon's efforts, specially the book 'Clinton Cash,' which Bannon helped mastermind, really tarnished his opponent in a way that she never fully recovered from.

"And then on the flip side his ability to keep Trump focused on Clinton in the homestretch of the race, and then you have the James Comey revelations, and suddenly Trump was able to pull ahead. I give Bannon a lot of credit for having helped Trump do that."

Barely six months into his administration, Mr. Trump's approval ratings are at record lows.

"He's lost a lot of support he had with independents, but his base has stuck with him," Green said. "The kind of people that Steve Bannon talks to has so far have stuck with him. The question is going to be, can Trump ever deliver anything for these people legislatively, or is he going to spend four years in national scandal? Ultimately he needs to deliver for them economically and fulfill some of these promises he made. There's no sign yet that he's really going to be able to do that in any area, other than cracking down on illegal immigration, which of course was one of Trump's big promises."

VISIT AMAZON TO BUY THE DEVIL’S BARGAIN, BY GREEN:
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Bargain-Bannon-Storming-Presidency/dp/0735225028

Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency Hardcover – July 18, 2017
by Joshua Green (Author)
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