Maybe we've all heard this a gazillion times, but I'll say it again: The repeal of Citizens United in 2010 by the "conservative" 5-4 SCOTUS majority ruling has probably doomed America. It's not like there isn't rank corruption in the DNC and in the relationships between Dem lawmakers and lobbyists, but fucking hell, The Heritage Foundation and The Federalist Society are now funding the attempts to undermine American democracy. The "American experiment" is far along into the process of ending, and anyone who seems to understand is slandered as an alarmist doomsayer. Unless, of course, they're Trumpist idiots attempting to violently usher in a neo-fascist oligarchy without any clue that they're being played. Lev Parnas's trial starts today. The trial will probably see Rudy Giuliani get even more implicated in his campaign work for foreign oligarchs, but he's got so many other legal issues brewing that it's impossible to know the exact reason he'll go to jail. I'm glad there are others keeping track. It makes me feel a little less crazy. --- Only-Semi-Related Public Therapy Sesh: I've tried to game out 2024. If Trump loses, he'll undoubtedly be sending his supporters into the cities to shoot people. Mostly brown and black people, but if the Google street view history of your house shows a Biden/Harris sign, congrats, you might wanna get some sheet metal to mount on the wall of your bedroom that faces the street. Honestly, I don't think the margin will really matter that much. If he wins? Well, at least you won't have to worry about renewing your voter registration card for a looooooong time. Probably never. And actually, after reading kleinbl00's fantastic new book review, I'm wondering if he has any insights into scenario #1 (Trump losing), which seems fairly analogous to rural/mountain caravans of religious extremists descending on cities/valleys. Are enough folks in urban American police forces commuting in from far away (read: Trumpists) such that city police will look the other way or even help Trump's terrorists? At least the military chain of command seems like it should hold strong, right? The fact that I'm even asking questions like these blows my mind. It's like... embarrassing. Just like I felt embarrassed when I warned my parents on Christmas last year, "You don't understand; He'll do anything to stay in power. He is openly planning an assault on Congress when they certify the electoral college vote on January 6." They looked at each other, and back at me, with grimaces, and I could tell that they thought I'd gone off the deep end. There is one (very) small possible perk to a Republican majority 2023 House of Reps.: If Steve Bannon & co. have their way, Trump will be appointed Speaker of the House (the Speaker doesn't have to be a member of Congress). The perk will be the look on Kevin McCarthy's stupid fucking face during and after the vote tally. And if I have to read one more fucking article from the MSM like "The Biden DoJ could face allegations of politicization by acting on a referral of (e.g.) Bannon for disregarding Congressional subpoenas," I'm gonna lose whatever's left of my mind. The majority of "liberal" media sources seem completely unaware that they're helping the GOP use lawfulness as a bludgeon against the Dems when they frame issues like that. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers will do anything they can to ruin the country while Biden is prez. Creating instability and engineering socioeconomic deterioration to pin on The Other and help seize power is classic fascist tactics. Hats off to McConnell, he was fascy before Trump. Full-blown fascism was pretty much the only possible endpoint for the GOP. UGH
...does somebody need a hug? The principle advantage populists enjoy is they are utterly unbound by convention, custom or standards of behavior. The principle disadvantage populists suffer is they can form no crony networks lest they cease to be populists. Trump's fuckin' done. Repeat after me: Trump's fuckin' done. Judd Legum clearly disagrees with me and he's a smart guy. Note, however, that he titled their piece "A citizen's guide to Trump's 2024 strategy" not "a citizen's guide to Trump's winning 2024 strategy". Let's review: - Put loyalists in charge of election administration - Elect loyalists as governors - Put loyalists in congress All of which assume that Trump loyalists have any reason to be loyal. I don't know if you've noticed but Trump burns every single person in his orbit. The quality of sycophant has decreased steadily. I mean yeah - there's Charles Grassley not burning Trump at the stake in, uhh, October 2021? When absolutely nobody GAF? What if I told you... the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor