Frightening Normalization of Trump Values.

This morning after reading a Durango Herald editorial, “The Times called an audible and fumbled” (9/6/2018) a couple comments caught my attention.

“People need to get a grip. The world isn't falling apart because of Trump…”

——-

“The Herald needs to note and call attention to the fact that there are some massive attempts by the larger liberal news media to unseat the democratically-elected president of the United States. Why is the Herald, which used to pretend to be objective, a part of that movement?…”

The whole thing got me to thinking about the Normalization of Trump-think and Republican’s causal allegiance with Trump’s most destructive values.

I compiled a list.  After posting it I decided to do some web surfing to find supporting details for my various observations.  Since the Durango Herald probably wouldn’t appreciate me posting all these links over there, I’m going to post my annotated comment over here:

_________________________________________________

Seems to me the most horrifying thing going on is all this casual thoughtless normalization of Trump-think:  

A man who's political bones were made, peddling an absolutely malicious toxic lie - namely, President Obama’s supposedly missing birth certification, with the screamed implication that Obama was an illegitimate president to be held in contempt. (https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/politics/donald-trump-birther/index.html)

A man who’s entire political career is based on deriding and demonizing his enemies, real and imagined. (https://www.thenation.com/article/this-political-theorist-predicted-the-rise-of-trumpism-his-name-was-hunter-s-thompson/)

¶ Considering 1/29/18 Durango Herald report on Americans for Prosperity - Jonathan Romeo

On Monday Jonathan Romeo authored another Durango Herald article that looked at Americans for Prosperity’s campaign against the land-use code that La Plata County’s duly elected County Commissioners are drafting.  I’ve taken selected quotes from the article and annotated them with observations gleaned from my past few days researching Americans for Prosperity.

Americans for Prosperity launches campaign over La Plata County’s land-use code

Koch brothers-backed group says it will fight proposed rules

By Jonathan Romeo County & environment reporter

Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 | Durango Herald

https://durangoherald.com/articles/206085-americans-for-prosperity-launches-campaign-over-la-plata-countys-landuse-code

“This plan is harmful in many ways to farmers and ranchers and grossly infringes on individuals’ property rights.” 

{What about all the ways it’s helpful in dealing with serious growing pains?  We can’t simply ignore this reality.}

Americans for Prosperity was founded in 2004 as a political arm of the billionaire Koch brothers, who owns the second largest privately held company in the U.S. …

{Here we touch on the fundamental problem with AFP, it was created to serve Koch’s interests.}

In the last eight years, Americans for Prosperity has turned to homing in on smaller communities in an effort to oust progressive elected officials and undercut the left’s command in grass-roots organizing.… 

{Thus smother all opposition to Koch’s radical agenda for our government.}

¶ Why start this blog?

Last Thursday a Durango Herald article by Jonathan Romeo informed me that Koch’s political machine, “Americans for Prosperity,” has now invaded our nice little town.  It’s first target is County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt because she has the audacity to be concerned with our environment’s health.  Worse, she believes the Oil Industry needs to take responsibility for the messes they consistently make.  Ironically, Lachelt has never voted against an oil development permit, but that’s not good enough, ideological purity is Koch’s goal.

That Gwen is competently fulfilling her sworn duties and representing the sentiments of a majority of her constituents, means nothing to Americans for Prosperity.  She’s doing what We The People wanted, but she’s unsupportive of Koch’s unbridled prosperity, thus she must go.  A lesson to make all understand who our future belongs to.

I’ve long been familiar with the “Americans for (Koch’s) Prosperity” on account of their dirty tricks regarding communicating climate science reality.  Campaigns based on deception, innuendos, misrepresenting the science, along with wholesale malicious lies and a good dose of bullying opponents.  But since learning about our climate and Earth’s evolution in general, along with defending climate science, has taken up what free time I have, I’ve pretty much ignored them.

Time to stop that, so the past days I’ve spent a bunch of time getting to know them through their website.  The high pressure recruiting effort is astounding, their absolutist tenor is terrifying.  Still I refuse to let my sense of defeat and dread immobilize me, thus I've decided to share my findings and report on local AFP shenanigans as we move forward.

After perusing their blog, and other articles, I’ll wager AFP may well wind up breaking the GOP and morphing into an ‘independent’ political party run by and for oligarchs as they force their radical changes onto our pluralistic American Way.   It sure smells like that's their endgame.  

They only want their fair share - All of it!  

Frighteningly, the Koch bro’s and friends have the ruthlessness along with the ways and means to accomplish their dream.  Realistically, at this point, who’s to stop their juggernaut of deceptive siren song, exclusivism and dedication to Profits Über Alles under the banner of Americans for Prosperity? 

La Plata County liberals/progressives it’s our move.