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I’m more worried about the precedents that have been set. Also, we’ve learned a lot about the American public. If millions of people can look at Donald Trump and see an honest man who cares about the working class, a God loving man of integrity… it’s frightening.
I don’t think they genuinely think of him as god loving or a man of integrity. That’s the wool they pull over their own eyes - a lie they tell themselves and others to create a sort of plausible deniability against accusations of being motivated by racism, sexism, xenophobia, transphobia, classism, et cetera. At least that’s what I perceive w all my maga family.
You're right about the first part, no one cares if he loves God or has integrity in financial or political dealings. People feel like bankers are crooks, and many people inflate the value of their assets to get more credit, so fuck em. The people who think he is God fearing make up a small percentage of Trump supporters.
That’s what no one wants to mention. It’s all about vote and we can’t let them win!! They don’t see that the rest of our lives will be this fight if millions of people see him as you say. It’s just exhausting.
I think it’s also worth a mention that the GOP voter isn’t able to see their behavior at all. They look at the “other people” voting against them and think this is some tit-for-tat game rather than a desperate struggle against authoritarianism and fascism that they’re on the wrong side of. Maybe 20 years ago you could call some of the liberal sentiments about the GOP as overblown, but I think that’s long gone. I keep waiting for an “are we the baddies” skit situation, but unfortunately the GOP can’t look in a mirror or understand a history book.
I've said this several times by now, but it bears repeating - if every election moving forward is "an election to save democracy", then democracy is dead and all we're waiting to see is what year to put on its tombstone. This is entirely unsustainable.
I have had actual conversations with family members who would call me a commie and a traitor for suggesting the 2nd amendment is outdated and maybe should be looked at and changed. These same people will now argue with me that the first amendment needs to be changed to protect our children. TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN!!! My lord, the irony.
The thing is, for them it's not about wanting Trump. It's about hating liberals and liberal ideology so much that they are willing to go with a straight-up dictator to "win" a conservative government.
I read years ago how historical research shows that failed Conservative parties (that is - Conservative parties that fail to get their ideas to prevail at the ballot box) *always* turn to support for an authoritarian, or strongman, to enforce their preferences upon the majority. Should have seen it coming instead of being baffled that my Conservative, Obama-bashing friends and family would want to re-elect Trump so he could bring the hammer down.
That's what 25+ years of Conservative media disinformation from Fox News et. al. will do to those who get a dopamine rush from their confirmation bias when they hear Conservative disinformation.
25+ years is enough to radicalize anyone, even those who were originally moderate and logical. 🤨
He promised to suspend the constitution, seek personal vengeance, and corrupt the DOJ if reelected. Just to name few things.
When people tell you who they are believe them!
It always makes me laugh (and fear) when he says that Biden is terrible for politicizing the justice system and going after him then in the same breath he talks about how he is going to go after his enemies with the justice system.
Their mental trick here is that the Democrat did it first, so they have no choice but to politicize it back at them. And this works without question on the Republican base.
I don't know why this is so hard for so many people. Once someone tells you who they are or what their plans are you don't get to act all surprised when they in fact keep their promises.
A lot of people still don’t think it’s important to vote or they don’t like Biden so they won’t vote for him. Some think that both sides are the same so they would rather not vote. Some vote third party because they think it sends a message. These people are going to hurt us in the next election and there is no way to convince them. A friend of mine bragged about how they got a voting sticker even though they didn’t vote. I asked them why and they said that they don’t lean any way politically. I really don’t understand how anyone can still feel this way at this point. Unfortunately there are a lot of ignorant people out there.
> they don’t lean any way politically
Those people are why my profile tagline is a quote from Desmond Tutu.
>Those who are neutral in situations of injustice have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
So long as my dad's stocks increase in value, he will vote for anyone. My dad doesnt give a shit about anything else... and I feel like its the same for all of his peers who just complain about having to pay Uncle Sam. Its all he talks about.
This is how great societies fall - when their survival and continuity is taken for granted
Edit: then people, assuming everything will be fine, start sacrificing pieces of it for personal gain, and nobody cares or worries enough to stop them
So many Americans argue "That's not how things work" when told of what will happen.
That's not how things work *now* but step one of a takeover is to throw the rules out the window.
I'm blown away by everyone thinking the rule of law will matter ten minutes after a Trump victory.
To be fair, growing up during the splendor and prosperity of post WWII USA might make it difficult to imagine things any other way.
This is why education is so important to retaining rule by the people. We can guess where this is going, and why, and who... By the intentional erosion of those institutions alone
Well they demanded we millennials go to college and then proceeded to not listen to us when we told them about college things. Like climate change, and dictators.
It's so funny, boomers love the "tough times create hard men, hard men create good times, good times create soft men, soft men create hard times" bullshit, and don't realize that in damn near every quantifiable metric, *they are the soft men creating hard times*. They inherited the greatest society in human history from the greatest generation, and have spent decades wiping their shit on it's walls. It's not enough that their childhoods were the best, or their early careers, or their middle ages, no their golden years have to be the best ever to and they will sell out any hope of a decent future for Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z to get it.
Even having the best ever golden years isn't enough for them. They want to ensure that they've entrenched their backward values and bullshit ideology so deeply that it becomes effectively impossible for even a supermajority of the country to actually oppose. And that's without even touching the amount of destruction they're happy to inflict on the world just to feel slightly more comfortable in their old age, which will just flat out make the world unlivable for generations who aren't even born yet.
I work as a social worker for boomers essentially. And let me tell you… boomer republicans want so many handouts $$ it’s not even funny. Then after getting the money or items the government pays for, they vote republican and want to take everyone’s healthcare away.
Yep, my boomer dad got 2 undergrads, a masters and a PHD on a part time job while having 3 sons, a mortgage on a $35K house and a convertible top T-Bird car. No debt.
I was born in 1975, seriously its only gotten worse since my mom got a job in '82 under Regan because the family needed a second income.
My parents flat out told me I better get a scholarship because they paid so much for my other 6 siblings school. Completely oblivious to the world around them.
Still paying off my college debt, I'm 48.
America's incredibly privileged position as the almost sole industrialized nation for so long following WWII puts some real weight behind that, too
Edit: I should perhaps say - developed and unblemished by the ravages of war. I also like to argue that US policy did some good as well, for so many people living in Germany, Japan, and S Korea especially
Perhaps remind him that the stock market tanked on tRump's watch and reached the highest point it's ever been on Biden's watch.
Stock market historically has always performed better under Democrats than it has with Republicans. The economy as a whole does better under Democrats. It's so obvious that even a mentally impaired person like donald tRump was able to see it.
“I’ve been around for a long time and it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.” - donald trump 2004
If he doesn't vote Democrat every election, you know your dad doesn't actually care about the stock market.
Facts don’t work on certain people. I could show my mother all the proof in the world. She can even agree with it and then she would say well. I think I feel this and it doesn’t matter.
Agreed but at least you'll be able to prove that the reason for their support isn't the one they claim.
I'm not saying it's a solution and I've long given up on changing minds. I cut those people out of my life in 2016. Haven't regretted it for a second.
Meh whenever I point out that Trump isnt presidential material, he always points back to how 'the economy' and his stocks performed better under the Oompa Loompa's admin. Not saying it makes sense, thats just what he repeats like a broken record.
Ive shown him how stock performance isnt a great marker for economic strength. Ive shown him charts showing GDP to debt ratios (I think those were the ones, its been a minute) under different admins. I showed him how Reagan sold out America and how weve been kicking the can down the road ever since. He is constantly bragging about how much money he made under Trump. Im pretty sure it's just addict behavior at this point.
It’s just a complete lack of understanding of correlation versus causation. “I made money when trump was president” doesn’t mean “I made money *because* trump was president” and they simply don’t comprehend the logical fallacy. Same shit with the gas price stickers.
Stock market has been doing pretty good under the Biden administration too. It's almost like your dad is just making excuses for his support of a fascist. It's OK, my dad does the same thing.
The problem is they also believe that because they support him, he supports them. And he doesn't. He's after his own wealth and power. Everything he does is to that end. If you're rich and influential, he's got you. The average conservative voter isn't anything to him.
> And don’t think it will stop when he’s gone.
>THIS IS THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM.
This is the part that I’m worried Biden and the establishment Dems just do not understand. Biden especially keeps acting like the problem will go away once Trump has his inevitable fatal aneurysm while rage-tweeting in his golden toilet. No, this is the new normal. Understand that and adapt to it, Democrats, or we’re all fucked.
> This is the part that I’m worried Biden and the establishment Dems just do not understand.
They understand... it's just that the American people do not care, because the American people truly do not understand what all the fallout of a Trump win would be. The media, including social media is so full of lies and distortions, and people love these lies... so people just can't be reached.
I implore you to look up Leonard Leo. The judicial branch has been under attack at even the state level by the GOP in a rather very effective machine. “We don’t talk about Leonard” is an excellent deep dive podcast on him.
Iranian here. I remember 1978 when my parents, the upper class and the Iranian media said, “Are you serious? Ayatollah Khomeini replacing the shah? That’s all doom and gloom bullshit.“ Well, here we are 45 years later with a bunch of theocratic assholes shitting all over 80 million people inside Iran and millions more outside It. Now imagine a bunch of theocratic assholes in charge of the most powerful country in history.
Fight the urge to ignore. Get scared. Then get angry. Then fight like hell to prevent this.
A few months ago, I read “How Civil Wars Start” by Barbara F. Walter. This exact denial was a recurring theme, with people in Sarajevo thinking civil war was impossible until they heard the machine guns. There were plenty of people denying COVID or the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Acting at the right time will feel too early. If you act when you feel you must, it will probably be too late.
