It has been an eventful week for the Trump administration. First a book was published by a famous reporter which documents the chaos within the White House and then an anonymous editorial was published in the New York Times which documents the ”resistance” within the White House. It is most unusual for the Times to publish an anonymous editorial so it stands to reason that the editors recognized the source as a high ranking official within the Trump administration. The NYT said they agreed to publish it as ”anonymous” in order to protect the source from disciplinarian action, such as the loss of a job. More likely, they agreed to publish it because it is so critical of Trump, and the Times is by no means a big fan of Trump. There is a good reason for this, as Trump hates the Times. He insults the Times on a regular basis. He refers to it as ”the failing New York Times”. But then, he insults all journalists, considers them the enemy, refers to them as people who report ”fake news”.
The journalists are speculating as to the identity of the author, and Trump is reported to be in a frenzy. He wants the FBI to investigate, even though no crime has been committed. He is referring to this as an act of treason, which it is not, but it could lead to that. Trump and the journalists are asking the wrong question. The individual who wrote the editorial is not important. Without doubt, that individual is merely a professional writer for the spokesperson for a group of people who are defying the democratically elected president of the United States. In this case, that person is Trump, and the members of the ”resistance” are members of his own administration.
For the purpose of this article I refer to the ”resistance” as the White House Resistance, which stands in stark contrast to the resistance of the American people, the members of the public.
As the writer said, he- or she- is ”part of a resistance”. It is not just one person but ”many of the senior officials in his own administration” who are part of the ”resistance”. They plan to ”steer the administration in the right direction until-”one way or another”- its over.” They say their ”first duty is to this country and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic. That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions.”
I should mention that the people whom the president appoints as administrators, or bureaucrats, are referred to as members of the administration, not to be confused with those who are elected to office, who are referred to as politicians. The difference is that politicians answer to the voters, while the bureaucrats answer only to the president. It also means that these same bureaucrats are very similar to the president who appointed them to office, as Trump has surrounded himself with his own kind. These bureaucrats are every bit the liars, just as devoid of principle, as is Trump. It is not clear just why Trump is surprised that people whom he appointed, those who are equally devoid of principle, have turned on him. Then again, perhaps it is clear. Trump is just as stupid as he is arrogant.
It is clear that Trump has not carefully read that statement. For that matter, other journalists and members of the public are not taking the threat seriously. Instead, they are speculating as to the identity of the author, and are determined to track that individual down. They suspect the key word is ”lodestone”, a word which is not commonly used, so now they are making like little Hiawatha and are hot on the trail of the official who has been known to use that word.
A reality check is in order. High ranking American officials do not write their own speeches, and this editorial is supremely well written. Most of such officials are not capable of putting several words together to form a coherent sentence. So they hire professional writers to write their speeches for them and then the simple half wits recite those speeches. They may not understand the words but they can read, so I give them credit for that. The rest is simply a matter of looking dignified and sincere. Other professionals train them to look dignified, and they are very good at faking sincerity.
It is clear that a high ranking official within the White House persuaded the Times to publish the editorial, and that is a fact. It is doubtful that the same individual is responsible for writing the editorial, just as it is very possible that this individual is not the leader of the White House resistance.
The editorial stresses the fact that there are several people forming this White House resistance, and probably a great many people. There is strength in numbers and it is very likely this same White House Resistance has been building for many months. Now there are so many members and they are so powerful, or at least they think they are so powerful, they are openly challenging Trump. That is a tall order, as Trump is still the president.
No doubt there are bureaucrats within the administration who are part of the White House resistance, as the editorial claims, but I suspect there is more to it than that. It is very likely that there are numerous others who have joined the group, and that includes politicians and military people. They have chosen to go public with their challenge to Trump for a reason, making the American citizens aware that they exist. It could be they are preparing a coup, to take over the government. That would truly qualify as an act of treason. For that matter, to even plot to overthrow the democratically elected government of the United States may qualify as an act of treason. Trump may not be far off when he referred to this as an act of treason.
As for those who think this could not happen in America, as America is not a ”banana republic”, I can only suggest a reality check. These high ranking officials, those who refer to themselves as the ”resistance”, are now quite confident. They are preparing a major strike. They are letting the American citizens know that they exist, that their ”first duty is to this country”, that they have ”vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions” and with this in mind they ”will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until – one way or another – its over”.
The key phrase here is ”one way of another”. I suspect that ”another” way involves seizing power, as a ”duty to this country” and as a means of ”preserving our democratic institutions”.
If that sounds like a convoluted, twisted form of logic, there is a reason for that. It is a convoluted, twisted form of logic. Just bear in mind the source, which is a high ranking official in the White House, one of the same people who have championed such terms as ”alternative facts”. The capacity of these people for self delusion is not to be under estimated.
