Download or read book Trumpism Bigotry and the Threat to American Democracy written by Larry N. Gerston and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-12-11 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Trumpism, Bigotry, and the Threat to American Democracy, Larry N. Gerston examines the near-lethal combination of American bigotry and the ability of Donald Trump to take advantage of this scourge to satisfy his own political objective. The result is an individual who won election to the American presidency by adroitly pitting members of American society against one another, while presenting himself as the only person in the position to save America from itself. Having succeeded to the nation’s most important political office, Trump proceeded to use the position for his own benefit, irrespective of laws, norms, and, most importantly, the Constitution. So powerful was Trump that he and his minions came close to overturning the 2020 presidential election with the January 6, 2021, insurrection against the nation’s Capitol. While Trump failed in his attempt to remain in office, the threat to the well-being of the United States remains real.

Download or read book Power Politics written by Darrell M. West and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Curing the causes and consequences of Trumpism It's no secret that the United States faces extraordinary political and societal challenges, even as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Political polarization and extremism are the most apparent symptoms, resulting from long-term economic and social inequities as well as a toxic information ecosystem. It is easy to blame Donald Trump for the sad state of American democracy. After all, he abused his executive authority, spread false claims, and even incited violence. But Trumpism is almost certain to outlast Trump himself. The grievances he exploited and the aggrieved to whom he appealed existed well before he became president and likely will endure after he is gone from the political scene. The current political atmosphere is poisonous for those who operate on the basis of facts, reason, and logic. It is time to step back from this dangerous precipice and reflect on the causes of the serious threats to American democracy, procedural justice, and a reason-based society. With polarization now entrenched and authoritarianism gaining strength, no one should assume that facts somehow will triumph over falsehoods and reason will prevail over emotion. Drawing on his personal experiences in the D.C. policy world, Darrell West offers advice for protecting people, organizations, and the country as a whole from our contemporary challenges. This book makes the risks to democracy understandable by explaining specific threats and offering concrete ideas for ameliorating them. It will appeal to anyone interested in American politics, democracy, elections, mass media, technology, and governance.

Download or read book Thirteen Cracks written by Allan J. Lichtman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-11-08 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America’s founders feared a president like Donald Trump. Through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they erected a fortified but constrained government to secure the benchmarks of our democracy and established the guardrails designed to protect it. But Trump pushed almost every one of the Framers’ safeguards to its limit—most held, but some broke under the weight of presidential abuses even the Framers did not foresee. Thirteen Cracks will be the first book to expose the most vulnerable areas in our democracy, explain in historical context how President Trump uniquely and outrageously exploited these weak spots, and propose a fix for each challenge. Historian Allen J. Lichtman argues that Trump has put us at a pivot point in our history, where the survival of American democracy is at stake. But this is also an historic opportunity to shore up the vulnerabilities and to strengthen our democracy.