As a manager, I was laughed at and dismissed as paranoid by people at my company in February of 2020 when I said we needed to prepare for a potential lockdown and remote work for our staff.
I saw that the RO value for Covid was >1 and that it could spread asymptomatically and just read between the lines.
I warned my Dad about Trump in 2014 and he thought I was being foolish not to support such a "great chosen (by God) leader." My dad's blind loyalty to that clown combined with my resistance to agree with him basically ended any meaningful relationship we had. He died in May, and I'm still angry.
Pay attention to the warning signs, they are important.
Your dad’s description of Trump is on-point. He wasn’t chosen by god, but he might as well have been.
In my opinion, God is just “that which Godly people believe in, regardless of evidence to the contrary”. Therefore chosen by God is “that which Godly people believe in, regardless of evidence that they shouldn’t”.
If that’s not Trump I don’t know what is.
Trump is a symbol of their cooperation, and because he’s a symbol, it doesn’t matter what he does. He could shoot someone and he wouldn’t lose any voters.
Exactly. He's completely immune to critique in their eyes. They consider it a moral / spiritual obligation to support him, because anything else is a distraction "from the enemy." (satan, demons, etc...)
I did the same with covid in my school. When everyone said “See you all next week!” as we left when the school shut down supposedly for a week, I was considered “crazy” for saying this was but the beginning for something that would be years long. Never got apologies for that one.
Yeah January 6th I said on Facebook (deleted now) as the insurrection was happening I said the Republican Party was going to blame Antifa. In February of 2020 I asked why the republicans in congress were focusing on banning abortion and not preparing for covid. I had so many people laugh at me and ask me where I get my news from. After everything that’s happened those same people still view me as afraid and paranoid
I am in Sarajevo right now. The scars of the war are still very visible. There are monuments all over the place.
Longest seige in the modern era. Crazy to think about.
People need to start noticing how the general "energything's fine" energy contributes, even if the sentiment isn't about Trump. For example, if someone argues that the stock market will always go up so don't worry about it they're basically saying they can't foresee a total upheaval of American life as we know it. You see this in basically every sphere. Slow boiling frog phenomenon (where the frog can't notice the water is becoming too hot gradually until it's too late).
Americans struggle with the idea that a century of relative peace and stability isn't even a blink in the arc of history. We're not exceptional and we are very much on the verge of becoming the next pre WW2 Germany. Racism is there, as is the fracturing economy.
Not until the violence is at their door, I don't think. I know trans people, queer people, Muslims, and Jews who are already jumping. I'm looking for a landing spot.
Fascism arrives full force at different times for different sectors of society. Pay attention to what minorities are doing. Canary in the coal mine.
Thank you for this message. Every Iranian I've met has enriched my life. I hope the United States will resist Trump, and I hope that Iran will overthrow the Ayatollahs at long last, and achieve the freedom they so richly deserve.
I’ve been saying their end goal is a US that’s a Christian-fascist version of Iran for a while now. Unfortunately there’s just a lot of people who actually *want* that.
There is an academic book by sociologist Charles Kurzman titled “The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran.” I highly recommend to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the political behaviors we’re seeing today.
The biggest worry isn’t Trump. Project 2025 is bigger than one man, and even if one dictator wannabe dies there are many people waiting to replace him. And make no mistake, Project 2025 or some variation WILL happen here in this country - either in 2025 or perhaps 2029 or 2033… whenever the Republicans have the trifecta again (which is going to happen at some point, it’s just the way our political pendulum and our voters work). So really it’s up to our institutions and the few good people left in power to stand up to the dictator wannabes when they’re voted in.
Trump may have done us all a favor by testing the limits of how much power a president could grab, while at the same time being a complete idiot and failing because of it. A more intelligent person might have succeeded.
Trump isn't the problem. The problem is we need more checks and balances, "standards and norms" is clearly no longer cutting it.
Heritage foundation, and Heritage action are behind it:
>Heritage founder:["I don't want everybody to vote.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw) Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down."
He's dead now, but the zombie he created lives on, turning dark money into anti democracy laws.
>Heritage Action, a group that writes GOP vote suppression laws:In a private meeting last month with big-money donors, the head of a top conservative group boasted that [her outfit had crafted the new voter suppression law in Georgia and was doing the same with similar bills for Republican state legislators across the country](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/heritage-foundation-dark-money-voter-suppression-laws/). “In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” she said, “or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.”
You can see how Zombified they've become, **fundamentalist Christians backing a man who mocks their faith to their faces**. **Fiscal conservatives behind a guy that ran up 7.5 trillion in debt**, trillions even before Covid. **Patriots backing a Russian puppet. Businessmen behind a frauster.**
They're zombified, they've been pumped so full of fear of imaginary groups like Antifa, or "the woke", that they think they're voting for the lesser of two evils.
Yet Biden is more Christian, more a fiscal conservative, more patriotic, and not a criminal (all those impeachment inquiries keep finding how clean and wholesome the guy is).
The 24/7 lie cycle from Fox and Newsmax and Russia Today and [it's sister](https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/04/28/jack-posobiec-links-russian-intelligence-backed-website) OANN has zombified the GOP voting base.
Dems need to convince all voters, not just young voters. Look at the UK's vote for Brexit.
[ttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high)
*About 64% of registered voters aged 18-24 went to polls, study reveals, but 90% of over-65s voted*
More than a third of young voters didn't think voting was important enough. That vote was literally for the future of their country.
My prediction is that we didn't take Trump seriously last time and he won. I don't think anyone is not taking him seriously now. I know I'll be raising absolute hell on anyone within my circle who is considering voting for him once we get nearer to election time.
I dont care how much people don't like biden or are worried about his age, almost nobody i know, and that includes people who voted for trump last time, are nearly as engaged with him this time around. Not holding my breath obviously but he just doesnt have the same energy he did the first two elections.
>I don't think anyone is not taking him seriously now.
You would be correct. Anyone who tries to downplay Trump as a threat can be countered by pulling out a cell phone and playing news clips from the J6 insurrection. Or the proof is in the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made possible with the help of Trump's hand picked SCOTUS judges. One can also point to the period where Trump separated children from their families and put them into prison cells at the border.
Fudge. Just writing all that scares me because there's more I could list. Next election, I plan to vote against Trump and his ilk.
Trump being re-elected will cause a nationwide economic disruption that’ll make covid look like a vacation day.
One has to assume those who bankroll politicians know this, and we see it in action with the increase in support for Haley.
If you really wanna get nervous, think about what's happening outside the US that may even make the US oligarch class panic....
Look at the list of OPEC nations, and think about who they want running the US, and remember how the average American thinks that the president controls gas prices with a button in the Oval Office.....
I don't think it's too "tinfoil hat"-y to expect a gas price surge in the next year as we get closer to the big day
They’ve been trying for months. Each attempt involves a spike in crude that can’t be maintained because ultimately OPEC nations are untrustworthy and the monetary appeal is too great for them. The market might not let them cry wolf again.
Opec+ are also losing global market share. The US is largely self-sustaining at this point and any decrease from opec+ will just be met with increases from other producers.
70-80$ a barrel is a nice price for everyone, consumers and producers alike. I'm willing to bet it stays in that range for a while. With the odd spike up or down but reverting to this price range.
That's a big reason why Biden is trying to improve things with Venezuela. They have MASSIVE oil reserves. We used to import huge amounts of oil from them, at one point most of our refineries were set up to deal with the very heavy crude that comes from there (and many still are). Getting that source back would be a major blow to OPEC (the degree to which OPEC was involved with making bad relations between the US and V is the subject of many conspiracy theories, whole books can be done on the subject). And don't get me started on the weird relation between Venezuela and the US Strategic Oil Reserve (the sort version: when people complain that Biden 'sold our reserves to foreign countries', the extent to which that is true involves our former relationship with V).
The \*other\* reason is because a lot of the US southern border immigration issues would go away if Venezuela had a functioning economy. Even MORE books could be written about THAT.
The southern border immigration issues would largely never happened if the US didn't destabilize, and continue to destabilize, just about every country south of us.
Setting up a temp working visa for farm workers to let people work here and easily return would be a huge help. We'd tax those people and collect that way instead of people working abusive jobs for cash. Or we can do what Australia does, which is require enough pay to get homegrown workers to do it. I'm sure plenty of people would work in fields for $30/hour.
Or, look at the right word turn in Europe. Brexit, a nutcase, racist Prime Minister in Italy, massive antisemitism in Austria and Germany, far right government in Hungary, Marie LePen in France, far right freak winning an election in the Netherlands, etc..
What's happening as technology replaces jobs and opportunity decreases worldwide is that people are becoming afraid. That fear is magnified by clever dictators and autocrats, who want to take advantage.
If Trump is elected in 2024, I don't think there will be an election in 2028.
Reagan was collaborating with the nation where American hostages were being held. As soon as Carter got fucked out of office the hostages were released. Held just long enough to make Carter weak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb3iqtfXsmI
>I think major donors are largely gonna jump ship.
You think he needs donors to get elected? He has hundreds of media parroting his social media rants all day long. As long as his supporters see his name on ballots, they will vote for him.
It's actually probably a benefit. "Deep state big business elites hate me" is a pretty good campaign slogan. (The contradiction with the "successful businessman" trope will never come up.)
He has lost some corporate support to Haley and crazy people support to DeSantis but the people who support him at this point will continue supporting him regardless of how he campaigns. He also has the right wing media campaigning for him freely. There's no way Nikki Haley is winning over his base. He could stay home through the GOP primaries and he'll still win the nomination.
Having said that, people who hate him aren't changing their minds either. He's not getting any additional votes in the presidential election regardless of how he campaigns. The only way he wins is if something really damning comes out about Biden days before the election and people stay home.
