Unless America’s leading institutions start acting accordingly, how can we expect enough people to believe the danger to democracy and fundamental rights is really all that severe?
IMHO we threw democracy out the door a few decades ago. We no longer even have the checks and balances, as those sold out to the highest bidders. The Kings and Queens are pleasantly plump, Congress is full of insanity, Clarence, Alito, and... ??? like their new bank accounts. So much so, they celebrated with newa ethic code of conduct. Completely uninforcable, but makes a nice decor. Now... WTF is that remote for the TV!?!?
"The only election result he and his enablers on the Right are willing to accept as legitimate is one that puts them in power."
And even then, they'll whine about not winning by a big enough margin. They'll make up stories about hordes of "illegals" swinging the vote in California. They'll complain about "dead voters" and whatever else.
Because they're a bunch of fucking children, and so they can't even win with a modicum of dignity.
There is also an extreme ignorance of world history in this country. Despite the easily-dismissed sci-fi-type fantasies (or ethical-philosophical musings) about traveling back in time and killing “baby Hitler”, there seems to be zero engagement of the public with the question of “Well when and how *should* 1930s Germans have put and end to his rise in power? What did they miss? Where was the error in their thinking? And which of these errors are we repeating right now?”
"It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next," ...Mitch McConnell a United States Senator now endorsing trump. And we expect the Jerry Springer crowd to act differently than their television taught them? Not gonna happen, sadly.
Since our beginnings, every single country has the exact type of government that the people deserve to have. Be it the god du jour, or a trumpist.
There have never been Guardrails, nor accountability for the rich and the Elite in this country. They have never had to answer for what they do! There are actual child molesters in the state senate house in Tennessee for crying out loud! The Maga Shaman is now being allowed to run for office and is being allowed because he IS a Maga. The Fascism combined with Authoritarianism, and the call on that side for a Fascist Theocracy like Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale runs deep! Yet, there are supposed guardrails for all of that in The Constitution and yes, they have all failed. The folks on The Hill forgot that they are suppose to serve their Constituents, not their donors. The People got distracted by the manufactured Culture wars so they vote against their best interests. There is a reason the GOP always cuts education, you know.
It's so far gone, at this time, that unless the American People rise up and do a repeat of the French Revolution , complete with The Guillotine, nothing is going to change.
“The threat of authoritarianism – that is embodied, but not caused by Trump – is real.” Trump has given people an excuse, hell, an avatar for their hate and anger over no longer dominating US culture. I blame American christians the most, and evangelicals are at the rotten core.
Every word of this is just so incredibly on-point. I have felt so much despair in the last couple of days because after Trump was elected in 2016, it felt like normal people really did wake up to the treat of him. I remember in the weeks after the election going to my first group meeting of people wanting to fight back and it was a room full of people there to discuss taking back the House and fighting back against Trump. In the coming weeks, I attended the Women's March, a Women's March huddle, and ultimately joined a local Democratic club that came out of the Women's March huddles. So many groups sprang up in the months after the 2016 election and Democrats immediately started winning special election seats we had no business winning. It felt like we were building something durable. And now, to be back to worrying about him being re-elected again with our democracy teetering on the brink is just profoundly sad and depressing.
The frustrating thing about the "both sides" framing is that while framed as objective it entirely depends on what journalists and pundits subjectively decide are two acceptable points of view, often divorced from the reality of many other people. Martin Luther King Jr. once argued that capitalism was too extreme and communism was too extreme, but socialism may be the right approach. Whichever ideas you choose to frame your argument will always limit what you claim is reasonable.
I am tired of reading articles like this - - articulate well-written pieces that address the issues facing the country but offer ZERO solutions or calls to action.
Thankfully, about 8 months remain before the voters, or more accurately, the states decide. That’s an eternity in the volatile environment we live in now.
But let me say one thing about how we are fighting Trumpism the wrong way. Dems have called him a “threat to democracy”, and while that is true, it doesn’t resonate with a significant portion of Trump voters for a simple reason. Our democracy is scorned by them, which is why they turned to Trump in the first place. Are they wrong to scorn it? Not as much as our side thinks, though for different reasons than they think.
U.S. democracy at the FEDERAL level (POTUS with electoral college, Gerrymandered House districts, US Senate giving small states excess representation over large states) is a fraud. We need to tell the truth. It is a veneer of democracy and not really giving voters choices.
A true vibrant democracy should presumably mean real choices for voters. Sadly, we don’t have a parliamentary system, and just two major political parties that give us two choices, and only two, on Election Day in November every four years. In a country of 335 million people, we get Biden vs. Trump….twice? Two aged, and in one case, deranged candidates? That’s the best we can do?
