Yesterday, eight extremist members of the Republican congressional conference demonstrated that they could stop their party, and the government, from functioning.
‘Vote to oust McCarthy is a warning sign for democracy, scholars say’ (excerpts from WAPO)
‘If you want to know what it looks like when democracy is in trouble, this is what it looks like’
‘The vote reflected the enormous power that a small group of representatives camped on their party’s ideological fringe can wield over an entire institution, said Ziblatt, co-author of the book “Tyranny of the Minority.” ‘It also showcased how difficult it will be for anyone to corral the House in a way that’s functional, with major decisions over the budget and Ukraine funding ahead.’
‘Congress arrived at this point for myriad reasons, all of which build on one another, scholars say: Social media and cable news incentivized politicians to perform for the camera, not for their constituents. Aggressive gerrymandering created deeply partisan districts where representation is decided in primary contests, not general elections. Weakened political parties became captive to their loudest and most extreme members.’
‘Taken together, those factors handed a small number of lawmakers the power to throw one of the three branches of government into disarray and, for now, paralysis.’
‘The 8 Republicans who ousted McCarthy represent a small minority of Americans’
MEMBER DISTRICT DISTRICT LEAN
Tim Burchett TN-02 R+18
Matt Rosendale MT-02 R+16
Ken Buck CO-04 R+13
Matt Gaetz FL-01 R+19
Bob Good VA-05 R+7
Nancy Mace SC-01 R+7
Andy Biggs AZ-05 R+11
Eli Crane AZ-02 R+6
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Cook Political Report
‘As unprecedented as Tuesday’s vote was, this moment is a continuation of a trend in American political culture, said Joseph Postell, a political scientist at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He pointed to the troubled tenures of previous Republican speakers of the House such as John A. Boehner and Paul D. Ryan, both of whom struggled with stiff resistance from their right flank.’
“What McCarthy faced today is another domino in the many dominoes that have fallen over the last decade or so,” Postell said. (WAPO) See gifted link to the article below.
Gulp: "History has shown that government dysfunction can be a prelude to the erasure of democracy altogether, with authoritarianism rising in its place, said Harvard’s Ziblatt.
“What precedes a democratic breakdown is political stalemate and extreme dysfunction where there’s a sense that nothing can get done,” Ziblatt said. “When governments can’t respond in genuine crises, it has a delegitimizing effect, and it reinforces the sense among citizens that we have to resort to other means.”
MaryPat, many of us were complacent, being sure that Hillary Clinton was surely going to win. We were complacent as state after state was gerrymandered.
It’s like car maintenance—if you ignore it long enough, you end up with something that won’t start, much less drive safely.
I hope that we haven’t waited too late to save the engine from seizing up.
I fear we have waited too long. Republicans are entrenched now. Being too afraid to punish republican criminals for the sake of keeping the peace has empowered them.
If I may, it is not too late. Have faith and show strength. Our institutions will continue to hold. Fear is what Trump wants. Vote and support Democrats.
Garland was too busy trying not to be political yet the republicans still accuse the DOJ of being political. He should have just gone ahead like Barre and started the wheels turning long ago. No matter what democrats do, it will be wrong. (even though republicans have done it.
I am hoping that the younger generation will come through. I don't think they have been around long enough to be brain washed. Also I think some of the Independents will not like the abortion rulings ( 60% were pro choice). There is hope with the unions since Biden has championed them. Hopefully the workers will realize that if trump lived up to his promises, they would not be on a picket line. I hope they realize that trump has made a mockery of them with his "fake" union rally. That was pathetic.
Lady Justice is finally showing up and the goons are panicking. The goons are such a mess, (which was to be expected) that they can no longer hide behind their propaganda.
Yes, and to this day I feel guilt being broadsided by Trump and the GOP. The signs were there but, but ignored. Went from being woefully ignorant of current events that mattered, to reading reliable news.
Currently reading Heather Richardson's newly released book and can see how we got to this point/how we missed seeing the oncoming train.