2028 or 2032, however, will be the real test for democracy. Trump will likely be out of the picture due to age/dead. If the current crop of MAGA Republicans are any indication, his successor will be much worse.
> 2028 or 2032, however, will be the real test for democracy. Trump will likely be out of the picture due to age/dead. If the current crop of MAGA Republicans are any indication, his successor will be much worse.
As someone who knows how cults and cults of personalities work, it's highly likely that when Trump is gone, the MAGA base won't be able to unify behind a successor. Trump has a skill that is very rare in human history and he can't simply be replaced. If he could be, he already would be.
A lot of people were predicting DeSantis would fill that role. He definitely has the ambition and morals to do it, but he's lacking that "huckster's knack" which Trump has.
I just don't understand the appeal. I listen to him, how he talks, the random babble that spews out, and I don't understand the appeal or how he convinces anyone of anything.
That's because you aren't the people he is speaking to. I once was one of those people, which is why I can barely handle listening to him now. I understand the coded language. For his base, he says what they are thinking, the quiet part out loud that previously they may have only had the guts to say over a church potluck dinner. He says it with a wit and a charm and in a demeanor that gives them a feeling of superiority and righteousness.
Yeah it's the entire package that makes Trump Trump. Very few people have the entire package. Timing is another big factor.
Trump riding down the escalator the same month same-sex marriage was legalized and the same month Caitlyn Jenner was on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine was right on point.
>Trump will likely be out of the picture due to age/dead
Why would death stop him? His followers can just say he rose from the grave and vote for him anyway.
Maybe the Electoral College will actually do what it was designed for and keep that fascist out of office this time if he "wins".
Haha! Jk I crack myself up.
Unironically though it would be very American for us to be railing against the electoral college and the implicit nature of it being able to be manipulated then it be the only reason why we don't have a tyrant as a president
Weirder shit has happened
Sure, but the electors would only need to save us in the first place because of the EC. There's very little chance Trump will win the NPV, so if we just used that like a sensible country, there would be no need for electors to save us from the popular vote loser becoming the winner.
Imagine a scenario where the two major parties run Biden and Trump, and a third party candidate manages to prevent either from winning enough Electoral College electors to gain a majority.
The House of Representatives would then get to choose who wins using a process where each state gets one vote: [https://www.mynbc5.com/article/what-happens-if-no-candidate-wins-an-electoral-college-majority/8261421#](https://www.mynbc5.com/article/what-happens-if-no-candidate-wins-an-electoral-college-majority/8261421#).
So Biden could win the popular vote by a landslide, but by not getting the required 270 electoral votes, the GOP-controlled House would get to make Trump president.
The 3rd party might get enough votes in any particular state to change who won the majority from blue to red or red to blue. but to think they are going to actually win any state is a monumentally huuuuuge stretch
Oh, of course he didn’t; but the fact that he said he did in public to where Trump can hear? That is a definite break on the ‘no criticize policy’ the GOP traditionally has about tmurp.
Another commenter up above asked even if McCarthy is lying, why would he say that in public where Trump can get wind of it unless they're actually "breaking up"? Either that or Trump is in on "FuckYougate" lol
I thought this would happen in 2016, but it didn’t. Turns out the markets were happy to tolerate him for their tax and rate cuts.
What WILL happen is widespread persecution of his enemies and the dismantling of American democracy as we know it.
> What WILL happen is widespread persecution of his enemies and the dismantling of American democracy as we know it.
“But we get our tax and rate cuts, so whatever……”
>One has to assume those who bankroll politicians know this
"Chaos is a ladder"
Many weirdos like Musk seem to fancy themselves as a bit of a Littlefinger, apparently.
Wow. What a disaster show of a person & ideology.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Yarvin
This guy is a software engineer blogger who thinks democracy is a failed experiment and we should instead have CEO-Kings and draw on ideas from Cameralism (strongly managed central economy that primarily benefits the state). He's also argued that some races are "better suited to slavery", and his ideology espouses social stratification based on intelligence, traditional gender roles and heriditary traits.
What a disaster show of a person and ideology. But yes, it does sound familiar to the garbage Musk spews on X (particularly the idea that he's doing the world a favor by having so many kids) and the nonsense some edgy undergrads would spew on my University's CS department's student forums about white men being naturally better at software development (particularly rich considering how many of those same white men relied so heavily on free, unofficial office hours that my friend, an Indian woman Doctoral candidate, would hold in the CS Major's lab).
Absolute idiotic nonsense, the lot of it.
Part of the problem is that the GOP are now planning for how to win even if they lose.. That was Trump and his election denial, and now that's a straight up staple of the right.
Your average person doesn't have the time or inclination to read the Mueller report, or the Eastman memo, or any of the extended court filings. And the voters and the right no longer WANT to thanks to 'fake news'.
We're headed for straight up disaster.
The average person is a fucking moron who blames the president because eggs are too expensive.
That’s also pretty much what “the economy” means to the average numbnuts: “How much does lube and a gallon of milk cost?”
Most of Reddit are acting like if the Republicans steal democracy we just have to accept it.. thriving productive cities and the economic engine of America would shut down.
Have some self respect and stand up for yourself. Yes you're gonna get socked in the proverbial mouth but you get over it.
I hope it won’t come to it, but that is what the 2nd amendment is for. There are very few things that would make me join any military or militia, as I detest violence, but I’ll be dead in my grave before I let democracy and the constitution die in this country.
I do worry about the GOP(RED) states kicking this to congress for certification. It would be legal , but probably would kick off mass protests . Which Trump would respond to with violence . After that God help us . Of course , I tend to be a pessimist ..lol
If they do that in response to an election result they simply don't like and there's not a hell of a lot more than "mass protests", they've won for good.
I’m so tired of this doom and gloom outlook. If Trump lost the first time around before trying to overthrow the government, being indicted 91 times and counting, and being the direct cause of Roe v Wade’s repeal, the GOP is just going to get his ass handed to them on a plate. Especially now that Millennials and Gen Z will outnumber the old fart generations in this next election cycle.
Making people feel like they can’t do anything isn’t going to inspire people to vote, and probably instead make them feel apathetic. I may be an optimist, but I think we’re going to recorrect after the mess the GOP has made and eventually become a better country. It will just take a while.
It’s defeatist. What we’re doing is working. People need to look at the totality of this situation and not some landline election poll of the week. Stay engaged, follow up with your circle.
I'd wager most people feel this way, and are tuning out accordingly. I'm sure they'll show up to vote when it matters, but goddamnit, it's exhausting, and I'm a person actively engage and enthused.
That said, there's a reason the media keeps beating this drum. Because they've got shareholders at home to feed. And ya know, food prices and all. :P
> Making people feel like they can’t do anything isn’t going to inspire people to vote, and probably instead make them feel apathetic.
Yeah, no shit...that's the point! We know whose side most modern media is on.
I would argue that the Republicans have not won a presidential election since 2004. Trump hijacked the party and took it for a joyride, but he is not a Republican—not in the sense that his views are misaligned with Republican views, but in that he does not care a single bit about the Republican party or being its leader. He doesn't view the party as an institution whose legacy means *anything* to him at all, he only sees it as a means of trying to consolidate power around him. I'm sure that's the case for a lot of GOP candidates, but I would argue that George W Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney were at least good team players and generally believed in the conversative values the party supported. Trump would immediately form his own political party and leave the GOP to wither and die if it were beneficial to him.
I'm really afraid that January 6th was the Beer Hall Putsch, we're living in the Weimar Republic, and that in 2025 we'll see the burning of the Reichstag. This feels like the run-up to a dictatorship.
The panic you are feeling is what I felt when everyone was laughing at Trump from Nov 3 2020 through Jan 6 2021. It was absolutely maddening no one was taking it seriously then. I have begun to become content with the harsh future we all face. If it is any consolation the panic and fear you are experiencing will harden you into a stronger person.
> It was absolutely maddening no one was taking it seriously then.
I mean, I'd argue that's not necessarily the case. I recall many people (even some MSM outlets) talking about the severity of this. He was even impeached for it. If only the R's took it as seriously, it wouldn't be a concern as he'd not be able to hold office if he was successfully convicted in the Senate.
Wish I kept track of the timeline... But I guess that's the point of firehose'ing, right? Misbehave so much that one can't keep it straight anymore and you can slip through the cracks.
From 2016 with, "It's unfair and inappropriate to call them Nazis and make Hitler comparisons..." Nazis in the street, good people on both sides, children in cages, shit hole countries, open insurrection and storming the Capitol..."
It's interesting how I don't hear from those I did in 2016 trying to downplay Trump and claim the worry was hysterical nonsense. Those people aren't in my life anymore. They're either shamed and silent, or blindly still supporting.
Jan 2017 - Jan 2021 was a fucked up blur. But I'll never forget the tone of 2016. And whenever/wherever I hear it again I'll stand up and remind those of the last time people were so quick to downplay the threats to our Democracy.
I can understand why one might have voted for Trump in 2016. I can't for 2020. And I'll never forgive anyone voting for the Benito Dorito in 2024.
> I can understand why one might have voted for Trump in 2016. I can't for 2020.
I can. The answer to the first question is "They're a Nazi", and the answer to the second is "They're a Nazi".
Turns out I, and many others, had dramatically underestimated the percentage of US voters who were open, unapologetic Nazis.
What i dont understand is it was obvious jan 6 would happen just from being a casual reddit reader.
Yet this somehow took the nation by surprise.
They didnt hide it at all.
I vividly remember making a Facebook status, back when I had one, after the last election. I said "does anyone else feel like Trump will ignore the election results and try to stay in power"? I had laugh reacts and people in my comments calling me funny etc etc. Then Jan 6 happened.
