One-Sided Harshness – USA Gov Policy

There has been much written about how harsh American politics has become. The fact exists that the nastiness remains, for the most part, one-sided. Despite the wailing over President Trump’s tweets, the lion’s share of the vitriolic comments, and the radical positions, come from the Left. In contrast, the Right has been comparatively restrained in its descriptions of the increasingly extreme and dangerous comments and positions emanating from the Progressive side.

Consider the extraordinary ideas pushed recently by Democrats. The late Rep. John Dingle, (D-Michigan) shortly before his passing, advocated abolishing the United States Senate. There has also been considerable advocacy on the left for eliminating the Electoral College. Those acts, alone, would fundamentally alter the entire governing structure of the Constitution. The motive for restructuring the most successful republic in world history is not based on any profound practical or intellectual complaint. It comes from a crass and cold calculation that a fundamental transformation from a federal system to one dominated by a central government would allow the left’s centers of power, the large cities, to essentially monopolize power.

It would also be a crucial step in allowing socialism to flourish. That political/economic system, in its hundred-year existence, has failed in every jurisdiction it has been tried across the globe, and resulted in political tyranny and increased poverty. The most recent example is Venezuela, and the many American leftists who hailed the leadership of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro have yet to face substantial criticism by the left-friendly media. The label “extremist” is not frequently used against its advocates.

Positions against religion have been taken, including the rapid growth and acceptability of anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party, the attack on First Amendment rights of religious institutions (seen in the mandates of Obamacare,) and the sharp questioning of Catholic nominees for judicial positions by Senators such as Diane Feinstein (D-Ca.), Kamala Harris (D-Ca.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) who have implied that followers of that religion may not be fit for the bench have become commonplace.

Noah Freldman, writing in Bloomberg stressed that “Senator Dianne Feinstein owes a public apology to judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett — and an explanation to all Americans who condemn religious bias. During Barrett’s confirmation hearings…before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein, the California Democrat, insinuated an anti-Catholic stereotype that goes back at least 150 years in the U.S. — that Catholics are unable to separate church and state because they place their religious allegiances before their oath to the Constitution.”

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Steve Cortes, writing in Real Clear Politics reported: Sens. Mazie Hirono and Kamala Harris, in written questions to District Court judge nominee Brian Buescher, challenged his suitability for the bench because he belongs to [The Knights of Columbus.] Hirono claimed that the Knights have taken “extreme positions” such as affirming Catholic belief in traditional marriage and even asked Buescher, ‘If confirmed, do you intend to end your membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias?’…Harris wrote that ‘the Knights of Columbus, an all-male society comprised of primarily Catholic men … opposes a woman’s right to choose.’ Anyone who further dares to personally embrace longstanding Christian doctrine on the sanctity of life, including the unborn, should also seek employment outside of the federal bench. Such anti-Catholic bias represents not just a discriminatory affront, but also an unconstitutional religious litmus test for appointees…”

The most basic concepts of the Bill of Rights have been targeted by Progressive politicians and advocates. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) called for restrictions on the First Amendment. Democrat lawmakers in Hawaii seek to abolish the Second Amendment.

Perhaps most profoundly, Progressives have advocated for eliminating the very concept of U.S. citizenship. H.R. 1, introduced by Rep. Sarbanes (D-Maryland) would protect jurisdictions that allow illegal aliens to cast votes. It passed with near-unanimous support by House Democrats (but will not survive in the U.S. Senate.)

It cannot escape notice that even as deeply radical concepts are pushed by the left, they are hardly ever characterized by the media as “extreme.” That label seems to be reserved for moderates and conservatives who generally seek to merely preserve the traditional practices of America’s governing structure, its economic system, and societal norms.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

China’s Tech Targets

Chinese technology is changing and its leadership is using it, along with espionage, to challenge the West in a number of critical areas. The United States is only one of its targets. Previously, Beijing’s spies primarily sought Western technologies as a way to skip generations of develop cost and time to modernize its economy. Today, its acquisition of advanced technologies, and now also its indigenous development, makes the communist giant a threat to freedom-loving people everywhere. This week Nan Mulchandani, the CIA’s chief technology officer, said Director William Burns is preparing for an “infinite race” with Beijing for artificial intelligence and advanced technologies. He argues the US must pivot toward providing American spies with the latest transformative technologies to outcompete China. Mulchandani says this means updating everything the agency does “from operations to the analytic function, support functions and other piece there.” America, he suggests, needs to alter its thinking toward viewing this not as a race with a finite end point, but as an ongoing competition. Mr. Mulchandani predicted that the next area of competition would “be primarily a software war that is powered by something like AI” rather than hardware fueled by software. That competition, however, is not confined to simply acquiring critical technologies for use in the future. China is also challenging the US in space. China announced today it launched a groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon. The space capsule will arrive in four days and collect 4.4 pounds of moon rocks and regolith, or moon dirt. Beijing’s desire to one day become a space power and scientific force is for pragmatic purposes in 2024 a fait accompli. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said during a NASA budget hearing this week, that “while the US remains the global leader in space exploration, we face increasing challenges internationally.” Referring to China’s space station, Lucas said: “We cannot allow China to become the front-runner in space exploration… There are too many consequences for our competitiveness, our national security, and our continued ability to explore space.” A new report released this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says that the United States, to further its geopolitical interests and maintain a strong domestic economy, must approach every aspect of economic and trade policy through the lens of global technology competition. The Biden Administration’s approach, it says, discounts the landscape of competition between China and the US and may “jeopardize US advancements in emerging technologies… which could cede the advantage to China….” In particular, the report recommends that the US take action now because quantum and artificial intelligence (AI) need a federal policy to ensure the country can spur the entrepreneurship and R&D efforts foundational to the strength of the technology sector. As China’s Communist Party (CCP) becomes more hostile to the United States and other Western nations, its aggressive activities abroad expand and intensify. Chinese spy cases far outnumber those of Russia and every other nation. CSIS reports that since President Xi took over in 2012 there have been 224 incidents of spying. Estimates of the long -term economic, scientific, and national security cost to the US run into the billions and have “created immeasurable damage to national security with the theft of weapons technology, including nuclear weapons test data… China has added the theft of massive quantities of personal information, political coercion, and influence operations, to its espionage activities.” The CSIS reports says that 49% of incidents of spying in the US directly involved Chinese military or government employees, with private Chinese citizens accounted for 41%. In 29% of the espionage cases the person involved was attempting to acquire military technology, while in 54% of the incidents it was related to commercial technologies. Almost half of the cases involved cyber espionage, usually by state—affiliated actors. No matter where one turns today China is challenging the West, from the depths of our oceans to outer space. The United States cannot count on China to be a good global citizen and refrain from attempting to enforce its vision of world order with Beijing at the apex. The time is growing short for the West to take action. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.