twice? I first found out about it because it was a segment on I-shit-you-not Ripley's Believe it or not. It was not an effective attack. You can get away with that shit once. Or, you know, if you're serious about it, you sneak-attack Tokyo and then wait a few years until you can darken the skies with bombers. Trump ain't got no bombers, man. Errbody talking about Trump right now because he's still relevant. He's relevant as the target of an ongoing investigation, and as the lovelorn lost hope of millions of dead-ender "base". I've always loved how the Republicans talk about "the base." That's what al Qaeda means, did you know that? "the base." But look. Trump matters right now 'cuz people still think he matters. Everyone attached to Trump? You damn betcha they're gonna get their skulls cracked and Trump ain't gonna do shit. Every move that man makes telegraphs that loyalty is a one-way street with him and he will be useful to you for exactly as long as you are useful to him. And his stock goes down every single goddamn day. They're gonna run Paul Ryan. Dollars to donuts. They give no fux about Trump voters, because Trump voters will only vote for Trump, will back only things that Trump wants, will give money to Trump and to Trump only. Remember - the Republican establishment sure as shit didn't pick Trump. They did everything they could to pick literally anyone else and then when they ended up with him, held their noses and made the best of it. So the people who will actually back Trump now? As opposed to simply not say he sucks? Are the ones who think they will experience material gain. And that is an increasingly small, increasingly stupid group of people. They're gonna run Paul Ryan and not give a fuck if they lose. At least they can change the conversation. 'cuz it's clear that Trump wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, and politics is about relationships.And actually, after reading kleinbl00's fantastic new book review, I'm wondering if he has any insights into scenario #1 (Trump losing)
I hear ya. And I share a lot of your concerns. But I think KB speaks a lot of truth here. How many people does Trump have, walking door to door, knocking the doors of their neighbors, and asking them to support Trump? Now think about progressive candidates... how many door-knockers do they have? How many people leading policy roudtables and discussions and debates? Trump voters are like everyday Catholics: passive, icon-worshipping, do-nothings. Both of these demographics drive to their building of choice, chant their incantations, wearing the proper iconography, performing the proper ablutions and gestures, and yell "AMEN!" at all the right moments... and then leave, go home ... and do NOTHING. They have performed the assigned rights to remain members of the club, but have no intention of living that way at home. Trumpism is performative. Progressivism is active. So when it comes down to it, no armies of dipshits are coming down from the hills to rape and pillage the cities. When this DID happen - the Proud Boys ran through my part of town one night - they tore down two Pride flags. The sum total of their effect on my neighborhood was they tore down two pieces of multi-colored fabric. (Which were replaced with new - non sun faded ones! - the next day.) Every time the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, or other dispshit cosplay militia shows up, it's 1/10th of the number of people predicted, most of them clearly basement-dwelling incels with tactical vests stretched over their chicken-tender-distended bellies, and they shout and act like dicks carrying tiki torches ... and leave, having accomplished exactly nothing. The unfit, unwell, obese, old, and sad fucks that are Trump's base, are incapable of meaningful action. Meanwhile, AOC and The Squad have all been re-elected in landslides, have inspired hundreds of other women and people of color to run for - and win! - public office, and they fucking DO THE WORK every single day. Sadly, they are Democrats, so they will eventually wind up either shooting themselves in the foot (see Al Franken), or killing each other's careers over the tiniest perceived deviation from The One Pure And Righteous Path.
A quibble: long has the FBI known that there's been a rising, militant, neo-nazi right. Some of them are extremely violent. Unfortunately, the Trump administration prevented the FBI from doing anything about it. The current administration disagrees. So yeah - there's a lot of cosplay cowboys out there. But one way to look at Jan 6 was the legit terrorists seeing what they could do under the cover of cosplay cowboys. I think we'd all agree the answer takes the form of "more than we're comfortable with."