Download or read book Donald Trump s Hidden Agenda for America written by Michael Haas and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-01-11 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Donald Trump has astonished the people of the United States and the world by actions and words that appear out of the mainstream of political thinking. On the contrary, in this book his approach is identified as Social Darwinism, a view with deep roots in American culture, favoring the strong over the weak. Accordingly, he consistently views his role as establishing a double standard incompatible with democracy. The book reviews the ten components of Social Darwinism, preconditions to democracy, why democracies flounder due to mass society problems, and then identifies what he promised, why he won, and what he did as president, including dirty tricks used to get his way. The book evaluates his fitness for office and impeachment liability, and then ends with suggestions on how to restore humane democracy after Trump leaves office.Trump's Social Darwinism, which lacks a scientific basis, is embedded within American political culture and is traced to the 19th century thinking of Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner, who were primarily libertarians opposed to having government intervene in the economy and society. Instead, Trump is a triumphalist who wants government to assist those who are successful regardless of the consequences to those deemed inferior. Among the ten components of his Social Darwinism are policies of racism, sexism, chauvinism, homophobia, anti-environmentalism, ableism, ageism, lazyism, snobbism, and heroism. The only political leader who explicitly followed the triumphalist path is Adolf Hitler, whose writings were next to Donald Trump's bed during his first marriage. The book not only classifies his campaign promises into the ten policy dimensions but documents how he has carried out policies to implement his vision of an America that would create ten types of Jim Crow standards. Nevertheless, the book points out how Congress has rejected his budgetary proposals that would do so.The success of Donald Trump is attributed to his intuitive understanding of sociology's major theory--the Mass Society Paradigm. American society, according to Trump, involves a government and civil society that do not pay attention to the needs of the people, treating them as masses. His remedy, known as populism, is to speak directly to the people in order to implement reforms that will no longer disregard their economic and social desires and needs. Reasons for his support go beyond institutional barriers to voting and demographics, consisting of a strain of authoritarianism present in American society.To carry out his triumphalism, he repeatedly berates bureaucrats of the "administrative state," the "fake news" media, over-politicized judges, and political party leaders. In so doing, he denigrates the basic institutions of American democracy. The book details exactly how he has tried to discredit democratic institutions, often by signing executive orders that take drastic action. Yet the courts have blocked implementation of many new directions followed by members of his administration. The book reflects on whether he is fit to be president. His abilities are assessed along several dimensions--administrative, intellectual, moral, physical, psychological, rational, and temperamental fitness.In addition, the book considers grounds for Trump's possible impeachment, ranging from abuse of power, attacking rule of law, bribery, corruption, emoluments received, endangering national security, failure to executed presidential duties, refusal to implement Congressional laws, immorality, obstruction of justice, perjury, jury and witness tampering, and even treason. Alternatives to impeachment are also reviewed.The final chapter outlines what can be done to eradicate Social Darwinism's popularity, restore democracy, and reverse conditions of American mass society. Readers are encouraged to rethink American government as a body that will coordinate "1000 points of light" to achieve social democracy.

Download or read book The Republican War on America Dangers of Trump and Trumpism written by Walter C. Clemens and published by . This book was released on 2023-03-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Forty Year Con Game written by Michael B. Harrington and published by . This book was released on 2019-07-12 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most voters during the 2016 presidential election were largely unaware of Trump's forty-year history as a skilled con man but an incompetent failure otherwise. In anticipation of the 2020 election, this book describes Trump's public life from his mob connections in the early 1980s through his first two stumbling years in the White House. It documents Trump's inescapable history of ignorance, self-absorption, poor judgment, corruption, impulsive decision-making, bigotry, and strong authoritarian instincts. Taken together, all guaranteed a disastrous presidency. His first two years in the White House fulfilled this guarantee, threatening America's constitutional democracy.

Download or read book When Democracy Trumps Populism written by Kurt Weyland and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-14 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 election left specialists of American politics perplexed and concerned about the future of US democracy. Because no populist leader had occupied the White House in 150 years, there were many questions about what to expect. Marshaling the long-standing expertise of leading specialists of populism elsewhere in the world, this book provides the first systematic, comparative analysis of the prospects for US democracy under Trump, considering the two regions - Europe and Latin America - that have had the most ample recent experiences with populist chief executives. Chapters analyze the conditions under which populism slides into illiberal or authoritarian rule and in so doing derive well-grounded insights and scenarios for the US case, as well as a more general cross-national framework. The book makes an original argument about the likely resilience of US democracy and its institutions.

Download or read book The Politics of Resentment written by Katherine J. Cramer and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2016-03-23 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An important contribution to the literature on contemporary American politics. Both methodologically and substantively, it breaks new ground.” —Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare When Scott Walker was elected Governor of Wisconsin, the state became the focus of debate about the appropriate role of government. In a time of rising inequality, Walker not only survived a bitterly contested recall, he was subsequently reelected. But why were the very people who would benefit from strong government services so vehemently against the idea of big government? With The Politics of Resentment, Katherine J. Cramer uncovers an oft-overlooked piece of the puzzle: rural political consciousness and the resentment of the “liberal elite.” Rural voters are distrustful that politicians will respect the distinct values of their communities and allocate a fair share of resources. What can look like disagreements about basic political principles are therefore actually rooted in something even more fundamental: who we are as people and how closely a candidate’s social identity matches our own. Taking a deep dive into Wisconsin’s political climate, Cramer illuminates the contours of rural consciousness, showing how place-based identities profoundly influence how people understand politics. The Politics of Resentment shows that rural resentment—no less than partisanship, race, or class—plays a major role in dividing America against itself.

