By Chris Powell
A principle of propaganda is to accuse your adversaries of doing what you are doing or have done yourself. Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has taken this to heart.
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In a recent interview with the liberal internet site Democracy Docket, Murphy, a Democrat, hypocritically assailed President Trump and the Republican Party. Democracy Docket summarized Murphy’s characterization of the Trump agenda as being “to dismantle democratic institutions, weaponize government agencies, and silence dissent” and “to consolidate enough control over money, messaging, and law enforcement to suppress dissent and secure one-party rule.”
Murphy said, “The majority of Republicans in Congress are signed up to put Trump in power forever.”
Trump is reckless, but how different are his agenda and methods from those of the administration of his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden?
Biden and the Democrats were pretty good themselves at dismantling democratic institutions, weaponizing government agencies, and silencing dissent.
They turned the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into political persecutors of Trump, concocting the hoax that Trump had conspired with Russia.
They coerced social media companies to censor politically disagreeable expression, particularly the New York Post’s expose about Hunter Biden’s laptop computer and the evidence it contained about the Biden family’s corruption.
The Biden administration even established a Disinformation Governance Board at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which was laughed out of business after only four months.
At least the Trump administration wants to reduce the federal government’s capacity for political propaganda by eliminating federal funding for “state media” – the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio, which put a liberal Democratic spin on everything they can.
It’s the same in Connecticut, where, two years ago, Connecticut Public, the state affiliate of PBS and NPR, got a $3.1 million grant from state government to renovate its headquarters building. Connecticut Public would not have gotten that kind of state government money if it ever attempted anything politically incorrect — if it ever threatened to be something over than leftist “state media” like PBS and NPR.
As for the supposed ambition of Trump and the Republicans to control government money and messaging and secure one-party rule forever, this can hardly be criticism in politics. Every politician and political party wants to get into power, to stay in power as long as possible, and dispense government money in ways that sustain their power. No one goes into politics to surrender power. Murphy’s Democratic colleague, Governor Lamont, didn’t recently promise another round of generous raises to the state employee unions in the hope of losing the next election.
The accusation that Trump and the Republicans want to stay in power in Washington forever is especially laughable coming from Murphy. Democrats have held majorities in Connecticut’s House of Representatives since 1986 and the state Senate since 1996, and have held the governor’s office since 2010. Murphy was part of those state legislative majorities before being elected to Congress. Their tenures in office in Connecticut are not quite “forever” but the Democrats are working on it.
Reckless as Trump is, there is plenty of recklessness in both major political parties. With his hysteria Murphy is only adding to it as he seeks leadership of his party’s far-left faction, from which he may contemplate a candidacy for president or vice president.
But the country doesn’t need hysteria from the Democrats, and the party doesn’t need the hysteria from itself. In his first three months back in the presidency, Trump has shown every sign of disconcerting and discomfiting people, even many of those who voted for him and agree with his major policies. He remains his own worst enemy.
Lucky for him, the Democrats remain their own worst enemy too.
What the country and the Democrats need are cool reason and balance, and maybe a reminder from Lincoln, who dealt with times even more tumultuous than these: “While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can very seriously injure the government in the short space of four years.”
Chris Powell has written about Connecticut government and politics for many years. (CPowell@cox.net)
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Chris Powell column 