Friends, the American people seem to be souring on the PRC. Attitudes to China are almost as bad as attitudes to Putin or the Ayatollah. For reasons we've discussed in depth, none of this is too surprising. What might surprise us, though, is the potential for China to be the decisive factor in the 2020 election. My latest article, soon to appear in American Greatness, is about just that. Read on, and see if you and I are on the same wavelength:
Could 2020 Be The Year Of The “China
Election”?
These
days, consumers of the news could easily be forgiven for experiencing
“pandemic fatigue”. The body count, the travails of the first
responders, the massive disruptions to daily life — these
narratives have become not just the lead story, but the
only story,
both in broadcast and in online media.
The truth,
however, much as it may be obscured by our current obsession with all
things corona, is that, one day relatively soon, public attention
will begin to shift away from the pandemic and towards other
important themes. One of these will, of course, be the pitched battle
between Republicans and Democrats, between President Trump and adult
day care escapee Joe Biden. When that battle is joined, however, it's
still unclear on what ground the two sides will fight.
While it may be
tempting to imagine that President Trump's reelection hinges on the
public's assessment of his pandemic leadership, and on the degree to
which the country has recovered from the virus-related recession, I
would like to propose another critical theme that could tip the
scales: China.
Everyone
knows that President Trump places much of the blame for the global
pandemic on
China,
and more specifically on its slow response to the initial outbreak
and its failure to share information about the disease with the rest
of the world. China strove to project
a “business as usual” image
to the world, to the great cost of the hundreds of thousands of
people who will be killed by COVID-19, even in the most optimistic
scenarios. Those hundreds of thousands could easily have become
millions, had Western leaders, including President Trump, not acted
so decisively to cut
off travel
to and from China back in January and February. China, meanwhile, has
deflected blame, even nurturing bizarre
conspiracy theories
that describe the virus as an American bioweapon.
In
the United States, opinion leaders' receptiveness to the
China-is-to-blame narrative has largely tracked with their partisan
leanings. Republicans and Trump fans have no hesitation in pointing
the finger at China and its allies in the World
Health Organization,
whereas Democrats and Trump haters have often made excuses for China
and vilified
Trump
as the Contaminant-in-Chief.
At
the level of public opinion, however, as opposed to elite opinion, a
recent Pew
Research Center poll
reveals that attitudes to China have grown dramatically more negative
across the board. Even rank-and-file Democrats see China as a bad
actor in the global tragedy of COVID-19. In short,72 percent of
Republicans view China negatively, as do fully 62 percent of
Democrats. Since skepticism about the Chinese is one of the few
issues on which Republicans and Democrats can find any common ground,
we might reasonably ask: could Sinophobia become an important theme
in the presidential election?
Arguably,
given President Trump's bitter trade war with China, the communist
superpower was already fated to be a bone of contention between Trump
and his eventual Democratic opponent. Since the Democrats and
their media allies
frequently criticize Trump's anti-Chinese rhetoric and trade
policies, and since Vice-President Biden's controversial connections
to China through his wayward
son Hunter
loom as potential vulnerabilities, there was never any question but
that China would be front and center in November. China's role as the
origin point of the current murderous pandemic merely raises the
stakes, ensuring that China will be one of the top issues on voters'
minds.
President
Trump's forceful condemnation of China's mishandling of the
coronavirus, coupled with the Democrats' reputation as proxies
for Chinese interests and defenders of Beijing,
give Trump and Republicans a key opportunity. Instead of running in
November to vindicate Trump's leadership, which for all too many
Americans is damaged goods, they can run against China and by arguing
that the Democrats are beholden to the Chinese government and
incapable of criticizing it. Democrats will counter, naturally, that
Trump is a xenophobe. They say so constantly, and Trump's recent
decision to suspend
all immigration
to the United States provides them with ammunition — not that they
are above manufacturing their own.
The
truth, though, is that nationalism, and nationally-specific solutions
to containing and defeating the COVID-19 pandemic, are the order of
the day. Borders are being closed, travel is being restricted, and
national governments are charting their own independent courses
almost everywhere, even in Europe, where pan-European, transnational
cooperation, which was always more rhetorical than actual, is looking
more
threadbare than ever.