Download or read book The Cruelty Is the Point written by Adam Serwer and published by One World. This book was released on 2021-06-29 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From an award-winning journalist at The Atlantic, these searing essays make a powerful case that “real hope lies not in a sunny nostalgia for American greatness but in seeing this history plain—in all of its brutality, unadorned by euphemism” (The New York Times). NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • “No writer better demonstrates how American dreams are so often sabotaged by American history. Adam Serwer is essential.”—Ta-Nehisi Coates To many, our most shocking political crises appear unprecedented—un-American, even. But they are not, writes The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer in this prescient essay collection, which dissects the most devastating moments in recent memory to reveal deeply entrenched dynamics, patterns as old as the country itself. The January 6 insurrection, anti-immigrant sentiment, and American authoritarianism all have historic roots that explain their continued power with or without President Donald Trump—a fact borne out by what has happened since his departure from the White House. Serwer argues that Trump is not the cause, he is a symptom. Serwer’s phrase “the cruelty is the point” became among the most-used descriptions of Trump’s era, but as this book demonstrates, it resonates across centuries. The essays here combine revelatory reporting, searing analysis, and a clarity that’s bracing. In this new, expanded version of his bestselling debut, Serwer elegantly dissects white supremacy’s profound influence on our political system, looking at the persistence of the Lost Cause, the past and present of police unions, the mythology of migration, and the many faces of anti-Semitism. In so doing, he offers abundant proof that our past is present and demonstrates the devastating costs of continuing to pretend it’s not. The Cruelty Is the Point dares us, the reader, to not look away.

Download or read book Does Democracy Matter written by Adrian Basora and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-03-29 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Confidence in the future of democracy has been shaken by the authoritarian resurgence of the past decade, and some now argue that it is not realistic for the US to continue to champion democracy abroad. Does Democracy Matter? provides the conclusions of eleven scholars from widely different backgrounds who ask whether and, if so, how the US should support democracy beyond its own borders. The authors agree that American strategic interests are served in the long run by the spread of democracy abroad, but they differ as to how this support meshes with other national security goals. The concluding chapter outlines a system of triage for realistically assessing where and how such assistance can be effective in promoting US security interests. Contributions by Adrian A. Basora, Sarah Bush, Larry Diamond, Carl Gershman, Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Melinda Haring, Michal Kořan, Richard Kraemer, Agnieszka Marczyk, Tsveta Petrova, and Kenneth Yalowitz.

Download or read book Populism Democracy and the Humanities written by Iulian Cananau and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-03-02 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors to this volume reflect on the phenomenon and concept of populism in relation to democracy and the humanities from the vantage points of various disciplinary backgrounds: philosophy, history of ideas, media and communication, journalism, political science, gender studies, organization science, education theory, popular culture, and literary studies. While the study of populism seems to have become a subfield within political science, this topic has been rarely explored by scholars in the humanities. Rather than contribute to the already established area of populism studies in social and political sciences, our authors take a more open and exploratory stance through which they attempt to open up new fields and directions for inquiry from an interdisciplinary humanistic perspective. Struggling with problems of relevance, impact, and visibility, the humanities have a special responsibility to address this topic, not only because it is relevant for their multidisciplinary scope, but also because the humanities stand for the values of thoughtfulness, in-depth reflection, critical thinking, weighty and thorough analysis. The humanities’ very existence constitutes a guaranty against what is often described as populism.

Download or read book Cryptodemocracy written by Darcy W.E. Allen and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-08-21 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cryptodemocracy is cryptographically-secured collective choice infrastructure on which individuals coordinate their voting property rights. Drawing on economic and political theory, a cryptodemocracy is a more fluid and emergent form of collective choice. This book examines these theoretical characteristics before exploring specific applications of a cryptodemocracy in labor bargaining and corporate governance. The analysis of the characteristics of a more emergent and contractual democratic process has implications for a wide range of collective choice.

Download or read book The Red and the Blue written by Steve Kornacki and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From MSNBC correspondent Steve Kornacki, a lively and sweeping history of the birth of political tribalism in the 1990s—one that brings critical new understanding to our current political landscape from Clinton to Trump In The Red and the Blue, cable news star and acclaimed journalist Steve Kornacki follows the twin paths of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two larger-than-life politicians who exploited the weakened structure of their respective parties to attain the highest offices. For Clinton, that meant contorting himself around the various factions of the Democratic party to win the presidency. Gingrich employed a scorched-earth strategy to upend the permanent Republican minority in the House, making him Speaker. The Clinton/Gingrich battles were bare-knuckled brawls that brought about massive policy shifts and high-stakes showdowns—their collisions had far-reaching political consequences. But the ’90s were not just about them. Kornacki writes about Mario Cuomo’s stubborn presence around Clinton’s 1992 campaign; Hillary Clinton’s star turn during the 1998 midterms, seeding the idea for her own candidacy; Ross Perot’s wild run in 1992 that inspired him to launch the Reform Party, giving Donald Trump his first taste of electoral politics in 1999; and many others. With novelistic prose and a clear sense of history, Steve Kornacki masterfully weaves together the various elements of this rambunctious and hugely impactful era in American history, whose effects set the stage for our current political landscape.