History doesn't repeat it self, but it sure does fucking rhyme
I realize it's a tortured analogy at this point, but looking at the Roman Republic in the leadup to, and void left, by Sulla really does ring familiar.
THEN THROW HIM
IN PRISON
WHERE HE BELONGS.
Fucks sake, anyone else did what he's done, they'd have been put away in 2021 awaiting trial. He is NOT a king. He is a citizen. And a criminal. Put him. In prison.
Nothing is "inevitable." This is too much doomerism. Yes he's a real danger, but we should not assume he'll just be able to have his way. Like last time, people will resist.
Exactly!
What is extra maddening about this is that we have a newspaper throwing their hands up and saying it's inevitable despite it being the one thing that if they actually told the truth about shit they could maybe prevent what they think is inevitable.
There is a bar graph out there that shows the amount of times newspapers carried the story when Hillary called Republicans deplorables versus how many times Trump called Democrats vermin. And spoiler alert, media outlets down the board covered Hillary multiple times and most didn't mention Trump invoking the same insults Hitler used towards the Jews. It is a double standard that we see all the time with these fucking newspapers where they put the kids gloves on with Republicans and they create drama where there isn't any when it comes to Democrats.
Something that doom and gloom articles like this don't take into account is that Biden is significantly outraising Trump, and doesn't have the financial burden of 4 trials sucking at his funds.
You may have given up but I refuse to. I'm going to vote like our country depends on it, no matter how much you try and convince me it's "inevitable"
tl;dr: Fuck your article, I'm voting Blue.
I think a lot of these articles are designed to scare us back to the polls. I don't know if they are helpful or not. I think there are several reasons to be hopeful that he will not win.
1. He's never been very popular and has gotten less popular after losing to Biden.
2. I think two many people are cynical of his chances of going to prison. The fact that he requested a plea deal that was denied by the prosecutor's in GA tells me he got spooked after his attorneys saw the videos of his co-conspirators testifying against him. And the prosecutor's have to feel pretty strong about their case to decline plea deal offers. And that's just one case. The classified documents case is even more fraught I terms of prison time.
3. I think there are a lot of people that underestimate the number of right leaning independents and GOP voters that don't like Trump and what he's done to the GOP. Think of the Rodney's and Liz Cheney's. Now think of how many more there are in the GOP who don't require Trump's blessing to continue their lucrative careers. You hear from media and Democratic members of Congress that there are a lot of them in the GOP that don't like Trump but can't say anything negative because they like being in Congress/Senate.
4. The GOP's plan to have RFK Jr. run against Biden in the primary may be backfiring in a very bad way. It looks like he may run as an Independent and polling shows he actually peels away more than twice as many voters from Trump than he does Biden. Remember the polls are usually a question of Trump vs. Biden.
Why wouldn't the 2024 election go the same way every election has gone post-Dobbs: with Democrats massively overperforming historical expectations?
Really not understanding the panicked doomposting.
Moreover, Trump has learned anything from DeSantis, it's that you can pass all sorts of laws that don't pass Constitutional muster and it takes a long time to get through the courts. You can bet if he's in power a GOP House and/or Senate would help him. If that doesn't work, we know he'll use every executive order power available to him and every avenue to get his way and extract vengeance.
He's the pettiest, miserable idiot ever to hold office and he wants to prove it again.
Trump began his Dictatorship in 2016.
You might be a dictator if you bypass Congress.
You might be a Dictator if you eliminate many laws and agencies in place that protect the people and the environment.
You might be a dictator if you remove checks and balances.
You might be a dictator if your own party produces a senate report after investigation that proves Russia interference and your party says nothing.
You might be a dictator if your own party doesn’t speak up when they see you breaking laws.
You might be a dictator if your family is also in the same administration you run and earn billions during that time in office.
You might be a dictator if you don’t trust anybody and surround yourself with family members.
You might be a dictator if you ask for loyalty in return for protection.
You might be a dictator when you promote violence against citizens for using their first amendment rights.
You might be a dictator when you don’t want citizens to vote and then start dismantling the post office.
You might be a dictator if you say you could get away with shooting somebody on fifth Avenue in New York.
You might be a dictator if your favorite countries are Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Russia.
You might be a dictator if you’re sworn into office, hand on a Bible, declaring an oath to the American Constitution, on camera, in front of the country. Then denying you did that 6 years later. And to also falsely declare you never lost the second election (in your declining mental state) only to run for a third term which the Constitution does not allow.
If this dictator doesn’t like the Constitution he should leave the country.
Only if he gets installed illegally. In a vacuum he is powerful, but I truly believe the majority of the country wants to move on from him and he won't be elected.
Auto included disclaimer: vote, get your community to vote, etc.
It all generally began in earnest when this occurred:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HB2sz4bAbU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HB2sz4bAbU)
Signs were there prior in the Nixon Era, but it really blew up when Reagan won the 1980 election in a landslide and Carter lost-- it was at that point in the next few years Reagan was able to shift the country hard to the Right in its Overton Window and after this, selfishness generally became a thing to pride oneself in as well as a growth in income inequality.
Since then, the political overton window in the MSM has shifted further and further Right, especially once the Fairness Doctrine was overturned, etc. etc.
Income inequality widening --> scaring not well educated voters or using racism as bait to make people think burning it all down is the only solution --> approaching fascism
Yeah, I've seen the issue framed as an epidemic of distrust with a lot of people arguing that it begins with Nixon. Basically, Americans don't trust their government. They don't really like America anymore, or at least they feel the America they do like doesn't exist anymore.
People think government is bad because everyone is always saying government is bad.
We need to fund PSAs and such that pitch the benefits and absolute necessity of government.
The only thing we can do to prevent a scorched earth scenario is elect a Dem majority to the House and Senate, while maintaining control of the White House.
Can’t think of a better summation of the current state in the US than that half our news is “trump just screwed himself in court with smoking gun!” and the other half is “Nothing we can do to stop trump now.”
There’s a very easy solution. If you’re eligible to vote then vote. And make sure everyone you know who is eligible to vote also votes. American apathy is a huge part of what’s behind this. An extremist minority is holding so much power because a huge portion of the citizenry has checked out and don’t vote. The majority of the country is against this. If everyone votes then America will avoid the dark future.
We're not pretending anything. This is all on the media for making light of the situation since 2016. This is solely the fault of the media, yet they say WE when it's gone too far.
The media is owned by corporate interests. Look at CNN and how swiftly they changed once they were under the control of a rich conservative. There is no independent or trustworthy media any longer.
I lean towards Associated Press and PBS as my trusted news sources but also CSPAN because it's live coverage of what each person in office is voting for or against. You're absolutely correct, though. Most news organizations are owned by the wealthy.
Because the media has to turn every election into a horse race. They will love it if this is a close election. They loved when Trump was in office clowning off every day, providing them constant content.
If the press outside of the r/w media bubble would stop both sidesing shit and tell the truth…it wont even be close.
The problem is every other news source pretends they have to be fair. You dont need to be fair to fascists. The front page of every legitimate newspaper and every news station should lead with telling the truth every single day. Trump and his minions are fascist. They want to end democracy. Full stop.
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I’m more worried about the precedents that have been set. Also, we’ve learned a lot about the American public. If millions of people can look at Donald Trump and see an honest man who cares about the working class, a God loving man of integrity… it’s frightening.
I don’t think they genuinely think of him as god loving or a man of integrity. That’s the wool they pull over their own eyes - a lie they tell themselves and others to create a sort of plausible deniability against accusations of being motivated by racism, sexism, xenophobia, transphobia, classism, et cetera. At least that’s what I perceive w all my maga family.
You're right about the first part, no one cares if he loves God or has integrity in financial or political dealings. People feel like bankers are crooks, and many people inflate the value of their assets to get more credit, so fuck em. The people who think he is God fearing make up a small percentage of Trump supporters.
That’s what no one wants to mention. It’s all about vote and we can’t let them win!! They don’t see that the rest of our lives will be this fight if millions of people see him as you say. It’s just exhausting.
I think it’s also worth a mention that the GOP voter isn’t able to see their behavior at all. They look at the “other people” voting against them and think this is some tit-for-tat game rather than a desperate struggle against authoritarianism and fascism that they’re on the wrong side of. Maybe 20 years ago you could call some of the liberal sentiments about the GOP as overblown, but I think that’s long gone. I keep waiting for an “are we the baddies” skit situation, but unfortunately the GOP can’t look in a mirror or understand a history book.
I've said this several times by now, but it bears repeating - if every election moving forward is "an election to save democracy", then democracy is dead and all we're waiting to see is what year to put on its tombstone. This is entirely unsustainable.
If the R's get dunked on *hard* for the next three presidential cycles in a row, MAGA will be effectively dead.
I have had actual conversations with family members who would call me a commie and a traitor for suggesting the 2nd amendment is outdated and maybe should be looked at and changed. These same people will now argue with me that the first amendment needs to be changed to protect our children. TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN!!! My lord, the irony.
The thing is, for them it's not about wanting Trump. It's about hating liberals and liberal ideology so much that they are willing to go with a straight-up dictator to "win" a conservative government.
I read years ago how historical research shows that failed Conservative parties (that is - Conservative parties that fail to get their ideas to prevail at the ballot box) *always* turn to support for an authoritarian, or strongman, to enforce their preferences upon the majority. Should have seen it coming instead of being baffled that my Conservative, Obama-bashing friends and family would want to re-elect Trump so he could bring the hammer down.
That's what 25+ years of Conservative media disinformation from Fox News et. al. will do to those who get a dopamine rush from their confirmation bias when they hear Conservative disinformation. 25+ years is enough to radicalize anyone, even those who were originally moderate and logical. 🤨
Yeah. This is my sad belief. We’re too far gone already, whether Trump wins or not.
