The Cowardice of the Elites

There was an inevitable and sad punchline when the news broke last week that the Washington Post would not be endorsing a candidate in the 2024 presidential election: Democracy dies in darkness and when corporate media owners take a dive for a fascist.

Immediately, the story behind WaPo’s punk-out became known: Billionaire Jeff Bezos, who owns the newspaper, had issued the edict. Though the newspaper’s editorials had long cited Donald Trump as an authoritarian threat to American democracy and its reporters earned a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Trump-incited insurrectionist riot on January 6, 2021, the paper’s tycoon-owner and its publisher, Will Lewis (a former Rupert Murdoch lieutenant), decided the Post would stay mum—and they killed an in-the-works endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a statement published by the newspaper, Lewis asserted this silence is “consistent with the values The Post has always stood for and what we hope for in a leader: character and courage in service to the American ethic, veneration for the rule of law, and respect for human freedom in all its aspects.” The illogic here was stunning. Character? Veneration for the rule of the law? How can an institution profess fealty to such values and then ignore the profound danger at hand—a threat about which it had repeatedly sounded the alarm?

It seemed obvious. Bezos (net worth $205.6 billion) was placing his own Amazonian interests over those of the newspaper and the nation. Or perhaps his Blue Origin interests, for the day the Post turned tail, Trump met with executives of Bezos’ space company. He didn’t want to cross swords with Trump and draw his wrath should Trump regain power and imperil his business concerns. Amazon Web Services has tens of billions of dollars in federal contracts with the National Security Agency, the CIA, and the military, and Amazon is the subject of multiple government regulations. (When Joe Biden and Harris won in 2020, Bezos praised their triumph over Trump, noting, “Unity, empathy, and decency are not characteristics of a bygone era.”)

In a statement published Monday night, Bezos insisted that the decision not to endorse was unrelated to his business dealings. He maintained it was motivated by a desire to win the trust of readers:

What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one. Eugene Meyer, publisher of The Washington Post from 1933 to 1946, thought the same, and he was right. By itself, declining to endorse presidential candidates is not enough to move us very far up the trust scale, but it’s a meaningful step in the right direction. I wish we had made the change earlier than we did, in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.

He also asserted that the meeting between Trump and his Blue Origin execs was coincidental: "I didn’t know about the meeting beforehand... There is no connection between it and our decision on presidential endorsements, and any suggestion otherwise is false."

An endorsement from the Washington Post would likely not have much of an impact on the election results. Ditto for the Los Angeles Times, where billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong also spiked an endorsement of Harris. (His daughter claimed it was because of the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, but Soon-Shiong disputed that.) Newspaper editorials don’t move the needle much when it comes to national elections. (They carry far more weight in local races.) Yet despite Bezos' protestations, both moves were highly significant in other ways. These oligarchs appeared to be bowing down to Trump out of concern he might regain the White House and follow through on his authoritarian vows to seek revenge against foes and critics. Yale historian Timothy Snyder, an expert on fascism, pointed out in his pamphlet On Tyranny that the first lesson for combatting autocracy is “Do not obey in advance.” That is, don’t cede power to a would-be tyrant before he or she attains power.

These refusals to take a stand against Trump and his fascism—which his former White House chief of staff, John Kelly, had recently highlighted—conveyed acceptance of a possible authoritarian regime. Despite all the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times editorials that decried Trump’s assaults on democracy, these thought leaders were now signaling there was no cause for deep concern. The non-endorsements suggested that the nation need not fear the return of the man who tried to overturn the previous election and encouraged violence to do so. It was yet further normalization of this wannabe autocrat and positioned Trump as a legitimate choice. Bezos—through the Washington Post—was saying there’s no need to mount a stand against Trump and his authoritarianism. But to not oppose a fascist is to provide him an opportunity.

The Amazon king is not alone in this consequential abdication of responsibility. Numerous folks in the ruling class have cowardly ducked and covered in this election that could determine whether our imperfect democracy slides toward fascism. JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon, who previously referred to Trump’s post-2020 election conduct as “treason,” privately supports Harris. But according to the New York Times, he won’t say so publicly “because he’s fearful that if Mr. Trump is victorious, he could retaliate against the people and companies who publicly opposed his run.” Billionaire Bill Gates has privately donated $50 million to a nonprofit that supports Harris, but he has not (as of this writing) publicly endorsed her. He won’t put his mouth where his money is. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who organized fundraisers for Barack Obama in 2012 and campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2016 (denouncing Trump), announced he won’t take a position on the 2024 race.

Last week, Fortune looked at the 10 richest people in the United States and discovered that none of them had publicly expressed a preference between Trump and Harris, except for Elon Musk, the No. 1 on the list, who has become Trump’s top (and manic) cheerleader, pouring tens of millions of dollars—perhaps hundreds of millions—into efforts to elect Trump. (See my recent article on how Musk is essentially providing Trump $100 million worth of free advertising on X, the social media platform he owns.) This roster of chickens includes Buffet, Gates, Bezos, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison (a longtime GOP donor), former Google CEO Larry Page, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

These plutocrats amassed fortunes in America, yet they now will not publicly oppose a convicted felon and fraudster who was found liable for sexual assault, who attempted to subvert the constitutional order when he was last in office, who has expressed support and admiration for overseas dictators, and who has voiced fascistic sentiments, including proposing military tribunals and criminal prosecutions for his political foes, the suspension of the Constitution for his own benefit, and loyalty oaths (to him) for government workers.

