During the 2016 presidential campaign, one of Donald Trump’s catchy slogans was drain the swamp. This slogan was his allusion to the political corruption that existed in Washington. Draining the swamp though, was an impossible task for Trump as he lacked the character − he was accused on a number of occasions of not being a honest broker or for being unethical in his business practices – to take on such a task.
Instead of draining the swamp, Trump like a shaman doing the rain dance brought ominous storms to Washington that inundated the swamp for four years. This resulted in a profound undesired political change in Washington as evidenced in the U.S. Congress being more partisan, dysfunctional and ineffective than at any time in its history. Consequently, important bills like the infrastructure and John Lewis Voting Rights Act languish in the Senate. Any attempt to get anything accomplished in the Senate fails because of the partisan divide.
The Republicans are clearly focused one goal and that is to obstruct President Biden’s agenda to make him look like a failed leader. This would give the GOP a good chance to get control of the House and the Senate in the November midterm elections. And if they achieve this then the 2024 presidential election becomes their next focus.
The Republicans are not solely relying on obstructing Biden’s agenda as they are putting voter suppression laws in key states that they control. States like Arkansas, Texas, Montana and Arizona have already done this. These laws are designed to make it difficult for blacks and other minorities to vote. They are aware that the black vote has been a crucial element of Democrats winning election at the state and presidential level.
…some Americans are not cognizant that a weak America will make Russia stronger, Putin knows this.
President Biden’s detractors are being encouraged by the effort of obstructing his agenda as polls show that his popularity has fallen to a low of 38% and according to the news media Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.
The attack on President Biden’s agenda is not just from congressional Republicans. Two other sources that are interfering or obstructing his agenda are the former president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin. This may seem implausible, but not impossible when you consider what they have been doing.
Trump’s interference/obstruction of Biden’s agenda– any skepticism that Trump is interfering/obstructing Biden’s agenda is understandable. After all, he no longer holds any political power and therefore cannot implement any measures that would have any political impact on Biden’s agenda. He still has a lot of influence to get Republicans to indirectly do this for him.
The fact that Trump never conceded the election to Biden after his defeat, and that he continues to say the election was stolen constitute interference and obstruction to Biden’s agenda. The Republican Congress still shows fealty to Trump and so they continue to do the interference/obstruction for him.
Trump since leaving office, has continued to behave like he is campaigning against President Biden. For example, he criticizes him for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic even though he was the one who mismanaged and politicized it to the extent that it killed over 600,000 Americans on his watch.
Two other sources that are loyal to Trump and continue to defend and support him are Fox TV News. No president has benefited from the news media supporting and defending them even with the most blatant wrong doing like Trump has. Fox TV News especially its talk show hosts has done damage control for all his misdeeds including his two impeachment trials. This is a form of interference/obstruction as it influences its viewers to not support Biden’s agenda even when some of his agenda like the Infrastructure Bill benefit their state.
The Russian interference/obstruction angle– it may sound ludicrous to say that Russia is still interfering with the US election and its politics. It would be naïve to believe that if Putin sees a weakness in the US political system that he could benefit from he would not take advantage of this. Circumstantial evidence shows that he did this in the 2016 election without being held accountable. So, there is no reason for him to stop especially when he can derive strategic benefits from doing so.
While it seems like some Americans are not cognizant that a weak America will make Russia stronger, Putin knows this. Putin will therefore, continue to do things that will further weaken America so that he can grow Russia’s power and influence globally. He has achieved this to some degree when Trump was president. Trump wittingly or unwittingly has compromised America’s democracy, institutions, and the patriotism of many Americans. Putin benefits from all of this.
The pending invasion of Russia’s neighbor, the Ukraine, is one component of the formula Putin is using to influence the midterm election in November. An invasion of Ukraine put Biden in a Catch-22 position. If he takes drastic action like sending US troops to help Ukraine, Republicans and the conservative media will give him hell. If he doesn’t take any action, they will still give him hell.
...the US will continue to weaken itself as the Republicans continue their Machiavellian politics.
If Putin invades Ukraine it will definitely put pressure on Biden even though the US has no strategic interest there other than to support neighboring NATO countries. Whatever response Biden provides, the Republicans will play devil’s advocate to score political points for the midterm election. Republicans could very well get control of the House and Senate and just like that the US would find itself in dire straits. All the problems Trump created would not get fixed and Republicans would have more power to continue their corrupt ways like expanding their voter suppression program.
Putin’s benefit from an invasion of Ukraine, is not solely to interfere with the US politics. He would derive economic benefits because Ukraine is the gateway for Russia’s access to Europe. He can transport natural gas easily and move into Europe with little or no resistance.
Whether Putin decides to invade or not invade Ukraine, the US will continue to weaken itself as the Republicans continue their Machiavellian politics. Congressional Republicans have demonstrated an irresponsible and reckless behavior that can be summed up in this comment by Hans F. Sennholz:
Once in power and at the levers of political control, Machiavellian politicians are likely to serve their own selfish ends. They seek success by saying what people believe, or can be made to believe, rather than what is demonstrably true. They think of the next election, rather than of the next generation. They look for the success of their party rather than that of their fellowmen. They grant benefits and confer entitlements to the most numerous class of voters, who in turn, pledge their votes for election and reelection. At the same time, they impose financial burdens on less numerous classes of citizens who can be ignored at the polls.
The above comment aptly describes everything the Republicans in Congress have been doing during Trump’s presidency and are continuing to do. And they are not doing all these things surreptitiously as evidenced in their voter suppression schemes. This of course weakens America; divides people; undermines democracy, compromise the rule of law; and causes mistrust in the integrity of its institutions,
America is an exceptional and resilient country that has faced serious adversities and recover from them − though not necessarily in a wholesome manner − the civil war, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights struggle of the 60s. Maybe there is still hope that the entities that are damaging America will come to some realization of the harm they are doing to their country and work together unselfishly to remove the harmful effects that threaten America today.