Yes it is. In our current political system, it’s the best we can do. We should all be embarrassed. Why? Money. Simply stated, money has corrupted politics, has corrupted our media that doesn’t exist to inform but rather to outrage people and promote extremism, for clicks and ratings and $$$.
Thomas, your essay is a good one. I also got a lot out of reading your two essays on Project 2025. Perhaps, though, use the term “reactionaries” less, and use the term “American Fascism”, “Christofascism”, or simply “fascism” more. Because that’s what we face.
Win on what a Biden second term brings: Experience, expertise, seriousness for a serious time, and more accomplishments and progress for all. Not the hate, division, and Christofascism that defines Trumpism. Show the contrast, and absolutely warn the public on Project 2025!
The Supreme Court needs to have the myth of being nonpartisan shattered. I think that this whole saga, starting with Janus (at least, since Trump), has gone a long way to destroying that nonpartisan myth. Our final guardrail is the vote-and we must vote Biden in defense of democracy.
“All justices agreed that disqualification of candidates running for federal office can only happen through Congressional action” is wrong. The three Democratic appointees and Mary Coney Barret expressly disagreed with the other 5 reaching that decision.
It's been painfully clear that the Democratic party has no plan B. Even if Trump is defeated, there will be months of lawsuits and violence. There is no plan for this either.
There's no plan to cement the guardrails or build new guardrails.
There's every reason to believe that SCOTUS will carve out limited "absolute immunity" for Trump...it doesn't matter that it craters the Constitution, is an oxymoron, or will tear the country apart. They'll do it because they can.
Democrats have no plan for this. Durbin successfully ran out the clock for SCOTUS accountability. Biden won't expand the Court.
There's no leverage and no plan.
People have to vote...only to save themselves from authoritarian hell, but this is a permanent rift.There are no plans.
I remind people that a Trump election means armed mobs (with promised immunity) will have free reign to terrorize women, Blacks, gays...to start with. This won't be Hungary, it will be Serbia.
A lack of imagination brought us Trump. If people think a few more Court rulings eroding additional rights is their biggest concern, they're kidding themselves.
Incredibly accurate summary about where “we” are. Thank you. Is it possible to distill your commentaries into bite sized talking points for wide dissemination? Maybe the folks dealing with their daily routines and lives will be able latch on to one or two of them and make a different, more informed, decision.
IMHO we threw democracy out the door a few decades ago. We no longer even have the checks and balances, as those sold out to the highest bidders. The Kings and Queens are pleasantly plump, Congress is full of insanity, Clarence, Alito, and... ??? like their new bank accounts. So much so, they celebrated with newa ethic code of conduct. Completely uninforcable, but makes a nice decor. Now... WTF is that remote for the TV!?!?
That is because the idea of “guardrails” is a childish fantasy.
"The only election result he and his enablers on the Right are willing to accept as legitimate is one that puts them in power."
And even then, they'll whine about not winning by a big enough margin. They'll make up stories about hordes of "illegals" swinging the vote in California. They'll complain about "dead voters" and whatever else.
Because they're a bunch of fucking children, and so they can't even win with a modicum of dignity.
There is also an extreme ignorance of world history in this country. Despite the easily-dismissed sci-fi-type fantasies (or ethical-philosophical musings) about traveling back in time and killing “baby Hitler”, there seems to be zero engagement of the public with the question of “Well when and how *should* 1930s Germans have put and end to his rise in power? What did they miss? Where was the error in their thinking? And which of these errors are we repeating right now?”
"It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next," ...Mitch McConnell a United States Senator now endorsing trump. And we expect the Jerry Springer crowd to act differently than their television taught them? Not gonna happen, sadly.
Since our beginnings, every single country has the exact type of government that the people deserve to have. Be it the god du jour, or a trumpist.
There have never been Guardrails, nor accountability for the rich and the Elite in this country. They have never had to answer for what they do! There are actual child molesters in the state senate house in Tennessee for crying out loud! The Maga Shaman is now being allowed to run for office and is being allowed because he IS a Maga. The Fascism combined with Authoritarianism, and the call on that side for a Fascist Theocracy like Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale runs deep! Yet, there are supposed guardrails for all of that in The Constitution and yes, they have all failed. The folks on The Hill forgot that they are suppose to serve their Constituents, not their donors. The People got distracted by the manufactured Culture wars so they vote against their best interests. There is a reason the GOP always cuts education, you know.
It's so far gone, at this time, that unless the American People rise up and do a repeat of the French Revolution , complete with The Guillotine, nothing is going to change.
“The threat of authoritarianism – that is embodied, but not caused by Trump – is real.” Trump has given people an excuse, hell, an avatar for their hate and anger over no longer dominating US culture. I blame American christians the most, and evangelicals are at the rotten core.