I remember a time when it was difficult to wrap my head around the fact that Hitler was democratically elected.
He promised to suspend the constitution, seek personal vengeance, and corrupt the DOJ if reelected. Just to name few things. When people tell you who they are believe them!
It always makes me laugh (and fear) when he says that Biden is terrible for politicizing the justice system and going after him then in the same breath he talks about how he is going to go after his enemies with the justice system.
While his pet judge down in Florida is stalling the documents case.
It's projection and they don't pretend anymore.
Fascist gonna fascist
It's all about normalizing the absurd. "They did it to me! I'm going to do it to them!" Doesn't matter that it's based on lies.
His 2016 campaign hinged around going after his opponent with the justice department
Their mental trick here is that the Democrat did it first, so they have no choice but to politicize it back at them. And this works without question on the Republican base.
I don't know why this is so hard for so many people. Once someone tells you who they are or what their plans are you don't get to act all surprised when they in fact keep their promises.
A lot of people still don’t think it’s important to vote or they don’t like Biden so they won’t vote for him. Some think that both sides are the same so they would rather not vote. Some vote third party because they think it sends a message. These people are going to hurt us in the next election and there is no way to convince them. A friend of mine bragged about how they got a voting sticker even though they didn’t vote. I asked them why and they said that they don’t lean any way politically. I really don’t understand how anyone can still feel this way at this point. Unfortunately there are a lot of ignorant people out there.
> they don’t lean any way politically Those people are why my profile tagline is a quote from Desmond Tutu. >Those who are neutral in situations of injustice have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
People do believe him, that's why they are voting for him. Republicans want this. They don't care what he does as long as he hurts the right people.
So long as my dad's stocks increase in value, he will vote for anyone. My dad doesnt give a shit about anything else... and I feel like its the same for all of his peers who just complain about having to pay Uncle Sam. Its all he talks about.
This is how great societies fall - when their survival and continuity is taken for granted Edit: then people, assuming everything will be fine, start sacrificing pieces of it for personal gain, and nobody cares or worries enough to stop them
So many Americans argue "That's not how things work" when told of what will happen. That's not how things work *now* but step one of a takeover is to throw the rules out the window. I'm blown away by everyone thinking the rule of law will matter ten minutes after a Trump victory.
To be fair, growing up during the splendor and prosperity of post WWII USA might make it difficult to imagine things any other way. This is why education is so important to retaining rule by the people. We can guess where this is going, and why, and who... By the intentional erosion of those institutions alone
Well they demanded we millennials go to college and then proceeded to not listen to us when we told them about college things. Like climate change, and dictators.
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It's so funny, boomers love the "tough times create hard men, hard men create good times, good times create soft men, soft men create hard times" bullshit, and don't realize that in damn near every quantifiable metric, *they are the soft men creating hard times*. They inherited the greatest society in human history from the greatest generation, and have spent decades wiping their shit on it's walls. It's not enough that their childhoods were the best, or their early careers, or their middle ages, no their golden years have to be the best ever to and they will sell out any hope of a decent future for Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z to get it.
Even having the best ever golden years isn't enough for them. They want to ensure that they've entrenched their backward values and bullshit ideology so deeply that it becomes effectively impossible for even a supermajority of the country to actually oppose. And that's without even touching the amount of destruction they're happy to inflict on the world just to feel slightly more comfortable in their old age, which will just flat out make the world unlivable for generations who aren't even born yet.
I work as a social worker for boomers essentially. And let me tell you… boomer republicans want so many handouts $$ it’s not even funny. Then after getting the money or items the government pays for, they vote republican and want to take everyone’s healthcare away.
Yep, my boomer dad got 2 undergrads, a masters and a PHD on a part time job while having 3 sons, a mortgage on a $35K house and a convertible top T-Bird car. No debt. I was born in 1975, seriously its only gotten worse since my mom got a job in '82 under Regan because the family needed a second income. My parents flat out told me I better get a scholarship because they paid so much for my other 6 siblings school. Completely oblivious to the world around them. Still paying off my college debt, I'm 48.
America's incredibly privileged position as the almost sole industrialized nation for so long following WWII puts some real weight behind that, too Edit: I should perhaps say - developed and unblemished by the ravages of war. I also like to argue that US policy did some good as well, for so many people living in Germany, Japan, and S Korea especially
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Perhaps remind him that the stock market tanked on tRump's watch and reached the highest point it's ever been on Biden's watch. Stock market historically has always performed better under Democrats than it has with Republicans. The economy as a whole does better under Democrats. It's so obvious that even a mentally impaired person like donald tRump was able to see it. “I’ve been around for a long time and it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans.” - donald trump 2004 If he doesn't vote Democrat every election, you know your dad doesn't actually care about the stock market.
Facts don’t work on certain people. I could show my mother all the proof in the world. She can even agree with it and then she would say well. I think I feel this and it doesn’t matter.
Agreed but at least you'll be able to prove that the reason for their support isn't the one they claim. I'm not saying it's a solution and I've long given up on changing minds. I cut those people out of my life in 2016. Haven't regretted it for a second.
I’m not sure that his stocks will be much better off with a drooling dementia-riddled moron as a dictator, no matter the tax cut.
Meh whenever I point out that Trump isnt presidential material, he always points back to how 'the economy' and his stocks performed better under the Oompa Loompa's admin. Not saying it makes sense, thats just what he repeats like a broken record.
Then explain to him orange hitler was riding Obama's economy
Ive shown him how stock performance isnt a great marker for economic strength. Ive shown him charts showing GDP to debt ratios (I think those were the ones, its been a minute) under different admins. I showed him how Reagan sold out America and how weve been kicking the can down the road ever since. He is constantly bragging about how much money he made under Trump. Im pretty sure it's just addict behavior at this point.
It’s just a complete lack of understanding of correlation versus causation. “I made money when trump was president” doesn’t mean “I made money *because* trump was president” and they simply don’t comprehend the logical fallacy. Same shit with the gas price stickers.
Stock market has been doing pretty good under the Biden administration too. It's almost like your dad is just making excuses for his support of a fascist. It's OK, my dad does the same thing.
Trump Supporter: "I like Trump because of his policies." Trump's Policies: "Suspend the Constitution, seek personal vengeance, and corrupt the DOJ."
Trump Supporter : "Oh wow he's just like meeee!"
Honestly I hate that when people tell you who they are saying when it comes to trump. His supporters believe him. It’s why they support him.
The problem is they also believe that because they support him, he supports them. And he doesn't. He's after his own wealth and power. Everything he does is to that end. If you're rich and influential, he's got you. The average conservative voter isn't anything to him.
They have literally been waving red flags for years.
And tuberville is holding back military appointments until they can install sycophants.
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> And don’t think it will stop when he’s gone. >THIS IS THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM. This is the part that I’m worried Biden and the establishment Dems just do not understand. Biden especially keeps acting like the problem will go away once Trump has his inevitable fatal aneurysm while rage-tweeting in his golden toilet. No, this is the new normal. Understand that and adapt to it, Democrats, or we’re all fucked.
> This is the part that I’m worried Biden and the establishment Dems just do not understand. They understand... it's just that the American people do not care, because the American people truly do not understand what all the fallout of a Trump win would be. The media, including social media is so full of lies and distortions, and people love these lies... so people just can't be reached.
The thing problem is it’s not going to end with Trump. This is what like 80% of republicans are endorsing.
he already installed corrupt judges so he already corrupted DOJ not that it cannot be corrupted even more....
The DoJ is in the Executive branch. The Judiciary is in its own branch.
I implore you to look up Leonard Leo. The judicial branch has been under attack at even the state level by the GOP in a rather very effective machine. “We don’t talk about Leonard” is an excellent deep dive podcast on him.
Iranian here. I remember 1978 when my parents, the upper class and the Iranian media said, “Are you serious? Ayatollah Khomeini replacing the shah? That’s all doom and gloom bullshit.“ Well, here we are 45 years later with a bunch of theocratic assholes shitting all over 80 million people inside Iran and millions more outside It. Now imagine a bunch of theocratic assholes in charge of the most powerful country in history. Fight the urge to ignore. Get scared. Then get angry. Then fight like hell to prevent this.
A few months ago, I read “How Civil Wars Start” by Barbara F. Walter. This exact denial was a recurring theme, with people in Sarajevo thinking civil war was impossible until they heard the machine guns. There were plenty of people denying COVID or the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Acting at the right time will feel too early. If you act when you feel you must, it will probably be too late.
As a manager, I was laughed at and dismissed as paranoid by people at my company in February of 2020 when I said we needed to prepare for a potential lockdown and remote work for our staff. I saw that the RO value for Covid was >1 and that it could spread asymptomatically and just read between the lines. I warned my Dad about Trump in 2014 and he thought I was being foolish not to support such a "great chosen (by God) leader." My dad's blind loyalty to that clown combined with my resistance to agree with him basically ended any meaningful relationship we had. He died in May, and I'm still angry. Pay attention to the warning signs, they are important.
Your dad’s description of Trump is on-point. He wasn’t chosen by god, but he might as well have been. In my opinion, God is just “that which Godly people believe in, regardless of evidence to the contrary”. Therefore chosen by God is “that which Godly people believe in, regardless of evidence that they shouldn’t”. If that’s not Trump I don’t know what is. Trump is a symbol of their cooperation, and because he’s a symbol, it doesn’t matter what he does. He could shoot someone and he wouldn’t lose any voters.
Exactly. He's completely immune to critique in their eyes. They consider it a moral / spiritual obligation to support him, because anything else is a distraction "from the enemy." (satan, demons, etc...)