In an age when
the key decisions are made by national governments, therefore, based
on a frank assessment of national, rather than global, interests, one
can argue that Trump's philosophy of “America First” is ideally
suited to capitalize politically on, and to embody, the new public
mood. When one couples this Trumpian nationalism with a clear and
consistent message about China and the dangers it poses to the West —
dangers to which the Democrats seem oblivious — Trump may have
found an ideal formula to broaden his appeal to independents and even
to some Democratic voters.
Just
as some Bernie-minded
Democrats
voted for Trump in 2016 because of his strong stance on trade
fairness, some non-GOP China skeptics may well vote for him this
year, for similar reasons.
Thus, in 2020,
the road to victory for Trump may pass right through China, just as
it did before.
Dr.
Nicholas L. Waddy is an Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred
and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com.
He appears weekly on the Newsmaker Show on WLEA 1480.
And here it is at American Greatness, as promised:
https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/24/could-2020-be-the-year-of-the-china-election/
And here it is at American Greatness, as promised:
https://amgreatness.com/2020/04/24/could-2020-be-the-year-of-the-china-election/
Excellent article. I can't imagine Trump not being reelected in November 2020. The Democrats would have done better with Bernie. Ha!
ReplyDeleteThere should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Joe Biden is in bed with China. However, lots and lots of people will still vote for Biden because they hate Trump that much. This is a fact. They would vote for anyone against Trump, seriously.
No matter what, we on the right of the political spectrum need to understand that a Trump victory is not "a done deal". Just six more months to go, and anything could happen between now and November 2020, to include attempts by the left to rig the elections.
Dr. Waddy and Ray: I agree, this article is well argued and very plausible.
ReplyDeleteOh I do hope the Dems make free and reckless use of the term "Xenophobia". Its simply the latest in their endless lexicon of what they take to be their privilege, as the "obvious" occupants of the moral high road, of leveling summarily damning reflexive judgements in the form of words like "racism", "sexism", fill in the blank "ism" or "phobia" (a clinical term after all and used correctly only by those with commensurate education). Can't blame 'em; they've been doing it for half a century and it has done them very well. BUT, I think the country is getting very much fed up with the tiresome presumptuousness of this tactic. How many leftists can define "Xenophobia" or know the origin of the term? They usually can't define their favorite "isms" anyway; they assume them to be automatically intimidating, self evident and they think it below them to deign to define.
If Biden attempts to dismiss very widespread legitimate concerns over China's behavior as "Xenophobia" ( and he will, he will) he's going to come a cropper with it. And a canny player like our President knows how to drive tanks through the loopholes sanctimonious bigots like Biden open up with their casual dismissiveness.
In 2016 no one really believed Trump was going to win The Presidency, but he did, and it shocked millions of people, mostly "Democrats" (a cover name for Socialists and Communists), and most of all Hillary Clinton. Since then, the left has waged non-stop war against him. They can't stand him because he has delayed their long range plan of turning this country into a Marxist Dictatorship, American style, and creating a United Socialist States of America. Of course any time someone accuses the left of this, they are denounced as a dingbat.
ReplyDeleteRegrettably, a lot of people on the right, myself included, have developed thinking that a Trump victory in November 2020 is a done deal. But it is NOT a done deal. Joe Biden has been dismissed as a candidate with early dementia who has no real chance of beating Trump. Get rid of that thinking NOW! The "Democrats" will do anything to help Biden win, to include rigging the elections. And more importantly, whoever Biden picks as his VP is even more dangerous. How would you like to see a President Kamala Harris, for example?
Forewarned is forearmed. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE ENEMY! NOT EVER! Biden may seem harmless, but he is not. Hard to believe that lots of people will vote for him, but they will. Biden always reminds me of that very deadly snake, the Boomslang. It looks harmless, but when it strikes and bites, your chances of survival are slim to zero, even with antivenin. Again, Biden's choice of VP is going to be a crucial factor. How about Michelle Obama as VP?
So, we can rant and rave all we want about Joe Biden, but he is the only candidate the "Democrats" have, and they will do ANYTHING to ensure he wins, ANYTHING! And if that happens, he and Hunter will be going to China again, but this time on Air Force One, with Hunter advising Dad on how to handle things over there.