Every word of this is just so incredibly on-point. I have felt so much despair in the last couple of days because after Trump was elected in 2016, it felt like normal people really did wake up to the treat of him. I remember in the weeks after the election going to my first group meeting of people wanting to fight back and it was a room full of people there to discuss taking back the House and fighting back against Trump. In the coming weeks, I attended the Women's March, a Women's March huddle, and ultimately joined a local Democratic club that came out of the Women's March huddles. So many groups sprang up in the months after the 2016 election and Democrats immediately started winning special election seats we had no business winning. It felt like we were building something durable. And now, to be back to worrying about him being re-elected again with our democracy teetering on the brink is just profoundly sad and depressing.
The frustrating thing about the "both sides" framing is that while framed as objective it entirely depends on what journalists and pundits subjectively decide are two acceptable points of view, often divorced from the reality of many other people. Martin Luther King Jr. once argued that capitalism was too extreme and communism was too extreme, but socialism may be the right approach. Whichever ideas you choose to frame your argument will always limit what you claim is reasonable.
I am tired of reading articles like this - - articulate well-written pieces that address the issues facing the country but offer ZERO solutions or calls to action.
Thankfully, about 8 months remain before the voters, or more accurately, the states decide. That’s an eternity in the volatile environment we live in now.
But let me say one thing about how we are fighting Trumpism the wrong way. Dems have called him a “threat to democracy”, and while that is true, it doesn’t resonate with a significant portion of Trump voters for a simple reason. Our democracy is scorned by them, which is why they turned to Trump in the first place. Are they wrong to scorn it? Not as much as our side thinks, though for different reasons than they think.
U.S. democracy at the FEDERAL level (POTUS with electoral college, Gerrymandered House districts, US Senate giving small states excess representation over large states) is a fraud. We need to tell the truth. It is a veneer of democracy and not really giving voters choices.
A true vibrant democracy should presumably mean real choices for voters. Sadly, we don’t have a parliamentary system, and just two major political parties that give us two choices, and only two, on Election Day in November every four years. In a country of 335 million people, we get Biden vs. Trump….twice? Two aged, and in one case, deranged candidates? That’s the best we can do?
Yes it is. In our current political system, it’s the best we can do. We should all be embarrassed. Why? Money. Simply stated, money has corrupted politics, has corrupted our media that doesn’t exist to inform but rather to outrage people and promote extremism, for clicks and ratings and $$$.
Thomas, your essay is a good one. I also got a lot out of reading your two essays on Project 2025. Perhaps, though, use the term “reactionaries” less, and use the term “American Fascism”, “Christofascism”, or simply “fascism” more. Because that’s what we face.
Win on what a Biden second term brings: Experience, expertise, seriousness for a serious time, and more accomplishments and progress for all. Not the hate, division, and Christofascism that defines Trumpism. Show the contrast, and absolutely warn the public on Project 2025!
Aside from the Supreme Court, which institutions need to respond? And what would that look like?
The Supreme Court needs to have the myth of being nonpartisan shattered. I think that this whole saga, starting with Janus (at least, since Trump), has gone a long way to destroying that nonpartisan myth. Our final guardrail is the vote-and we must vote Biden in defense of democracy.
“All justices agreed that disqualification of candidates running for federal office can only happen through Congressional action” is wrong. The three Democratic appointees and Mary Coney Barret expressly disagreed with the other 5 reaching that decision.
It's been painfully clear that the Democratic party has no plan B. Even if Trump is defeated, there will be months of lawsuits and violence. There is no plan for this either.
There's no plan to cement the guardrails or build new guardrails.
There's every reason to believe that SCOTUS will carve out limited "absolute immunity" for Trump...it doesn't matter that it craters the Constitution, is an oxymoron, or will tear the country apart. They'll do it because they can.
Democrats have no plan for this. Durbin successfully ran out the clock for SCOTUS accountability. Biden won't expand the Court.
There's no leverage and no plan.
People have to vote...only to save themselves from authoritarian hell, but this is a permanent rift.There are no plans.
I remind people that a Trump election means armed mobs (with promised immunity) will have free reign to terrorize women, Blacks, gays...to start with. This won't be Hungary, it will be Serbia.
A lack of imagination brought us Trump. If people think a few more Court rulings eroding additional rights is their biggest concern, they're kidding themselves.
Incredibly accurate summary about where “we” are. Thank you. Is it possible to distill your commentaries into bite sized talking points for wide dissemination? Maybe the folks dealing with their daily routines and lives will be able latch on to one or two of them and make a different, more informed, decision.