Resurrecting the "Red Scare"

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Even though we suffer under a blanket of greed, corruption, ignorance, and racism, there are a few holes in the fabric where the sun shines through.  When Donald Trump, the nation's preeminent spreader of bull manure, encounters one of bright spots of hope and humanity, he immediately tries to plug it with his standard vitriol and name-calling.  One of Trump's favorite "go to" lines, especially for people who seem focused on making the lives of others better, is to call them "communist."

For those of us of a certain age, that line harkens back to the "Red Scare" of the 1950's which was fomented by conservative - and primarily Republican - politicians, with Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin and Senator Richard Nixon of California being perhaps the two best known and sleaziest provocateurs of the era.  It worked for Nixon, and Trump sees no point in messing with success.

Trump called his opponent, Kamala Harris, a "communist" and a "Marxist" during the 2024 presidential campaign, a throwback to the Nixonian style of campaigning, and he also referred to her as "Comrade Kamala" on some of the few occasions when he actually showed the lady the courtesy of pronouncing her name correctly.  Harris proposed "radical" measures to lessen poverty and wealth inequality - things like expanded tax credits for working and middle class families, as well an an increase in corporate taxes.  Trump and his corporate overlords wanted to rain down fire on talk aimed at getting into their pockets.

Kamala also wanted to reduce drug costs, expand Medicare, build more affordable housing and assist people in being able to purchase their first home, legalize abortion rights, expand gun control, and provide pathways to citizenship for immigrants with a work history in this country.  Sound ideas even with Trump bellowing "Communist!" in the background.

Trump has used that old-time political smear on Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who both identify as "Democratic Socialists" and who both promote a political agenda which would move toward equalizing opportunity for people living in the United States.  America's arch-enemy of the 1950's, the Soviet Union (USSR:  Union of Soviet Socialit Republics) even had the word "socialist" in its official name, so sliding the political label "Democratic Socialist" over to the "communist" column was so easy even Trump could do it.  The proposals of Bernie and AOC are focused on making the lives of ordinary people better, something which is not a concern of the privileged hogs at America's trough - and which often works against their greedy self-interests,

Now Trump is involving himself in the race for mayor of New York City and is trying to engineer a defeat of the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, a naturalized American citizen (at the age of seven) who, like Bernie and AOC, also self-identifies as a "Democratic Socialist."   Trump, of course, true to his nature, quickly smeared  the young candidate as a "communist."  Trump is so invested in defeating Mamdani that his administration has reportedly been trying to eliminate two of the three opponents running against him in the November general election by attempting to lure them out of the race with job offers to work in his administration - in the hope that the last remaining opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, might be able to defeat Mamdani in a  one-on-one race.

Some of Zohran Mamdani's "radical" proposals that earned him a "communist" badge from Trump include freezing rents, building more affordable housing, city-owned grocery stores, making bus transportation free throughout the city, and no-cost childcare.  He would pay for those "radical" innovations by increasing taxes on corporations and the richest individuals (the one-percent ) - many of whom are in Trump's base - and who have been feeding at the government trough for generations.

Trump is now talking about the possibility of de-naturalizing Zohran Mamdani (revoking his citizenship).  Of course, as noted in this space a few days ago, he is also fantasizing out loud about revoking the citizenship of entertainer Rosie O'Donnell, a person who was born in the United States to parents who were also born in the United States.  If he could pull off that stunt, we would all be subject to the whims of whatever strongman was in power - and shipped off to a prison is South Sudan at the literal wave of a Big Mac.

Three years ago the state of New Mexico, one of the most economically challenged states in the union, began a program of "free childcare" for families in the state whose total income was at or less than four times the official poverty level.  The program, which was financed through an oil and gas windfall to the state, has been hugely successful, allowing more parents to work or pursue an education, and it has reportedly put as much as $12,000 annually back into the pockets of the program's beneficiaries.

This past Monday New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, announced that the free childcare program would be expanded to all families in the state beginning this November.  New Mexico will also be enhancing training for childcare providers, and expanding the availability of childcare centers through low interest loans.  When it comes to actually caring for young children, the people of New Mexico are showing the rest of the nation the way forward.

It's only a matter of time until Donald Trump notices what is going on in the "Land of Enchantment" and offers up his opinion.  It's likely to just be one word.