Ray: I agree with you on all your points above. The real America and Trump nation MUST turn out for him. It IS critical.
ReplyDeleteYou are right on point; 2016 was above all a moral outrage for the left. "Where do you reactionary lowlifes get off opposing a Democrat woman candidate who was going to seal the deal for correct thinking in this 'free' country?! HUH!?" It is the source of their volcanic antipathy to a President and those who insolently voted for him, refusing to cede the field to their exalted elite. And it WILL be evident in 2020 when por ole Joe "selects" his Prime Minister ne: "running mate", the very obvious next President if he does his part and fades away. Kamala Harris vs President Trump? Yes, do look at that as the bottom line and rally and resolve to stop it! We did it before; we CAN do it again and we must.
"desirable". Let it consider the fate of such presumption in the totalitarian leftist states then empowered. Both the Soviet Union and Communist China were, to adopt leftist terminology, prudish to the extreme. I read the regulations expected of American students in a college exchange program in Beijing in the 1990's: "all conjugal relationships must be solemn and provably legitimate by creditable documentation". And this most certainly did not countenance any departure from traditional marriage. Khrushchev may may well have ventured to put nuclear missiles in Cuba in part because of his earthy perception of what he had to know were JFK's reckless personal adventures and K's understandable, though very mistaken, thereby,conclusion that JFK was a silly voluptuary weakling.
ReplyDeleteGreat points, Jack and Ray!
ReplyDeleteRay, I couldn't agree more that any Republican or conservative who takes Biden and the Democrats lightly is making a serious mistake. In 2018, as opposed to 2014, the Dems turned out TENS OF MILLIONS of extra voters. They are motivated -- frothing with rage, in fact. A great many of them will vote, even for a dud of a candidate. There is still an undecided "middle" in this country, though, and if we hammer away at them we can win this thing, albeit NOT in a landslide. Forget about landslides.
Good point, Jack, that the Left wouldn't know real xenophobia if it bit them in the butt -- which it often does, in the form of Russophobia!
Thank you Dr. Waddy And I am sure you will agree that 2024 will be a really dangerous year, and especially if Trump is reelected. The Left will be purple with rage by then. Of course if Biden wins in November 2020, I personally believe that we will never see another free election again in The United States of America. We will end up with a Marxist Dictatorship, American style of course, but a dictatorship nonetheless, and I would say by 2050. We will become The United Socialist States of America. The only way out of that will be a Civil War. Of course a civil war might not happen, because by the time such a dictatorship was consolidated, most Americans would be "brain dead" anyway. And of course we are not immune from being invaded either, which is something that could happen if we became too weak.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy Russophobia indeed! And you already know why. Until 1991, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the favorite nation of American leftists. After all, they spied for the Soviet Union enough both before and after World War 2. Now that it is just Russia and no longer officially Communist, our leftists have selected Communist China as their favorite nation. In reality, the interests of the PRC come before those of the United States. In effect, American leftists (Biden is a perfect example) are nothing more than pimps for the PRC. Again, if Biden were elected, he and his degenerate son would be over there very quickly, but this time on Air Force One.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy and Ray: My computer's latest presumption was to take my comments on polyamory,starting with the word"desirable" , edit them and transfer them to this article, in which they are out of context.Its enough to make one a Luddite. My point is that leftists know that the corruption of the traditional family is the key to destroying our society to make way for Marxist Dis.Once they have taken over, very draconian standards for personal behavior will be summarily imposed. Those frivolous smoky dreamers who see in the unfettered relaxation of standards painfully evolved over centuries in all viable civilizations yet another reprise of the age of Aquarius, will be among the first to be taken in hand.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: I would suggest that the very practical leaders of the "PRC" would, if approached by fauning American devotees of their perceived views, would send them packing with very much contempt. I saw a graphic demonstration of this in a class I took on "Social Reconstruction in China, 1949 - " in which a very respected Chinese scholar, a former Nationalist Officer and persona non grata in China but very objectively empathetic to some of what the Communists did, very effectively disabuse a dreamy presumptuous American student of his notions of what was acceptable in China. I think that the present Chinese administration, though it retains the appellation of "PRC" is perhaps one of the consummately anti Marxist forces there are.But I do not at all gainsay the reality of their retaining the label and, most certainly ever seeking China's advantage in a world ( since their civilization may well still embrace what Jung Wo , the Middle Kingdom, defines: the center of the world or at the very least the world's exemplary culture). And that strongly suggests that they think, especially in light of the murderous onslaught on their country by much of the world (consider the International Force at Peking in the "Boxer Rebellion" of 1899 ( rebellion? these were Chinese patriots))
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy and Ray; My point is that the "PRC" has long since denounced Marxist principles and that its thriving economy, thoroughly disproves Marxist screed (how much proof do we need?What more do we need!? What, 0ne hundred, two million more cadavers, as the Marxists would bid? This is beyond madness and I think the former Soviet and the ever essential Chinese know this as can no other dominant population.
