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Last night, Jon Meacham said on MSNBC that he had "reluctantly concluded" that the United States was in a political situation similar to that of the 1850s, with one party dedicated to protecting the union and the other to its destruction.

Tonight Michael Beschloss said we are potentially less than a week away from the loss of the rule of law and the ability to hold free and fair elections.

He was followed by General Russell Honore, who has never publicly taken a political position, declared that if we do not turn out in record numbers, we will lose democracy, possibly forever.

These are not harum-scarum guys, they are not Chicken Little crying that the sky is falling. They are serious, knowledgeable people, who understand previous historical crises and how this country works.

And they are telling us in all seriousness that the sky is potentially falling.

With the far right refusing to back down from their conspiratorial fantasies in the face of fact and accurate information, celebrating that they no longer need to pay such things attention, with a majority of Republican candidates refusing to publicly state they will accept the outcome of the election win or lose, with another Democratic political candidate attacked and beaten in his own backyard sufficiently to be knocked out and end in the ER, we are now in Terra Incognita. We are where no Americans have been before.

A line was crossed this past weekend that is more significant than the events of January 6. The other side has effectively declared war and "fired on Fort Sumter."

Serious, knowledgeable people I know and whose knowledge and opinions I trust are predicting that "absolute chaos" can break out next Tuesday night with the potential to escalate in ways no one can forecast.

This won't be "Stop The Steal" played out in Washington. This will be "Stop the Steal" played out in your hometown.

It CAN happen here. It is already far beyond anything that has been before.

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Thank you, Heather, for including Biden's full speech in tonight's letter. It is important that we not only hear his words but read them, in black and white, as well. I do feel the media has let us down, although I feel a lot of the nightly commentators at MSNBC heed warnings and ask some of the tough questions. Alex Wagner asked why the messages from the Democrats are just now getting out. There haven't been great answers. Tim Ryan and Beto O'Rourke seem to be hammering their information to their supporters and beyond. We are very weak in that department but maybe, just maybe the Pelosi incident will raise the ears of those who are not affiliated with a party or who are undecided. That's what I'm hoping anyway. My best to you tonight.

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Yes, in the 72 years I’ve lived, this is the scariest moment I’ve seen. I was too young to have direct experience of McCarthy and the Red Scare. I did live through the echoes and aftershocks.

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Last month I turned 88. I was born in the 1930s and now I feel like we're living in the 1930's in Germany. As a country we don't seem to care about being educated about the importance and significance of understanding history or what could be the consequences of our ignorance. of history.

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When I was young, way back whenever, major presidential speeches to the nation were on every TV. Regular programming would have been interrupted. What Biden he had to say would have dominated conversations across the nation.

If democracy dies and chaos, corruption, and violence reign, millions of Americans will wonder how in the hell it happened. And much of the blame will land on those in the media, excluding of course the MAGA outlets.

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Read “How Civil Wars Start” (Walter, 2022) and “How Fascism Works” (Stanley, 2018). The Pelosi incident is foreshadowing.

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One of the greatest threats to American democracy is the branch of government which is appointed (for life) rather than elected and is therefore virtually quarantined from the democratic process - the Supreme Court. Until the Supreme Court undergoes some degree of reform, democracy in America will never be safe.

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Why does this good man have low approval ratings? Even, and especially, in his own party? And especially compared to his predecessor? Against an opposition party that has willfully tossed off any sense of decency, dignity, honesty, or respect?

What the hell else does Joe Biden have to do get a grateful “Well done, sir,” and a “Glad you’re in charge”?

One hopes the nation gives him all of that on Nov. 8th.

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I feel hopeful and careful, too. This letter contains some really historic quotes by our current president. I was uplifted reading the letter today and shared it with 2,000+ Facebook readers.

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Biden’s speech was not broadcast live by any of the networks. Many Americans will never hear a word of it, or for that matter, read a word of it. That unfortunately tells us a great deal about the moment we are in; it should not give us hope.

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Nov 3, 2022·edited Nov 3, 2022

Yes!!!!! This is they key Thanks president Biden and heather💐👏🇺🇸🗳💙

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I wish that Mr. Biden had a much stronger impulse to do what he has been doing recently, which is commanding and filling the void in the public narrative about who we are as a nation. It's so very easy to get dragged down into the mud around hot-button topics, false narratives, personalities and prurient interest in tabloid news and lose sight of the big picture of where we're headed from election to election, administration to administration.