I repeat, Trump has surrounded himself with people just like himself. This is to say that the people he has appointed to high ranking posts within the administration are every bit the liars and thieves that he is. They are completely devoid of principle, self serving, strictly out for themselves, determined to climb the ladder of success. Their capacity for self delusion is not to be underestimated. They are quite capable of confusing acts of treason with acts of patriotism.
A seizure of power would not be terribly difficult if the military, perhaps the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were part of the White House Resistance. No doubt there is a military base close to the White House and their duty is to protect the White House. If ordered, they can occupy that building within a matter of minutes. It would help if the head of the personal body guard of the president, which is to say the Secret Service, was also part of the White House Resistance. Not that it is necessary, as the Secret Service people are not entirely stupid. They are not about to challenge the American military.
As for those who think this is far fetched, may I suggest that there is a reason the White House Resistance has chosen to reveal the fact that they exist. They fully anticipated that Trump would be roused to a frenzy, that he is not about to allow any members of his administration to ”steer the administration in the right direction”, and that there is really no alternative but to seize power. They have also anticipated a backlash from the American people, a true resistance of the public, and this is their way of preparing the American citizens for that seizure of power, in an attempt to limit that public backlash.
Every organization has a leader, and the White House Resistance is no different. The leader of this White House Resistance is no fool, is carefully preparing the groundwork in advance. After the anticipated seizure of power, the coup, we can expect the military to declare martial law, all democratic rights to be suspended, and all government institutions to be disbanded. That will spell the end of the Senate and House of Representatives, and very likely the Supreme Court, among others.
When and if that happens, we can expect the American people to rise up in protest. That could well trigger the next American revolution.
As Lenin pointed out, monopoly capitalism is imperialism, and imperialism is complete reaction. We can expect absolutely nothing progressive from those people. It is simply beyond their ability. The journalists are speaking of a looming constitutional crisis, but in fact it is nothing other than a crisis in capitalism.
As Lenin pointed out in Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder, the experience of all revolutions, and in particular the experience of the three revolutions of Russia in the early twentieth century, has confirmed the following:
”The fundamental law of revolution is that …for a revolution to take place it is essential that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule in the old way ”.
We should first point out that the three revolutions to which he was referring was the Russian revolution of 1905, which did not succeed in overthrowing the Czar, followed by the February revolution of 1917 which did succeed in overthrowing the Czar, and finally the successful November revolution of 1917 which established the first socialist republic.
The point being that Lenin spoke from experience, and he was absolutely correct.
With that in mind, let us examine our current situation, here in America. Without a doubt, the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie are in charge. Up until very recently, their method of rule was quite effective. But now, it is clear that the capitalists cannot ”live and rule in the old way”.
As for those who dispute that fact, may I suggest a reality check. The country is pretty well divided between those who swear by Trump and those who swear at Trump. The ranks of those who swear at Trump are growing. No one disputes the fact that he lies constantly, and not just when his lips are moving. He also lies when he tweets.
This has given rise to the White House Resistance, as the bourgeoisie cannot live and rule in the old way. They are now preparing to change their method of rule. It also means that the ruling class is deeply divided.
Lenin also says that ”revolution is impossible without a nation wide crisis, affecting both the exploiters and the exploited.” He goes on to say that it is necessary that a ”majority of the class conscious, thinking and politically active workers should fully realize that revolution is necessary and that they should be prepared to die for it.”
Lenin emphasizes that ”the ruling class should be going through a government crisis, which draws even the most backward masses into politics..weakens the government and makes it possible for the revolutionaries to rapidly overthrow it.”
That certainly describes our current state of affairs in America. The government is in a state of crisis and a great many people, including those who formerly took no interest in politics, are now ”waking up”, as they phrased it. The vast majority of workers, especially the more advanced workers, are fed up, demanding change. Now it is necessary for workers to be encouraged to read Marxist Leninist literature, especially State and Revolution, What Is To Be Done?, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism and Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder. This article is based largely on the last mentioned writing by Lenin.
It is absolutely essential that the most advanced workers become class conscious, aware of the necessity for revolution, aware that they are members of a class, aware that the bourgeoisie must be overthrown, aware that we must establish the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat and crush the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie. The most advanced workers will lead and the less advanced workers, those who respect the advanced workers, will follow them. That is the only way in which we can leave a better world to our children. That is worth dying for.
Now is the time to strike, while the ruling class, the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are divided, quarrelling among themselves.
Let the banners and posters proclaim:
Scientific Socialism!
Revolution!
Dictatorship of the Proletariat!
Workers of the World, Unite!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 