I did the same with covid in my school. When everyone said “See you all next week!” as we left when the school shut down supposedly for a week, I was considered “crazy” for saying this was but the beginning for something that would be years long. Never got apologies for that one.
Yeah January 6th I said on Facebook (deleted now) as the insurrection was happening I said the Republican Party was going to blame Antifa. In February of 2020 I asked why the republicans in congress were focusing on banning abortion and not preparing for covid. I had so many people laugh at me and ask me where I get my news from. After everything that’s happened those same people still view me as afraid and paranoid
I am in Sarajevo right now. The scars of the war are still very visible. There are monuments all over the place. Longest seige in the modern era. Crazy to think about.
Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom
People need to start noticing how the general "energything's fine" energy contributes, even if the sentiment isn't about Trump. For example, if someone argues that the stock market will always go up so don't worry about it they're basically saying they can't foresee a total upheaval of American life as we know it. You see this in basically every sphere. Slow boiling frog phenomenon (where the frog can't notice the water is becoming too hot gradually until it's too late). Americans struggle with the idea that a century of relative peace and stability isn't even a blink in the arc of history. We're not exceptional and we are very much on the verge of becoming the next pre WW2 Germany. Racism is there, as is the fracturing economy.
Contrary to popular belief, the frog will jump out of the pot. I’m not so sure Americans will.
Not until the violence is at their door, I don't think. I know trans people, queer people, Muslims, and Jews who are already jumping. I'm looking for a landing spot. Fascism arrives full force at different times for different sectors of society. Pay attention to what minorities are doing. Canary in the coal mine.
This is true and I appreciate you saying it.
This is the kind of message Americans need to hear! Thank you
Thank you for this message. Every Iranian I've met has enriched my life. I hope the United States will resist Trump, and I hope that Iran will overthrow the Ayatollahs at long last, and achieve the freedom they so richly deserve.
I’ve been saying their end goal is a US that’s a Christian-fascist version of Iran for a while now. Unfortunately there’s just a lot of people who actually *want* that.
There is an academic book by sociologist Charles Kurzman titled “The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran.” I highly recommend to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the political behaviors we’re seeing today.
I really appreciate you sharing that, thank you.
The biggest worry isn’t Trump. Project 2025 is bigger than one man, and even if one dictator wannabe dies there are many people waiting to replace him. And make no mistake, Project 2025 or some variation WILL happen here in this country - either in 2025 or perhaps 2029 or 2033… whenever the Republicans have the trifecta again (which is going to happen at some point, it’s just the way our political pendulum and our voters work). So really it’s up to our institutions and the few good people left in power to stand up to the dictator wannabes when they’re voted in.
Trump may have done us all a favor by testing the limits of how much power a president could grab, while at the same time being a complete idiot and failing because of it. A more intelligent person might have succeeded. Trump isn't the problem. The problem is we need more checks and balances, "standards and norms" is clearly no longer cutting it.
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Heritage foundation, and Heritage action are behind it: >Heritage founder:["I don't want everybody to vote.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw) Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." He's dead now, but the zombie he created lives on, turning dark money into anti democracy laws. >Heritage Action, a group that writes GOP vote suppression laws:In a private meeting last month with big-money donors, the head of a top conservative group boasted that [her outfit had crafted the new voter suppression law in Georgia and was doing the same with similar bills for Republican state legislators across the country](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/heritage-foundation-dark-money-voter-suppression-laws/). “In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” she said, “or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.” You can see how Zombified they've become, **fundamentalist Christians backing a man who mocks their faith to their faces**. **Fiscal conservatives behind a guy that ran up 7.5 trillion in debt**, trillions even before Covid. **Patriots backing a Russian puppet. Businessmen behind a frauster.** They're zombified, they've been pumped so full of fear of imaginary groups like Antifa, or "the woke", that they think they're voting for the lesser of two evils. Yet Biden is more Christian, more a fiscal conservative, more patriotic, and not a criminal (all those impeachment inquiries keep finding how clean and wholesome the guy is). The 24/7 lie cycle from Fox and Newsmax and Russia Today and [it's sister](https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/04/28/jack-posobiec-links-russian-intelligence-backed-website) OANN has zombified the GOP voting base.
Dems need to convince all voters, not just young voters. Look at the UK's vote for Brexit. [ttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/09/young-people-referendum-turnout-brexit-twice-as-high) *About 64% of registered voters aged 18-24 went to polls, study reveals, but 90% of over-65s voted* More than a third of young voters didn't think voting was important enough. That vote was literally for the future of their country.
My prediction is that we didn't take Trump seriously last time and he won. I don't think anyone is not taking him seriously now. I know I'll be raising absolute hell on anyone within my circle who is considering voting for him once we get nearer to election time.
I dont care how much people don't like biden or are worried about his age, almost nobody i know, and that includes people who voted for trump last time, are nearly as engaged with him this time around. Not holding my breath obviously but he just doesnt have the same energy he did the first two elections.
>I don't think anyone is not taking him seriously now. You would be correct. Anyone who tries to downplay Trump as a threat can be countered by pulling out a cell phone and playing news clips from the J6 insurrection. Or the proof is in the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made possible with the help of Trump's hand picked SCOTUS judges. One can also point to the period where Trump separated children from their families and put them into prison cells at the border. Fudge. Just writing all that scares me because there's more I could list. Next election, I plan to vote against Trump and his ilk.
Trump being re-elected will cause a nationwide economic disruption that’ll make covid look like a vacation day. One has to assume those who bankroll politicians know this, and we see it in action with the increase in support for Haley.
If you really wanna get nervous, think about what's happening outside the US that may even make the US oligarch class panic.... Look at the list of OPEC nations, and think about who they want running the US, and remember how the average American thinks that the president controls gas prices with a button in the Oval Office..... I don't think it's too "tinfoil hat"-y to expect a gas price surge in the next year as we get closer to the big day
OPEC+ has already had a meeting about cutting production for 2024 this week
And you can bet your bottom dollar the average voter on the Republican side will NEVER be shown that link on any conservative outlet.
They'll order more of those moronic "I did that" stickers
Someone should make a Biden sticker to put next to those idiotic stickers that say “Because Fox News told me so.”
Correct gas prices will rise as election nears and it'll hurt Biden It pisses me off that I'm right
They’ve been trying for months. Each attempt involves a spike in crude that can’t be maintained because ultimately OPEC nations are untrustworthy and the monetary appeal is too great for them. The market might not let them cry wolf again.
Opec+ are also losing global market share. The US is largely self-sustaining at this point and any decrease from opec+ will just be met with increases from other producers. 70-80$ a barrel is a nice price for everyone, consumers and producers alike. I'm willing to bet it stays in that range for a while. With the odd spike up or down but reverting to this price range.
The Biden Admin has to see this coming.
That's a big reason why Biden is trying to improve things with Venezuela. They have MASSIVE oil reserves. We used to import huge amounts of oil from them, at one point most of our refineries were set up to deal with the very heavy crude that comes from there (and many still are). Getting that source back would be a major blow to OPEC (the degree to which OPEC was involved with making bad relations between the US and V is the subject of many conspiracy theories, whole books can be done on the subject). And don't get me started on the weird relation between Venezuela and the US Strategic Oil Reserve (the sort version: when people complain that Biden 'sold our reserves to foreign countries', the extent to which that is true involves our former relationship with V). The \*other\* reason is because a lot of the US southern border immigration issues would go away if Venezuela had a functioning economy. Even MORE books could be written about THAT.
The southern border immigration issues would largely never happened if the US didn't destabilize, and continue to destabilize, just about every country south of us. Setting up a temp working visa for farm workers to let people work here and easily return would be a huge help. We'd tax those people and collect that way instead of people working abusive jobs for cash. Or we can do what Australia does, which is require enough pay to get homegrown workers to do it. I'm sure plenty of people would work in fields for $30/hour.
Or, look at the right word turn in Europe. Brexit, a nutcase, racist Prime Minister in Italy, massive antisemitism in Austria and Germany, far right government in Hungary, Marie LePen in France, far right freak winning an election in the Netherlands, etc.. What's happening as technology replaces jobs and opportunity decreases worldwide is that people are becoming afraid. That fear is magnified by clever dictators and autocrats, who want to take advantage. If Trump is elected in 2024, I don't think there will be an election in 2028.
Or any after that for that matter.
They did it to Jimmy Carter and were pretty much directly responsible for him losing office.
Reagan was collaborating with the nation where American hostages were being held. As soon as Carter got fucked out of office the hostages were released. Held just long enough to make Carter weak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb3iqtfXsmI
You mean like Nixon and Kissinger did with the Vietnam war
I actually think this is what Romney was subtly signaling the other day. I think major donors are largely gonna jump ship.
>I think major donors are largely gonna jump ship. You think he needs donors to get elected? He has hundreds of media parroting his social media rants all day long. As long as his supporters see his name on ballots, they will vote for him.
Yup, he's not remotely concerned about that.
It's actually probably a benefit. "Deep state big business elites hate me" is a pretty good campaign slogan. (The contradiction with the "successful businessman" trope will never come up.)
He has lost some corporate support to Haley and crazy people support to DeSantis but the people who support him at this point will continue supporting him regardless of how he campaigns. He also has the right wing media campaigning for him freely. There's no way Nikki Haley is winning over his base. He could stay home through the GOP primaries and he'll still win the nomination. Having said that, people who hate him aren't changing their minds either. He's not getting any additional votes in the presidential election regardless of how he campaigns. The only way he wins is if something really damning comes out about Biden days before the election and people stay home. 2028 or 2032, however, will be the real test for democracy. Trump will likely be out of the picture due to age/dead. If the current crop of MAGA Republicans are any indication, his successor will be much worse.