Hillary Clinton should never of been on the ballot. We all know that the republicons has eviscerated her reputation along with Billy Boy. But powers at dem party did it anyway. Much of what they did to the Clinton's were lies but??????????????? the damage had been done.
I am sorry, but I disagree about Hillary Clinton. She was the most knowledgeable and qualified person to ever run for president. She won more popular votes than that idiot that moved into our White House. I refuse to look in my rearview mirror and say that "she should never have been on the ballot". We are way past that...or should be.
Agree with you Colette about most qualified but she had been victimized for all of the 90's and 2000's some justified and most others not justified. She was an easy target for republiCONS and we all new that and know that lamestreet media is a bunch of billionaire thugs.
I disagree for these reasons. To begin with - some of HRCs loss was a result of the FBI directors needless verbiage re an investigation that the bureau did not want to pursue further. and then we have the uphill battle of a third democrat in a row. Take away Comey's words and she might have won. And she did garner more votes. Not a mean feat.
Comey’s judgement to reveal an ongoing investigation when it was a presidential candidate of one party while not revealing an ongoing investigation of the campaign/candidate of the other party (his party) still angers me with his partisanship. I Hope he’s happy with all the chaos that he helped cause.
Yes, agreed but she was a flawed candidate for the previous 16 years even if not justified. That is what repugs do. Also, I was so mad at dem party for what they did to Bernie Sanders but then they would of ripped him apart too as that is all they know hate and fear.
I suspect a lot of people were unaware of their legislatures' nefarious actions in redistricting, or that anything at all could be done about it. Interestingly here in Maine, where we have 2 districts, the state capital was in District 1 (quite Blue) until the most recent redistricting; we're now in District 1 (quite red), which helps offset the red rural voters, the effect of which is to give Maine two Dem reps instead of one Dem and one republicant. So there's that; not all redistricting is evil.
Who's surprised to see Steve Bannon connected to this? And guess who's working with Steve Bannon to burn down everything, leaving a scorched earth path back to the Oval Office in 2024?
This could very well be "Profile-in-Courage" time: a small group of Republicans can come together to join the Congressional Democrats to elect Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House. Otherwise the nation is faced with a catastrophe, with Steve Bannon getting his wish to destroy the administrative state.
A moderate Republican as House Speaker would, I believe, the best course in getting necessary legislation passed, the government working and reducing the power of radical right wing politicians, MAGAs and the former president.
I agree, if one should step forward and if the Republicans could support such a candidate and behave rationally, but that is a tall order. At lunch, after golf, today I had a discussion with three Republicans. They cannot discuss even rational matters such as government spending and the deficits. For example, though the Republicans controlled Congress and the White House during Trump's term in office, the national debt soared to $8.2 trillion more in four short years. But, the Democrats were to blame for that. They are completely controlled by confirmation bias. There is no objectivity there. We can't reason with them. We simply must beat them at the polls.
The image of four white American male golf players at lunch having a discussion about legislative options for the House of Representatives, prompted the desire to be a documentarian with crew being the fly on the wall.
Jefferies will need the skill. along with a few of the Republican representatives in districts that Biden won and at least a several more moderate Republicans to attract enough others that together come up with a Republican candidate for House Speaker who has a chance of taking it. Most of the Republicans in the House would like to see the end of Trump and the right-radical fringe. It may seem like threading the needle, but it's the way to some light; right now the House is paralyzed and the Republicans in it look worse than ever.
With promises to stick to action on issues where they can reach bipartisan consensus. This would show that centrist governing can work and serve the people. We should not underestimate the vilification and demonizing that is done by making “the left” the enemy. Jeffries could show that we’re not. And focus on what helps the majority of people.
