The White Walkers invade Westeros in “Game of Thrones”
Friday
Now that Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic nominee, everyone is wondering about whether she can reconcile with Bernie Sanders’s supporters. To emphasize what is at stake, David Corn of Mother Jones is invoking Game of Thrones.
I have to admit to not having read or seen the series but, on the advice of my colleague Donna Richardson, I will be teaching the first volume in my American Fantasy class this fall. Donna says that it is America’s best answer to Tolkien. Corn misquotes Puck in the following analysis but otherwise he seems on target:
In the HBO series Game of Thrones, one overwhelming theme has dominated the six seasons: humans should not get lost in bickering for power when an existential threat looms. All the various clans—the Lannisters, the Starks, the Targaryens, the Boltons, the Tyrells, the Baratheons, and others—waste blood and treasure vying for control of this throne or that castle, while a zombie army with the capacity to eradicate humanity is slowly advancing from the north. Oh fools, you mortals be. And as the political primary season draws to an end, Democrats are in a position similar to that of the assorted houses of Westeros. An existential threat is on the horizon: Donald Trump. He’s a narcissistic bigot who in power could be a profound danger. He seems to lack a basic understanding of the nuclear arsenal of which he would be in charge. He claims climate change is a hoax. He has vowed to play chicken with the debt ceiling. It is not hard to envision him triggering (or ignoring) crises that would threaten the survival of the United States or other parts of the globe. If he accepted budgets from the Republican-controlled Congress, millions of low- and middle-income Americans would lose assistance. And his Supreme Court appointments could well restrict reproductive rights, bolster corporate interests, and approve further erosions of voting rights. Make America great again? No, with Trump, winter is coming.
Given this harsh reality, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the socialist independent turned Democrat who has run a stupendous campaign that has promoted progressive causes and inspired millions, has a stark choice. To continue his crusade to win the Democratic Party’s crown or to drop his claim and join forces with a rival to form a common front against the Night’s King (that is, Trump). And he ought to reach a decision soon.
To be sure, there are Republicans who are arguing that Hillary Clinton too represents an existential threat and so are prepared to vote for Trump despite the problems that Corn lays out. For me, this is a false equivalence and an example of the hyperbole that has overtaken our politics. As I said in a recent post, if Trump were the Democratic nominee against Goldwater, Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, McCain, or Romney, I would vote Republican. Trump is of a different order than anything we have ever seen.
To arms, people of Westeros.
Added note: I see that the Washington Post’s Michael Gerson, former George W. Bush speechwriter and no friend to Democrats, is making a similar point about the special danger represented by Trump as he castigates Republicans who are supporting him:
So what were senior Republicans thinking when they endorsed Trump? I don’t want to underestimate the difficulties involved in opposing one’s own presumptive nominee. There is tremendous political pressure to be loyal to the team. The arguments against doing anything that might help Hillary Clinton are strong. “This is about moving our agenda forward,”said Ryan in justifying his Trump endorsement.
But it is not a normal political moment. It is one of those rare times — like the repudiation of Joe McCarthy, or consideration of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or the Watergate crisis — when the spotlight of history stops on a single decision, and a whole political career is remembered in a single pose. The test here: Can you support, for pragmatic reasons, a presidential candidate who purposely and consistently appeals to racism?
