Politically Obtuse Plutocrats
by Don Mayer
I used to work for a man who truly believed that if you weren’t a multi-millionaire you probably didn’t have much common sense. “ I can only learn from people who know how to make a lot of money,” he once told me. J. Baker McCullagh, bless his heart and may he rest in peace, was in a kind of “groupthink” mode with his millionaire buddies. For Baker, the government’s insistence that he re-hire one of his favorite employees after she had her baby was “communism.” That same attitude leads to a deep distrust of government, a hatred of taxes or public goods, and a steady belief that no regulation or less regulation is necessary to preserve their monetary “bottom lines.”
It’s the very same “thinking” that pushes many plutocrats into rejecting politicians from the Democratic party, and favoring the GOP. For many years, as Paul Krugman has pointed out today, there was a kind of truce between the very rich GOP donors and the GOP “base.” But increasingly, the GOP base is not wired into reality: most of them believe that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen, that Trump is being persecuted by a weaponized Department of Justice, and more than a few are proud to be Q Anon believers that have become convinced of some truly bizarre conspiracy theories.
- The Deep State: QAnon followers believe in the existence of a secretive and powerful “deep state” within the U.S. government and other global institutions. This deep state is often portrayed as a shadowy group working to undermine and control the government..
- Satanic Ritual Abuse: Some QAnon adherents claim that a global cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles is involved in a vast network of child trafficking and abuse. This belief has led to unfounded accusations against various public figures and celebrities.
- The Storm: QAnon followers anticipate an event known as “The Storm,” during which President Trump will reveal and arrest members of the alleged deep state, leading to a purge of corrupt elites.
- JFK Jr. Is Alive: A fringe belief within QAnon is that John F. Kennedy Jr., who died in a plane crash in 1999, faked his death and is secretly working with President Trump to expose the deep state.
- Adrenochrome: Some QAnon adherents claim that a chemical called adrenochrome is harvested from the blood of abused children and consumed by elites for its supposed rejuvenating and mind-altering properties.
- Global Conspiracy: QAnon expands its conspiracy theory to encompass a wide range of global events and organizations, including claims that COVID-19 is a hoax, that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job, and that the world is controlled by a secret cabal of elites.
- The Great Awakening: QAnon followers believe that their movement is part of a global awakening to the truth, and they view themselves as “digital soldiers” fighting against the forces of darkness.
Trump, as a candidate for President in 2024, has actually embraced Q Anon, and has not pulled any punches about what he would do in a second term. And there’s no other word for it but fascism.
In June, hours after pleading not guilty to federal charges of mishandling classified documents and conspiring to obstruct justice, Trump claimed that President Biden “together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits, and Marxists, tried to destroy American democracy.” He added, “If the communists get away with this, it won’t stop with me.”
Since then, Trump has routinely adopted this sort of language, occasionally adding the term “fascists” to his repertoire, perhaps as an effort to muddle the meaning of the word. At a speech in Miami on the eve of the 2023 elections, he urged the crowd to “crush the communists at the ballot box.”
In November, Trump said at a rally, “In honor of our great veterans on Veterans Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country—that lie and steal and cheat on elections, and will do anything possible; they’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and to destroy the American Dream.”
As Krugman points out, this should give plutocrats who depended on deregulation and lower taxes at least some serious pause. But, sadly, it does not.
Krugman writes:
“What’s so striking to me is the political obtuseness of big money. Any moderately well-informed observer could have told big bankers that a MAGAfied Republican Party isn’t going to nominate anyone who might make them comfortable. Someday, perhaps, reasonable people will once again have a role to play within the G.O.P. But that day is at least several election cycles away.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/nikki-haley-ron-desantis.html
A recent Washington Post poll revealed that as much as a quarter of the 1000 plus people surveyed believe that the FBI orchestrated the January 6 events at the Capitol. Yes, there is increased polarization in the U.S. politics, long-standing hostility to government programs and delegitimization of the federal government itself, the spread of false or misleading information, often through social media and other online platforms, and the fact that people often seek out information and engage with like-minded individuals, as Baker McCullagh did back in the 1970s and 1980s. Social media online echo chambers reinforcing people’s existing beliefs, making them less likely to critically evaluate information from alternative sources. Once someone is invested in a particular narrative or conspiracy theory, they can’t admit they were ever wrong.
Finally, there is clearly a lack of media literacy; people often cannot discern credible sources from unreliable ones. This can lead them to believe and share conspiracy theories without critically evaluating the information. Better public school education on critical thinking and media literacy might help, but as of now, that may be too “woke” to happen, and the hour is already late.
Democracy dies in darkness,” claims the Washington Post. It seems we are in a most un-enlightened, darkening period of time in the U.S. Of course, it’s perfectly legal to want lower taxes and less regulation, but the plutocrats that support fascist-leaning politicians are mistaken to think that undoing democracy will help them in the long-term, and could actually unsettle a stable legal environment for business.
