Yesterday I took this photo at the Stater Brothers checkout counter. What the fuck has happened to the Enquirer? And the Globe? Used to be these were just cheap gossip rags about celebrity cellulite and maybe the occasional Bigfoot story. But this is some scary shit. It’s blatant political propaganda, perfectly positioned to reach trump’s base. The cult members conservatives don’t even have to strain their beady little eyes reading the whole paper because everything they need to know screams at them from the headlines. But hey, this is the Enquirer and the Globe. Everybody knows they’re full of shit, right?
Well, the rest of us damn well better pay attention because these stories are NOT gonna just blow over. The dark forces inside the rightwing have spent thirty years spent demonizing Hillary Clinton until the mere mention of her name is enough to catapult cult members conservatives into apoplectic hysteria. And the cult right isn’t done with her, not by a long shot. These are criminal accusations being leveled at both her and Obama.
We should ask ourselves what’s really going on here. The obvious explanation is that a strong offense is the best defense. As the trump White House continually reveals itself to be more toxic and foul than the drinking water in a poor neighborhood, what better way to deflect attention from themselves? My fear is that beneath this tawdry display lurks an even darker and more purposeful agenda. The whacko headlines aren’t merely a distraction, they’re laying the groundwork for a good old-fashioned Christian witch hunt.
Think about it. The cult right can’t bring these accusations to a real court of law. For that, they’d need actual evidence and witnesses. Who are they gonna call to the stand, Alex Jones? Fun as that sounds, the surest way to prosecute persecute their political enemies is in the court of public opinion. No judge, no jury, no due process. Just a rabid mob screaming “lock them up!” as Clinton and Obama get hauled away on some trumped-up charge. Maybe they wind up in a dark cell somewhere. Or maybe, if we want to get really dystopian about this, an empty football stadium would be perfect for a public lynching.
Don’t think it can’t happen here. It’s already happening here.