The Democratic Party has chosen the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to hold their 2020 presidential nomination convention.  This helps sharpen the contrast with the plutocratic Republican Cult Party of President (King wannabe) Trump.  The personality cult of Trump has chosen the messaging of labeling the Democrats the party of Socialists.  No city in America has a prouder Socialist tradition than Milwaukee, since they have had a Socialist mayor for 73 of its 174 years since the initial 1846 incorporation.  The last socialist mayor of any major American city was Frank Zeidler who served as Milwaukee mayor from 1948 to 1960.  Born in September 1912 he died two months short of his 94^th birthday in July 2006.  One day in about 1994 or 1995, I spoke to two international groups in Milwaukee about Peace Economics, in the morning to the World Federalists and in the evening to the Waukesha suburban group of the United Nations Association.  Frank Zeidler was present in attendance at both presentations.  He was so impressed with my first presentation to the World Federalists about 10am in downtown Milwaukee that he showed up to hear me again about 7pm in Waukesha about 15 miles away.  The last I saw of him, he looked very thoughtful taking it all in, and I was extremely honored but respected his privacy.  I have had similar reactions from many groups and individuals who have heard me, but like the parable of the seeds in the bible, many hear a new message, a seed, and forget or are choked off by weeds or fall on rocks (seeds) or are trapped in status quo thinking (message), et cetera.  Debbie Metke leader of that group in Milwaukee remains a key fan of mine. Debbie knew me from my five presentations at the five last Fall national meetings of the World Federalist Association of the United States 1998-2002 in Pittsburg, Toronto, Dallas, Saint Louis, and Denver.  I gradually lost interest in that group as it changed their name to Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS).  I last attended the CGS Santa Fe conference November 4-6, 2005.  I stopped being a local CGS group leader in Madison, Wisconsin after a last January 2006 national meeting by conference phone call held in my condo attended by Lee and Tom Brown.

Socialist Confusions

Milwaukee was settled with German 1848ers many arriving from 1846 to 1854.  The Wisconsin Historical Society says "Between 1846 and 1854, a wave of German immigrants arrived, bringing with them expert industrial skills, refined culture, liberal politics, and Catholicism. Milwaukee soon became a center of foundry, machinery, and metal-working industries, as well as a center for brewing and grain trading."  1848ers were disaffected Germans who were inspired by Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto" but felt they no longer "fit in" in Germany so left for America.  But while true communists believe in state ownership of the means of production, democratic socialists believe in freedom and democracy, preferring to use laws and rules to modify and supplement capitalism and avoid monopolistic practices and abuses.  Oddly enough the promise of affordable drugs, health care, and education for all, taxing the wealthy, and living wages are very popular among the people, but not so the word socialism.  Many European conservatives with their social compacts would be labelled socialists in America.  Why is being social good but being socialist bad?  Why is community a good thing and communism a bad thing?  Why in the eighties was Nicaragua communist and Costa Rica a democracy, even though both had elected leaders, 65% private sector economies, and 35% state owned major industries like banking and petroleum?  Often labeling and guilt by association is the major difference.  Often those who challenge ruling elites and foreign ownership are demonized regardless of the merit of their positions.

Trump as Kingly Cult

The Republican Party has long had an interest in big business and strong authoritarian-like leadership.  The original Tories in revolutionary days wanted to stay with rule by the king of England.  Oddly enough the Republican Party looks like the result of the saying "be careful about your enemies for soon you will be like them".  As militaristic Cold War America gradually became more like the totalitarian socialists of the Russia dominated Soviet Union, some of these tendencies gradually became more aggravated.  Trump became the cult leader of conservatives and took over the Republican Party and then the nation as he was elected, by the slave era electoral college and with a base of former slave states, despite receiving 3 million less votes.  Trump is an internet media king with his 24 million Twitter followers and 16 million Facebook followers.  He has used this independent media position along with the effective state TV of fox news to act like a dictator, like many of his most admired world leaders like Putin of Russia (his main mentor), Duarte of the Philippines, and Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) of Saudi Arabia and Kim of Korea.  He has used 9000 tabulated lies so far and intimidation tactics extensively to hold his own party in line and limit the effectiveness of his enemies. Enemies include the truth, media, courts, and the traditional national security state in the state department, FBI, and the CIA.  Kings and dictators usually use his kind of tactics, making the GOP the party of authoritarianism.  His racial appeals against immigrants and various "others" are the dream come true of white nationalists.  Lawrence Britt (2003) "14 Characteristics of Fascism" apply to much of Trump's behavior.  Empire levels of militarism for 74 years has led to the Trump extremism.  America resisted these militaristic economy tendencies for a generation or two, then Reagan sowed the seeds of income inequality, media extremism, and militarism leading to the hollowed out middle class of today's America.  Scapegoating then built up the Trump cult.

Nature of Militaristic Empire Society Leads to this situation:

https://www.academia.edu/11421799/MILITARISM_CONTROL_Empire_Social_Decay_WWW_97_6p

Please cite this work as follows:

Reuschlein, Robert. (2019, March 26), "Milwaukee Socials Not Kings", Madison, WI:  Real Economy Institute.  Retrieved from: https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/Milwaukee-Socials-Not-Kings,2019179143.aspx

Dr. Peace, Professor Robert Reuschlein, Real Economy Institute,

Nominated Vetted 2016 (2 Web Looks), Given Odds 2017 (3 Web Looks), Strongly Considered 2018 (48 Web Looks, one million words) Nobel Peace Prize, a favorite in 2019 (pace double that of last year) for Nobel Peace Prize to be announced Friday October 4^th, 2019.

Contact: bobreuschlein@gmail.com, 

Info: www.realeconomy.com