(Judge Bork, in the old days)

I enjoyed our recent dance through the current campaign to overthrow the Government of the United States. It has been great fun to see the drama unfold, and to follow the plays and players in the drama. It took me a while to get in synch with the operational scheme. The kids who are allowed to riot in the streets- 57 days so far in Portland- are a necessary and dramatic part of the narrative. They are hardly going to be the bold revolutionaries that rule the roost when the overthrow is complete. That will actually be the faces of people we have known for a half century- The Speaker of the House and Minority leader of the Senate come to mnd. And of course the legion of government workers and their institutions that have swum through the pandemic at full pay.

As I noted the other day, this is impressive. It is well thought out, and seems- at the moment- likely to elect a figurehead President presiding over a majority in both houses of Congress. Last time an alignment like that was in place we got a health care system that could not launch its own website. I expect even more excitement when the coming coup succeeds.

Whether you like the President or not, it is fair to note his administration has been under siege since before his inauguration. The zest surrounding the Russian investigation continues today, resurrected by people who apparently don’t read their old email. It is cool. I have a pal of very long standing who thinks the New York Times “1619” project is true. No kidding.

The plan, as originally conceived, gets complicated. The last candidate put forward was an icy cold person with a long history of obeying only the laws she liked. She was so unlikeable that states she assumed would support her narrowly did not. Her election would have continued the startling transformation of law and order for another eight years. But there may be something else going on. I don’t know if the smart people decided to end the dynasty she represented, or if the current development is to blame the pandemic disaster on the current President and move on with someone more reliably in the Party.

Naturally, that does not include the current presumptive candidate, who is lucky to find his way out of his basement. I saw an opinion piece the other day that Mrs. Obama would be a perfect candidate for vice president, with the elected President quickly retiring for health concerns.

I will be watching the selection process with great interest. So far it is playing out in a surreal but interesting way. I love politics.

I applauded the determination to nominate Mrs. Clinton at the time since it was so emotional, even if it made no particular sense. I mean, as repugnant as they consider the President to be, you would think it might take a couple days to pile up high crimes and misdemeanors, right? But the reaction to the failed attempt to elect a coup plotter contained a great and entertaining ride with some amazing politicians like Rep. Nadler and the ever-colorful Rep. Schiff. Having tried to devise schemes to alter the course of public events myself, I admire the zest and zeal of these committed solons.

What is of interest to me now is how the same playbook has been expanded across the lanes of influence. The bias of the media- allegedly the mainstream media- has been well known for a long time and is hardly a matter of controversy. They used to hide it, but I am pleased to see it come out in the open, wild and rollicking. The New York Times now has assumed a position of authority once reserved for the National Inquirer. The playbook in use is well known. Derived from guidance provided by the legendary 1930s insurrectionist Saul Alinsky, the campaign is now smoothed to utilize current events as tinder for new flames.

It is awesome, and great to see some of the originators of the modern version still in the game. The first of the successful attempts was so good that it received the name of the man who was skewered by the playbook. Most folks now active in the game were not born when it happened, but I remember being entertained by the public assault on Robert Bork, who had the misfortune to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court.

He was intended to replace retiring Justice Lewis Powell back in 1987, when the modern ruination campaign was being taken on a successful trial run. I remember the emotional confirmation process that trashed Judge Bork, so fraught with controversy over a perceived threat to civil rights decisions of the Warren and Berger courts.

It was cool to watch, and the use of accusations of racism were so successful in application that the Bork nomination went down in flames. He had been mangled by a process the media supported. They called it “being Borked.”

The personal attack strategy thus became enshrined in the modern political playbook. Next to face it was Justice Clarence Thomas. Since Thomas was an African American, his politics were not important enough to trump the color of his skin. Adding current sensibilities to the campaign, accusations of sexual misconduct were launched by former Thomas associate Anita Hill. I thought it was novel, since there was evidence that seemed to mitigate the accusations, but Ms. Hill stayed the course, and is still dining out on her courageous accusations.