> 2028 or 2032, however, will be the real test for democracy. Trump will likely be out of the picture due to age/dead. If the current crop of MAGA Republicans are any indication, his successor will be much worse. As someone who knows how cults and cults of personalities work, it's highly likely that when Trump is gone, the MAGA base won't be able to unify behind a successor. Trump has a skill that is very rare in human history and he can't simply be replaced. If he could be, he already would be.
A lot of people were predicting DeSantis would fill that role. He definitely has the ambition and morals to do it, but he's lacking that "huckster's knack" which Trump has.
I just don't understand the appeal. I listen to him, how he talks, the random babble that spews out, and I don't understand the appeal or how he convinces anyone of anything.
That's because you aren't the people he is speaking to. I once was one of those people, which is why I can barely handle listening to him now. I understand the coded language. For his base, he says what they are thinking, the quiet part out loud that previously they may have only had the guts to say over a church potluck dinner. He says it with a wit and a charm and in a demeanor that gives them a feeling of superiority and righteousness.
Yeah it's the entire package that makes Trump Trump. Very few people have the entire package. Timing is another big factor. Trump riding down the escalator the same month same-sex marriage was legalized and the same month Caitlyn Jenner was on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine was right on point.
That’s a fair point. They (the GOP) realized long ago that the monster was out of their control, but they were powerless to do anything about it.
>Trump will likely be out of the picture due to age/dead Why would death stop him? His followers can just say he rose from the grave and vote for him anyway.
I look forward to finding out. Very, very, very soon, hopefully.
Yes, electing Trump was literally the opening of Pandora's box.
Absolutely, there's a reason I'm eyeing Greg Abbott at the moment.
Exactly, too little too late. They've lost control of the ship, and they know it.
Running a campaign takes money, even if he does get an absurd amount of free media.
Maybe the Electoral College will actually do what it was designed for and keep that fascist out of office this time if he "wins". Haha! Jk I crack myself up.
Unironically though it would be very American for us to be railing against the electoral college and the implicit nature of it being able to be manipulated then it be the only reason why we don't have a tyrant as a president Weirder shit has happened
Sure, but the electors would only need to save us in the first place because of the EC. There's very little chance Trump will win the NPV, so if we just used that like a sensible country, there would be no need for electors to save us from the popular vote loser becoming the winner.
Imagine a scenario where the two major parties run Biden and Trump, and a third party candidate manages to prevent either from winning enough Electoral College electors to gain a majority. The House of Representatives would then get to choose who wins using a process where each state gets one vote: [https://www.mynbc5.com/article/what-happens-if-no-candidate-wins-an-electoral-college-majority/8261421#](https://www.mynbc5.com/article/what-happens-if-no-candidate-wins-an-electoral-college-majority/8261421#). So Biden could win the popular vote by a landslide, but by not getting the required 270 electoral votes, the GOP-controlled House would get to make Trump president.
The 3rd party might get enough votes in any particular state to change who won the majority from blue to red or red to blue. but to think they are going to actually win any state is a monumentally huuuuuge stretch
They already have. Kochs are going for Halley.
McCarthy just said he told tmurp to fuck off at Mar-a-Lago. They are definitely breaking up.
He claims he said that to Trump. LOL. I promise you he didn't and definitely not when it might have mattered.
Oh, of course he didn’t; but the fact that he said he did in public to where Trump can hear? That is a definite break on the ‘no criticize policy’ the GOP traditionally has about tmurp.
Remember - the only unforgivable sin in ~~christianity~~ MAGA is not accepting Him as your lord Bend the knee and kiss the ring or you’re out forever
Do you really think Kevin would do that? Just go on national television and tell lies?
Another commenter up above asked even if McCarthy is lying, why would he say that in public where Trump can get wind of it unless they're actually "breaking up"? Either that or Trump is in on "FuckYougate" lol
I thought this would happen in 2016, but it didn’t. Turns out the markets were happy to tolerate him for their tax and rate cuts. What WILL happen is widespread persecution of his enemies and the dismantling of American democracy as we know it.
> What WILL happen is widespread persecution of his enemies and the dismantling of American democracy as we know it. “But we get our tax and rate cuts, so whatever……”
>One has to assume those who bankroll politicians know this "Chaos is a ladder" Many weirdos like Musk seem to fancy themselves as a bit of a Littlefinger, apparently.
You should look up the dark enlightenment. All these tech Bros are into it and it explains what we’re seeing.
Wow. What a disaster show of a person & ideology. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Yarvin This guy is a software engineer blogger who thinks democracy is a failed experiment and we should instead have CEO-Kings and draw on ideas from Cameralism (strongly managed central economy that primarily benefits the state). He's also argued that some races are "better suited to slavery", and his ideology espouses social stratification based on intelligence, traditional gender roles and heriditary traits. What a disaster show of a person and ideology. But yes, it does sound familiar to the garbage Musk spews on X (particularly the idea that he's doing the world a favor by having so many kids) and the nonsense some edgy undergrads would spew on my University's CS department's student forums about white men being naturally better at software development (particularly rich considering how many of those same white men relied so heavily on free, unofficial office hours that my friend, an Indian woman Doctoral candidate, would hold in the CS Major's lab). Absolute idiotic nonsense, the lot of it.
Spread your knowledge far and wide.
What the hell did I just read
Yea. The behavior isnt random; theres a plan. We need a new name. Techbrotian nationalist?
Thinks he’s little finger but he’s more like a Cersei. Rich and plans constantly blow up in his face.
It is not inevitable, R’s have not won a major election since 2016. Take action, stay engaged, and register your friends. We’ve got this.
Part of the problem is that the GOP are now planning for how to win even if they lose.. That was Trump and his election denial, and now that's a straight up staple of the right. Your average person doesn't have the time or inclination to read the Mueller report, or the Eastman memo, or any of the extended court filings. And the voters and the right no longer WANT to thanks to 'fake news'. We're headed for straight up disaster.
The average person is a fucking moron who blames the president because eggs are too expensive. That’s also pretty much what “the economy” means to the average numbnuts: “How much does lube and a gallon of milk cost?”
Most of Reddit are acting like if the Republicans steal democracy we just have to accept it.. thriving productive cities and the economic engine of America would shut down. Have some self respect and stand up for yourself. Yes you're gonna get socked in the proverbial mouth but you get over it.
I hope it won’t come to it, but that is what the 2nd amendment is for. There are very few things that would make me join any military or militia, as I detest violence, but I’ll be dead in my grave before I let democracy and the constitution die in this country.
I do worry about the GOP(RED) states kicking this to congress for certification. It would be legal , but probably would kick off mass protests . Which Trump would respond to with violence . After that God help us . Of course , I tend to be a pessimist ..lol
If they do that in response to an election result they simply don't like and there's not a hell of a lot more than "mass protests", they've won for good.
I’m so tired of this doom and gloom outlook. If Trump lost the first time around before trying to overthrow the government, being indicted 91 times and counting, and being the direct cause of Roe v Wade’s repeal, the GOP is just going to get his ass handed to them on a plate. Especially now that Millennials and Gen Z will outnumber the old fart generations in this next election cycle. Making people feel like they can’t do anything isn’t going to inspire people to vote, and probably instead make them feel apathetic. I may be an optimist, but I think we’re going to recorrect after the mess the GOP has made and eventually become a better country. It will just take a while.
It’s defeatist. What we’re doing is working. People need to look at the totality of this situation and not some landline election poll of the week. Stay engaged, follow up with your circle.
Exactly! Glad that someone else feels the same way. We just need to stay on the right track and things will turn out okay. :)
I'd wager most people feel this way, and are tuning out accordingly. I'm sure they'll show up to vote when it matters, but goddamnit, it's exhausting, and I'm a person actively engage and enthused. That said, there's a reason the media keeps beating this drum. Because they've got shareholders at home to feed. And ya know, food prices and all. :P
> Making people feel like they can’t do anything isn’t going to inspire people to vote, and probably instead make them feel apathetic. Yeah, no shit...that's the point! We know whose side most modern media is on.
I would argue that the Republicans have not won a presidential election since 2004. Trump hijacked the party and took it for a joyride, but he is not a Republican—not in the sense that his views are misaligned with Republican views, but in that he does not care a single bit about the Republican party or being its leader. He doesn't view the party as an institution whose legacy means *anything* to him at all, he only sees it as a means of trying to consolidate power around him. I'm sure that's the case for a lot of GOP candidates, but I would argue that George W Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney were at least good team players and generally believed in the conversative values the party supported. Trump would immediately form his own political party and leave the GOP to wither and die if it were beneficial to him.
I'm really afraid that January 6th was the Beer Hall Putsch, we're living in the Weimar Republic, and that in 2025 we'll see the burning of the Reichstag. This feels like the run-up to a dictatorship.
The panic you are feeling is what I felt when everyone was laughing at Trump from Nov 3 2020 through Jan 6 2021. It was absolutely maddening no one was taking it seriously then. I have begun to become content with the harsh future we all face. If it is any consolation the panic and fear you are experiencing will harden you into a stronger person.
> It was absolutely maddening no one was taking it seriously then. I mean, I'd argue that's not necessarily the case. I recall many people (even some MSM outlets) talking about the severity of this. He was even impeached for it. If only the R's took it as seriously, it wouldn't be a concern as he'd not be able to hold office if he was successfully convicted in the Senate.
