Never before has a U.S. midterm election been so important. The votes cast this November will establish the direction the USA takes for the next few years, and maybe for an era.
Recently the author of “The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five-Year Crack-Up Of The Republican Party, Dana Milbank, appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air radio. The host, Terry Gross, asked her guest to explain how the Republican Party came to embrace so many denials and conspiracy theories. Milbank pointed out that the dangerous political situations that we face today, like the QAnon Agenda, January 6th Insurrection and the Big Lie by Donald Trump, actually got their start 25 years ago with the Republican Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich and his Savage Politics.
GROSS: “I think part of the point of your book is that – well, you out and out state this – that you think Trump is the symptom, he’s not the cause, that these past 25 years have enabled him to become so powerful. And even if he leaves the stage, what created him is still there.”
(Gross was referring a certain passage in the introduction of Milbank’s latest book. )
“Donald Trump didn’t create this
noxious environment. He isn’t some
hideous orange Venus emerging from
the shell. Rather, he is a monster the
Republicans created over a quarter
century. He is a symptom of their illness,
not the cause. Whatever else he is,
Trump is a brilliant opportunist; he saw
the direction the Republican Party was
heading in, and the former pro-choice
advocate of universal health care
reinvented himself to give Republicans
what they wanted. Sadly, because
Trump is merely a reflection of the
sickness in the GOP, the problem
won’t go away when- if he does.”
~ The Destructionists
MILBANK: OK, I mean, we’ve been in a dangerous period of time for some time now. But, you know, the people who track the pro-Trump social media – are saying this is really the most ominous time since right before the Jan. 6th insurrection. …We really need our leaders – opinion leaders and lawmakers to step in and calm things down.“
GROSS: “…let’s start where your book starts – in the mid-’90s when Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich of Georgia became the House speaker and took the House in a more divisive direction than it had been.”
MILBANK: “Here came Newt, this bomb thrower, and he spoke with an entirely different language. And he – in fact, he recommended to his congressional peers, Republican peers and candidates, that they need to start talking about Democrats as traitors, as liars, as cheaters. So this was an entirely different way of talking about your opponent, your opponent as your enemy, as opposed to just being your opponent. It was a revolutionary, really, way of speaking in politics, certainly at the high level of politics. And after Republicans won in 1994, he became the speaker of the House and certainly never had a speaker of the House talking this way. And then suddenly this man was second in line to the presidency with a whole different language. And he actually said, the problem with Republicans is they haven’t been nasty enough. That was Newt Gingrich’s quote. And he said, we need to raise hell all the time. And that’s exactly what he did. And today we are … living in that world that Newt Gingrich birthed in 1994.”
It’s no accident that Gross’s show is called FRESH AIR and has become one of public radio’s most popular programs. When it appeared on the scene in 1985, it was thought to be “refreshing.” Instead of allowing celebrities to project their public personas, guests were asked questions that revealed valuable insights. Many of these interviews ventured into very personal areas that were thought to be inappropriate for radio for their time, but looking back they are completely justified as they represented aspects of an emerging public consciousness.
For twenty years, Milbank has written a popular column for the Washington Post. In MUCK RACK he claims to specialize in “THE FOOLISH, THE FALLACIOUS AND THE FELONIOUS.” He is also a public speaker despite the fact that on occasion he has been accused of “going too far” in his characterizations and made to “eat his words.” NYU journalism professor, Jay Rosen, identifies Dana Milbank as “an extravagantly contrarian columnist.” That categorization seems to fit!
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  #47 WED AQU 2/14/1951 Terry Gross |   #74 SAT TAU 4/27/1968 Dana Milbank |
Terry Gross was born on a Wednesday in the zodiac sign of Aquarius. Mercury rules her INNER SELF and her OUTER SELF is governed by Saturn or Uranus. People with the #47 WED AQU Dayology Signature are bright and quite individual in communicating their thoughts. They notice and appreciate the many personal distinctions being worked out this unique world of ours.
Dana Milbank was born on a Saturday in the zodiac sign of Taurus. Saturn rules his INNER SELF and his OUTER SELF is governed by Venus. Individuals born with the #74 SAT TAU Dayology Signature are down-to-earth and, frankly, tend to be more than just a bit stuffy. Others realize this particular personal shortcoming and attempt with some extra effort to be amusing.
This NPR interview went extremely well because these two individuals were able to use their shared Saturn rulerships to fine advantage. His INNER SELF and her OUTER SELF are directed by the conscientious planet Saturn. Both individuals are professionally established and respected for their abilities to portray hard realities. Too often the planet Saturn is depicted as limiting or punishing, which is the only experience for those who cannot buckle up and stay on track.
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  #63 FRI GEM 6/14/1946 Donald Trump |  #51 THU GEM 6/17/1943 Newt Gingrich |
Donald Trump was born on a Friday in the zodiac sign of Gemini. Venus rules his INNER SELF and Mercury governs his OUTER SELF. Those born with the #63 Dayology Signature are communicators because they understand the desires of others. Trump does not have a mission but finds the words, images and slogans that make people feel as if he understands them.
Newt Gingrich was born on a Thursday in the zodiac sign of Gemini. Jupiter rules his INNER SELF and Mercury governs his OUTER SELF. Individuals born with the #51 Dayology Signature are great communicators in that they can give “hope” to people in need. Gingrich was a political animal and didn’t mind being a hypocrite, as long as it got him where he wanted to be.
Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich were both born in Gemini. While each may have had negative private thoughts about the other, you would never know it from the way they have interacted. Gingrich remarked that Trump was “stunningly effective” and Trump was more than happy to receive his buddy’s endorsement. You can listen to the extent of their loose personal relationship from the book that Gingrich wrote “Understanding Trump” While each was in he power he saw himself as the absolute center of the world, and for a while it may have appeared to be true.
