Steve Bannon: Chief Strategist or Chief Snake?
Everything you need to decide & weigh in.
The first in a series of articles to empower every day citizens to become more informed and involved in the political process.
Last week, Steve Bannon was named by Donald Trump to serve as Chief Strategist in his administration. Who is this man? Is he appropriate for the job? I’ve gathered reliable information from the sources cited throughout and below, to help you make an assessment. Regardless of your political leanings, my hope is that you will feel compelled to do something, to do something to ensure that our representative government is indeed representative. Simple steps are listed below to help you take informed action.
Who is Steve Bannon?
A former Goldman Sachs banker, Bannon shifted into media in the 1990's. He had dealings with TNT, CastleRock Entertainment, and ultimately made a fortune as an early investor/supporter in the Seinfeld show. Most recently, he has served as curator-in-chief and editor at Breitbart News. (See below for more on their journalistic focus.) In August, Bannon was named head of Trump’s political campaign, in part due to his use of Breitbart as a soapbox for the candidate.
As Chief Strategist, Bannon will serve as one of the President’s closest advisors.
His body of work
Bannon took over as editor of Breitbart — an outlet that was already known for being anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic — and during his time there, the site’s “Alt Right” leanings grew more extreme. The Anti-Defamation League has called Breitbart the “premier platform of the alt-right.”
Those on the right who defend the choice of Bannon have stated that it wasn’t necessarily HIM that made specific remarks, such as the articles listed below:
- “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy” A December 2015 article by Milo Yiannopoulos
- “Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew” A May 2016 article by David Horowitz
- “World Health Organization Report: Trannies 49 Xs Higher HIV Rate” A December 2015 article by Austin Rus
They have indicated that it was merely authors at the outlet making those statements and that he is blameless.
For more on the radical shifts at Breitbart since Steve Bannon took the helm, read this detailed overview by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Steve Bannon in his own words
“That’s why there are some unintended consequences of the women’s liberation movement,” he said, according to BuzzFeed. “That, in fact, the women that would lead this country would be pro-family, they would have husbands, they would love their children. They wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England. That drives the left insane and that’s why they hate these women.” (Political Vindication Radio, 2011)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
“Fear is a good thing. Fear is going to lead you to take action,” he said in a 2010 interview.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
“I’m a nationalist. I’m an economic nationalist,” he said in the interview. “The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f — -ed over. If (the Trump White House delivers), we’ll get 60 percent of the white vote, and 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote and we’ll govern for 50 years. That’s what the Democrats missed. They were talking to these people with companies with a $9 billion market cap employing nine people. It’s not reality. They lost sight of what the world is about.”
Why your voice must be heard
Whether you support or disagree with the President-Elect’s choice for Chief Strategist, you can take action. You can demand that your congressional representatives take a public stance on the appointment. Last week, 169 US Representatives signed a letter against Bannon’s appointment. If your representative’s name is not on that list and you oppose the appointment, then it is your duty to make your voice heard so that your representative might represent you.
While Congress doesn’t have direct authority over the appointments in the President’s cabinet, “Organized groups and individual constituents can demand that every member of Congress, in both parties and both chambers, go on record as supporting or opposing the selection of Bannon,” according to a recent article in Bloomberg. While the Senate cannot directly block Bannon from appointment, individual senators can put a “hold” on a variety of other nominees and refuse to budget unless he is removed from consideration.
Even if unsuccessful, this is a fight worth having. It can put Trump on notice immediately that the political system will push back if he follows through on subverting democratic norms. — Bloomberg
What can you do?
The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the right of all citizens to communicate with their elected representatives:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
On this issue and MANY others, there are a number of ways you can weigh in:
- Download the Countable App — An app that keeps you up to date on the latest, and gives you an opportunity to weigh in on issues like these directly from your cell phone, to your government representative. Then… USE IT. It is truly the power of democracy at your fingertips.
- Sign a petition. MoveOn.org has petitions for both sides of the aisle to sign online. The petition against Steve Bannon’s appointment has more than 360,000 signatures as of the writing of this article, with a goal of 375,000.
- Contact your representatives online. Votesmart.org has contact information and TONS of information to hep you make decisions and take action. Click here to view. For a more official site, check out https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. Most representatives accept correspondence by phone, email, and some even by meeting.
Sources:
CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/quotes-from-steve-bannon-trumps-new-white-house-chief-strategist/
CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/21/politics/howard-dean-steve-bannon-nazi/index.html