There are others outside the highest echelons of wealth who are publicly sitting out this all-important election. Retired Gen. Jim Mattis, who served as Trump’s defense secretary, has expressed disdain for his former boss. In June 2020, after Trump considered deploying the US military in response to the George Floyd protest, Mattis, no longer in office, called him “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.” After the January 6 riot, Mattis issued a statement blaming Trump:

Today’s violent assault on our Capitol, an effort to subjugate American democracy by mob rule, was fomented by Mr. Trump. His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.

Mattis added that the United States will overcome “this stain” and Trump “will deservedly be left a man without a country.” Yet when a reporter for the Seattle Times knocked on the door of Mattis’ home last week, the former military commander wouldn’t comment on the election, citing “the duty of silence.”

Retired Gen. Mark Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Trump presidency, told Bob Woodward for his recent book that Trump is a “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country.” He also said that he feared being recalled to uniform and court-martialed “for disloyalty,” if Trump wins. But he still has not spoken out in public against Trump or for Harris.

And there were seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump after he was impeached for inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol: Mitt Romney, Richard Burr, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey. (Had Trump been convicted, he would not have been able to run again for president.) None have had the nerve to endorse Harris as the means to stop Trump from again ascending to the White House. Months ago, Murkowski and Collins each declared they would not vote for Trump. But they’re not saying much these days. Cassidy, as far as I can tell, has said nothing about his vote. Toomey stated he won’t vote for either Trump or Harris. Sasse apparently has made no public statements about the election. Romney noted he will not endorse Harris, saying he wants to maintain his position within the Republican Party. Burr has declared he’s supporting Trump. (How does he explain that?)

There are other members of the ruling class who are keeping their heads down. This gutlessness is of great benefit to Trump. History shows us that fascists and would-be dictators seize openings created when powerful or influential members of society step aside. Certainly, the super-wealthy have much to gain if Trump returns to the White House and keeps his pledge to cut their taxes deeper than he did the first time around. That is incentive for them to cravenly support Trump or stay out of his way. Yet there are rich and influential people who realize that Trump imperils American democracy (and that his proposed policies could hurt the economy) and who are not openly joining the battle to keep fascism at bay. Maybe it’s out of fear of Trump’s vengeance. Perhaps it’s because of a reluctance to draw attention or become embroiled in controversy. (There are crazies out there.) But what’s the point of being in the elite if you can’t use your sway?

We all know the familiar sayings. The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who during a crisis stay neutral. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. It’s clear that fascism doesn’t need to be supported by the ruling elite to succeed. Acquiescence can be sufficient. But what the hell, these swells can always escape to their private islands and rocket ships. The rest of us will pay the price for their pusillanimity.

Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland.corn@gmail.com.

As previously announced, there will be Zoom get-together of Our Land readers on Sunday, November 3, at 7 p.m. ET. This will obviously be our last such huddle before Election Day. By now, you know the drill: These Zoom sessions are only open to folks who subscribe to the premium edition of Our Land. (You can do that here.) On the day of the event, premium subscribers will receive a Zoom invitation. Click on that at the appointed hour, and our well-trained Our Land bouncers will let you in. Until then, keep calm and carry on. As always, we give thanks to our premium subscribers. Without their financial support, this newsletter would cease to be. I encourage all our readers to join this loyal band so Our Land can continue to go strong after Election Day, no matter what happens.

Bad Monkey. Sometimes you just want entertainment—say, a caper film with conniving but not the brightest bad guys, a protagonist who’s a bit of a screwup, oddball characters, exotic locations, clever twists, interesting side plots, engaging repartee, a dose of sex, and an animal in a lead role. And Apple TV+ delivers with Bad Monkey, the black-comedy crime drama based on the novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen. As a reporter and columnist at the Miami Herald for four decades, Hiaasen became sort of a cultural anthropologist whose area of expertise has been the weirdness of the Sunshine State. Which has made for some fun-as-hell novels, as well as several songs he wrote with Warren Zevon.

The television adaption of Bad Monkey, concocted by Bill Lawrence, who created or co-created Scrubs, Spin City, Shrinking, and Ted Lasso, captures the heart and soul of Hiaasen’s work. Vince Vaughn plays Andrew Yancy, a wisecracking, constantly yapping cop who was bounced from the Miami force to the Key West police department (for trying to expose a corrupt police officer) and then was bounced to the restaurant inspection unit (after slamming his car into the golf cart being driven by the abusive husband of his lover). Yancy just can’t keep from messing up. He’d be the first to tell you that, but he’d explain it’s all because—damnit—he cares too much. And that’s true. He pokes his nose into matters he’s told to stay clear of and has a slight problem with authority. So when the police chief in Key West hands him a simple assignment that may win him back his badge—bring a severed arm found floating in the ocean to Miami PD so it can decide what to do with it and don’t get involved—he can’t help but see this as a case that calls for his detecting talents. And off we go.

