Democrats Display Increasingly Totalitarian Behavior
A man walks into a boarded up Starbucks Coffee shop at the University of California, Berkeley, Feb. 2, 2017. Violence and rioting forced the cancellation of a talk by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. A spokesman for the campus said it was "not a proud night" for the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
By John HavickMonday, 06 Feb 2017 11:47 AM
Obama said early in his first term as president, at one of his televised appearances, that his party had won the White House and was not going to give the keys back.
At the time, to this writer, such words sounded strange. What past president ever said the other side was not going to get back in the White House? It sounded ominous, even as the crowd cheered this Pied Piper. But on reflection, it was unsettling because it was totalitarian language: seizing power and never letting go — welcome to a totalitarian state.
The actual legacy of the Clinton-Obama era may be characterized as the rise of a far-left Democratic totalitarian mass movement, grown from the mass society they helped create.
Here is how the Democratic behavior matches totalitarian behavior:
Use of raw, violent force. In the recent mob attack on Berkeley campus, unruly students displayed threatening actions, but when about 150 masked outsiders showed up and burned things, it began looking more and more like a totalitarian action. Meanwhile, the mob of students cheered it on. People on the sidelines were attacked.
Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke characterized the Berkeley campus mob riot as a "form of totalitarian behavior." Clarke went on to say that one must understand the difference between protest and resistance. "This was violent with perpetrators wearing masks concealing their identity."
A previous example of mass violence, egged on by far-left politicians, including the past president, Obama, occurred in Ferguson, Missouri. The left totalitarian leaning politicians have consistently attempted to blame the police and Republican policies for the violence in the streets and the assassination of police officers.
Discredit and undermine existing law and government. This leaves a vacuum for its mobs to intimidate and pressure society to relinquish control. In return, if society gives in to the mob, supposedly the mob will stop rioting. How much real opposition has the liberal left shown against the violence?
Infiltrate, capture, and turn existing intermediate organizations into sycophantic, pawns of its movement. In so doing, opposition is weakened. An example of this tactic by the Democrats occurred during the activity leading up to the 2016 election. The Catholic Church hierarchy was not on-board and not in agreement with Democratic policies. Frustrated, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager said (in an email that was later hacked) that the Clinton Democratic machine should try to put more supportive members in the Catholic leadership — by implication, to capture the headquarters of the organization. Once again, this is straight out of totalitarian tactical playbook.
The mass media and universities are already infiltrated by the far-left. The mass media fans the flames of violence, distorting the truth about policies, such as claiming and allowing the lie to be said, without correction, that Trump’s recent executive order halting for three months entry to America from seven hotbeds of terrorist activity, is "a ban on Muslims."
Subvert opposition by secret illegal methods. For example, Hillary Clinton’s campaign supporters allegedly included a "hit squad" that went to Trump rallies hoping to provoke fights and violent clashes. Then the following day campaigning, Hillary would comment about all the trouble and conflict associated with Trump’s rallies.
Another illegal method that the Obama administration employed was allegedly having the IRS clamp down on Tea Party organizations, making it impossible for the organizations to campaign for the Republican candidate. By one estimate, hundreds of organizations were suppressed and their impact was sufficient to give Obama the election victory. The official at the IRS pleaded the Fifth Amendment (she wasn’t going to incriminate herself) and an unethical Justice Department Attorney General failed to investigate. This is classic totalitarian behavior. Democratic supporters ignored the whole business, denying anything was wrong.
Totalitarians have organizations operating 365 days a year, not only during elections. The Democrats appear interested in this type of never ending political activity. Black Lives Matter and other such organizations do not quiet down. Mass communications allow these sprouting-up organizations to be manipulated by centralized control. The most dangerous of these always mobilized organizations is the Clinton Foundation. In between elections, it appeared to pay the election staff at the Foundation. Thus, it could ramp up politically on short notice. This type of shadow organization, mirroring a government or political apparatus, is the totalitarian style.
Democratic Party policy, at present, is almost by definition the mantra of totalitarian behavior. The Democratic policies advocate centralizing almost everything and almost everything in the society is fair game for government supervision — such policies form the underpinnings of a totalitarian society.
In the 2016 election, America came close to turning the government over to these totalitarians. These totalitarians have not accepted the results of the election and have been agitating ever since. It is interesting that before the election the Democrats insisted Trump and his supporters agree with the election results. Since the election, it has been the leftist Democrats who have undermined and opposed the outcome of the election. Americans should beware of these totalitarians who will say anything, desire control, mislead the mobs in the street, and don’t want to give-up the keys to the White House.
