You know who that is, the guy in the picture. Or at least you think you do. But it’s not the 45th President of the United States who is fictional. He is Buzz Windrip, who won the election of 1936, defeating FDR.
Actually, Windrip is a fictional character, too. He is the anti-hero of Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 Book and 1936 play, “It Can’t Happen Here.”
As fascism and nazism posing as populism rose in Europe, the United States was mired in what still is the worst depression in our history.
Sound familiar? Windrip was a bully, a loudmouth and a lout. If Twitter had existed, he would have been right up there with Prez 45 dissing the communists, the Jews, the unions, the clergy, and the media.
Sound familiar? Windrip took office and promptly outlawed dissent. He assembled a military force akin to the German SS and set about getting rid of “unpatriotic men” and “people who failed to uphold
“traditional American values.”
Sound familiar? Windrip was a business type and member of the Rotary Club.
There was no Environmental Protection Agency, but had there been you can bet Windrip would have gotten rid of it. There was no department of education. There wasn’t any cabinet job with today’s duties of the Labor Department.
This made destroying what little regulation there was easier than it will be now, but no less sure.
So, a tactless con man becomes president and the economic recovery he promises never happens. His closest aides manage to oust him and exile him to France.
Lewis didn’t give us a full accounting of this horror’s end. But he did give us hope things wouldn’t get as bad as many of us now expect it to.
Today is the first day of the rest of Trump’s presidency. He will discover that the job is bigger and tougher than he -- or anyone else -- and he has to accommodate to that. It’s humanly impossible not to. Ask anyone who has had the job.
The White House is not a corporate boardroom. It is not a betting parlor. It is not a downtown social club, or an Atlantic City casino. If #45 thinks otherwise, it will crush him.
But it won’t crush us.
Today’s Quotes:
-“The press has been very dishonest when it comes to me.” --D. Trump.
-“You keep us honest and make sure we’re accountable to the people who sent us here.” --B. Obama saying goodbye to reporters.
Grapeshot:
-Get used to Code 45, the language spoken by the staff and management of the incoming administration which has all kinds of unique ways of expressing its bigotry.
-Code 45 example: Rapper Kanye West was not invited to perform at the inauguration ceremonies because -- and here comes the code -- they are going to be a “typical and traditional American…” event.
-Kanye West might not be to your taste in entertainment but he’s pretty popular… and what’s more typically and traditionally American than that?
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com
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© WJR 2017
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