Douglas E. Schoen — the influential Democrat campaign consultant and political strategist — raises an intriguing question in the title of his new book, asking is America seeing “The End of Democracy?’’
Not necessarily, says Schoen, whose clients have included Bill Clinton, Mike Bloomberg, and the heads of states of over 15 countries.
But drastic action must be taken to shore up the nation’s might and that is happening right now, thanks to President Trump’s realization that China may be our biggest enemy.
“The Chinese Communist Party poses a legitimate threat to American power and stability and must be treated as such,’’ Schoen told Newsmax in a recent interview.
And it is, with Trump having launched a crippling trade war against the Asian nation of 1.4 billion.
“For all Trump’s flaws, he has opened the battle, and for this, I commend him. His bluster and erratic behavior aside, Trump has isolated a core truth: contrary to popular belief, China is not our friend,” Schoen said.
He added that Trump’s view of China represents an advance over the policies of past administrations, "because the only language that the Chinese Communists truly understand — and respect — is that of power and force.’’
For too long, Schoen said, “Everybody has been afraid to take China on, so nobody takes them on … We need a systematic confrontational policy towards China.’’
As well, according to Schoen, the U.S. must support Chinese dissident groups such as Falun Gong and dissatisfied young people who despise the oppressive communist regime.
Schoen’s book dissects a major business threat posed by China — that of communications technology giant Huawei, which sells phones, tablets, and computers and holds 16 percent of the smartphone market.
Huawei is developing the ultrafast 5G network, which has so far been banned by the U.S. and Australia out of fear its founder, former Chinese army officer Ran Zhengfei, could hack into electric grids and cars that rely on 5G.
China’s connections to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused more than 210,000 deaths in the U.S. and 1.04 million worldwide, are also ominous.
The Trump administration alleges that Beijing has tried to steal U.S. research on the coronavirus, through hacks on pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and research labs.
Far fetched? Not to Schoen.
“The Chinese have been getting away with manipulative, illegal, and exploitative trade practices, from stealing intellectual property to requiring American trade partners to make their technological knowhow available to Chinese firms,” Schoen said.
“The End of Democracy?” By Douglas E. Schoen was published October 8 by Regan Arts.