DRAIN THE SWAMP
"DRAIN THE SWAMP” metaphorical phrase expressing a wish to purge something or somewhere of corruption. (Wiki)
NPZ #2 — DECEMBER 2024 — PAGE 14
Historical uses:
1881, A Century of Dishonor, Helen Hunt Jackson: when referring to the US government treatment of Native Americans: “With this poisonous and baffling part of the domain of our national affairs—let us first “clear the swamp””
1903, [The Socialist's Plan], Winfield E. Gaylord: "Socialists are not satisfied with killing a few of the mosquitoes which come from the capitalist swamp. They want to drain the swamp.”
1912, Broadsides, V. L. Berger: “We should have to drain the swamp—change the capitalist system—if we want to get rid of those mosquitos”
1980, Ronald Reagan: regarding bureaucracy (1) in the federal government, calling to “drain the swamp” while creating the Grace Commission.
2016, Donald Trump: Referring to Super-PACs (2) and lobbyists who have control over politicians, and the system being rigged, making a promise, “We’re going to go to Washington. We’re going to drain the swamp!”
I FIRST BECAME AWARE OF the term “drain the swamp” from a metal song. At the time, I had no idea it had been a key slogan for Trump’s 2016 campaign. Only later, did I look into this phrase, and found a pretty interesting, well, swamp of murky lies and history behind Trump’s use of this phrase.
At a Republican primary date in 2016, Trump went off: “I will say this — [the] people [who] control special interests, lobbyists, donors, they make large contributions to politicians and they have total control over those politicians. And frankly, I know the system better than anybody else and I’m the only one up here that’s going to be able to fix that system, because that system is wrong.”
You may look at this and think, “EXACTLY!” So when he tacked on the slogan “drain the swamp”, it was an instant hit. But do you see what he’s doing here?
Washington Post reports this: “Trump explained that when he first heard the phrase, he hated it. He thought it was “hokey.” But then he said he noticed how crowds responded. “The place went crazy,” he said, adding: “Now I love the expression. I think it was genius.”” (Washington Post)
Trump is a television man, and knows how to get the people’s interest. Trump IS saying what we’re all thinking: that the government is corrupt because of big corporations and millionaires/billionaires. But Trump does absolutely NOTHING to follow through on change, he just uses it to get the votes and the power.
The Swamp (2020) is a documentary following three Republican politicians: Matt Gaetz, Thomas Massie, and Ken Buck. All three talk about how they stand up against lobbyist funding, and seek to put limitations on campaign spending for politicians across the board. It’s on (HBO) Max, it’s a pretty good watch. And interesting to compare how these three stand these days.
Trump becomes a focus as well, highlighting how he used the populist (4) position of seeking to drain the D.C. swamp of lobby money and control. But we can all see so plainly how Trump is by no means intending on “draining the swamp”.
During the 2024 election, one particular scumbag created a PAC for Donald Trump’s campaign that raised more than 200 million dollars, and now that man has a close position to Trump, and has profited off huge investments since the election: one Elon Musk. In fact, Trump’s cabinet appointees are full of billionaires, a clear and blatant oligarchy (5).
Back to “drain the swamp”, the popularity of the phrase is undeniable, hell I love the way it is used to describe capitalism, but as with everything, Trump uses these objectively populist, and specific rhetoric (6) to appeal to so many people, despite having absolutely zero intention or care for their interests. He just cares to take care of himself and his 1% friends, and will step on YOU to get that.
Look at the way the world has reacted to the United Healthcare CEO shooting. People ideologically on the left and right have shown to be unbothered by, even in favor of this form of vigilante justice. The people recognize that CEOs and capitalists prey on the 99%, and want some form of punishment. However, Trump is nowhere near the solution, and will utilize populist, anti-capitalist/socialist slogans that appeal to the working class to get whatever the fuck he, and his elite investors want.
So yes, we absolutely need to “drain the swamp”, and we need to take Trump with it.
Definitions:
Bureaucracy: a body of nonelected government officials; not democratically chosen
Political Action Committee (PAC): organization to pool funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation (Wiki); infinite funding to politicians
Lobbyist: one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation; through money, bribes, gifts
Populist: relating to or characteristic of a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.
oligarchy: a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution; in America’s case, capitalist elites
rhetoric: language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.
