Is Donald Trump A Quisling?

Trump is taking his own sweet time in putting together the keystone kabinet, but it is already shaping up to be a gang of incompetents, corporate stooges, and war mongers to warm the heart of any Republican.  And there are even a few woman-beaters and Putin groupies in the mix.  (And there are a lot of homohysterics—more on that in another post.)  But all is not well in Trumpland.

     The GOP is already gearing up for an internal battle over Trump’s connections with Putin, Russian interference in the election, and the appointment of people who seem entirely too favorable to Russian interests.  John McCain is way out front on this, but other Republicans are gradually stiffening up their spines to raise questions.  I think this will make Congress rather less tractable than Trump imagines.  Indeed, it may do more than that; it may bring about the end of the GOP as we know it.

     Several years ago, George Will argued in a column that the GOP had to continue its opposition to abortion because that is all it really stood for anymore.  These days, I would argue that the Republican Party stands for many things—racism, woman-hating, homohysteria, anti-science goofery, war, and, the glue that holds it all together, corporate stoogery.  (Will, to his credit, has left the GOP.)  Be that as it may, I think it is safe to say that one theme, at least, has been consistent in the GOP for several decades—staunch opposition to authoritarian communism.  

     Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, for all that one was a crook and the other a confused old man who didn’t know what was going on, were adamant in their opposition to the USSR and the authoritarian regimes it spawned.  Nixon’s consistent anti-communism made it politically possible for him to initiate a change in our relations with China, and now China is the third largest market for US exports.  Reagan is popular in part because he is viewed as bringing the conflict between capitalism and communism to a successful conclusion.  

     But what of the rest of us?  If there really has been a significant Russian effort to influence the election by propaganda, computer intrusions, and other covert means, this surely offsets the pleasure of watching the GOP get what they’ve got coming.  This sort of meddling, even if it was unsuccessful, would constitute an attack on the country just as serious as a missile attack or a naval incursion into US territory.  An unsuccessful attack is still an attack, and the attacker is still our enemy.  As John Locke wisely said, nations can be in a state of war with one another even when they are not actively shooting.

     But suppose that the investigation initiated by President Obama, or the one that Congress is likely to launch soon, uncovers evidence that Trump was (is) complicit in this meddling.  (As I read the situation, this is not merely an idle supposition.)  And what of McConnell’s insistence on suppressing this intelligence?  Is this treason?  High crimes and misdemeanors?  

     The real danger here is in the damage that this is doing to our political culture.  Many Americans (many, many) are primed simply not to recognize the legitimacy of the incoming administration.  This is not simply frustration at losing an election to what they see as an inferior candidate; it is deep conviction that Trump is profoundly unfit to lead and that he did not win the election lawfully.  And every day, Trump speaks and acts to deepen this conviction.

     And now, it seems, some parts of our government—intelligence agencies, some members of Congress—are coming to share this conviction.   Perhaps the winds of constitutional crisis are gathering.