Civil War Talk about Enemies Within and Rising Resistance
"No Votes for Genocide" march in New York City, November 2, 2024
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are using civil war talk about enemies within the country. Given the intense rivalries among the ruling factions vying for the presidency, this reflects concern about the likely failure of a peaceful transition of power and the potential for open violent civil war following the election.
While many in the ruling class are desperate to avoid civil war and are championing Harris in the hopes that she can preserve the Union, they cannot predict the outcome. The basis for targeting both the peoples' movements and government officials is being laid by both candidates to justify actions against them after the election.
Trump has repeatedly talked about "the enemy within." He names both "radical left" protesters, such as those who demonstrated against racist police killings -– which number in their millions -- and people associated with Kamala Harris.
On October 27, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, clearly referring to Biden and Harris, Trump said that the "enemy from within" is harming the country with "open-border policies (and) record-setting inflation." This is the same rally where extreme racist statements were made about Puerto Rico being garbage. Biden responded saying it is Trump supporters that are garbage, a statement he later tried to fudge. But both candidates speak of working people not as human beings with rights but as being disposable, in the words introduced by both campaigns, like trash to be discarded.
Attacks on Puerto Rico also serve to hide the fact that Puerto Ricans, who are U.S. citizens, if they live in Puerto Rico, are not allowed to vote for President. Puerto Rico has no representation in Congress and, unlike the District of Columbia (Washington, DC), has no Electoral College votes either.
On October 13, Trump told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that U.S. Representative Adam Schiff of California is "the enemy from within." Schiff was lead prosecutor for the first impeachment against Trump when he was president. In the same interview, when asked about the possibility of Election Day chaos, Trump spoke about there being "very bad people," "radical left lunatics" who should be handled if "necessary" by the National Guard or even the military.
On October 6 at his Juneau, Wisconsin rally Trump said, "And by the way, the enemy from within, the crazy lunatics that we have, the fascists, the Marxists, the communists, the people that we have that are actually [running] the country, not her, she's not running it and Biden's not running it either, and you all know that." "Those people are more dangerous, the enemy from within than Russia and China and other people," he said.
By giving emphasis to "the enemy within" by naming both those organizing for rights and government officials, and often repeating claims that the 2020 election was stolen, Trump also implies that those associated with Harris are also enemies. In this way, Trump is laying the ground for retaliation and violence against them. This is especially true of protesters, to be dealt with not only by police and National Guard but also the active military, as he has said is required.
By naming fascists and communists together, he is using the old, Cold War method of saying the two are the same. This is to hide the reality that the U.S. working class and people stood as one with the world's peoples including the communists and anti-fascist resistance forces against the German Nazis, Italian fascists and Japanese militarists and defeated them with much sacrifice. They stood as one with the Soviet Union and cheered its superlative victories in the battles of Stalingrad, Moscow, Kursk when the Soviet Red Army fought virtually alone.
It is a means to discredit the organized resistance today while justifying increased repression, including against all those opposing U.S. genocide at home and abroad. There is no doubt that in the coming period the rulers will more directly accuse people of antisemitism -– a charge which has utterly failed but is used anyway -– as well as of being terrorists or agents of terrorist states or foreign powers. These accusations are used against all those who refuse to conciliate with U.S. crimes. Efforts are already being made to jail communists, anti-war, anti-racist and pro-Palestine activists as well as opponents of anti-migrant, anti-women and anti-LGBTQ2S+ attacks and laws and all progressive forces.
New York City, November 2, 2024
It can be recalled that the "enemy within" phrasing was used previously by Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to brand communists, those associated with them in the struggle, and many other progressive trade unionists, writers, actors, musicians, television personalities, film producers, academics and anti-fascist organizers, as threats and enemies to be punished. Many were fired, jailed, blacklisted, lost citizenship and had their lives destroyed in countless ways.
With this whole promotion of "enemy within" Trump is laying the basis for action by the presidency whether or not he is elected. He is also promoting the idea that a main problem in the country is not the dysfunctional institutions and violence of the rulers, but the people who are persisting in fighting for their rights. As for analyzing the cause of the dysfunction in the ensemble of relations between humans and humans and humans and nature and what they reveal, that is totally off the table.
When it comes to Harris, take note that when she refers to defending the Constitution from "enemies both foreign and domestic," this is what the military oath calls for. Her campaign is essentially painting Trump and his backers as enemies and she is also organizing to oppose the "enemy within." This is the position of the U.S. state itself, not just this or that candidate for election. It is done in the name of "national security" and defending the U.S. from internal and external enemies.
