Jonathan Kraut | Tear-it-Down Politics vs. Housecleaning

Jonathan Kraut
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I am always amused when my wife periodically takes everything out of our closets and then carefully and neatly puts everything back in. 

Moving from closet to closet and drawer to drawer, her binge cleaning sessions may last for days. Very little gets thrown out, but somehow extra space is created, inviting future additions. 

My wife’s conduct reflects the human need to periodically assess, disassemble and reorganize. 

I realized that my wife is not the only one who strives to deconstruct and reassemble. 

Once the party of stability, sustaining institutions, and preserving structure, many members of our current Republican Party and their supporters appear bent on tearing down government, destabilizing traditional order, and disrupting harmony. Yet their practice, unlike my wife’s, seems to be devoid of creating extra space and inviting future additions. 

Let’s start with the Disruptor in Chief, the King of Chaos, the Champion of Denial, the Magnate of Misinformation, Donald Trump.  

While in office, Trump appointed key officials whose views were opposed to the smooth governance of the very departments they were empowered to oversee.  

For example, Trump appointed Betsy DeVos as secretary of education, known to advocate the abolishment of government-supported education in favor of charter school configurations. Trump appointed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who made his mark as an anti-EPA attorney, suing the government on behalf of coal mining operators and other well-known polluters. 

Trump’s selections were like putting arsonists in charge of fire prevention. 

Trump weakened NATO, alienated our foreign allies, and falsely claimed we were under attack from asylum seekers, Muslims and Antifa. 

Following Trump’s lead on shredding democracy and disrupting our position in the world, his Maga movement continues to tear apart our peace and tranquility. 

What might be the most effective way to imperil our economy? Congress could put us in economic peril, create fiscal ruin, encourage the degradation of the U.S. credit rating, and cause the government to default on federal expenditures already approved. 

Republicans are advocating exactly that — reneging on financial promises. We are recently reminded of the Republican tactic of embracing an ever-looming government shutdown. It seems their motive is simply to destabilize the economy if for no other reason to then blame the Democrats for weak economic conditions.  

Removing life-saving aid from the most needy would be horrific. So, for those in urgent need of natural disaster relief aid, Republicans have threatened to withdraw humanitarian aid and cut social security.  

While this ploy may make the Biden Administration look bad, too bad for those with fixed incomes, those suffering in Florida, the Midwest and New York from flooding, Hawaiians and Californians from wildfires, and those devastated by hurricanes and tornadoes.   

Supporting Ukraine against an invading Russian dictatorship represents preserving democracy over aggression. If allowed to flounder in war, the loss of Ukraine to Russia would represent a destabilized Europe and encourage continued incursions from the Bully of the East.  

The recent emergency federal spending package only passed by caving to House Republicans’ request to suspend American aid to Ukraine. What better way to let down our European allies and erode their trust in us than to promise aid and then to pull the plug at the last minute? 

Trump and his allies say to terminate the Constitution, ignore election results and dismiss rulings made by our judges.  

Recall Trump’s words regarding the 2020 election: “A massive fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”  

What about planning, organizing and directing insurrection at the Capitol specifically timed to interfere with the electoral vote count? Would not preventing the certification of a democratic election lead to instability by ignoring the votes cast by millions? Yes! The Republican answer was “yes” on Jan. 6, 2021.   

Destabilize, erode confidence and eliminate the pillars of government. The new Republican motto should read “In Chaos We Trust.” 

It is almost like to Make America Great Again, we first need to destroy it, tear it down, and rebuild it in a new image. 

Maybe cleaning out the closet and repacking is a good idea, so long as the contents remain essentially intact. But to throw everything out and at great expense buy anew is insane.  

You don’t have to burn a house down before you can add a room in the back. 

You don’t have to burn the nation down to implement some smart ideas. 

Cut the cord. Stop encouraging and funding the nihilists and insurrectionists. 

Jonathan Kraut directs a private investigations agency, is the CEO of a private security firm, is the CFO of an accredited acting conservatory, is a published author, and Democratic Party activist. His column reflects his own views and not necessarily those of The Signal or of other organizations. 

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