The Atlantic: A Clarifying Moment in American History

[jaysunb]

Eliot A. Cohen

This is one of those clarifying moments in American history, and like most such, it came upon us unawares, although historians in later years will be able to trace the deep and the contingent causes that brought us to this day. There is nothing to fear in this fact; rather, patriots should embrace it. The story of the United States is, as Lincoln put it, a perpetual story of “a rebirth of freedom” and not just its inheritance from the founding generation.

Some Americans can fight abuses of power and disastrous policies directly—in courts, in congressional offices, in the press. But all can dedicate themselves to restoring the qualities upon which this republic, like all republics depends: on reverence for the truth; on a sober patriotism grounded in duty, moderation, respect for law, commitment to tradition, knowledge of our history, and open-mindedness. These are all the opposites of the qualities exhibited by this president and his advisers. Trump, in one spectacular week, has already shown himself one of the worst of our presidents, who has no regard for the truth (indeed a contempt for it), whose patriotism is a belligerent nationalism, whose prior public service lay in avoiding both the draft and taxes, who does not know the Constitution, does not read and therefore does not understand our history, and who, at his moment of greatest success, obsesses about approval ratings, how many people listened to him on the Mall, and enemies.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/a-clarifying-moment-in-american-history/514868/

Excellent read.

[Jimbo101]

1. two paragraphs that really put everything into perspective,..

“To friends still thinking of serving as political appointees in this administration, beware: When you sell your soul to the Devil, he prefers to collect his purchase on the installment plan. Trump’s disregard for either Secretary of Defense Mattis or Secretary-designate Tillerson in his disastrous policy salvos this week, in favor of his White House advisers, tells you all you need to know about who is really in charge. To be associated with these people is going to be, for all but the strongest characters, an exercise in moral self-destruction.”

“For the community of conservative thinkers and experts, and more importantly, conservative politicians, this is a testing time. Either you stand up for your principles and for what you know is decent behavior, or you go down, if not now, then years from now, as a coward or opportunist. Your reputation will never recover, nor should it.”

[northoftheborder]

2. Excellent!

Thanks for posting this. The Atlantic is a superior magazine.

[PA Democrat]

3. Isn't Cohen one of the founders of PNAC (Project for the New American Century)?

I thought his name was familiar and looked him up...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_A._Cohen

[Jimbo101]

4. Thanks - didn't realize who he was,....

",...Your reputation will never recover, nor should it.”

Sounds like he was speaking from experience

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Not a fan of PNAC but that's a ecological fallacy

[PA Democrat]

7. I wasn't trying to dismiss Cohen's opinion due to his association with PNAC.

But I find it interesting that Trump scares the crap out of a hard-core neocon.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. Cohen was misguided and overestimated the efficacy of military power.

Winning a war for a superpower against a vastly inferior opponents is easy. Winning the peace is hard. Some of them believed they could turn M E nations into liberal democracies. We have had nearly three hundreds years of experience in self government and a criminal gang is putting that in jeopardy in nine days. What hope is there for nations with no history in self government?

[PA Democrat]

11. Yes. I recall a rather heated argument with my right wing family

shortly after the US invasion of Iraq as to why their "victory" celebrations were ill-advised. Cohen and his neocon buddies' horrific poor judgment has resulted in so much death and so much ongoing turmoil in the region. I despise the man but find his condemnation of Trump alarming. I hope that he can convince some on the right to take action to rein in Trump and his cabal before it is too late.

[bhikkhu]

6. Perhaps he's upset that the NAC only lasted a few years

before it all went wrong. Odds are this will be the century of China and Russia (among other things) while the US turns inward, sidling from the stage, preoccupied.

The PNAC guys were wrong about a very many things, but many of them have shown decent minds and the ability to admit stupidity and change course. I don't trust Cohen by any means, but I don't see anything wrong with this piece.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. The PNAC crowd were Wilsonian Internationalists on steroids.

They were a misguided lot who confused America's reach with its grasp. Trump is evil personified.

[Jimbo101]

9. It is good,...

sounds like either he had (or is having) an epiphany.

[jaysunb]

12. I call it, "patriotism"

Regardless of the past or idealogy of the source, we will need lots more like this to save the country.

[AlexSFCA]

13. hmm

But they miss the main point! Trump wanted to become autoritarian so duginist Putin helped him ( with Bannon and Flynn). Worst president one thing, treason is another.

[wiggs]

14. It's a race. How much damage can be done by the administration before thinking

republicans have had enough?