Lynn, why petty? Even if I were a conservative Republican, I don’t think that I would want an avowed racist who’s proud of the fact (Scalise) or a guy (Jordan) who admires Erdogan/Putin and vows to table any bill to provide aid to Ukraine to disuade Putin from attacking a neighboring NATO country. To me, preventing both of those persons from controlling what financial bills are advanced is crucial.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand your comment. The temporary speaker's first action was to evict Pelosi from her so-called hideaway office in the Capitol. While she was in California for Senator Feinstein's funeral. That is petty.
In the absence of a functioning House, the mechanisms of the Constitution no longer function. I don’t believe any Federalist Paper addressed such a situation or even imagined that 8 extremists could disrupt their Chessboard of checks and balances
President Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus, might President Biden declare a national emergency and simply declare previous funding levels be maintained while the House gets its act in gear (or when sane voters elect sane Representatives)?
Maybe - but in Federalist #70 one of Hamilton's arguments in favor of a strong presidency was that the Congress would be slow and "deliberative." Clearly he was kindly taking a jab at the chaos and demonstrated lack of action that arose when the Continental Congress's seemed unable to act when action was sorely needed, and at the current convention which was in a state of chaotic disagreement much of the time.
It may be hard to see and appreciate, but this chaos among the R's could very well end up being a kind of creative destruction. People like Matt G and MTG are nothing if not entertaining fools. Years from now people will be having lots of fun at their expense. Imagine a play with the title "Gaetz Smart."
Good idea, Dave. In times of war the President has this right. While we may not be shooting up the Streets right now, this is pretty damned close to war.
All this is true but I want to add another issue that should not be forgotten--just about all our goods and services are for profit and subject to the speculative markets. Corporations not legislators are controlling just about everything. They have bought everything including the legislators. And the Supreme Court put the cherry on top with Citizens United. If corporate power wants the Republican Party to get its act together it will happen tomorrow. I think in fact the people who are helping direct the wealth of this country into a few pockets are happy with a dis-functioning government. The largest too big to fail corporations have no special allegiance to one particular country. They don’t want to pay taxes to help the country and its citizens. We have ceded control of life essentials to profit makers. Is our government even relevant anymore? We stopped taking care of people and turned to taking care of profit long ago. Just saying I am wondering what big profits may be being made off this turmoil.
Goodbye, House of Representative and the Supreme Court with Trump leading the charge to dictatorship! We have more than a nightmare in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. UNITED STATES?!
Fern, the power of leveraging propaganda and American belief systems is clearly on display. I just heard on NPR yesterday that 53% of Americans "trust" the Republican party to better handle the "economy".
Given the mess that Republicans made of the economy (just more cutting taxes on wealthy corporations) during the Pandemic and the mess that 8 years of Republican policy made in 2007 and 2008, and the failure of Reagan's "trickle down", and the loss of the middle class due to Republican policy and Republican support for offshoring and outsourcing, starting with Jack Wlech, AND how well the Democrats have handled the economy in the last 2.5 years I am "aghast" to use a word none of my kids or their friends use.
I am left with this echo in my head: The Problem with America is Americans. I know you are not a big fan of that phrase, but, to me it rings true.
Yep. Americans are now their own worst enemy. Ignorance combined with overly developed belief systems combined with underdeveloped critical thinking capacity and a (strong) preference for propaganda (Fox News) AND a willingness to spend large amounts of "free time" drinking beer, watching football, watching survivor on TV, tailgating, and generally pursuing lazy habits ........
........has now produced Matt Gaetz and Ted Cruz: Men my wife says are the ugliest two men she has ever heard or seen (ugly in every way, says she).
Whew! I was worried when she started that "The ugliest men are" sentence yesterday!!
Ugly is perfect. Perfect. Steve Bannon, Trump, Cruz.. just revolting. Self-loathing governs this hoary cult. Racism is their odor, Putinism is their creed and methodology, sexual dysfunction oozes from their every pore, this is a sick bunch of Black and Jew hating ugly males backed by 70 million American racists that hate the memory of Abraham Lincoln. These are Confederate soldiers of yore, they’re fighting the Civil War and seek revenge for the Reformation - they are still hanging the slave over the fire and celebrating the worst of our history. The GOP House reflects who we are. Trump is the wet dream of Bannon racists. Planet Earth is the scene of the crime. Vladimir Putin plays Trump like a three string busted 🪕 banjo. Our embedded racism allows Musk to destroy our cultural commitment and Ukraine. Antisemitism rules as Musk blames the ADL for X going down.
