It Can’t Be Happening Here…Unless It Already Is

I’m Pretty Sure It’s Happening Here

December 1, 2018

“The Senator was vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his "ideas" almost idiotic, while his celebrated piety was that of a traveling salesman for church furniture, and his yet more celebrated humor the sly cynicism of a country store.

Certainly there was nothing exhilarating in the actual words of his speeches, nor anything convincing in his philosophy. His political platforms were only wings of a windmill.”

                                                Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

First edition cover

With It Can't Happen Here, originally published in October 1935, Sinclair Lewis offered up an unsettling tale of Berzelius Windrip, a duly elected American president who is an empty-headed, duplicitous, unabashed authoritarian, who uses the presidency and the nation for his personal enrichment, demands unwavering loyalty while showing absolutely none in return, has no respect for democracy or the laws of the land, and who despises the free press.  Hmmmmm, why does this seem so familiar? 

Briefly, Senator Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, is a charismatic and power-hungry politician.  Windrip wins the 1936 nomination, wresting his party’s leadership from sitting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the Democratic convention, then easily beats his Republican opponent, Senator Walt Trowbridge. Windrip runs on a populist platform, promising to restore the country to prosperity and greatness, promising each citizen $5,000 a year, and portraying himself as a champion of traditional U.S. values.  This unthinkable fiction is now in progress.  It is in fact happening here.  Presently, it is not a fait accompli.  Not yet.

“Why are you so afraid of the word ‘Fascism,’ Doremus? Just a word—just a word! And might not be so bad, with all the lazy bums we got panhandling relief nowadays, and living on my income tax and yours—not so worse to have a real Strong Man, like Hitler or Mussolini—like Napoleon or Bismarck in the good old days—and have ‘em really run the country and make it efficient and prosperous again. ‘Nother words, have a doctor who won’t take any back-chat, but really boss the patient and make him get well whether he likes it or not!”
                                                Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

Chrump tries desperately to pretend to read what he thinks is a how-to book

Presumably it can happen anywhere, and having a racist, anti-democratic, mentally defective narcissist as prezident is a solid first step to American fascism.  Fortunately, the first meaningful sign of push-back began on November 6^th.  This is not entirely true, since a very meaningful sign of resistance took place on January 21, 2017 – the day after the barely legitimate (as far as appears true as of this writing) inauguration of the real-life Buzz Windrip.  The massive Women’s March on Washington, which became a historic global event, made clear that the majority of Americans, who voted against the pseudo-prezident (as well as concerned people around the world), were not prepared to take Chrump’s ignorance, racism and lying, lying down. 

A larger, potentially more significant event would have to wait almost two years, until the 2018 midterm elections – a chilling crossroad, which might prove to be the most significant turning point in American history since a ragtag file of demonstrators threw 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

It turns out that the size of the Democratic steamrolling of Chrump’s Republican’t party on November 6^th was the largest midterm margin of victory in American history.  Democrats outpolled Republicans by 8.8 million in the overall House popular vote.  The only other election that came close was in 1974, when Richard Nixon poisoned the Republican’t well by Watergating America and Democrats outdid the GOP by 8.7 million votes. 

I. Mangrey reporting.  The people, united, will never be defeated.