Americans Must Focus on 2024 & The Rise of Authoritarianism
By Thom Hartmann A...
America needs to talk about Trump-proofing democracy for 2024 and beyond.The billionaires with strong fascistic tendencies are carefully watching Trump and his administration to see what works and what doesn't as he pushes to tear apart our institutions of governance and divide America as a political strategy.
He has already revealed a number of areas where our rule of law is sadly deficient, including the ability to hold a president to account for crimes he has committed while in office and how much damage a president can do by putting lobbyists in charge of almost every federal agency.
Many of the holes, cracks and weaknesses in our republic that Trump has exploited were put into place by the Supreme Court in the 1970s and by Congress after 9/11.
The Buckley and Bellotti Supreme Court decisions of the 1970s gave corporations and billionaires the "right" to own politicians and political parties, and the Patriot Act and other similar legislation since 9/11 have given the president vast police powers that, throughout history, we've only seen in authoritarian, strongman governments.
All of these need urgently to be reevaluated and rescinded or replaced.
In addition, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party need to keep 2024 in mind when picking a democratic vice presidential nominee. On the Republican side, it will most likely either be Mitt Romney or Tom Cotton, a corporate Republican or a fascist.
In either case, the Democrats need to be ready politically for 2024.
But most urgently the entire country needs to be laser-focused on stripping the oligarchic and fascistic elements that have crept into our republic since the Powell memo, multiple Supreme Court interventions, and the Patriot Act with its associated war crimes and torture.
America is at a turning point, and whether we continue our slide into fascism and oligarchy, or pull back to small-d democratic values will depend, in no small part, on the planning and work we do now, and the candidates we support and put forward who will be on the ticket two and four years from now.
-Thom
Comments
#2
DRAIN THE SWAMP!! I’m willing to let the Trumpers have that mantra. Because what they did is “Drain The Swamp” (swamps are actually beneficial to the environment) so they could turn it into a cesspool and fill it up with the most toxic turds that they could find. And boy did they! Everyday is a diarrhea tsunami of the most toxic shit that has ever gushed out of any building anywhere, let alone the Whitehouse.
#3
You failed to mention Fox News, right wing radio and the other even further, off the charts, right wing sites. They have masterfully brainwashed a large part of the population.
#4
I don't normally disagree with you Thom, but in this case, I do. The problem is not going to go away with Congress passing laws because this simply begs the question of how we change cultural behavior in this country. If control of Congress changes, then the law can be changed again. We have a lifetime struggle to maintain an honest, open and transparent government in DC. This will always be a problem. Certainly, the laws need to be updated, but they have to be updated so that people recognize the benefits directly. I'm not a political scientist so I don't have any good solutions for this problem, but I do know cultures as an anthropologist. Culture change is very slow, and it requires a lot of education. Congress needs to learn how to change culture in its laws, rather than just change the law. Changing the law simply reverts power to a different group which is always changing. This is a very complex problem and needs some serious discussion about how to effectively change the culture with laws!
#5
Thom, I find it interesting that you are coming to the realization that Joe Biden is incapable of being elected President and Trump will be re-elected.
A law and order platform is a very effective platform on which to run, especially when liberal mayors all over the country have completely lost control and let mobs run wild. You should know, you live in the epicenter of the idiocy.
Maybe now is the time to direct your efforts at slowing the further destruction in the other democrat run cities across America.
#6
I do not let a very small percentage of people influence my judgement.
#7
The question for this election has to be; Do you believe 1) the republicans assumed and abused to much power in their actions over the past 3 ½ years pushing this nation deep into a partisan rabbit hole that we likely will not get out of for decades, or 2) the republicans have been an asset to this nation and it is our responsibility to elect them for new terms and that further empowering them will serve to get us through the crisis we now face.
Don’t be fooled as republican candidates stage themselves in opposition to djt for the election, afterward, they will continue to support him so it’s imperative to quash those deceptive maneuvers at all election levels and vote them out. As we watch the republican party jockeying to position the president for absolute power, it’s absolutely necessary to not allow that coup. The republican party has an outright offensive to take absolute control, this is a clear and present danger and this country’s largest threat which needs to be addressed at the poles. This election must take place at the poles, be the decision of the people and cannot be blocked by any means or republican efforts!!!
#8
Living in a Republican County, I have heard several say that they are against Trump and will not vote for him. However they will support the people that have enabled him and supported him. The Congressman for part of this county, Ken Buck, is as bad or worse than Trump. Cory Gardner has supported Trump 100%. Supporting either one is supporting Trumps Fascist regime.
#9
I'm worried Biden's idiotic mouth will reduce enthusiasm for him. He should ALWAYS be on script so he doesn't say things like "no diversity in Black population".
#10
It's hard to derive a viable reason both parties recruit and retain candidates from nursing home stock.
#11
Think I have "Susan Sarandon" syndrome, because I also believe DJT will be reelected.
And, this country, through all the misery and death we've sown around the globe for decades, deserves every malignant thought and deed that blossoms from his sociopathic mind.
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MEMO TO DONALD JOHN TRUMP, President of the United States of America
SUBJECT: Alternative Electric Power Generation Development:
Dear Mr. President, I’ll try to keep this short.
No doubt you still feel a bit chaffed at being being snubbed by the Nobel committee for your groundbreaking support, research and courageous self sacrificing experimentation, regarding ingesting hydroxycholoroquine, disinfectants and use of incandescent suppositories in combating the devastating virus, Covid-19.
However, take heart. There is still a chance to claim the honor owed to you. It has been bigly, strongly reported by numerous highly respected, credible, scientific-engineering internet sites, that Scandinavian scientists and engineers are feverishly working in secret labs to develop hamster powered, electrict generating plants, and that a major breakthrough is just around the corner in the next couple of years or so. I certainly don’t need to tell a stable genius like yourself what a boon to Scandinavia this would be, and the catastrophic consequences to our economy and prestige if they should achieve their goal.
Nonetheless, there is still time! With the use of Yankee know-how and American resources, there is still a window of opportunity. If we act IMMEDIATELY! We can beat the Scandinavians at their on game.
By focusing the Defense Production Act toward this goal, no doubt America will prevail and Donald John Trump will be hailed as the Stable Genius that he most certainly is. Imagine those snooty Scandinavian Nobelists eating crow in front of the whole world as they present Donald John Trump the Nobel Prize.
P.S. I’ve included a link showing these cute little furry critters at work so you can get a sense of their true potential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTJ9v2vsaE