ReplyDeleteChinese advances must , I think, be constructively, as to the defense of our equally defensible Western tradition, be conducted with objective understanding of the actions and intentions of the Chinese. Not surrender if they overreach, NO! but informed understanding of their views and of their backing in a very old and positive civilization. I hope for a constructive dialogue in this.
Dr. Waddy: By "constructive dialogue" I mean on a national policy level; I do not doubt the continuance of our fruitful conversation on this site.
ReplyDeleteAnd I should have said "considered" rather than "conducted".
ReplyDeleteRay, I take very seriously the possibility that, if the Dems win a single presidential election, then we may never have another one worthy of the name, just as you say. Should Biben win in 2020, I think the voters are certainly capable of turning on him, and in fact the prognosis for the GOP might even improve in opposition, but the key is the rule of law. A Democrat in the White House would do everything in his power to tip the scales in our elections and to harass the opposition. Assuming liberals acquire control over the Supreme Court, I'm afraid that could be all she wrote... 16-year-old felons would be voting by mail (thrice!) in no time. Even publicizing conservative views could become impossible. The hatred that the Left bears towards us is virtually unlimited at this stage. What they would do with executive and untrammeled judicial power is frightening to contemplate. So, in short, we better win!
ReplyDeleteAnd, Ray, you're so right that we need to expose the connections between the PRC and the Democratic Party. I've always thought that the great irony of the collusion charges against Trump is that he is the LEAST collusive or compromised President we've had in a long time. The Dems, by contrast, are working hand in glove with foreign powers. Such cheek!
Jack, it's quite true that the destruction of the traditional family (and religion to boot) is part of the Left's master plan for ushering in the hoped-for utopia... I mean, what could go wrong?
Jack, you make a fair point that modern China is NOT Marxist in any conventional, dogmatic sense. If the Chinese pose a threat to us, it's mainly because they're self-interested and smart, not because they're ideologues or loonies. Having said all that, I know there's a layer of state socialism and a comprehensive (if pathetically under-resourced) safety net operating in China. Frankly, though, I would view it as more likely that the spirit of Marxism would pass from us to the Chinese, than from China to us, since our popular culture is full of the relevant toxins, as we all know.
Dr. Waddy: Has the PRC had a significant influence on our internal politics? I can see it; they may have couched it in terms meant to massage our voluptuous leftist cadre. But at base, we must never doubt they mean the defense of China. What does that mean? The defense of China itself or that border, similar to that to which Stalin aspired in Eastern Europe?
ReplyDeleteHaving perceived it first hand I am aware of cultural Chinese disdain for liberal Western culture. I suggest only that it is a fundamental of their determination to erect a permanent shield against this degenerate influence, to defend it resolutely, while admitting those features of western civilization which appear constructive. They could not before contest this on an equal basis but they can now!
Jack, since I harbor many of the same reservations about "Western culture", I wouldn't begrudge the Chinese for a second their right to steer clear of it!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: I cherish the Western intellectual and some of its political tradition. But our popular culture shames us before the world and much of the world rightfully fears its obviously corrosive and seductive influence.
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Jack. We also have to admit that our intellectual and political culture are now heavily polluted with Marxism and with the muck in our pop culture, which itself owes much to Marxism. "Corrosive" is a good word for it, and let's be honest: it's corrosive by design.
ReplyDelete