In Ruth ben-Ghiat’s excellent New York Review of Books article, “Co-opt and Corrupt: How Trump Bent and Broke the GOP, she addresses (among other things) how people like Lindsay Graham’s abruptly converted from fervent Trump critic to staunch Trump defender.
She explains that Lindsay Graham—who fam ously did an abrupt about-face from fervent Trump critic to devoted Trump ring-kisser— followed the time-honored pattern of how autocrats “co-opt and corrupt.” You see, authoritarians wouldn’t get very far if those in power didn’t first lend them credibility, and then support and shield them. The aspiring autocrat “needs access and credibility from establishment figures.”
Here she explains how autocrats “bind individuals and groups to them through buy-offs or intimidation”:
In other words, Graham didn’t join Trump from fear: It was the lure of absolute power, and the appeal of there being “no bottom.”
As a rule, these “enablers” back the extremist when he most needs it—and he later discards them. (See Jeff Sessions)
The pattern: “Once those in power sign on to protect the leader, they tend to stick with him until the bitter end.” This is why nothing moves the needle: including Trump knowing that Putin put bounty on American soldiers, the death of 170,000 Americans, and even clear evidence that Trump operates the government for his own personal benefit.
Ruth ben-Ghiat’s article also explains this news that broke this morning:
The pattern with autocrats is that they place their own financial interests and “private relationships with other depots over national interests.”
In other words, people like McConnell, Graham, and other enablers know that Trump puts his financial interests and relationship with Putin over the national interest—and they’re fine with that because of the payoff: Absolute power.
What this means is that the GOP leadership will follow Trump right over the cliff. The fact that 40% still back Trump has more to do with the well-oiled right-wing propaganda machine.
A task for a Biden-Harris administration is exposing and dismantling the propaganda machine: Rule of law (democracy) requires truth, whereas a leadership cult is based on lies.
Three forms of government, from sociologist Max Weber’s classic essay, Politics as Vocation:
Then, right on cue, several people informed me that Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at NYU and author of books about authoritarianism, just sort of neglected to mention the likelihood that actually Graham is compromised:
I’ve addressed the “they’re all compromised” theory here and here. Also, see this summary of GOP insider Stuart Steven’s book, which included a chapter on what they’re all afraid of.
The first problem is that there is no evidence to support the theory other than (1) Republican servers were hacked (2) Lindsay Graham did an about face. To leap from those facts to a blackmail theory (which people insist is true) requires a few leaps.
First, there had to be something on those servers worse than what we already know about them. It would have to be so shocking that they’d willingly betray their country all the ideals and beliefs they supposedly held. The GOP has openly embraced Russia, has closed their eyes to law-breaking, and many of them openly flout the law and lie willingly and eagerly.
Now, the two problems with spreading this theory are:
- there is no real evidence, only speculation, to back it up. (The fact that they were hacked is not evidence that they are being blackmailed. I’ve been hacked. Does that mean if I do something I shouldn’t do, it’s because I’m being blackmailed? What if I do something really shocking that you wouldn’t expect? The fact that
- if we insist that the blackmail theory is true, and if, actually, it isn’t, we fail to understand what is really happening.
If we fail to understand what is really happening, we are not able to figure out a way to prevent this from happening again. The blackmail theory assumes that ‘but for’ the blackmail, they’d do the right thing, that only blackmail keeps them on the dark side.
I’ve watched clips of Lindsay Graham and Pence eagerly lying for Trump, That isn’t how a blackmailed person would behave. Blackmail can keep people silent. It doesn’t create true believers. A blackmailed person will hand over money, but reluctantly. What blackmailed person says, “What? You’re only demanding the deed to my car? Wait! I’ll give you my house as well!”
Precisely. The Kompromat on Trump is his willingness and eagerness to work with Putin.
My thinking exactly. The blackmail theory is reverse projection: Honorable people can’t imagine that someone can kiss the ring of a person like Trump unless they are being forced to do so.
Facing the truth (pure evil) is just too horrifying, so good and honorable people retreat from it. Graham and pals support Trump because they want to. Once they support him, they’re trapped because of their fears.
