Follow the Money
In the nearly 17 years this blog has existed (on February the fifth we begin our 18th year) more than a handful of the now 874 posts have dealt with the history, nature and psychological underpinnings of political conspiracies. Regardless of whether the conspiracy involved Masons or Jews, Communists, Socialists or the Hollywood film industry - to name but a few - they all seem to have found an audience prepared to believe that they were true, thus explaining that which was both frightening about contemporary political society or making understandable the otherwise deeply inexplicable.
Goodness knows, we are once again in the midst of “Conspiracy Land.” To many of us, it seems like the wheels have become detached from the democratic wagon, becoming replaced by a kind of pilotless drone searching out the quickest path to autocracy. In seemingly the wink of an eye, American politics have become obsessed with the “Big Lie” (AKA “Stop the Steal”); the danger of teaching “Critical Race Theory” to public school students (which they are not); the dire necessity of curbing voting rights in the name of keeping elections free of dishonesty (which demonstrably, they are not); and enacting laws which, if allowed to stand, will make a woman’s right to choose all but impossible in more than half the states of our now teetering Union.
The late conservative pundit/Harvard-trained psychiatrist Charles Krauthammer (whom I read regularly . . . and just as regularly disagreed with) once noted “In explaining any puzzling Washington phenomenon, always choose stupidity over conspiracy, incompetence over cunning. Anything else gives them too much credit.” In another place he wrote “Whenever you're faced with an explanation of what's going on in Washington, the choice between incompetence and conspiracy, always choose incompetence.” These are likely the only 2 “Krauthammerisms” in which I ever found more than a soupçon of truth. For when it comes to the various conspiratorial bits floating about these days, it’s really, truly difficult to imagine them being dreamed up and led by the MAGA crowd. Look back on the people he surrounded himself with during his 4 years in office. The only qualification for appointment to the cabinet or his personal staff was loyalty . . . not experience, nor accomplishment nor vision nor even a scintilla of competence. If experience, accomplishment, vision or competence were required, he never would have made John D. McEntee ii (his onetime “body man” who carried his golf clubs and suitcase) the Director of Presidential Personnel, or Daniel Scavino (who was general manager of the Trump International Golf Club) Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications or Hope Hicks, (a former model of - and P.R. person for First Daughter Ivanka Trump’s fashion line) his Director of Communications.
As the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol continues to issue subpoenas and invitations, hold hearings and work alongside the Department of Justice, it seems only logical that they would follow the advice so succinctly stated by “Deep Throat,” as played by the late actor Hal Holbrook in All the President’s Men: “FOLLOW THE MONEY.” For all we know, perhaps that is part of the Select Committee’s strategy; to determine where all the money for organizing the January 6th insurrection came from, as well as to determine who is underwriting all the various issues - CRT. library book banning, anti-vaxx demonstrations as well as state and municipal legislative efforts to give Botox injections to the American system of voting. By following the money behind all these efforts, we exit the world of the incompetent and begin the journey to the land of the capable. For all we know, perhaps the trail will lead abroad, and one day the face of Vladimir Putin will begin appearing in the mirror.
Sound overly conspiratorial . . . too 1984ish? Well, we do know with a degree of certainty that Putin and his cronies played a major role in the 2016 presidential election . . . putting their favorite "useful idiot” into office. What’s to say they ever stopped?
Dear Chairman Thompson and members of the Select Committee . . . do whatever you have to in order to get to the bottom of this ghastly insurrection and all that surrounds it.
And please, please, by all means, follow the money!
Copyright©2022 Kurt F. Stone