Drain the swamp
Swampland near Benton Ridge, Ohio; the channel pictured is used to "drain the swamp".
Drain the swamp is a phrase which since the 1980s has frequently been used by American politicians. The phrase alludes to the historical draining of swamps to keep mosquito populations low to combat malaria.[1] It has been used as a metaphor by:
- Winfield R. Gaylord (1870–1943) to describe the socialist desire to "drain" the "capitalist swamp".[1]
- Victor L. Berger (1860–1929), who in his book Broadsides referred to changing the capitalist system as "drain[ing] the swamp"[2]
- Ronald Reagan, who called for "drain[ing] the swamp" of bureaucracy in the federal government in 1983.[3][4]
- Jessica Stern in "Preparing for a War on Terrorism", where she calls on the U.S. to see failing and failed states as sources and sanctuaries for terrorists and terrorism (the swamp) and to use foreign aid and soft power to combat them (the draining).[5]
- Pat Buchanan during his 2000 presidential campaign, when he invoked the saying in opposition to the dominant political parties: "Neither Beltway party is going to drain this swamp: it's a protected wetland; they breed in it, they spawn in it".[6]
- Nancy Pelosi in 2006 while announcing her 100-Hour Plan in response to more than a decade of Republican rule.[7][8]
- Donald Trump to describe his plan to fix problems in the federal government.[1][9] Subsequent protests against the role of Goldman Sachs alumni in his administration also used the metaphor.[10]
- Traditional Unionist Voice on the front cover of their manifesto for the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election[11]
- Henry Bolton, the leader of UKIP when referring to the NEC on 22 January 2018.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 Harrington, Rebecca (November 11, 2016). "Here's what Trump means when he says 'drain the swamp' — even though it's not an accurate metaphor". Business Insider. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ Berger, Victor L. (1913). Broadsides. Social-Democratic Publishing Company. p. 107.
- ↑ Garcia, Eric (October 18, 2016). "A History of 'Draining the Swamp'". Roll Call. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Reagan still draining the swamp (March 12, 1983)". Chicago Tribune (March 12, 1983). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ Stern, Jessica (November 2001). "Preparing for a War on Terrorism". Current History. 100 (649): 355. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ↑ Clines, Francis X. (March 17, 2000). "THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE REFORM PARTY; Buchanan Wraps Himself In McCain's Flag of Reform". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ↑ Espo, David (October 6, 2006). "Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp'". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ Allison, Bill (November 10, 2016). "Trump Rhetoric Fails to Damp K-Street Hopes of Renaissance". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ "How might Trump 'drain the swamp'?". BBC News. October 18, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
- ↑ Jaffe, Sarah (January 18, 2017). "'The swamp is Goldman Sachs': how the bank is rewarded for putting profits over people". The Guardian. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ↑ "Assembly Election 2017 Manifesto" (PDF). Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ↑ "Defiant UKIP leader Henry Bolton aims to 'drain the swamp'". BBC News. 22 January 2018.
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