Too old
I'm talking about my hiking boots. What did you think?
When the pandemic hit in 2020 and normal life was suspended, Bill and I started walking the trails in Rock Creek Park. We’ve continued our near-daily walks since then, appreciating the exercise, fresh air, and quiet. Given my accident-prone tendencies, I wear a pair of light hiking boots on the trail. I bought them over a decade ago, and with the last four years of heavy use, they’ve all but disintegrated. There is no comeback for these boots. So last week I concluded that I had no choice but to replace them.
That brings me to the election (you knew I’d get here). Even before the debate, I was uneasy about Biden’s chances. We all know people in their eighties who are vigorous and sharp, but Biden increasingly appears frail. I don’t think he has four more months of campaigning in him, let alone four more years of running the country.
Trump, meanwhile, is a compulsive liar who aggrandizes himself by hurting, humiliating, and exploiting others and by goading his followers to violence. How is such a person still in the race? Why is there a chorus of demands for Biden to step aside but no similar demand being made of Trump?
The politics of dominance
When it comes to leadership, given a choice between a good person who appears weak and a bad person who appears strong, it seems that many Americans, particularly American men, will opt for the latter.
In a new book titled Comeback, M. Steven Fish, a political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, defines “high-dominance politicians” as those who embrace conflict, take risks, use provocation boldly, and never back down. Trump’s “high-dominance style remains the most formidable tool in his arsenal,” Fish wrote recently in the New York Times.
Appearing weak has long been the kiss of death in US politics. Remember when accusations of being “soft on communism” could destroy careers and lives? The American admiration for displays of brute force, one could argue, is rooted in our nation’s history of conquest, expansion, and enslavement. Whatever its origins, it is still so deep-seated that it may outweigh some voters’ distaste for aspects of the Republican policy agenda.
A leader beyond criticism?
There is a slippery slope from strength to authoritarianism to fascism.
Historian Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, outlines four core elements of fascism: the cult of personality around a leader, a party that becomes a single party, the threat and use of violence, and a big lie that is used to reshape reality. These elements helped propel the Nazis to power in 1930s Germany, and they are defining characteristics of the MAGA movement today. Snyder warns:
The Biden administration is being held to standards, while the previous Trump administration is not; and Biden personally is being held to standards, while Trump as a person is not. This helps to generate a fascist aura. There must be something special about Trump such that he is different from others: a Leader beyond criticism . . . If you accept that a fascist is beyond your reach, you have normalized your submission.
Project 2025, published by the Heritage Foundation, sets out the authoritarian vision. Despite Trump’s assertion that he knows nothing about this plan, Trump donors, former Trump staff, and other Trump allies have their fingerprints all over it. To enact a hard-right, Christian nationalist governing agenda, Project 2025 envisions an imperial president and a federal government staffed by loyalists. The executive will be unconstrained by the legislative branch, by nonpartisan regulatory agencies, and – in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent immunity ruling – by the law.
Preventing Trump’s return
Notwithstanding his strongman act, a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump. MAGA extremism is not popular, and MAGA candidates have been doing poorly in special elections. The Biden administration’s domestic policies, if not his foreign policies, are broadly popular. So we have something to work with.
I can’t influence whether Biden stays or goes. Here’s what I plan to do:
Vote for the Democratic presidential ticket in November, no matter who heads it.
Over the next four months, support Democratic candidates in high-stakes congressional races by volunteering and donating. With a Trump win looking all too possible, it’s crucial that we flip the House and hold the Senate to limit the damage Trump can do.
Donate to community organizing groups that are working to get out the vote in the battleground states.
An invitation to Third Age readers
To energize us for the road ahead, please join me on Wednesday, July 17, at 7:00 p.m. EDT over Zoom to hear author and historian Heather Cox Richardson talk about the importance of grassroots political organizing. Her newsletter on Substack, Letters from an American, reaches more than 1.5 million readers. The evening is cosponsored by about 20 grassroots groups. RSVP here to receive a Zoom link.
During the evening, there’ll be time for questions. We’ll also have the opportunity to donate to a slate of House candidates who are challenging incumbent Republicans in tough but winnable races. All donations go directly to the candidates through the ActBlue platform. There’s no obligation to donate; everyone is welcome to Zoom in for the program. I’m excited about this evening and hope to see you there.
Well said, Cathy! The action plan you outlined is the only way forward I see for myself.
Excellent. Thank you. The great thing about old boots is, of course, they are proven to function. Until they break down. And it is very, very hard to find the same make and model--shoe manufacturers have moved on. Takes a lot of work to find a pair that work well...So it seems with American politics...we need (our futures need us) to do this work to get a model of politics that actually functions.