4 decades ago, Ronald Reagan used his B-rated Hollywood acting skills to sell the nation on trickle-down, supply side theory and massive tax cuts "balanced" by soaring national debt, promising us that the investment by the rich would magically create enough tax revenue to more than make up for those forsaken tax dollars. It turned out that rich folks tend to get richer, hoard assets rather than reinvest all that windfall in cash and the government has no self control over deficit spending. Across those 4 decades, 4 individuals pursued this line of political whitewash; one actor, two rich Texas oil tycoons masquerading as old eastern money, and one psycho narcisstic emperor wannabe.

Two fairly moderate presidents (16 years) a bit to the left of center spoke to the lower and middle class, while largely protecting the status quo of the rich. So, the term millionaire is now almost meaningless and won't buy you financial security, billionaires are no longer rare and mega-multi-billionaires now are the ones that move the needle on big business. All the while, the courts and increasing amounts of dark money in politics have been chipping away at the guardrails of democracy. In parallel, the norms of behavior/decorum within politics have broken down to the point that little trust or admiration remains for national leaders in any branch of government. Now it seems we have reached some turning point, where we either change our ways and claw ourselves back from the brink of anarchy or accept the fact that we will become a bigger version of all those South American nations where corruption and scandal is the norm in politics.

The US presidents have a unique capacity to cut through the crap and speak loudly enough to be heard across the nation and even around the world, IF they make use of that capacity. They can, in fact, galvanize the nation around important issues IF they speak forcefully and clearly. This is perhaps their most potent tool; not the suitcase and red button, carrier task forces or the veto pen. It seems that only an occasional president fully realizes this or takes advantage of it.

I'm afraid the Pelosi affair is just another blip on the radar in a race to the bottom; we just don't know quite how much lower the public narrative can sink...

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I agree, Ken, but you know what? It makes me angry-- hell, furious-- that small-minded bigots think they can trample our American experiment. No matter our age (I'm 70, what a shock), we have to remain diligent, honest, active guardians of democracy. This is a defining moment, and we can rise to it. After all, our generation stopped a war! "Hell no, we won't go," and we won't roll over for tin pot dictators either. Here's a Major Question, though: will the American press do its job? Tell the truth, damn it, don't be afraid. We need you to have our backs! So people, do what you can-- vote, help your neighbors to the polling place or the mailbox, put up a lawn sign, go door to door for your candidate, write letters, hit the streets. Act! You are not alone.

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How about some perspective. A GOP win in midterms is a step away from democracy but it is not the end of democracy. Nothing during this election is as risky as how close we came to an end to democracy on Jan. 6th!...Had Pence gone along with Trump, had Raffensperger found those votes for Trump in GA, had Clarence Thomas stayed the Georgia results and tossed election to House of Reps., had courts knowingly bought into Trump's bogus lawsuits as was his plan like Judge 'Loose' Cannon in South Florida and the Top Secret papers, had any General gone along with Trump's attempt to get the military involved and invoke The Insurrection Act, had Dept. Homeland Security seized voting machines as Trump urged, had Trump replaced Bill Barr with that clown Jeff Clark who was willing to run with his stolen election lies, (Good news, D.C. Bar Assoc. filed disciplinary proceeding against this clown-about time!)..THOSE EVENTS could have ended our democracy. GOP gains in midterms is a step towards the end of our democracy when our democracy is greatly threatened, but a much smaller one than the risks posed on Jan. 6th.

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Tom Nichols. Yesterday he cited his 'good friend Mona Charen' in whinging about today's Republicans. All these 'good conservatives' who turn up their noses at Trump and are 'shocked, shocked' by the goings on in the GOP. They're the one's who paved the way for Trump et al. The unapologetic Reagan acolytes. What did they think would happen when they dog whistled the unrepentant racist right wing religious extremist rabble into their gentlemen's club? They'd all mind their manners and let the Bushes, McConnells, and Scalias undo democracy behind closed doors? Trump is just Reagan writ large and writ vulgar. These 'never Trump' hypocrites are offended by Trump's style - not the substance of his agenda, from degrading civil rights to deregulation to defunding to science denial to undoing the separation of church and state. They want the face of unconscionable conservatism to be Amy Coney Barrett, but they brought Marjorie Taylor Greene to the party. Did they think the heirs of the Confederacy, ginned up and gunned up for decades would act as though 'government is the enemy' was just a figure of speech. Newt Gingrich metaphorically burned down the House. What did the Tom Nichols et al think would happen next?

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Thank you Professor Richardson and thank you President Biden. May our democracy prevail. 🙏🏻

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