These horrible and politically charged decisions coming out of the Supreme Court are shotgun blasts into the face of people that are proud to call themselves Republican or Conservatives. We need more Justices or we will lose our 2ndAmendment and everything else. Vote Trump 2020. — Donald J. Trump Tweet – 6/18/20
Dog Whistles
Buddy is our older dog. A shepherd, Border collie, Heinz 57 rescue; he’s been through a lot. He survived being a near feral pup, several failed foster homes, and near-fatal lymphoma to become our “fat and fluffy” elder statesman at nearly eight years old. And somewhere along the way, he developed an absolute phobia to smoke alarms and the “ping” noise of Facebook Messenger. Anytime he hears those or even sees a computer come out, he heads for safety: into the bathtub.
We found him heading inexplicably towards the bathroom from time to time, somehow linked to the neighbor calling his dogs in their backyard. After some investigation, we found that the neighbor had a “dog whistle”, a device that emits a sound above the range of human hearing. Dogs can hear it, and while it didn’t seem to attract his dogs to the house, it sent Buddy on an immediate bathtub run.
Humans can hear certain kinds of “dog whistles” as well. Statements are made that require a unique background of knowledge to understand. While to the uninitiated, a political statement might just sound colorful or even inane, to those “in the know” the message is a clarion call to action. It’s a “dog whistle” to them, unheard by the masses, but quite clear and compelling.
Lunatic Fringe
The Trump campaign uses “dog whistles” masterfully to communicate to the “lunatic fringe” of their support. (Ok, so I was a middle school wrestling coach in the 1980’s, and Vision Quest was THE movie – so if you need that “fix” here’s the link to Red Rider’s video Lunatic Fringe). But to understand what is really being said, it takes some research into the “Mark Levin, Alex Jones, QAnon” world, where secret communications is not only expected, but also accepted as truth.
The right wing fringe believes that President Trump is secretly on their side, but “has” to play like he’s more “moderate”. The Charlottesville statement, “…good people ON BOTH SIDES” was a clear signal to them. He’s “their” President, constantly sending hidden signals that “only they” can hear. It’s no surprise then that David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, said, “We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in. That’s why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he’s going to take our country back.”
Even if you don’t believe in the “dog whistle” messages, they do. So it becomes important that the White House recognize their “communications” with the far right have an impact. What they say, even in Tweets, even in a Presidential rage, matters. So when the President loses two cases in the Supreme Court in one week, and vents about it on Twitter, he is sending the message. Sure he’s telling “the base” to vote for him in November, so that he will have the opportunity to appoint more Supreme Court Justices. And the “shotgun blast to the face” combined with the threat of losing “our 2nd Amendment” might just be balancing a phrase.
Court Vacancy
But the President is certainly aware that there is another way to replace Supreme Court Justices: have a vacancy occur. The far right is on watch, waiting for eighty-seven year old Ruth Bader Ginsburg to finally “vacate” the Court. That way, regardless of the election, Trump would be able to appoint a third Justice, and one that would negate the more moderate Chief Justice. Another Trump appointee combined with Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Bush appointee Alito and that dirty old man of the far-right, Reagan appointee Clarence Thomas; would significantly drag the Court to the right.
So what “dog whistle” is the President really signaling? Is he calling for his “supporters” to vote for him in November? Or is there a more insidious message hidden inside the tweet – one partnering “shotgun blast to the face” with “we need more justices”. Is the President suggesting, maybe even ordering “someone” to “create” a vacancy on the Court; even making it known the method he wants used?
It seems so far-fetched, even a novelist would find the idea rejected out of hand. But it’s not crazy to those listening for a signal, waiting on command for the President to lead them in “defense” of their view of America. And the President, and those around him, knows that they are out there, listening, and waiting for “the sign”.
They know, and they know that the “crazies” know. So how irresponsible can it possibly be to send that signal? In Hosea 8:7 it says: “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
When the whirlwind arrives, plausible deniability won’t be an option.
