Keep Right – Column by Ralph K. Ginorio
Desperation makes for a poor cologne. In this 2024 election year, the smell of fear is ever-present.
Why are so many people so fearful of a second Trump administration that they are violating every American custom of pluralism and tradition of loyal opposition? The unprecedented show trials being used to interfere with this election, the open appeals for the media to take their side, and the unsubtle demonization of half of the population are not signs of Democrat strength.
Why is such desperation clouding so many people’s judgment? In my lifetime, the peaceful transfer of power happened in war and peace, prosperity and poverty, good times and bad. Men as diverse as Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, GW Bush, Obama, and Trump all peaceably passed the baton of legitimate governance to their successors.
Why then are we being buffeted by constant alarms about “our democracy” being imperiled by Trump and Conservatives? I have a notion that is rooted not in evidence but intuition. This supposition no doubt says more about me than it does about anything else. Read on at your own risk.
The fear being indulged by many within our institutions seems more than merely ideological. It seems intensely personal. Is it possible that many among these elites have something to fear if the reins of power are transferred? Could such people be concerned that their reputations would not long survive the revelation of certain evidence?
Even saying such things seems unnatural to me. I rarely indulge in conspiracy theories. The real world is far too complicated for the kinds of fine plotting that is often touted as “history” according to conspiracy theorists.
What I imagine might lie behind this stench of fear is not an organized conspiracy. It may instead be mere opportunism. What if even a tenth of the oddities over the past decade were a result of illegitimate actions on the part of individuals with the opportunity to manipulate events to their liking? Temptation is powerful in proportion to desire.
Our institutions are led by ambitious people with strong desires for money, for power, for fame, or idealistically to “make a positive difference.” At a key moment, how easy would it be for a zealous functionary buried in the institutional bureaucracy like Peter Strzok to do what he wants to do rather than what it is his duty to do?
Was everything above board in each of these following anomalies?
- Irregularities in the Republican primaries in 2016, which brought Trump to the fore because he was seen to be weaker than Hillary Clinton.
- Institutional resistance throughout both the Federal bureaucracy and even the US military to the authority of the President during Trump’s 1st term.
- The special prosecutor’s investigation into a story of “Trump-Russia collusion” later proved to have been utterly false and gratuitous.
- Two spurious impeachments by the Pelosi-led US Congress.
- Manipulations of the media during COVID to suppress free expression by anyone who contradicted Dr. Fauci’s official narrative.
- Governmental overreach in regulating the conduct of American citizens during the imposition of COVID restrictions, including vaccine mandates, mask mandates, school & business closures, uncontrolled spending, and property restrictions.
- COVID-justified loosening of election laws allowing for the mass use of mail-in ballots whose legitimacy cannot be authenticated, which could certainly have altered the outcome of the 2020 election.
- Collusion with Big Tech to suppress pro-Trump, Conservative, and anti-institutional expression during and beyond COVID and through the current election cycle.
- Excusing evident corruption within the Biden family, and among other Democrat and institutional elites.
- Environmental regulations that are restricting our personal freedom, killing the energy industry, stoking inflation, and increasing our vulnerability to foreign adversaries.
- The retreat from Afghanistan, funding for Ukraine, undermining Israel, and cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party.
- Endless show trials that twist the law out of all recognition just to besmirch Trump and take him off the campaign trail.
Every instinct that I possess tells me that raw fear is behind much of the demagoguery and banana republic scheming being perpetrated by today’s Democrat and institutional leadership. If they are guilty, these compromised individuals can be expected to fight tooth and nail to avoid being exposed.
I hope that I am wrong. But, there is something unnatural behind equating Trump with Hitler and the GOP with the NSDAP. Fear is making certain people desperate, and desperate people are truly dangerous to us all.
