The Politicization of Conspiracy
Reviving an old script.
Above: Dr. Fiona Hill, November 2019, photo courtesy of the Financial Times
Excerpt from a recent PBS Newshour interview with Dr. Fiona Hill, former witness in the first impeachment investigation of Pres. Donald Trump (45) and author of “There is Nothing for You Here.”
Judy Woodruff:
What I find so striking is that you weren’t so concerned about Donald Trump being controlled by Vladimir Putin, being influenced by Vladimir Putin, as you were concerned about the United States following on the same political path that you see Russia follow under Vladimir Putin.
Fiona Hill:
That’s absolutely right, because Russia went through a similar wrenching economic period and political periods in the 1990s.
So, Russia had its equivalent of a kind of the Great Recession, and, at the end of that decade, President Putin comes in and says, I’m going to fix everything. I’m going to make Russia great again, which, of course, is what President Trump said in 2016. And what Putin did was basically tie himself up into all of these politics.
He, of course, has extended his terms in office through amending the Constitution. He can essentially be president until 2036. And Donald Trump has also said that he wants to be president in perpetuity. He wouldn’t accept that he had lost the 2020 election. He’s saying he’s going to come back, that he has a right to come back because he was never kicked out of office in the first place.
And he’s been spreading lies about essentially his own role in all the events that we have seen over the last years, January 6, for example, and the storming of the Capitol.
The same legal defense which succeeded in shielding 45 from the first impeachment trial has beeen repeated in the refusal by allies of 45 to appear before the ‘January 6 Committee.’
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack is reported to be seeking criminal referrals for USHouse members Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania) for refusing to answer Committee questions about events before, during and after January 6.
The Committee is being accused of “politicizing” an alleged assault on the Capitol, while alleged conspirators are ‘politicizing’ their criminal activity, plotting to steer their case(s) to civil court — by suing (1)— or at the least doing short jail time for defying the Committee as the conspirators’ lawyers appeal their cases. This takes time which is the general ‘obstruction strategy.’ (2)
Here’s a run-down to what is meant by “politicizing” an otherwise ‘harmless protest which sadly got out of hand.’
Smoking Gun Department
Consider that within the context of conspiracy investigating, the search for a “smoking gun” validates the conspiracy for which one is seeking affirmation. Evidence seeking of a conspiracy gets further buried in legal obfuscation. Go ‘where you don’t dare go’ becomes ‘mantra.’
‘Guilty until proven Innocent’
Consider a politically motivated presumptive ‘bias.’ The logical fallacy of this opprobrium is ‘finger pointing’ while pointing fingers.
‘Take a Phone Call’
Suppression of recorded evidence does not mean ‘freedom to withhold information.’ Nixon kept tapes. 45 doesn’t tape. 45 doesn’t email. Consider that 45’s actions cannot be characterized. (3)
‘Witch Hunting’
Politics is bad, except when it helps promulgate an agenda. It’s about ‘winning.’ So if you can’t accept that you ‘lost,’ you look for someone to blame. Better yet, convince yourself that what you see are people simply denying you a victory. You will lose, so give up.
Democracy is ineffective
America needs authoritarianism. Let’s entertain this thought: ‘things can only get better, right?’ So, what’s so bad about keeping in power the right, smart people?
Politicalization of Conspiracy
The ‘Biggest Lie’ to upturn a democracy: ‘follow the leader.’ Stop following the evidence that doesn’t exist. Or the laws that have been broken. First step: thinking that selectively punishing a few is ‘necessary and sufficient’ for preventing a further occurrence. This was the crux of Sen. McConnell’s argument against proposing a ‘9/11 type’ independent Commission: it’s sufficient that the Courts sentence the individuals who attacked police officers and destroyed public property. When Speaket Pelosi refused to seat two conspirators including the aforementioned Rep. Jordan on a ‘bi-partisan House Committee,’ House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy withdrew support and labeled Pelosi’s decision further evidence that any House Committee and its probing into the events of January 6 was politically “motivated.” Ergo, it’s the politically motivated actions of the Democrats that hold the key to the causes of January 6.
Return to Reality
Paraphrasing Michael Lewis, author, conspiracy to overthrow a government is not a political disease, it’s a social disease.
Political coups follow social malaise.
Follow the investigation (diagnosis):
“The simplest explanation (of terrorism) is usually the best.
“If there is the faintest possibility of an insurrection, you should treat it as being a lot more likely than it seems.
When something doesn’t quite seem right about your diagnosis, respect the feeling, even if you can’t quite put your finger on why the diagnosis might be wrong.”
-p. 27, Michael Lewis, Premonition
Lewis is writing about the tasks of public health officials, whose job of diagnosing outbreaks of communicable disease is shaped more by medical validation than social and cultural reality.
Judy Woodruff:
Do you believe our democracy is in danger as a result of this?
Fiona Hill:
I do.
And I think that danger is increasing by the day, because we’re constantly seeing other political figures trying to emulate Trump. We’re now in a situation where lies and deceit have become the coin of governance.
Judy Woodruff:
It’s a disturbing conclusion in this book.
Fiona Hill, thank you very much.
Conspiracy is like the pandemic: leave it unchecked and it will spread.
December 26–28
1-
2-https://link.medium.com/8Gi3wuc8kmb
3–https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-january-6-committee-lawsuit/2021/10/18/5947ecfe-304b-11ec-9241-aad8e48f01ff_story.html
