Zumwalt: Trump Announces Administration Posts as Critics Announce ‘the Sky is Falling!’

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

Undoubtedly, some readers worried by the November 18 New York Times (NYT) opinion page rushed for their “safe spaces.” Political pundits, the NYT’s editorial board and others—distressed over administration appointments by President-elect Donald Trump—sounded like Chicken Little of the children’s fable.

For those unfamiliar with the story, the gullible Chicken Little mistook an acorn falling on his head for a piece of the sky, starting a panic by proclaiming to all, “the sky is falling.”

Similarly, anti-Trump critics create a panic, proclaiming his selections for various posts pose a threat. While instilling fear based on an imagined threat, these critics foolishly overlook the real one. 

A NYT’s editorial titled, “Jeff Sessions as Attorney General: An Insult to Justice,” alleges he has “a history with racism and bigotry.” 

Another editorial targeted Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, dubbing him “An Alarming Pick for National Security Advisor.” Flynn’s sin was he was “likely to encourage…Trump’s worst impulses and fuel his suspicion of Muslims.”

In Roger Cohen’s op-ed “The Man Who Would Not Be President,” the target was Trump’s Chief Strategist, Steve Bannon. He suggested Trump and Bannon represented a “looming apocalypse.”

Democratic Party leaders, sensing a media feeding frenzy over Trump’s selections, joined in.

Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif) alleged Flynn might serve as an echo chamber for Trump, simply reinforcing his views about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Schiff, however, was one who never voiced similar concerns when President Barack Obama chose appointees sharing his same views. No better example of this is the symbiotic thinking of Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry on numerous issues.

Those not sharing Obama’s thinking, such as former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, quickly suffered the consequences of failing to do so. Similarly, senior military officers found themselves purged for opposing Obama policies they felt diminished the armed services’ fighting effectiveness and morale.

Trump has demonstrated, whether one agrees with him or not, he clearly does his own thinking. As evidenced during his campaign, no one can claim they “own” how he thinks. Unlike his predecessor, he seems to welcome opposing viewpoints.

Another Democrat joining in on this feeding frenzy is Democratic Party Committee (DNC) interim chairwoman, Donna Brazile. She has called for Senate rejection of Session’s confirmation as attorney general.

Brazile cites as justification, Session’s “disdain for the rights of ordinary Americans, his history of discrimination and pattern of racist behavior mak(ing) him unfit to serve as the next Attorney General…” She accused him of supporting the KKK—which Sessions denies. Brazile fails to mention KKK was a group Sessions actually prosecuted at one time, even seeking the death penalty for its leader.

Brazile’s accusations run hollow as Sessions also is credited with de-segregating Alabama schools and supporting Eric Holder’s nomination for attorney general.

Interestingly, while alleging Sessions supports the KKK, Brazile overlooks a skeleton in the DNC’s closet hiding two hate groups that support and have been supported by Democrats.

One is the clearly racist Nation of Islam (NOI)—headed by black activist Louis Farrakhan. He is on record calling for violent retaliation by American blacks as the only way to overthrow their white oppressors.

Brazile needs to indicate whether she condones anyone who embraces NOI. This is important as the current frontrunner to lead the DNC—Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn)–has past ties to NOI.

If successful, Ellison’s selection will be noteworthy for two reasons—(1) he would be the first Muslim to lead the DNC; and (2) he is a 9/11 “truther,” i.e., he believes the attacks that day were an inside job undertaken by President George Bush.

A second hate group linked to Ellison and thus the DNC is the Muslim Brotherhood. Ellison has supported it and vice-versa. The Brotherhood is a group that declared war against the U.S. in 2010—and has since been designated an Islamic terrorist organization by several U.S. allies. Ideologically it seems, the Brotherhood believes “Only Muslim Lives Matter” and in the global domination of sharia. This clearly leaves anyone adhering to its ideology as a dangerous threat to American freedoms.

Despite Ellison’s affiliation with both hate groups, he was endorsed earlier this month for the DNC chairmanship by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Other supporters include Reid’s successor, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren suggested Ellison “would make a terrific DNC chair.” Senator Bernie Sanders has initiated a petition backing Ellison that so far has garnered about 520,000 signatures.

It is doubtful any of these supporters—who, in accordance with the Quran, as non-Muslims are the religion’s intended victims—have bothered reading the holy book to better understand Islam’s goals before embracing one who adheres to them. 

Eight years ago, neither the media nor Democratic Party leaders ever voiced concerns when Hillary Clinton sought to give classified material to her aide Huma Abedin—a woman not only harboring questionable Muslim Brotherhood family links but who, it was later discovered, irresponsibly handled such material, leaving it once in her car.

Historically, America’s national security interests seem to generate little concern among Democrats—an attitude obviously contributing to their loss of the White House this year. 

It represents the height of irresponsibility and hypocrisy for the media and Democratic Party leaders to question Trump advisors’ patriotic credentials while remaining silent about Ellison’s lack thereof.

In the children’s fable, Chicken Little literally became food for thought. In trying to warn the fox the sky was falling, the fox ate him. So focused was Chicken Little on an imagined threat, he remained blind to the real one that eventually consumed him.

Democrats may well be doing the same thing, turning a blind eye to the Islamic fox in the DNC henhouse—all the while proclaiming “the sky is falling.”

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