The Eternal Washington Scapegoat
Recent reports suggest mounting pressure on Donald Trump and the Republican Party as the midterm elections loom, framing the former president as a potential liability. This narrative posits that if the GOP underperforms, Trump will be singled out for his endorsements and continued influence, effectively absolving other power brokers of their own strategic missteps or unpopular policies. This
particular drama, however, is a familiar rerun. We've seen similar pressure expertly applied to figures like Bernie Sanders following the 2016 general election, where corporate media and the Democratic establishment quickly pivoted to blaming his 'unrealistic' platform for Hillary Clinton's loss, rather than dissecting decades of neoliberal decay or a flailing campaign. This pattern ensures that
systemic issues are rarely addressed, as the focus remains squarely on individual personalities. The manufactured 'pressure' on Trump is not about holding power accountable but about reinforcing an established order. It’s the same playbook used since at least the 1970s, where any challenge to the bipartisan consensus is either co-opted or demonized. This allows the architects of unpopular foreign
wars or economic policies, irrespective of their party affiliation, to escape scrutiny, while an isolated figure, often one explicitly outside the Washington consensus, takes the fall. They count on this selective amnesia. Any analysis that fails to connect current events to these documented patterns of deflection is simply doing their work for them. Watch for who benefits from the post-election