John Havick has a Ph.D. in political science. He was a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology for many years, authored several books and a number of articles, including the widely cited "The Impact of the Internet on a Television-Based Society." His work has appeared in The New York Times, and his recent book, "The Ghosts of NASCAR: The Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500," is available at ghostsofnascar.com. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
A man walks into a boarded up Starbucks Coffee shop at the University of California, Berkeley, Feb. 2, 2017. Violence and rioting forced the cancellation of a talk by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. A spokesman for the campus said it was "not a proud night" for the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
By John HavickMonday, 06 Feb 2017 11:47 AM
Obama said early in his first term as president, at one of his televised appearances, that his party had won the White House and was not going to give the keys back.
At the time, to this writer, such words sounded strange. What past president ever said the other side was not going to get back in the White House? It sounded ominous, even as the crowd cheered this Pied Piper. But on reflection, it was unsettling because it was totalitarian language: seizing power and never letting go — welcome to a totalitarian state.
The actual legacy of the Clinton-Obama era may be characterized as the rise of a far-left Democratic totalitarian mass movement, grown from the mass society they helped create.
Here is how the Democratic behavior matches totalitarian behavior:
Use of raw, violent force. In the recent mob attack on Berkeley campus, unruly students displayed threatening actions, but when about 150 masked outsiders showed up and burned things, it began looking more and more like a totalitarian action. Meanwhile, the mob of students cheered it on. People on the sidelines were attacked.
Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke characterized the Berkeley campus mob riot as a "form of totalitarian behavior." Clarke went on to say that one must understand the difference between protest and resistance. "This was violent with perpetrators wearing masks concealing their identity."
A previous example of mass violence, egged on by far-left politicians, including the past president, Obama, occurred in Ferguson, Missouri. The left totalitarian leaning politicians have consistently attempted to blame the police and Republican policies for the violence in the streets and the assassination of police officers.
Discredit and undermine existing law and government. This leaves a vacuum for its mobs to intimidate and pressure society to relinquish control. In return, if society gives in to the mob, supposedly the mob will stop rioting. How much real opposition has the liberal left shown against the violence?
Infiltrate, capture, and turn existing intermediate organizations into sycophantic, pawns of its movement. In so doing, opposition is weakened. An example of this tactic by the Democrats occurred during the activity leading up to the 2016 election. The Catholic Church hierarchy was not on-board and not in agreement with Democratic policies. Frustrated, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager said (in an email that was later hacked) that the Clinton Democratic machine should try to put more supportive members in the Catholic leadership — by implication, to capture the headquarters of the organization. Once again, this is straight out of totalitarian tactical playbook.
The mass media and universities are already infiltrated by the far-left. The mass media fans the flames of violence, distorting the truth about policies, such as claiming and allowing the lie to be said, without correction, that Trump’s recent executive order halting for three months entry to America from seven hotbeds of terrorist activity, is "a ban on Muslims."
Subvert opposition by secret illegal methods. For example, Hillary Clinton’s campaign supporters allegedly included a "hit squad" that went to Trump rallies hoping to provoke fights and violent clashes. Then the following day campaigning, Hillary would comment about all the trouble and conflict associated with Trump’s rallies.
Another illegal method that the Obama administration employed was allegedly having the IRS clamp down on Tea Party organizations, making it impossible for the organizations to campaign for the Republican candidate. By one estimate, hundreds of organizations were suppressed and their impact was sufficient to give Obama the election victory. The official at the IRS pleaded the Fifth Amendment (she wasn’t going to incriminate herself) and an unethical Justice Department Attorney General failed to investigate. This is classic totalitarian behavior. Democratic supporters ignored the whole business, denying anything was wrong.
Totalitarians have organizations operating 365 days a year, not only during elections. The Democrats appear interested in this type of never ending political activity. Black Lives Matter and other such organizations do not quiet down. Mass communications allow these sprouting-up organizations to be manipulated by centralized control. The most dangerous of these always mobilized organizations is the Clinton Foundation. In between elections, it appeared to pay the election staff at the Foundation. Thus, it could ramp up politically on short notice. This type of shadow organization, mirroring a government or political apparatus, is the totalitarian style.
Democratic Party policy, at present, is almost by definition the mantra of totalitarian behavior. The Democratic policies advocate centralizing almost everything and almost everything in the society is fair game for government supervision — such policies form the underpinnings of a totalitarian society.
In the 2016 election, America came close to turning the government over to these totalitarians. These totalitarians have not accepted the results of the election and have been agitating ever since. It is interesting that before the election the Democrats insisted Trump and his supporters agree with the election results. Since the election, it has been the leftist Democrats who have undermined and opposed the outcome of the election. Americans should beware of these totalitarians who will say anything, desire control, mislead the mobs in the street, and don’t want to give-up the keys to the White House.
John Havick has a Ph.D. in political science. He was a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology for many years, authored several books and a number of articles, including the widely cited "The Impact of the Internet on a Television-Based Society." His work has appeared in The New York Times, and his recent book, "The Ghosts of NASCAR: The Harlan Boys and the First Daytona 500," is available at ghostsofnascar.com. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