It was spectacular to watch, since the narrative stream was new. It engaged a new and growing segment of society which had actually experienced harassment in the workplace and wanted it stopped. Judge Thomas was perplexed at the playbook, and in frustration complained that the whole thing was nothing more than a high-tech lynching. It was entertaining to see the narratives collide, and if one of the successful impacts of the process was to bring anguish to the Thomas household and public domain, it succeeded. Unfortunately it did not stop his confirmation, but was close enough that the process was incorporated in the playbook.

Now in the playbook, personal destruction became the main theme. It was rolled out when the unlikely President got to fill a second vacancy on the High Court.

(Ms Ford and Judge Kavanaugh)

Judge Kavanaugh was nominated, and the playbook was rolled out. This one was very cool. Christine Ford was selected to bear the message, and voiced a powerful case against Kavanaugh, based on allegations of ancient sexual misconduct. She had no confirmation of her serious claims, and no recollection of when they occurred. Still, she was a marvelous witness against the Judge and well coached for the performance. She played a demure and believable victim of collegiate misconduct, and almost pulled it off. It was that close.
One wonders why anyone would accept a nomination sure to provoke the vilest of accusations, even if there are no witnesses or reliable dates associated with the narrative. It was great theater, even if it might have been tough on Kavanaugh’s family while it was in progress, and to some degree for the rest of their lives. Well tried. Whoever is going to be nominated to replace Justice Ginsberg, a determined lady, will doubtless be accused of worse.

The playbook never rests, though, and if a woman is nominated to replace her by the current president, there will have to be some modifications to the traditional campaign.
Meanwhile, the playbook has been demonstrated as an effective political tool across all aspects of social resistance.The media itself is a great target, and one still vulnerable to the usual accusations. They are successfully driving Fox and One America News to the left. The righteous successfully nailed Roger Aisles at Fox and had the advantage of being right. That is necessary periodically to retain believability. Recently, with ratings boosting some of the Fox personalities, it was clearly necessary to do a drive-by attack on the top-rated figures to ensure only one true narrative was heard.

Tucker Carlson, Sen Hannity, Ed Harris and even media commentator Howard Kurtz were assailed. They nailed Ed, and he is gone, despite the positive press that went along with donating part of his liver to his ailing sister. The allegations against Hannity and Carlson seem to be incomprehensible, but I have already seen “and accused sex criminal” added to their bios. It is very cool.

I admit to enjoying the old Tucker Carlson. Humor was part of his schtick. He climbed the ratings with his bow tie and relentless bu gentle mocking of progressives who allowed themselves to be pilloried on air. I liked the style. My last three or four years in business I joined him in choice of ties. My twist on it was all mine were clip-ons.

The story with Tucker changed and his humor diminished after he was doxxed. That is a bold new tactic to publish home addresses and the like on people you do not like. All sorts of things can happen, none of them good. In Tucker’s case, crowds trashed his home in DC- twice. His wife called 911 from a closet in fright on the first one, since it was timed to be when he was actually on air for his evening show. It was a neat twist.

He moved and his public tone became more somber. Paradoxically, his ratings rose to become #1 on cable news. He clearly needed to be placed under continued pressure. The Times assigned a “reporter” and a free lance photographer to dox him again, this time in the guise of news. To nail him clearly, a former occasional guest on his show accused him of sexual harassment. It was exactly the play used against Brett Kavanaugh, so nearly successful. She also made similar charges against Sean Hannity, formerly #1 at Fox. The targets were clear, but unfortunately, both accusations have come to nothing because they apparently didn’t happen.

At least the accusation has been made.

I don’t know if we will get Tucker using the playbook. Right thinking people have been trying to get his advertisers to drop support, and they may succeed. This is a multi-front battle to get him off the air, and I am sure the playbook will be updated for new approaches when we need to destroy a woman nominated for the Supreme Court.

That will be interesting. White men are too easy. They are the main supporters of institutional racism, after all, and most wrongs in the world. The playbook will have to be updated for something new, and I am sure something will come up. I will keep you posted. Plus, It will be in the news.

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
http://www.vicsocotra.com