18 Comments
Sep 2·edited Sep 2

+comments

Expand full comment

Thank you for a clear concise summation of how bad things are and how much worse they may become.

If Trump gets back to the White House and starts to attack his political opponents, would we expect to see concentration camps in the US?

If that sounds alarmist and far fetched, remember that Hitler & Co were democratically elected. When Hindenburg died and Hitler adopted the twin pillars of power, he lost little time in passing laws that outlawed all parties other than the Nazis and set about his opponents in a barbaric manner.

Wake up America!

Expand full comment

Is there a reason you’re using the word “reconquista” (vs something from U.S. history) without mentioning the Spanish context? If anything, pointing to how Franco, and now Vox, use this language could help, rather than hurt the argument. The Spanish far right uses the term to sell an anachronistic myth of victimhood for itself, and Franco did too.

Expand full comment

Jeebus. Who hurt these people???

Expand full comment

All these words; and none of them about the billionaires that own and control the right-wing efforts to control everything.

Bob Mercer

Wilbur Ross

Carl Icahn

Diane Hendricks

Charles Koch

Steve Wynn

Paul Singer

Richard Uileihn,

All the things you describe have their source in these people's immense wallets.

It does no good to rebuff the puppets over and over again; one must make the puppeteers so thoroughly, painfully visible that all their shows cannot obscure them and their depredations.

Expand full comment

Thanks Thomas. It is almost if you were reading my mind, or visa versa. https://samray.substack.com/p/what-america-needs-psychologically

Expand full comment

The closest historical model akin to the Right’s zeal for unfettered use of government power in this country may be Jim Crow.

Expand full comment

That last line brings to mind Jefferson Cowie's new book, Freedom's Dominion. You have probably read it. He would be a great guest on your pod.

Expand full comment

What's amazing to me is how this entire enterprise is based on pure fantasy. No facts to support it. We've got 40% of the country passionately fulminating about things that don't even exist or haven't happened. I don't think this is going to change unless the Republican elected leadership starts telling the truth.

Expand full comment

I agree that neither “the right” nor “the left” should be viewed as monolithic. Americans traditionally have been more practical than ideological. Interests and bigotry largely affected our politics. Lately the false idea that “politics is war” poisons all discourse. Politics in fact is the alternative to war.

Expand full comment

Thanks for this overview. The success of the "conservative" push is certainly seen in states where the Republican/Trump party controls the government. The deepening divisions of policies between the states is becoming more stark. The overarching question is can a minority party seize control of the whole? Since the various ideological issues you describe here are the smoke screen for the libertarian and dirty energy billionaires desire to break the administrative state, money will back the minority party. Trump is their Hindenburg, and he will burst into self immolation. That, I think, may also deflate the desired counter-revolution. Hot air ships found public disfavor.

Expand full comment