The Squad vs. The Man

It’s very difficult to decide where to begin after the week’s news. I know that readers are tired of my pointing out that the Trump administration reminds any casual reader of history that the times emit an eerie feeling of 1930s Europe.

But before we get too smug, we should remember that present-day Europe is going through the same insanity. It’s called fascism.

Yes, like the alt-right leaders in much of Europe, Trump is a fascist. He loves authoritarian dictators, and he dislikes minorities.

The latest manifestation of his obnoxious and dangerous rhetoric occurred last Wednesday night. It all started over the weekend when he tweeted that four female members of the House of Representatives to go back where they came from. All four women are of color. They are affectionately called “The Squad:” Alexandria Ocasio-cortez, of New York, Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan.

All but Omar were born and raised here — the United States — and she was brought here as a child from Somalia, later becoming a naturalized citizen.

The irony should not be lost on us. Her journey to the United States was much like that of the First Lady. But it’s even better. The First Lady’s mother and father were allowed to immigrate to the United States through the rules of “chain migration,” which Trump rails and rants against with as much hate as he can muster.

Wednesday’s Third Reich Munich rally was awful. It was an embarrassment to freedom-loving people all over the world.

Midway through his speech, the crowd began to chant, “Send her back,” a reference to Omar. It was reminiscent of the chant about Hillary, “Lock her up.”

Trump has tried to change the subject, contending that his “go back” tweet was really about ideology, not race. Nice try.

The Squad’s political views are identical to those of Bernie Sanders, but no one in the Republican Party, or at Trump’s fascist rallies, or elsewhere, is suggesting that Bernie go back to where he came from.

Yes it’s an attack on these four women based on their race, and the attacks are vicious. They are something we have not seen in this country for many decades.

We know that Trump is not a reader of history. If he were a reader, he would know that these four progressive women are in a great tradition of left wing Democratic politics. Many had associations with the labor movement.

•Samuel Gompers was an early labor leader.

•Roger Baldwin founded the American Civil Liberties Union and helped found a number of “labor colleges” around the country, including Commonwealth at Mena.

• Eugene Debs was a socialist leader and lawyer who represented striking workers.

•Norman Thomas was a socialist who ran for president on the Socialist Party ticket.

•Walter Reuther help found the Congress of Industrial Organizations and organized the automobile industry.

•Henry Wallace was FDR’S vice president from 1941 to early 1945 (he was replaced by an obscure Senator named Harry Truman) and in 1948, ran for president on the Progressive Party ticket.

•Two members of the left wing of the Democratic Party actually made it to the Supreme Court. Felix Frankfurter fought for Sacco and Vanzetti, but later after he was on the Court became more conservative. William O. Douglas had been Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but later became much more liberal than most of his fellow Justices.

These women are quite bright, and are part of a grand tradition in American politics. They should be celebrated and admired, not denigrated for their race.

George D. Ellis is a Benton attorney. He can be contacted at gellisinbenton@swbell.net.