Wouldn't it be better to pull the plug now rather than after he consolidates power, pisses off half the world, embarrasses his party, and drives the economy into a ditch? it's going to happen...sooner is better than too late.

[AlexSFCA]

18. unfortunately

I suspect Bannon is smater than all of the republicans and will figure out how to retain power. It is tragic, greed for power is destroying our democracy. Fourth political theory.

[haele]

27. It's easier for a tyrant to stay in power by sowing chaos.

Bannon is using Lenin's playbook. Constant revolution and confusion until you can get rid of your opposition and solidify your power.

The Neo-Nazi parties have co-opted the Conservative Evangelical base since the mid 1990's, and have effectively caught the Corporatist GOP and Democratic bases in a stranglehold, which pretty much gave them the Media/4th Estate resources. Because Trump has conceded all the power that got him elected to Bannon, the GOP is in effect now a wholly owned subsidiary of Brietbart. Whether or not Kushner is allowing Bannon to take control for mutual profit is the only question. As for Putin, his work is done. He got a Leninist owing him a favor into the inner circle of the Executive Office of the United States, to prop up a weak President.
Now all he has to do is wait for the U.S. to completely collapse, so sanctions will no longer be an issue, and he can get the Russian Economy booming enough to cover his own criminal enterprises.

Since the Blue Dog Democrats are basically GOP lite, Bannon is expecting that there is not enough strength in the political Democratic opposition to stand up against his GOP and Media control. And he knows that all it takes is maybe 2% of a population to panic and subdue 98% of a confused and off-balance population - his pet right wing militias who will live and die for their precious 2nd Amendment - to the point of trashing the rest of the Constitution and any other Ammendments, especially the 1st.

We're talking a plan for the establishment of a 2nd Soviet or 4th Reich, here.
Bannon thinks he's got a good decade or so to put it in place. After all, it took almost 2 decades of Lenin's political chaos policy to get Stalin installed and the Soviet Empire properly established.
I'm sure Bannon sees himself set up as the next Stalin - so long as he can maintain a tight grip on engineering a homogenous Euro-centric majority "legal" citizenry and de-legitimize diversity.

Haele

[AlexSFCA]

28. horror

All I know for now is that I moved my 401k investments to stable bonds for now. No way markets will like the trade wars, instability even if deregulations and tax cuts are coming. Our corporations are all global.

[blueseas]

32. Thanks - Makes sense

Now how do we stop this?

[democrank]

15. Highly recommended.

Thank you, jaysunb.

[Metro135]

16. I think the best line was the last line

"There is nothing great about the America that Trump thinks he is going to make; but in the end, it is the greatness of America that will stop him."

Let's hope so.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. +1.

[blueseas]

33. +100

[bagimin]

19. recommended n/t

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

20. Well said.

If only they will listen.

[Cha]

21. So encouraging and from a conservative..

In the end, however, he will fail. He will fail because however shrewd his tactics are, his strategy is terrible—The New York Times, the CIA, Mexican Americans, and all the others he has attacked are not going away. With every act he makes new enemies for himself and strengthens their commitment; he has his followers, but he gains no new friends. He will fail because he cannot corrupt the courts, and because even the most timid senator sooner or later will say “enough.” He will fail most of all because at the end of the day most Americans, including most of those who voted for him, are decent people who have no desire to live in an American version of Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, or Viktor Orban’s Hungary, or Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

There was nothing unanticipated in this first disturbing week of the Trump administration. It will not get better. Americans should therefore steel themselves, and hold their representatives to account. Those in a position to take a stand should do so, and those who are not should lay the groundwork for a better day. There is nothing great about the America that Trump thinks he is going to make; but in the end, it is the greatness of America that will stop him

Thank you, Jay

[smirkymonkey]

31. +1000

[central scrutinizer]

22. Dense, deadbeat diva

[Azathoth]

23. Not sure how to feel about this one

On the one hand, everything he says about the mango moron is correct. On the other, maybe Trump is doing something right if he's managed to thoroughly piss off one of the country's chief neocons.

[jaysunb]

24. Even neocons realize a parasite needs a host. n/t

[BSdetect]

25. K&R

[MarinCoUSA]

26. Executive Summary: Trumpism & his rePuklicans Rolling Shit Wagon

Trumpism & his rePuklicans are a rolling Shit Wagon and everyone who gets on will surely fly off covered with it.

[ramapo]

29. Terrifying

It shows what is at stake here. Hard to believe this is what the country has come to.

[BSdetect]

30. K&R