The show zips back and forth between Florida and an island in the Bahamas, where scamster Nick Stripling (Rob Delaney) and his ultra-scheming, money-grubbing wife, Eve Stripling (Meredith Hagner), are trying to build a resort, which entails swindling and intimidating the locals, including a young fisherman named Neville Stafford (Ronald Peet), who’s much attached to his pet monkey (who’s not as bad as the title implies). A force to be reckoned with on the island—for the Striplings and everyone else—is a woman named Gracie, who goes by the title “Dragon Queen,” a practitioner of Obeah, a voodoo-ish spiritual system keen on spell-casting. She’s played fiercely by Jodie Turner Smith (Queen & Slim). Back in Key West, Yancy is juggling relationships with the eccentric Bonnie Witt (Michelle Monaghan), who won’t say much about her past (for good reason), and Rosa Campesino (Natalie Martinez), a medical examiner in Miami who’s burned out from her work with cadavers and who becomes Yancy’s partner in crime-solving. What ties these folks together (eventually) is that severed arm.

Vaughn is wonderfully funny and winning as Yancy. His performance is a masterclass in delivering snappy dialogue. The rest of the cast are pitch-perfect foils or partners for the scene-stealing Vaughn. The story is told with near perfection. The color palate of the production is visually engaging. (So much azure!) The recaps at the start of each episode, which poke fun at recaps, are full of laugh lines. And Bad Monkey is graced by a marvelous soundtrack full of Tom Petty songs—including his original tracks and well-done covers by Eddie Vedder, Weezer, Jason Isbell, the War on Drugs, Charlotte Lawrence (listen below), and others. This is a top-notch production. Let’s hope it will lead to more of Hiaasen’s work on the screen.

Illegally Yours, Rafael Agustin. About two decades ago, Rafael Agustin, then a graduate student at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television, became frustrated when he couldn’t land leading roles in Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams productions. An immigrant from Ecuador, he didn’t, uh, have the right look for these parts, he was told. So he decided to write his own play in which he could show his stuff. A onetime champion debater at Mount San Antonio College, a community college in Walnut, California, Agustin hooked up with two of his former teammates (Filipino American Allan Axibal, a slam poetry performer, and Black American Miles Gregley, a stand-up comic), and together they wrote a piece with a title you couldn’t use these days—N-word Wetback Chink—that explored their experiences with racism. (They originally spelled out the n-word. Since then, the work has been referred to as N*W*C.) The play, which opened with each of the trio chanting the racial slur that applied to him, sparked controversy and was a sensation, pissing off Nazis and the NAACP, and the three toured the show nationally for three years.

Fifteen years or so years later, Agustin, now a Hollywood screenwriter (who worked on Jane the Virgin and is now a board member for Mother Jones), wrote a memoir, Illegally Yours, that tells the poignant tale of how he came to realize the American dream. When he was in grade school, his parents, both doctors, immigrated to the United States, pursuing a better life for them and their one child. Not able to practice medicine here, they each had a string of jobs well below their skill levels (including a gig at Kmart) and barely scraped by, often moving and sharing homes with relatives. With a keen eye and plenty of humor, Agustin aptly conveys the immigrant experience from the perspective of a young outsider who desires with his all might to be the all-American kid.

With his light complexion and hair dyed blond in high school, Agustin could pass for white, and he modeled himself after Zack Morris, a character on the sitcom Saved by the Bell. But at home, he was clearly an immigrant. And there was a family secret he was not in on: They were, as he notes, illegal. His parents had overstayed their initial visas. And they had never told him. But when it was time for him to apply for his driver’s license, he had to be informed. “I usually turned to episodes of Saved by the Bell for guidance,” he writes. “But in this instance, I didn’t know what to do because there was no episode of Saved by the Bell where Zack gets deported!” For years afterward, he lived a sort of double life as a typical nerdy teen who loved comic books and who wanted to fit in and as an illegal who feared he’d be caught and sent packing.

Agustin exquisitely captures the cultural alienation of the immigrant experience, while chronicling many funny moments, such as when his dad received a direct-mail piece from Ed McMahon saying he might be a millionaire and believed he really might be a millionaire. His story reflects what millions of families have gone through: “We worked hard, we strengthened the economy, we made local food taste better, and we committed no crimes. Well, at least we committed the same crime as every other American family before us, or did we not want to take Native Americans into consideration for this story.” He and his parents eventually received permanent residency status, and he ends the book by recalling what his mother said when he asked her why she had never told him the truth of his immigration status: “We didn’t want you to grow up feeling different. Because dreams should not have borders.”

If you want to see an excerpt of N*W*C—and because of its use of slurs some may not—click here.