The Polish Resistance (post-WWII), Solidarity, took on the Soviet-dominated government of Poland and won. During WWII the French resistance, led by Charles de Gaulle, battled the Vichy government which collaborated with the Nazis. After the war, De Gaulle formed and led France’s Fifth Republic. History is filled with heroic resistance efforts, often movements of life or death.
So now we come to the American resistance movement circa 2017, against all things Trump. I have several thoughts.
President Trump was elected. All who oppose him, left, right and center needs to understand the underlying human dynamics of the 2016 election and demonstrate what they have learned in the 2018 elections. Also, resistance movements feed on suppression; a singular focus and intense loyalty develop as its members seek to avoid being crushed by the secret police. In our hemisphere heroism is now in the streets in Venezuela.
In America, we enjoy a form of institutional resistance to overreach. America has very rocky soil when it comes to sowing the seeds of authoritarianism. The Courts have pushed back against Trump orders. The Congress is tied in knots as Trump is quick to thunder expectations but incapable of making a public case for legislative change—Tweets won’t do it.
As the resistance movement was outlined in a Rolling Stone article, it is entirely too institutional; its agenda is an amalgamation of support group policies, many whose causes helped lead to Trump’s victory. It also includes Evan McMullin who, as a conservative, ran an independent campaign for President. Recently it became even more mainstream as Hillary Clinton announced her intention to help fund it.
In the President’s chosen Party, it is now becoming evident that he, rather than suppressing wayward elements, has freed them. There is now an outspoken moderate movement. The primaries of 2016 made it clear that hard-edged conservative orthodoxy was not what the Republican voters wanted.
On the left, it is hard to believe that somebody to the left of Hillary Clinton could have defeated Trump. Unfortunately, Ms. Clinton’s flaws as a candidate serve a narrative that her loss was not determined by policy. And the Russian intervention serves those who avert their eyes when it comes to unpopular government prescriptions.
One of the great ironies of the 21st Century is that great businesses are being built on an increasingly precise understanding of human behavior, while political parties increasingly wallow in opinions. Amazon, Google, and Facebook, to name the headliners, know how we behave and now sit atop capital markets worldwide. Frighteningly, they have turned knowledge about us into money machines.
Perversely, America has elected its first businessman, and he too wallows in opinions, often ones based on false assumptions. At the Oscars they ask for the “envelope please;” Trump needs to ask for the data.
It is, of course, plausible to conclude that a resistance built on Never-Trump across the ideological spectrum will not harm the country. An oft repeated refrain is that the country is safer when Congress is in recess.
But, we all better hope that the resistance does not so weaken the President that foreign provocations become more likely and that Trump, failing domestically, asserts himself abroad. My advice: take on the President’s policies if you can identify them. All this focus on Trump the personality is a restatement of the obvious.
I would suggest that the Never-Trump movement be unlike the President—discerning.
Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al recently published Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.
John W. Pettit says
There’s a world of difference between opposing Trump’s policies on the merits and Resisting Everything Trump because you don’t think he should be President. As Al rightly points out, Trump was democratically elected under the terms of our Constitution and no amount of resistance will change that fact, nor should it. Democratic elections are how we select our leaders and we all have a stake in ensuring that the results of those elections are respected no matter the outcome. To do otherwise weakens our constitutional system, our ability to govern, and invites foreign misadventures.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Very interesting. I imagine colluding with our enemies to undermine one’s opponent is illegal. Also, please stop normalizing this man. He is dangerous and unbalanced; he owes his business and presidency to Russian capital.