Most MSM blatantly ignores our national intolerance, our innate racism, our exploding antisemitism, Black hatred in the GOP - and the Trump Bannon Putin Orban Gaetz white supremacy cult that wants to bring down our democracy and our Republic.
Ukraine is the hot deadly battleground for decency and democracy, and WW III, Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan will let Ukraine and Europe fall .. as ugly Steve Bannon smiles.
Fascism Rules the GOP of today, President Biden says all the best things, and FOX News ignores Biden and pumps Trump’s line.
The Book of Job never gets old. Our national political playground is ruled by God and the Devil for all to see. Man is tested day and night. Our children are threatened by this mess. Deep down they feel it. Most are numb.
Warming and Don’t Look Up and death of the smallest living things in our universe and our personal microbiome threaten all life. The metaphors are everywhere.
Self loathing is spot-on. Last night I was watching a program about serial killers, and the shrink who was providing commentary explained how the contempt killers display towards their victims comes from their own deep lack of self esteem. These men, like Trump et al, are destructive people who feel a weird kind of comfort in being able to harm others. Decades of complacency, the deterioration of our educational system and the middle class have created a society that eschews politics in favor of entertainment.
Television and it's ilk is the real opioid of the masses. I watch too, but selectively. I gave up on TV "news" and commercial TV during Bush II's Iraq war. Somehow modern TV debates seem more like gameshows than presentation of of a credible "business plan" worthy of Lincoln-Douglas; and it's not that the world is any simpler, just that TV tends to the superficial.
In the end, it is we who steer the ship of state through the icebergs. Asleep at the wheel almost guarantees a bumpy ride at best, and complete disaster at worst. Our current trajectory is alarming.
I call him "Gym Jordan". The maps in Ohio are SO gerrymandered that his district actually looks like a salamander...if they don't redraw them we may be stuck with his ugly face and personality forever!
Ugly is more than skin deep, really never just appearance. Habitual malice does seem to show for a lot of demagogues, though not always. It's mostly in the "body language" they express, such as the anal-oid Trumpian mouth.
I could not agree with you morel Americans have become fat and lazy and let others make the decisions for them. My sister says Gaetz has a forehead full of Botox. Ugly in every way. I’m glad the democrats didn’t bail out McCarthy. He is an unprincipled feckless self interest self absorbed fool. This never happened under Speaker Pelosi’s watch!
Pelosi reports the Temporary House 'leader' has evicted her from her House office space, (H-132). Per the Twit Temporary, Pelosi's House office lock is being "re-keyed". Meanwhile all the House R's left town split DC. So there will be no reporters seeking comments outside House elevator doors this week. Best make sure you are buckled up when nihilists return.
The Rs can only do pettiness at this point. I just hope that somehow enough sane people will find a new speaker (not Gym and Sheetless KKK) and get on with what is necessary. The Ds as a block and enough Rs could do this and maybe enough Rs are in swing districts to accomplish this. OK, I am being hopeful and probably naive before I have had my first cup of coffee.
McCarthy has long been on my short list of horrible people. He's been around quite a while now, and his snake-like back-stabbing hypocritical behavior has been on full display the whole time. I wish only the worst for him. But even he has his limits, at least momentarily. In a moment of temporary sanity, he decides he will avert a shutdown. But look at what happened - he had made a deal with the devil, and for that act of temporary sanity the devil stabbed him in the back. So good - he got what he deserved. But careful what you wish for. We may very well get Gym Jordan as his replacement. Or maybe Stefanik? Scalise? Makes me want to puke...
