KAKISTOCRACY ARRIVES
Democracy Gets Shoved Out the Door
A kakistocracy is defined as a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens. That certainly seems to fit the administration about to take over the United States. This word was coined by an English preacher 380 years ago. It is a portmanteau of two Greek words meaning worst and rule. I first heard it during the Nixon administration and have been fascinated by it ever since. I never thought we would see kakistocracy as an actual threat to our government, but here we are.
There is no person in U.S. politics today who is less qualified, less appropriate, and more dangerous to be president than Donald Trump. We have become so inured to his constant lies and outrageous statements that many people simply dismiss what he says or claim that he is only joking. He is not joking. It is now painfully clear that he fully intends not only to destroy our democratic form of government but also to take down the legal structures and bureaucratic organizations that make it function.
Trump could succeed. If he does, though, it will be the first time in his life that he has succeeded at anything he has tried. Every one of his business ventures has failed. He was given enormous wealth to jump-start his career and squandered it. It now appears that he might owe more money to creditors and foreign investors than his property is worth. He may not be a billionaire or even a millionaire. Trump is the ultimate loser. We can only pray that he fails in his latest quixotic mission to plunder the riches of our country and gain total dominance over its people.
Trump claims to be following the model of Hungary’s Victor Orban, but Orban did not go into his government with a wrecking ball; he took a different approach by first controlling election results, then amending the country’s constitution. It will be much more difficult for Trump to do that because our federal government does not administer or control elections. He is likely, however, to create some sort of chaotic national event in the runup to the 2026 election, declare a state of emergency and decree that there will be no more elections.
Trump has begun his crusade by nominating a growing slate of unqualified and inexperienced cabinet members and department heads. None of them show any compassion for other humans. A few of them are truly evil. If they are confirmed by the senate, we will have a kakistocracy on steroids. Some of his nominees may be confirmed, but the narrow margin by which Trump’s allies control the senate could result in better candidates actually ending up in those positions. If Trump were as smart as he thinks he is, he would nominate reasonable candidates then fire them after his inauguration and appoint replacements during legislative recesses. He may do that anyway.
Trump claims he won in a landslide with a mandate for change. Neither claim is valid. He won the election by the narrowest margin ever recorded and with less than half of the votes. His margins in both houses of congress are also perilously narrow. There is a possibility that he and his wrecking crew will not be able to carry out their stated intent of total destruction. There is no doubt, however, that they will create enormous havoc and heartache throughout the government, and that they will reverse the solid economic gains of the Biden administration. Ironically, it is residents of the predominantly Republican states who will suffer the worst, as those states are highly dependent on federal assistance and their rural populations rely heavily on federal health and food programs.
This is not the time for wise and informed people to hunker down and try to ride out the next four years. It is essential that we work together while we still can and mount a monumental resistance to the idiocy of Trump, Project 2025, and the whole MAGA movement. We have two years to rout these evil forces out of our government at all levels. If Trump is still alive at that time, he can once again be impeached but this time convicted and removed, along with Vance and Johnson. This is not a drill. Your health, your financial security, and your freedom to speak, to travel, and to enjoy life all depend upon what happens over the next 24 months.