The Plot to Destroy Democracy by Malcolm Nance has just come out giving the history of the Russian strategy to dismantle alliances, trade treaties, and the US government.  Nance alleges all of Trumps pro-Russian stances emerged from a two hour meeting with the richest oligarchs in Russia in 2013 when he was in Russia for his Miss Universe pageant.  He further alleges that Trump is easily impressed by those he talks to like this.  For instance, notice how he adopted Kim's terminology of provocative war-games when he abandoned joint exercises with South Korea unilaterally after the Singapore meeting with the North Korean leader.  Steve Bannon's "dismantle the administrative state" includes cutting one third of the state department staff.  All of this is a dream come true to Vladimir Putin.  Trump has questioned the Russian sanctions, pointing out that the annexed Ukraine territory are all Russian speaking peoples.  Trump has argued that the Russians could help against ISIS in Syria, despite evidence that Russian attacks there are almost exclusively against the moderate opposition to the Assad regime.  Assad has killed hundreds of thousands of unarmed at first civilians that at one time were peacefully protesting.  Trump does not oppose this, unless chemical weapons are involved.

Dictator's Playbook

In January 2018 the New York Times reported that Trump lied 2000 times but still does not call him a liar in most coverage.  In May 2018 the Washington Post extended their own list of Trump lies to 3000.  Trump's answer is to call the mainstream press "enemies of the people" and urges his supporters to confront them.  He repeatedly refers them as "fake news".  Fox News and especially Sean Hannity have become state TV for the president.  Sean Hannity and the morning show "Fox and Friends" keep giving Trump ideas publically and in daily private phone calls with Sean Hannity.  Founding figures and former presidents like Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe considered a free press more vital to democracy than even elections.  A new Axios poll asks "How often do you think news sources report news they know to be fake, false, or purposely misleading?" and shows that 92% of Republicans answer this question either "a lot" or "sometimes" and 7% answer rarely or never.  For Democrats the answers are 53% to 46%.  In both cases Fox News may be a source of fake news as seen by the Democrats or has convinced Republicans, combined with the presidents tweets and statements, that the mainstream press distorts the truth.  Either way, repetition is the way to use lies to overwhelm the timidly presented truth, hence the mainstream press tendency to normalize the president's extreme behavior is weakening democracy, to Putin's delight.

History of Distraction

The presidential spokesperson Kellyanne Conway keeps referring to "alternative facts" to explain away the president's lies.  Malcolm Nance calls the June 9, 2016 Trump tower Russia meeting the "dangle", with the purpose of confirming Trump campaign interest in dirt on Hillary Clinton. Nance is convinced that Trump junior told Trump senior about that meeting, and the next day Trump promises a report on Clinton dirt in an upcoming speech.  When Trump later suggests some other source than the Russians for the wiki-leaks release of hacked material he is clearly being disingenuous.  Whenever Trump gets into political trouble, he blames others for the problem he created.  When he claims there is no evidence of collusion or obstruction he ignores the five guilty pleas among six advisors charged.  When he claims the Russians had no impact on the election, he ignores the 14 Russians and 3 Russian companies charged.  His Republican allies in the House echo his lines and seek to win over the public with repetition of outright lies. Republicans insist Mueller should "wrap it up" after only 397 days.  This compares to Iran Contra lasting 2420 days and Whitewater lasting 2978 days.

Conclusions

High military spending empires decay and corrode because of the drain on manufacturing in favor of service sectors like the stock market and banks.  Complacency sets in only when this process is advanced and becomes a way of life.  Corruption and crime are direct results of the high military spending.  American has had seventy years under this new empire regime and the excuses are well prepared to perpetuate the system.  It is not inevitable, it can be changed, especially if the electoral swing states of the industrial and agricultural inland states begin to recognize the exploitation of their production by the service sector financial and military coastal states at their expense.  Half of Cold War funding was taxed out of the Rust Belt to benefit the Sun Belt.  The swindle has been long in the making, starting with the 1971 Powell memo organizing business against progressivism.  Right wing institutes, like CATO ALEC and Heritage, and economic theories were funded next, then Reagan used a 1981 tax cut plan as a Trojan Horse to cut the top tax rate on the rich 60% at the expense of the middle class who were suckered in with a 15% cut.  This restored the primacy of a rich oligarchy who locked in their gains by funding the so-called "conservative party" which counterintuitively increased funding more than the other party by increasing military spending.  All this lead to draining the middle class, creating a resentment that the rich exploited to further enhance their position of power and control.  Soon the middle class started resorting to borrowing to maintain their standard of living, and the rich overworked them to keep them distracted from what the rich were doing to them.  So empire deepened, entertainment expanded to further distract the middle class and scapegoats were invented to divide the middle class. Bread and Circuses. Lords and Serfs. Fear to keep people in their place.  And along comes Trump to take advantage of it all.  Putin's Apprentice.

How the principles of democracy were overridden:

https://www.academia.edu/36069836/_Constitutional_Implications_of_War_February_2018_3p

Please cite this work as follows:

Reuschlein, Robert. (2018, July 3), "Plot to Destroy Democracy", Madison, WI:  Real Economy Institute.  Retrieved from: https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/Plot-to-Destroy-Democracy.2018159293.aspx

Dr. Peace, Professor Robert Reuschlein, Real Economy Institute

Nominated Vetted for 2016, Given Odds for 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

Possible Favorite in 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Announced October 5th.

Contact: bobreuschlein@gmail.com, Info: www.realeconomy.com