Download or read book The Death of Truth written by Michiko Kakutani and published by Crown. This book was released on 2019-08-13 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize–winning critic comes an impassioned critique of America’s retreat from reason We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases. How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary America? This decline began decades ago, and in The Death of Truth, former New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani takes a penetrating look at the cultural forces that contributed to this gathering storm. In social media and literature, television, academia, and politics, Kakutani identifies the trends—originating on both the right and the left—that have combined to elevate subjectivity over factuality, science, and common values. And she returns us to the words of the great critics of authoritarianism, writers like George Orwell and Hannah Arendt, whose work is newly and eerily relevant. With remarkable erudition and insight, Kakutani offers a provocative diagnosis of our current condition and points toward a new path for our truth-challenged times.

Download or read book Let them Eat Tweets How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality written by Jacob S. Hacker and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Editors’ Choice An “essential” (Jane Mayer) account of the dangerous marriage of plutocratic economic priorities and right-wing populist appeals — and how it threatens the pillars of American democracy. In Let Them Eat Tweets, best-selling political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson argue that despite the rhetoric of Donald Trump, Josh Hawley, and other right-wing “populists,” the Republican Party came to serve its plutocratic masters to a degree without precedent in modern global history. To maintain power while serving the 0.1 percent, the GOP has relied on increasingly incendiary racial and cultural appeals to its almost entirely white base. Calling this dangerous hybrid “plutocratic populism,” Hacker and Pierson show how, over the last forty years, reactionary plutocrats and right-wing populists have become the two faces of a party that now actively undermines democracy to achieve its goals against the will of the majority of Americans. Based on decades of research and featuring a new epilogue about the intensification of GOP radicalism after the 2020 election, Let Them Eat Tweets authoritatively explains the doom loop of tax cutting and fearmongering that defines the Republican Party—and reveals how the rest of us can fight back.

Download or read book Elites Non Elites and Political Realism written by John Higley and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-10-29 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This provocative and groundbreaking book challenges accepted wisdom about the role of elites in both maintaining and undermining democracy in an increasingly authoritarian world. John Higley traces patterns of elite political behavior and the political orientations of non-elite populations throughout modern history to show what is and is not possible in contemporary politics. He situates these patterns and orientations in a range of regimes, showing how they have played out in revolutions, populist nationalism, Arab Spring failures to democratize, the conflation of ultimate and instrumental values in today’s liberal democracies, and American political thinkers’ misguided assumption that non-elites are the principal determinants of politics. Critiquing the optimistic outlooks prevalent among educated Westerners, Higley considers them out of touch with reality because of spreading employment insecurity, demoralization, and millennial pursuits in their societies. Attacks by domestic and foreign terrorists, effects of climate change, mass migrations from countries outside the West, and disease pandemics exacerbate insecurity and further highlight the flaws in the belief that democracy can thrive and spread worldwide. Higley concludes that these threats to the well-being of Western societies are here to stay. They leave elites with no realistic alternative to a holding operation until at least mid-century that husbands the power and political practices of Western societies. Drawing on decades of research, Higley’s analysis is historically and comparatively informed, bold, and in some places dark—and will be sure to foster debate.

Download or read book Strangers in the Land written by John Higham and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book attempts a general history of the anti-foreign spirit that I have defined as nativism. It tries to show how American nativism evolved its own distinctive patterns, how it has ebbed and flowed under the pressure of successive impulses in American history, how it has fared at every social level and in every section where it left a mark, and how it has passed into action. Fundamentally, this remains a study of public opinion, but I have sought to follow the movement of opinion wherever it led, relating it to political pressures, social organization, economic changes, and intellectual interests."--from the Preface, taken from back cover.