Is This Treason?

Imagine that a foreign power has sent undercover agents into the U.S. to undermine our faith in our government and to foment unrest, a Fifth Column, as it were. These agents are clever and effective. They encourage local, state, and federal agencies to overspend their budgets, thus putting us all in very difficult positions when emergencies occur. They undermine people’s belief that government is even acting on their behalf. They actively disenfranchise people so they cannot vote against their plans. And they demonize anyone who opposes their dastardly programs. They receive almost unlimited funds to perform their actions from sources almost impossible to trace.

If caught, those agents would face the death penalty. Any U.S. citizen abetting the actions of those agents would be committing treason or, at least, sedition, crimes also including the possibility of the death penalty.

But, what if those agents weren’t foreign, what if they were members of, say, the Communist Party, USA? Would their actions then be legal or even acceptable? I think not.

What if those agents were members of a major political party?

All of the things described above are being done by the GOP. When the Democrats took over the House of Representatives during the most recent Bush Administration, the approval rating of Congress was 43%. Now it hovers around 11%. The GOP has frequently cut taxes without cutting spending and spent gigantic sums on wars without paying for them which creates budget deficits and debt that makes us indebted to foreign countries and in a position where we cannot respond flexibly to emergencies. The GOP has encouraged an attitude of disdain for poor people, the unemployed, and people of color thus alienating those people from their government. Republicans have repeatedly diminished the control of women over their own bodies. Republican officials have recommended investigating Congress for un-American activities. Republican officials repeatedly spread untruths about the strength of the nation.

Need I go on?

Is this treason? Even if not, should it be condoned?