Thom Hartmann for BuzzFlash: Coronavirus Pandemic Reminds Americans of Need for a Strong Federal Government, Defying Trump's Reagan Legacy

April 14th 2020

White House Press Briefing, April 1, 2020 (U.S Southern Command)

By Thom Hartmann

People are wondering why Donald Trump melted down yesterday in his press conference, but there’s really a simple explanation. Back in 1980 when David Koch ran for president on the libertarian ticket of ending all income taxes, privatizing the Post Office, giving Social Security to the big banks, ending Medicare and Medicaid altogether, and closing all the nation’s public schools, he and his friends had a meme that they thought would help them accomplish these goals.

All they had to do was convince people that the American government that administered all these programs was actually evil, incompetent, and useless. Because of the Buckley v Valejo Supreme Court decision of 1976, billionaires like Koch were able to heavily fund the Reagan campaign, which explains why Reagan, in his 1981 inaugural address, told us that government was not the solution to our problems but, rather, that it was the problem itself. The 40-year plan of the billionaires was supposed to be realized by Donald Trump turning America into a complete oligarchy, but the coronavirus has reminded Americans of the importance of government as lives are on the line and true leadership and government is badly needed. More than anything except, possibly, his own narcissism, this narrative arc explains the complete collapse we are witnessing of the Trump presidency and the Republican party. It’s just a shame it took 40 years to happen.

Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of The Hidden History of the War on Voting and more than 30 other books in print. His most recent project is a science podcast called The Science Revolution. He is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute.