Enemies List

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was a groundbreaking film of the mid-60s. Although dated now, at the time it was a provocative look at race in America with a cast of Hollywood A-listers. The plot centers on a beautiful daughter of wealthy “liberal” parents – played by Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn – who falls in love with a black man, John Prentice. No doubt the producers only had Sydney Poitier in mind to play the movie’s pivotal role, and he was superb. Times being what they were, no story arc was going to fly on Main Street that didn’t have John Prentice as the Jackie Robinson of future son-in-laws. A chunk of White America may have been prepared to consider interracial marriage, but it wasn’t going to accept a beautiful white woman shocking her folks with a black construction worker. No, he had to be special. So John Prentice was a doctor, and not just some general practitioner, but a director of tropical diseases for the World Health Organization. Now those are bona fides nobody could question.

It’s a tall task to find responsible people with honor and good faith to denounce the World Health Organization (WHO). Founded by the United Nations on April 7, 1948, WHO has been primarily responsible for everything from dramatic improvements of third world sanitary conditions to coordination of global outreach for training doctors to the eradication of smallpox in 1980. WHO deals with critical emergencies on a global scale and, of course, is not perfect. Yet and still, its good faith has always been a given. To find fault with it past trial and error associated with human and bureaucratic limitations requires an agenda with purposes other than constructive criticism. In other words, the only type Donald Trump and his GOP ever pursues.

The 2016 Republican presidential primary was perhaps the ugliest in modern US history, which is to say it was a red flag for how low the party was prepared to descend to make sure its Fox/AM base felt “heard”. It became a game of chicken as to just how personal and malicious candidates could become; in other words, it was no contest at all. Trump was a Grendel among salamanders, a carp among minnows. His sophomoric nicknames set the parameters, and the Jeb Bushes – he of the $100 million war chest – flushed red and slinked off into cowardice’s irrelevancy. The bully quickly seized everybody’s lunch money and the rest is history. Had somebody had the testicles to walk across the stage and punch old sunken eyes in the kisser, we may be thinking about going to the beach right now, instead of rightly detesting those willing to do it anyway.

Senator Marco Rubio, or “lil Marco” as Trump tagged him, was never going to be the one to do it. Any misguided hope he would vanished as Rubio flattered the Donald by imitating him. Whatever momentary advantage Rubio felt he secured by implying Trump’s “tiny hands” meant other physical shortcomings, evaporated as Trump did what he always does, effortlessly played the victim, with attack dog Sean Hannity wailing how “inappropriate” and “childish” Rubio had become. Stricken, Rubio abased himself on CNN, apologizing for being unfair to poor Donald, assuring the audience “ that’s not who I am.” That was that. The next thing anybody knew, Trump and his wretched core were slithering to daylight and the nomination.

Now, more than three years later, Rubio has nestled quietly into the GOP fold, acting as a criminal accessory when he thinks a credible niche has been found, and he can impress donors by overtly licking Trump’s shoes without bending over too far. Dissing China when Trump requires a news cycle filled with the Peking boogie man has become a bit of a Rubio forte. Works perfectly for him; he often doesn’t even have to mention the President while doing his bidding. More importantly, if an “historic trade deal” is in the works, Rubio knows how to disappear, along with the previous grievances he shrilly trumpeted when Trump needed him to. All forgotten…. until they are required again.

And so it was no surprise several weeks ago, just after Trump and the GOP decided the pasta that stuck best on the wall for shifting blame from his grotesque mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis was to bash China and smear WHO as its willful puppet, Rubio called for the resignation of the organization’s leader, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for “subservience” to Peking. Righteously whiny as usual, Rubio acknowledged WHO “serves an important purpose…. but unfortunately has been politicized.”

Trump then announced suspension of US financial support of WHO, proclaiming “they really blew it on China.” The storyline established, Rubio has since led the GOP drumbeat in the Senate to paint WHO as a once effective organization China has “infiltrated” and brought to heel for its own desires. One struggles to imagine what that looks like during the chaos of a global pandemic that China locked its country down and ruined its economy to address. But no matter, this is their story and, as has been true since this Presidency began, facts are now fungible, employed with nefarious purpose.

That the WHO has, since its inception, enjoyed generous financial sponsorship from the US – an enduring example of bipartisan American altruism – hardly matters to toadies like Rubio. It seems they fear Trumpist tweet storms more than the fires of hell their relentless amorality uniquely qualifies them for. One thing is clear, halting US financial support carries dire implications for WHO. From the start of 2018 through 2019 the US contributed $893 million to buttress the organization, compared to China’s $86 million of support.

Of course, it’s doubtful Trump has given much thought to the devastating consequences suspending that level of funding will have, but nobody anywhere is going to hold it against WHO for accepting help from whoever offers it, except the Republican Party. MAGA jackals like Rubio and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is working overtime to estrange the US from virtually every alliance and global responsibility the Administration inherited, are intent to do Scar’s bidding.

China’s recent pledge of $30 million in WHO support was quickly repackaged by Republicans as just more proof of how it has Tedros by the short hairs. Speaking to Fox News, quickly becoming the only network our snowflake chief diplomat now deigns to take questions from, Pompeo ratcheted up the scapegoating of Tedros, sniveling that any future US financial support of WHO may require his resignation and a Trump-approved replacement. Did someone say “politicize”?!

The mission statement of MAGA has morphed during the Trump presidency. He was ushered in as an empath for the bottomless grievance and resentment Fox/AM incubated and his wretched core of followers defined their interests by.
The awesome White House bully pulpit, exponentially amplified and distorted by Fox/AM, has metastasized Trumpism into a classic totalitarian movement. Now his chaotic personal whims define his followers’ aspirations; they want nothing more than what he decides he wants, and that is now usually to vilify an enemy of his choosing as part of one cover up of his incompetent corruption after another, an endless hunt for scapegoats.

This month’s target is history’s most respected global health organization. Previously it was foreign service professionals with spotless records. Prior to that it was a former FBI Director and a genuine war hero. Before him it was another FBI Director and his staff. The list goes on and on; it will continue to grow until we say enough…. or a two-bit apprentice Stalin finally decides what the absolute power he needs truly requires, and figures out how to bring the awesome resources at his disposal to bear in achieving it. That specter moves continuously closer every moment he is tolerated. The relentlessness of ruin. BC