Is The 40 Year Republican Plan Disintegrating?
By Thom Hartmann A...
People are wondering why Donald Trump melted down yesterday in his press conference, but there's really a simple explanation. Back in 1980 when David Koch ran for president on the libertarian ticket of ending all income taxes, privatizing the Post Office, giving Social Security to the big banks, ending Medicare and Medicaid altogether, and closing all the nation's public schools, he and his friends had a meme that they thought would help them accomplish these goals. All they had to do was convince people that the American government that administered all these programs was actually evil, incompetent, and useless.Because of the Buckley v Valejo Supreme Court decision of 1976, billionaires like Koch were able to heavily fund the Reagan campaign, which explains why Reagan, in his 1981 inaugural address, told us that government was not the solution to our problems but, rather, that it was the problem itself.
The 40-year plan of the billionaires was supposed to be realized by Donald Trump turning America into a complete oligarchy, but the coronavirus has reminded Americans of the importance of government as lives are on the line and true leadership and government is badly needed. More than anything except, possibly, his own narcissism, this narrative arc explains the complete collapse we are witnessing of the Trump presidency and the Republican party. It's just a shame it took 40 years to happen.
-Thom
Comments
#2
Interesting point of view that djt is (may be) a catalyst for social change. In a sense it implies that another term may show us the way for Real change, especially if people like AOC get reelected.
Or perhaps it is some more corona-virus we need to consolidate what we have been reminded: government from, by & for the people.
What an irony! djt gets the corona he always wanted to be bestowed upon him, but with a virus-19 spin....
#3
...a crown befitting the viral Twitter king.
#4
#1. You have to be a subscriber to the NY Times to open the link. Could you cut and paste?
#5
A work in progress. Big business continues to gain ground influenceing government decision making. (Running the country.) This virus is just a bump in the road... Patience, Donald.
#6
The poor get screwed again and the wealthy benefit.
Words from the 12th wealthiest member in Congress. Wonder how his constituents feel?
Good thing that a lot are direct deposit.
Every Fox News watcher should read every day.
It was so bad even 1 reporter on Fox objected.
You purchase your electricity at "Cost Plus". This is part of the cost. Is this Capitalism?
#7
It appears the djt problem is escalating and the senate is complicit by ignoring their responsibilities in favor of kissing the ring. in context with #1, how do you kill a country, ask the senate! Together, their combined demeanor facing with US constituents and foreign ones as well is leaning more toward the “kneel before Zod” approach. This is distancing us from the fight to end the Cov-19 debacle and behind the scenes destroying our constitutional liberties and soon our economy. Why are all the other countries of the world honing in on solutions while we are struggling to get past obstacles posed by the reality show?
#8
#4: Try this one from the MSN news aggregator: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/he-could-have-seen-what-was-coming-behind-trumps-failure-on-the-virus/ar-BB12tYrs. I don't subscribe to the NYT either, but sometimes they distribute articles for free if it's an important story in the public interest. Not sure what happened with that other link -- perhaps a limit on free hits?
Thanks for posting all of your links too. Good context! That should keep us busy for a while. };--))
#9
#7 asks rhetorically, "Why are all the other countries of the world honing in on solutions while we are struggling to get past obstacles posed by the reality show?"
Indeed! The question is the answer.
In a nod to Willie's point in #5, we are all witnessing firsthand a "crime in progress" -- a very deliberate, on-the-record, in-your-face abrogation of responsibility on a stunning level, worse than any president in our history. Trump and his Republican losers in Congress are worthless, and now deadly, investments for we taxpayers, not only when it comes to encountering the forces of nature but in their cowardly surrender to the forces of Wall Street, which have inflicted so much pain on generations past.
And there is no reason to think that these ravenous plunderers of our nation's blood and treasure will ever change their wicked ways going into a dismal future -- unless they are forced! That we know for sure, for our true enemy -- fascism -- will not go peacefully into the good night. Consider the millions of innocent people who have already suffered and died in our endless resource wars; to the moneyed class, human life is unabashedly secondary to wealth and power.
Trump & Company are basically saying that out loud now. Why not? That's just the way it is. What are miserable little peons gonna do 'bout it? "Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man's war" -- a truism that spans the ages.
#10
Says he whose party picked the worst of the worst liars, out of seventeen Wall Street stooges, i.e., Republicans.
#11
Does anyone know what happened to the story Thom related in his April 14 show that an American governor was calling on the National Guard to stop the Feds from seizing ventilators and other PPE when it landed at an airport?
#12
He didn't say which state. If it was https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/plane-with-91000-pounds-of-ppe-headed-to-new-hampshire-from-china/ar-BB12wCvx it landed OK. https://news.yahoo.com/plane-delivers-45-ton-ppe-222233064.html
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a creative thinker and committed small-d democrat. He has dealt with a wide range of topics throughout his life, and this book provides an excellent cross section. The Thom Hartmann Reader will make people both angry and motivated to act."
From Cracking the Code:
"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
From Screwed:
"If we are going to live in a Democracy, we need to have a healthy middle class. Thom Hartmann shows us how the ‘cons’ have wronged this country, and tells us what needs to be done to reclaim what it is to be American."
Yamiche Alcindor said, "President Trump has been visibly angry the last two days and he's been lashing out more than usual. Why is he so mad?
Because this story from The NY Times laid out, point by point, what he did wrong.
It is clearly a must read so here it is again: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html …"