[Peace-discuss] Support for the impeachment nonsense is support for the CIA/Deep State agenda

[C. G. Estabrook]

<https://truthout.org/articles/when-trump-calls-people-filth-hes-laying-groundwork-for-genocide/>

[Mary Ann Caton] 'There is much to highlight in Bill Martin's commentary here, so try this one on for size: "Support for the impeachment nonsense is support for the CIA/Deep State agenda..." Here's the rest of what he had to say:

‘This article [above], from Truthout.org, is the kind of nonsense that has become exceedingly tiresome, but also very offensive, because it just plays around with terms such as genocide, fascist, and Nazi.

‘The basis for the author’s argument is Trump’s tweet saying that Baltimore is a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” and “no human would want to live there.” The author, Nicholas Powers, turns this into Trump’s supposedly using a “rhetoric of filth” that is aimed at those same human beings. Except of course Trump doesn’t say anything like that. Powers quotes with approval Joy Behar, as a “Jewish voice” here (which is typical bullshit Identity Politics, as it would be easy enough to find numerous Jewish voices who would disagree with her) transposing what Trump says about rats to the Nazi use of the term “vermin” to refer to Jews. 

‘Again, Trump has said nothing like that.

‘There’s no mention in this article about “laying the groundwork for genocide” of Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment, applied to “half of Trump’s supporter’s,” which would amount to about thirty-one million people or so. This is conjecture on my part, but I feel that I am on solid ground: those who talk in the way that Powers does only disagree with HRC on the “half” part. They are fine with statements of the “dreaming of a white genocide”-sort, as long as they can get out in front of them first with some strategic virtue-signaling. Of course, the ones signaling the loudest are themselves white males, though “educated.” But, hey, that’s a class thing, and any good liberal and leftist these days knows that talking about class is just another form of racism.

‘Despite this nonsense being tiresome, not really worth paying attention to (obviously I’m engaging in a performative contradiction here), one wants to say to this author, and to Adam Schiff, etc., “Keep talking, assh*les.” It’s obvious by now that no amount of self-exposure is going to have much effect on hardened Trump-haters, they’ll just double-down. A third of this is believing that most ordinary people are stupid, racist, sexist, fascists, a third is posing as some sort of “Resistance” and the self-satisfaction that brings, and a third is in fear of not being acceptable to their celebrity icons of political correctness and therefore susceptible to being called out.

‘(Hillary doubled down on her remark about deplorables, numerous times. The remark was not a “gaff” or faux-pas, it was said with the deliberate aim of drawing a line. But this isn’t about Hillary—except in the case that she becomes the 2020 Democratic nominee, which is not at all out of the realm of possibility*—it is about all of the ordinary-people Democrats who go along with this crap, and who view other ordinary people through the lens of this line.)

‘Hopefully there are some others who will see once and for all what a load of crap the Democrats and their “Left” allies are. Significantly, the biggest move in this direction thus far is from African-Americans who have had it with being patronized and played for chumps.

‘One thing that was useful about seeing this article posted on a liberal friend’s page is that it did make things a little more clear, to me at least, regarding the difference between liberals and the Left.

‘The Left tries to stay on message with charging that Trump is a fascist, a Nazi, like Hitler.
The liberals say this stuff too, but also they are outraged as well by Trump’s Rocky Balboa pose (thankfully, the MSM was quick to expose that dangerous ruse!), the hateful serving of fast food to the champion Clemson football team (whose players such liberals also hate, but whatever), etc.

‘The liberals are quick to claim that Trump supporters are not only fascist, but also stupid. The Left sometimes traffics in this language of stupidity, but in general instead claims that the sort of people who support Trump are ignorant.

‘What, though, is the difference that makes a difference between anti-Trump liberals and anti-Trump leftists, if they seem fine in making common cause?

‘Adam Schiff accuses Trump of “not respecting our intelligence agencies.” It used to be that was an important aspect of the Left, not only not respecting the CIA and other parts of the “intelligence community,” but also pulling the curtain back on them, exposing them, demonstrating why they are a horrible thing. Now we are in an upside-down world where liberals and the left go along with this stuff for the sake of impeachment, and Trump is the one pulling the curtain back.

‘Nothing better can be expected from the liberal or “progressive” “blue no matter who”-crowd. They’re openly down with the CIA, NSC, etc. But if you’re a “leftist” or some other supposedly “radical” opponent of Trump, part of the “Resistance,” and you’re supporting this impeachment nonsense, this would be a good time to do some hard thinking.**

*(Who will be the 2020 Democratic nominee? I’m not a gambler, but it wouldn’t be that wild of a proposition to put some money on Michelle Obama.)

**(In stark terms, just to be clear … Support for the impeachment nonsense is support for the CIA/Deep State agenda—and this assertion does not depend on coming up with a “precise definition” of the Deep State. Certainly, from ordinary people, whether Democrats, leftists, etc., “support for impeachment” doesn’t really mean much, since no one is asking you anyway. Your role is cheerleader for the system. Really, I think things need to be taken further: Calling out Adam Schiff and his cohort, who are fronting for the CIA and the “intelligence community” is what is needed, which means opposition to this impeachment nonsense. If there was anything like a “true Left” today, one that embodied the spirit of the Sixties Left, but under very different conditions—these conditions, unfortunately, having knocked the current Left for a crazy and terrible loop, to put things politely, this exposure and opposition to the impeachment Schiff-show is what would be happening.)

‘[Your comments are welcome, but comments about 1) my supposed obsession with Hillary (no, I’m more obsessed with liberal and left affirmation of the deplorables remark—and another important term here is “rural”); 2) the demand to have precise definitions of things (I have been inspired/provoked by such demands to write a glossary for the book I am presently completing, but there is plenty enough to go on in the CounterPunch*** articles already published) before “discussion” can continue (I’m not going to get into some purely semantic exercise to let people get away with siding with the CIA, okay? –so just deal with that; and, as far as the hardened Trump-haters are concerned, who view everything through the lens of “Trump must go, regardless of the shortcomings of the Democrats,” I’m not interested in meeting your demands in any case—that would be both impossible and pointless); 3) my “just repeating GOP talking points,” or comments that are just name-calling—I won’t respond to such comments, and will probably delete them, because they are unhelpful and I’ve already given enough play to such things; the exception is if the comment works as good self-exposure (as they say in football, an “own-goal”) of the person who makes the comment.]

***(I will write a separate post regarding this when I have the situation sorted, but some reading this may be interested in know that I’ve now been deplatformed by CounterPunch. I knew that I would go too far at some point, given the general trend there lately, as well-represented by a recent article by Andrew Levine (whose work, especially on Rousseau, Kant, Marx, Rawls, analytical Marxism, and Althusser, I have admired for many years), “Get Trump First, But Then …” (Nov. 15). I’m not angry, I will remain grateful to Jeffrey St. Clair for going as far as he has with me, though I’m a little sad and disappointed, especially because I hoped to wrap up my Trump series at CounterPunch and then put it all together in a book. Now I’ll need to do this somewhere else, I’ll let you know where—I had two articles in the pipeline, one on the impeachment nonsense, the other on the coup in Bolivia, I hope to have them out soon.)’

~ Bill Martin