For example, responding to Trump's "enemy within" and use of the military against protesters, the president of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A), Retired Rear Admiral Mike Smith said "Mr. Trump's statement is un-American and anathema to the system that has served our nation for two-and-a-half centuries."
"Any suggestion that military force should be wielded against political rivals undermines the democratic processes that safeguard life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," Smith added. Referring to the Constitution, he further added that Trump "does not respect the democratic principles upon which this nation was founded." He concluded by saying, "The military is a nonpartisan institution dedicated to defending the Constitution and protecting the nation from external threats. Using the military for personal or political vendettas would erode the independence of this vital institution and set a dangerous precedent, echoing the tactics of authoritarian regimes."
Since 2021, the NSL4A has been striving to unite the military and civilian bureaucracy by promoting itself and the military as "bipartisan" and concerned about "national security." It has now endorsed Harris, who repeats, as the NSL4A does, that Trump is "unfit to be Commander-in-Chief" and that she will represent bipartisan interests.
Speaking to concerns of the rulers as a class at this time, the NSL4A said Harris has "preserved a united front in support of Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression. She grasps the reality of American military deterrence, promising to preserve the American military's status as the most 'lethal' force in the world."
Using terms like authoritarian, un-American, and tyrant, as Harris calls Trump, are all means to say he is an enemy of the Constitution that needs to be dealt with as such, including by the military.
In
conditions where the existing institutions and their means of
resolving
conflicts short of civil war have failed, looking at where the
military
and civilian bureaucracies line up is significant. Forces like
the
NSL4A are part of the effort now to unite the military behind
Harris in
hopes of
preserving the Union while also preparing to deal with anyone
they deem does
not defend the Constitution, especially among the people. In
this
manner both Trump and Harris are providing a means to justify
violence,
repression and more racist attacks in the period after the
elections.
It is also the case that the intelligence agencies are again intervening in the elections, this time by backing Harris. They are raising the specter of a possible danger as a result of foreign interference. Even though the last time they did this in the Clinton election against Trump no evidence of Russian interference was ever found, this accusation is used to instill fear about "adversaries" determined to undermine the U.S. to provide the basis for actions against them, be it Russia, China, Iran or any other.
According to the image provided, these foreign powers are responsible for "protests," not the peoples of the U.S. contesting the conditions and policies of the U.S. themselves, including the U.S./Zionist genocide and the whole election process that goes against the interests of the people. It is the peoples fighting for their rights and the rights of all who are always portrayed as inciting violence, not the state agencies and the intelligence forces of the U.S. ruling class, operating at home and abroad.
Connected with claims about foreign actors, especially Russia, being able to "stoke protests" is the effort to discredit the protests themselves. For instance, it is becoming commonplace to hear it said that actions supporting Palestine are organized by Hamas which the U.S. has declared to be a terrorist organization. So too those opposing the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine, designed to crush Russia, are called Russian agents.[1]
March in Bay Area, California, November 2, 2024
This emphasis on foreign interference is also designed to divert from the fact that the existing institutions do not provide "free and fair" elections. The candidates are not chosen by the people and do not represent them, as the pro-war, pro-genocide, anti-social stands of both main contenders for the presidency indicate.
Nobody
believes that U.S. elections, notoriously riddled with
corruption and
massive amounts of money from private interests, are democratic.
They
are designed to keep the people, the majority, out of power and
the
rich in. That is the source of the anger and dissatisfaction
among the
people. To
divert attention away from the fact that the establishment
forces do
not provide information and analysis on these problems or permit
discussion on the solutions the peoples are putting forward,
this
specter of foreign interference to undermine U.S. democratic
institutions is widely promoted.
The peoples are well aware that these claims about foreign interference are directed against them and are not recoiling. They do not accept the violations of their conscience based on the dictate that their role is to accept the pro-war, racist, anti-people actions of whoever is elected.
Unity is built by the people in action to bring about changes that favor their interests. Actions in support of Palestine persist as do demands for an arms embargo against Israel to end the genocide. Webinars, tribunals, teach-ins and more are already planned.
Note
1. See also TML-In the News, November 2, 2024.
This article was published in
Monday,
November 4, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/ITN2024/Articles/TI54465.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca