Populist poison — why the most vulnerable vote against their own interests.
4 min readNov 4, 2020
North America has always been divided. Its civil war was not about slavery, (Many stalwarts on the Union side owned slaves). The civil war was about class divides, about poverty vs. wealth, about power & privilege over personal liberties & freedoms. It was about entrenching control.Capitalism & particularly that style of neo-liberalist capitalism so beloved of Reagan & his sycophant, Thatcher, has ensured that inequity has continued.Those of right-wing ideology, not solely but predominantly, have held down or even sometimes driven down the wages of the working person whilst increasing the wealth of those already financially rich and privileged.Trump's appalling attitude to the Pandemic ought to have been enough to ensure his ousting, yet simple-minded, underprivileged citizens have even praised him for his 'management' of the crisis, despite North America having the worst record in the World and over 200,000 deaths.The populist message to which the 'blue-collar', under-privileged & under educated classes have responded so keenly is based in the actuality of their lived experience.Arguments and facts don't cut it any more. Those people have heard the talk through generations and yet seen no change. The poor remain poor. The blacks remain a group victimised way out of proportion to any other. The rich become richer all the while. During the Pandemic billionaires have made even more billions whilst the poor and average workers have lost jobs, lost hours and or been ignored for help.No, it isn't a good thing. They are misguided and, as a result, will turn to anyone who appears to offer a distinct contrast with the established rhetoric, protocols & trappings of government. In doing so, they condemn themselves to an even worse fate but they can't be blamed for that mistake.All things considered, their decision is a rational one, despite how it may appear to those capable of critical thought, the educated & astute & the comfortable and caring being able to see clearly what Trump is.Even more sickening than Trump, to me, (yes, that's possible), is the self-serving attitude of the Republican Party and its members. Before & at the time that Trump became their nominee in 2015/2016, many of them, if not the majority of them, saw him as he was and is, demented, fraudulent, lying, corrupt, & self-serving. Many of them said as much, even if not in those words. Yet, as soon as they realised that he was attracting voters, they solidified around him.Their irresponsible and unconstitutional behaviour of, with one notable exception who ought to be honoured for honesty, voted along Party lines against Trump's impeachment, despite it being clear that he was guilty and not fit for office. According to the Constitution they were required to vote objectively on the merits of the case, not on Party lines.To this day, there is no doubt that there is a large cohort of Republican Congress members & Senators who have no respect for Trump and some who revile him as much as any reasonably honest, compassionate & rational person will. Still, they put their own interests in front of those of the constituents that they supposedly represent.This is illustrative of the rot that exists in the political class of most democratic, (and probably non-democratic), institutions. Worryingly, it is all becoming worse as right-wing extremism grows all around the World but not least in nations that are supposedly the bastions of 'fair and free' democratic principles.I still believe that Biden has the votes to win the Presidency but may not achieve it because of the stacking of the courts by Trump.Should Trump win, by fair means or foul, it augurs badly not only for the USA but for the World as a whole.It will be no use saying, 'God help us' for there is no 'God' and if I'm wrong, the 'God' that there is has all the hallmarks of the crazy irrationality and nastiness of Trump. If that 'God' entity was the 'loving' & 'compassionate' entity that its worshippers claim then none of this would be happening, nor any of the past and present horrors that despoil the World and all it sustains.So, who will help us? - Your guess is as good & probably better than mine but, frankly, I think no-one. On the contrary, I think that other 'leaders' around the World will rub their hands with glee and celebrate watching the USA, once the leader of the Free World, gradually diminish into a cesspit of violence, discrimination, police state brutality, loss of civil liberties & immense disadvantage and poverty which may even rival that of the current majority world.So terribly sad. Thankfully, I am close to the end of my life rather than at its start but I bleed for younger and future generations.
