I’ve been mulling over Trump’s use of the phrase, “enemy of the people,” aimed at journalists and news organizations, other than Faux Noise, El Blobo, Brietbart, InfoWars and others of that ilk. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that when Trump and extreme Republicans use the phrase “enemy of the people” or “fake news,” that is a massive demonstration of projection.

Projection is when someone denies impulses or qualities in themselves, while attributing them to others, especially the opposition.

Essentially, Trump and most of the Republican party know, deep down, that they are dedicated to serving only the interests of the 1 percent, while misleading and actively harming the interests of pretty much everyone else — the middle class, the working class, women, minorities and anyone who can be tagged as “other,” when compared to rich, white males. Trump and much of the GOP know they are the enemy of the people and so attack the mainstream media as “enemies of the people,” for disseminating “fake news,” otherwise known as facts and verifiable reality.

To one degree or another, this has been going on for years, even decades, culminating in the fake populism of Trump and the extremism of the Republican Party. Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes and now Trump have all engaged in lying to the American people, even while and especially when using buzzwords and phrases like freedom, opportunity, responsibility, trickle-down economics, states’ rights, big government, individual liberty, gun rights, activist judges, school choice, etc.

Like stage magicians who use misdirection, today’s GOP says one thing and does another. Take the term “right to work,” which sounds good — everyone should have the right to work, right? What the GOP really means is that, if workers have the right to withhold union dues, they have the right to work in that job and not spend money on political speech by unions or even negotiating to get better pay and benefits. That’s called being a free rider.

What it really means, down the road, is weakening or destroying unions, and then there’s nothing to prevent owners or management from cutting pay and benefits while massively increasing CEO and manager pay. Right to work really means the right, and the inevitability, of getting shafted.

And have you ever noticed how Republicans always say that gutting regulations or cutting taxes will always result in prosperity and jobs? They don’t discuss the fact that when taxes are cut, the prosperity is pretty much limited to the 1 percent, and if there are jobs, wages are stagnant compared to the profound wealth and income of the 1 percent. As for gutting regulations, that means less or no protections for consumers, labor, women, minorities and the environment.

“Job creators” is another great buzzword for the extreme right. Cut these taxes for the rich, and they’ll rush out and build new factories and hire workers. Except when the fat cats use tax cuts to buy back stock or park funds in offshore tax havens.

Remember when Trump and Republicans promised that the latest tax cuts wouldn’t increase the deficit? Well, it did, and now, the GOP Congress is working to make massive cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The modern-day Republican Party, and especially Trump, are working to damage your lives, the lives of your children and grandchildren, while enriching the rich and playing the game of fear, hate, resentment, divide and conquer. Playing us for fools.

I’m gonna vote these bums out, starting Nov. 6 and again in 2020.

Brodie Farquhar

Hayden