THE re-election of the fascist liar Donald Trump is a landmark in the collapse of what passes for US “democracy”. Trump ran an incoherent and rambling campaign spewing lies, racist propaganda and making pledges he will be unable to fulfil.
Trump’s second term will be far worse than the first. Trump has power now more comparable to a medieval monarch than more than an elected president. The US establishment is saying that Trump will willingly depart in four years at the end of this term. This is doubtful. Trump is an aspiring Mussolini with no checks on his power.
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Trump plans to deport 11 million undocumented workers. This will require police state methods. Trump will gut regulation, workers’ rights and environmental protections. Taxes on the wealthy will be slashed or abolished altogether. The billionaire class see the Trump junta as an attempt to restructure society in their interests. The cost of this in misery will be enormous.
Trump’s triumph was not as a result of anything he did. It is entirely down to the fecklessness, arrogance and complacency of the Democratic Party. Eschewing any campaign based on improving economic conditions, instead they focused on identity politics.
They made a virtue out of their candidate’s gender and ethnicity. Sending out former presidents to lecture people that not voting for Harris would seem evidence of bigotry and xenophobia. Bill Clinton even went on the stump to tell Arab-Americans that Palestinian lives were expendable (all while trying to get their vote).
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There was indifference and hostility to those at the bottom whose incomes have been wiped out by inflation. Instead of helping them, $64 billion was sent to fund the war in Ukraine. An additional $26bn was sent to Israel to perpetrate the greatest crime of the 21st century.
Joe Biden channelled Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” catchphrase from 2016, branding Trump supporters “garbage” in the last few days of the campaign.
There isn’t a single county in the US where Harris did better than Biden in 2020. That the Democrats have now lost twice to a real estate swindler and reality TV “star” is a source of shame and embarrassment.
The election of Trump is a warning for the political parties in Scotland and the UK. Reform UK are seeking to exploit the concerns the same way Trump did. Continued austerity will allow this to happen.
Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee
IDEAS I’ve believed in all my life have hit the buffers – humanism, socialism, perhaps even Scottish independence. I could add to these universal suffrage.
The Levellers, Chartists, suffragettes and early socialists all saw in universal suffrage the path to a better world. They would turn in their graves if they could see where it has led: to Adolf Hitler, Silvio Berlusconi and the like, and now Donald Trump.
God help us all.
Alastair McLeish
Edinburgh
DONALD Chump is now president – just the man to MAKE AMERICA GREET AGAIN!
I’m sure Vladimir RasPutin will be pleased.
James Stevenson
Auchterarder
THURSDAY’S National carried two very contrasting articles on pages two and three. On page two was a report of a speech at the Scottish Parliament by SNP Minister for Children Young People and The Promise Natalie Don-Innes, headlined “Minister reveals driving force behind children’s promise”.
Notably the speech was almost entirely devoted to Ms Don-Innes’s own difficult childhood, with very little mention of the progress (or lack of it) on the implementation of The Promise project itself. I have now seen and read almost this same speech at least three times since her election in May 2021.
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It was in October 2016 when then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced this project at the SNP’s autumn conference. Now it seems even she doubts if The Promise can be delivered by 2030. In the time it has taken to make even very limited progress on the prospects for our looked-after children, a whole generation have passed through the care system. Our overworked and underfunded social work system is now dealing with the children of the children who first were promised that change and improvements were on the way.
On page three was the unwelcome news that islanders face another “challenging and difficult winter” due to the need for yet further repairs to yet another CalMac ferry as the replacement ferries have still not been delivered. They are years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget. Hundreds of millions of pounds which could have be used to fulfil The Promise to our most vulnerable children a long time ago.
I am left with the inevitable question in my mind – which will be delivered first? The Ferguson ferries or The Promise?
Glenda Burns
Glasgow
GEORGE Kerevan’s tribute to “Genuine radical” Bob Cuddihy was much appreciated by his numerous friends (Saltire atop Arther’s Seat will always be a reminder of a genuine radical, Nov 4).
George is such a stylish writer he could bring joy to an obituary! Bob would have relished that, as the last thing he sought was being at boring old peace.
I knew Bob as a born great journalist, rebel and wit for more than half my life, remaining friends through STV and beyond – yet learned from George things about him I did not know.
Our flamboyant friend’s life, including his dramatic childhood, is a made-for-TV script which cannot end at his funeral on Monday 11th, 1pm at Seafield Crematorium in Leith.
Dorothy-Grace Elder
via email
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