I Told You So-Almost

Oh boy, my Twitter feed is up to 98 now! What feelings of empire I have!

Well, those who love my Tweets (you do don’t you, please?) will know that I have been following the Tammy Duckworth/Joe Biden story on this blog column since February.  As time goes on, it looks as though my crystal ball rubbing is starting to pay off.  Just today I saw this write up on Politico.  It looks like Tammy is not only getting Biden’s interest, but also big donor backing as well.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/12/tammy-duckworth-vp-contention-357234

I have already noted the failure of chicken hawk extraordinaire Tucker Carlson to derail Duckworth.  Frankly, I am salivating to see her take on the 300 pound chicken hawk in chief, Donald J. Trump.

However, a new attack strategy on Tammy Duckworth is emerging.  Chicken hawks like Tucker Carlson are withdrawing from the fight.  Freshman Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R., TX) took aim at Sen. Duckworth last week questioning her patriotism after she suggested that there should be a “national dialogue” about whether or not to remove the statues and monuments of the American founding fathers.  Former Lt. Commander and Navy SEAL Crenshaw, was discussing voter outreach to veterans during a Trump campaign “MAGA meetup” when he accused Duckworth of supporting the “destruction of America,” because she supported a truthful dialogue about American history.

Considering the way Trump has treated distinguished veterans such as John McCain and Alexander Vindman, it is not surprising that his campaign needs help in reaching out to veterans.  How Rep. Crenshaw can overlook Trump’s five time draft evasion episode baffles me.  However, it seems that to him that the litmus test of patriotism is being to the right of Atilla the Hun.  Politically correct urination of a right winger, even with no military service upon a veteran is okay while if from the left, crucifixion would be in order.  This really shows he is out of touch with the current political climate in America.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/506768-crenshaw-takes-aim-at-duckworths-patriotism-accuses-her-of-supporting-the

As a historian, let me explain that the depth of the present maelstrom of debate about American history and the battle to dominate it is manifest in full public view right now and can be broken down into three parts.  First is the fact that many of the founding fathers like Washington were slave holders.  The second is the myth of the “noble cause” foisted upon the country and upon African-Americans by a not fully defeated South after the Civil War.  One needs only to look at all of the Confederate monuments, doctored history books, the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crow laws to see this.  Thirdly, there is the myth of the manifest destiny of America to spread out over the North American continent and later the world due to the specialness of the American people.

Unfortunately, the nakedness and emptiness of all three of the above myths is now evident as America, stricken with a plague of seemingly Biblical proportions, is literally cut off from the world in quarantine.  This is not just a literal presentation, but also works on people such as Trump supporters on a subconscious level.  They then project their rage on anyone attacking these myths or even discussing a normal visualization of them.  The MAGA crowd can’t believe that a Northern carpet bagger whose ancestors were never even in America at the time of the events in dispute is seeking to take advantage of this kultur kampf to win reelection in 2020.  The costs to mainstream Americans do not concern him, only staying in the Oval Office does. Hundreds of thousands or millions of Americans may die of COBVID-19 (the estimates are imprecise).  This reality is starting to sink in and it only adds to the polarization of left to right.  Most Americans want this polarization to end at all costs so they can pull together and survive the present dilemma of COVID-19.

The ability of Tammy to attract the majority of Americans (Nixon’s silent majority/Reagan Democrats) can’t be lost on the powers in the Democratic Party.  She obviously gets it that the party must at least pay lip service to a public that is sick of racism and police brutality.  Certainly, her political skills will be necessary to back up the weak back of Joe Biden.  Her being on the team could make Trump’s loss in November not just a mathematical possibility, but a real certainty.