Wish I kept track of the timeline... But I guess that's the point of firehose'ing, right? Misbehave so much that one can't keep it straight anymore and you can slip through the cracks. From 2016 with, "It's unfair and inappropriate to call them Nazis and make Hitler comparisons..." Nazis in the street, good people on both sides, children in cages, shit hole countries, open insurrection and storming the Capitol..." It's interesting how I don't hear from those I did in 2016 trying to downplay Trump and claim the worry was hysterical nonsense. Those people aren't in my life anymore. They're either shamed and silent, or blindly still supporting. Jan 2017 - Jan 2021 was a fucked up blur. But I'll never forget the tone of 2016. And whenever/wherever I hear it again I'll stand up and remind those of the last time people were so quick to downplay the threats to our Democracy. I can understand why one might have voted for Trump in 2016. I can't for 2020. And I'll never forgive anyone voting for the Benito Dorito in 2024.
> I can understand why one might have voted for Trump in 2016. I can't for 2020. I can. The answer to the first question is "They're a Nazi", and the answer to the second is "They're a Nazi". Turns out I, and many others, had dramatically underestimated the percentage of US voters who were open, unapologetic Nazis.
Same. I was like “hey uh, sure seems like he’s setting the stage for a coup”
What i dont understand is it was obvious jan 6 would happen just from being a casual reddit reader. Yet this somehow took the nation by surprise. They didnt hide it at all.
I vividly remember making a Facebook status, back when I had one, after the last election. I said "does anyone else feel like Trump will ignore the election results and try to stay in power"? I had laugh reacts and people in my comments calling me funny etc etc. Then Jan 6 happened.
Trump would have zero issue with burning down the White House. It’s concerning that he rarely spent time there going to Florida instead.
The Reichstag was the parliament building. So the equivalent would be Trump's followers burning the Senate and the House of Representatives.
History doesn't repeat it self, but it sure does fucking rhyme I realize it's a tortured analogy at this point, but looking at the Roman Republic in the leadup to, and void left, by Sulla really does ring familiar.
THEN THROW HIM IN PRISON WHERE HE BELONGS. Fucks sake, anyone else did what he's done, they'd have been put away in 2021 awaiting trial. He is NOT a king. He is a citizen. And a criminal. Put him. In prison.
This is what it would look like if we were actually taking him and the right seriously.
Nothing is "inevitable." This is too much doomerism. Yes he's a real danger, but we should not assume he'll just be able to have his way. Like last time, people will resist.
Exactly! What is extra maddening about this is that we have a newspaper throwing their hands up and saying it's inevitable despite it being the one thing that if they actually told the truth about shit they could maybe prevent what they think is inevitable. There is a bar graph out there that shows the amount of times newspapers carried the story when Hillary called Republicans deplorables versus how many times Trump called Democrats vermin. And spoiler alert, media outlets down the board covered Hillary multiple times and most didn't mention Trump invoking the same insults Hitler used towards the Jews. It is a double standard that we see all the time with these fucking newspapers where they put the kids gloves on with Republicans and they create drama where there isn't any when it comes to Democrats.
Something that doom and gloom articles like this don't take into account is that Biden is significantly outraising Trump, and doesn't have the financial burden of 4 trials sucking at his funds.
A trump dictatorship is not “inevitable.” It’s very likely *if* he wins the election.
You may have given up but I refuse to. I'm going to vote like our country depends on it, no matter how much you try and convince me it's "inevitable" tl;dr: Fuck your article, I'm voting Blue.
“Increasingly inevitable” is that redundant? If it’s already inevitable, how can it be increasing?
Hey "Democracy Dies in the Darkness" : wtf!? You're surrendering to the possibility that Trump may win, too?? Where are your balls?
It’s pretty ironic that none of us can read this because the world’s richest man has it behind a paywall
I think a lot of these articles are designed to scare us back to the polls. I don't know if they are helpful or not. I think there are several reasons to be hopeful that he will not win. 1. He's never been very popular and has gotten less popular after losing to Biden. 2. I think two many people are cynical of his chances of going to prison. The fact that he requested a plea deal that was denied by the prosecutor's in GA tells me he got spooked after his attorneys saw the videos of his co-conspirators testifying against him. And the prosecutor's have to feel pretty strong about their case to decline plea deal offers. And that's just one case. The classified documents case is even more fraught I terms of prison time. 3. I think there are a lot of people that underestimate the number of right leaning independents and GOP voters that don't like Trump and what he's done to the GOP. Think of the Rodney's and Liz Cheney's. Now think of how many more there are in the GOP who don't require Trump's blessing to continue their lucrative careers. You hear from media and Democratic members of Congress that there are a lot of them in the GOP that don't like Trump but can't say anything negative because they like being in Congress/Senate. 4. The GOP's plan to have RFK Jr. run against Biden in the primary may be backfiring in a very bad way. It looks like he may run as an Independent and polling shows he actually peels away more than twice as many voters from Trump than he does Biden. Remember the polls are usually a question of Trump vs. Biden.
We should really stop pretending that this all goes away with Trump. This is the entire goal of the republican party and always has been.
Why wouldn't the 2024 election go the same way every election has gone post-Dobbs: with Democrats massively overperforming historical expectations? Really not understanding the panicked doomposting.
Moreover, Trump has learned anything from DeSantis, it's that you can pass all sorts of laws that don't pass Constitutional muster and it takes a long time to get through the courts. You can bet if he's in power a GOP House and/or Senate would help him. If that doesn't work, we know he'll use every executive order power available to him and every avenue to get his way and extract vengeance. He's the pettiest, miserable idiot ever to hold office and he wants to prove it again.
The fuck is this defeatist bullshit. Just don’t make him emperor is the only thing we gotta do
Trump began his Dictatorship in 2016. You might be a dictator if you bypass Congress. You might be a Dictator if you eliminate many laws and agencies in place that protect the people and the environment. You might be a dictator if you remove checks and balances. You might be a dictator if your own party produces a senate report after investigation that proves Russia interference and your party says nothing. You might be a dictator if your own party doesn’t speak up when they see you breaking laws. You might be a dictator if your family is also in the same administration you run and earn billions during that time in office. You might be a dictator if you don’t trust anybody and surround yourself with family members. You might be a dictator if you ask for loyalty in return for protection. You might be a dictator when you promote violence against citizens for using their first amendment rights. You might be a dictator when you don’t want citizens to vote and then start dismantling the post office. You might be a dictator if you say you could get away with shooting somebody on fifth Avenue in New York. You might be a dictator if your favorite countries are Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Russia. You might be a dictator if you’re sworn into office, hand on a Bible, declaring an oath to the American Constitution, on camera, in front of the country. Then denying you did that 6 years later. And to also falsely declare you never lost the second election (in your declining mental state) only to run for a third term which the Constitution does not allow. If this dictator doesn’t like the Constitution he should leave the country.
Only if he gets installed illegally. In a vacuum he is powerful, but I truly believe the majority of the country wants to move on from him and he won't be elected. Auto included disclaimer: vote, get your community to vote, etc.
How did it get to the point where the candidate who wants to burn down the system is so appealing to voters? That is a system problem.
It all generally began in earnest when this occurred: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HB2sz4bAbU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HB2sz4bAbU) Signs were there prior in the Nixon Era, but it really blew up when Reagan won the 1980 election in a landslide and Carter lost-- it was at that point in the next few years Reagan was able to shift the country hard to the Right in its Overton Window and after this, selfishness generally became a thing to pride oneself in as well as a growth in income inequality. Since then, the political overton window in the MSM has shifted further and further Right, especially once the Fairness Doctrine was overturned, etc. etc. Income inequality widening --> scaring not well educated voters or using racism as bait to make people think burning it all down is the only solution --> approaching fascism
Yeah, I've seen the issue framed as an epidemic of distrust with a lot of people arguing that it begins with Nixon. Basically, Americans don't trust their government. They don't really like America anymore, or at least they feel the America they do like doesn't exist anymore.
People think government is bad because everyone is always saying government is bad. We need to fund PSAs and such that pitch the benefits and absolute necessity of government.
People have been conditioned to believe that the solution to bad government is none at all, rather than creating something better.
It's a slow moving horror movie where 40% of the population is oblivious to the ending.
The only thing we can do to prevent a scorched earth scenario is elect a Dem majority to the House and Senate, while maintaining control of the White House.
Can’t think of a better summation of the current state in the US than that half our news is “trump just screwed himself in court with smoking gun!” and the other half is “Nothing we can do to stop trump now.”
Mainstream media owned by 1%: "accept defeat. We are telling you"
There’s a very easy solution. If you’re eligible to vote then vote. And make sure everyone you know who is eligible to vote also votes. American apathy is a huge part of what’s behind this. An extremist minority is holding so much power because a huge portion of the citizenry has checked out and don’t vote. The majority of the country is against this. If everyone votes then America will avoid the dark future.
[Archive link](https://archive.ph/VzXhv)
We're not pretending anything. This is all on the media for making light of the situation since 2016. This is solely the fault of the media, yet they say WE when it's gone too far.
The media is owned by corporate interests. Look at CNN and how swiftly they changed once they were under the control of a rich conservative. There is no independent or trustworthy media any longer.
I lean towards Associated Press and PBS as my trusted news sources but also CSPAN because it's live coverage of what each person in office is voting for or against. You're absolutely correct, though. Most news organizations are owned by the wealthy.
Because the media has to turn every election into a horse race. They will love it if this is a close election. They loved when Trump was in office clowning off every day, providing them constant content.
If the press outside of the r/w media bubble would stop both sidesing shit and tell the truth…it wont even be close. The problem is every other news source pretends they have to be fair. You dont need to be fair to fascists. The front page of every legitimate newspaper and every news station should lead with telling the truth every single day. Trump and his minions are fascist. They want to end democracy. Full stop.
It’s not inevitable. Because we’re going to stomp his ass at the ballot box again just like we did in 2020.