Quote of the Day

There's no historical precedent [for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet choices] that I know of, but I think the emphasis on the fact that they're simply rich, is important, but it may miss the point. And I think the real point is that these are neo-liberal evangelicals. I mean, these are people who are absolutely wedded to a notion that the economy should govern all aspects of social life, and it basically should consolidate the wealth of the ultra-rich.

So, I think that in talking about people like Rex Tillerson and talking about Andrew Puzder, Wilbur Ross, Ryan Zinke, I mean, these are all people who want to basically destroy the social contract, deregulate business to the degree that is at all possible with this new cabinet, and basically bring us back to the Gilded Age. That's certainly one way to look at this.

But, I think the other way to look at this, is that there's a certain alliance of groups coming . . . of individuals coming together in this cabinet that speak to an alarming set of elements that would constitute, what I call, a new kind of neo-fascism, an American form of authoritarianism, and I think the economic fundamentalists that you've referred to, these ultra neo-liberalists, are just one segment of that group. But, yes, they're rich. They're wealthy, they're powerful, and they would like to do everything they can to make the United States government simply an arm – or an agent – of a corporate culture that benefits the rich.

– Henry Giroux
Excerpted from "Trump's Cabinet, the Church of Neoliberal Evangelicals"
The Real News
December 25, 2016

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• On International Human Rights Day, Saying "No" to Donald Trump and His Fascist Agenda
Quote of the Day – December 5, 2016
• Progressive Perspectives on the Election of Donald Trump as President of the United States
• Election Eve Thoughts
• Art and Resistance
• Carrying It On
• Progressive Perspectives on the Rise of Donald Trump
• Trump's Playbook
• Saying "No" to Endless U.S. Wars

Related Off-site Links:
War Culture, Militarism and Racist Violence Under Trump – Henry A. Giroux (TruthOut, December 14, 2016).
Trump’s Cabinet Is a Coup Waiting to Happen – Audrea Lim (The Nation, December 20, 2016).
Trump's Cabinet Wealthier Than One-Third of U.S. Households Combined – Deirdre Fulton (Common Dreams, December 15, 2016).
Cornel West on Donald Trump: This is What Neo-Fascism Looks Like – Democracy Now! (December 1, 2016).
Four Cabinet Nominations That Could Blow Up in Donald Trump’s Face – Amber Phillips (The Washington Post, December 26, 2016).
Faux-Populist Trump Wages All-Out War on American Workers – Lauren McCauley (Common Dreams, December 9, 2016).
Fighting Back Against the White Revolt of 2016 – Bill Fletcher Jr. and Bob Wing (AlterNet, December 5, 2016).
The 4 Syndromes of Passivity in the Face of Pending Tyranny – Robert Reich (Common Dreams, December 15, 2016).
Ten Ways to Build a Broad Progressive Movement to Defeat Trump – Betsy Hartmann (Common Dreams, December 12, 2016).
Nine Ways to Oppose Donald Trump – John Cassidy (The New Yorker, December 16, 2016).
How Republics End – Paul Krugman (The New York Times, December 19, 2016).
 Want to Know How to Build a Progressive Movement Under Trump? Look to Standing Rock – William J. Astore (The Nation, December 20, 2016).
How to Face a Trump Presidency: Resist, Reconnect, Renew – Sarah van Gelder (Yes! Magazine via Common Dreams, December 22, 2016).
The Great Resistance 2017 – Marianne Williamson (The Huffington Post, December 24, 2016).

Images: KristenSolberg.