PBS News Hour interviewed “moderate” NY R- congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis at length. If that’s moderate, it’s moderate compared to Jim Jordan. She blamed Dems for the fall of Kevin, and her top priorities were “border security” and cutting spending. (Interviewers seem not to be allowed to ask, why not bring in more revenue, even by enforcing current tax laws and making tax cheats pay what they owe?)
Paul Krugman in the NYT explained why MAGAs don’t support Ukraine. It has absolutely nothing to do with money. The public has been encouraged to think 25% of our taxes go to foreign aid, though it’s actually 1%. Ukraine aid is only 5% of our defense spending, and 0.3% of GDP, but 77 billion dollars is a lot of money if no one puts it in context. Projected spending for Halloween is 12 billion dollars.
By no means is it necessary to choose between border security or support to Ukraine. MAGAs just want Putin to win.
"Americans have become fat and lazy and let others make the decisions for them. "
I think it's a security code in our genetic code, more exploitable for some than for others. I think that growing up in an authoritarian family tends to bring it forward.
"Gaetz has a forehead full of Botox."
That explains a lot. It has obviously seeped into his cranium.
Mike S, many of us would benefit from knowing more about the structural weaknesses of American Democracy, aspects of our system that make it vulnerable to the threats we are undergoing. If you read the article in the Washington Post, for which I provided a link and, perhaps, have known, social media, Fox News and other recent tools have made democracy here and in other counties wobble and fall as democracies. I would not lay all the blame as you have on the American people. We are absolutely not alone with our share of bigots, racists, greedy and uninformed citizens.
'It Can Happen Here: 8 Great Books to Read About the Decline of Democracy
It’s among the world’s oldest forms of government, but it’s increasingly under threat. These books consider the sources and effects of an alarming global trend.' (NYTimes, Nov. 4, 2022)
'Autocratic demagogues. The erosion of the rule of law. Growing inequality. The upending of elections. Normalization of violence. These are all symptoms of what the scholar Larry Diamond has called “democratic recession” — and we are seeing them not just in America, but around the world. Over the last 16 years, according to Freedom House, a nonprofit that researches and promotes global democracy, more nations have moved away from democratic principles than strengthened their embrace of them. The list includes the United States. What’s new is that this trend is happening in modern, prosperous, liberal democracies.'
'Here’s a smart starter set of books about how and why democracies deteriorate and how vulnerable we are.'
'How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Crown, 2018'
'The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America, by Timothy Snyder
Tim Duggan Books, 2018'
'Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, by Anne Applebaum'
'How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley
Random House, 2018'
'Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Norton, 2020'
Unfortunately, I could not gift this link. This article and the rest of the books listed are well worth pursuing.
Add: American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America Paperback – 8 January 2008
by Chris Hedges (Author)
Way back in 2008 I read this and have followed since. Chris Hedges saw what we see now, then. If you are looking for where our problem has been percolating, look to those who have forgotten "Never combine church and state again" it is the historic recipe for disaster.
Bruce, we had a fill-in preacher at my Baptist church who started talking about how abortion was a sin and that Biden had allowed 93 million abortions. He went on to rant, Do NOT vote for Biden!! He said if you do, you will be sinning, because abortion Is a sin.
Mike S, the documentary features five survivors and provides a sense of the last year of the war. While moving in terms of the suffering that was inflicted by the Nazi's, in terms of the roots and functions of fascism, you will learn a good deal from the books provided in article, 'Democracy Under Threat' and there are many other excellent books if you wish to learn more.
At my advance age, I grow more misanthropic by the day. Death star represents the worse in humankind as do his minions. The problem is further acerbated by a sense among most people that something is wrong and many of them do not know what it is, so they are easy pickings for those who play on fear. I feel personally that it is climate change as more and more people are being in the midst of very bad weather outcomes. And as we know, in some places home insurance is no longer available. Yet so many refuse to do anything to turn the tide, if at this point it can be turned. My hope is in young people who often display much more sense than adults. And despite people's beliefs, neither God nor money is going to save them.
Thank you, Fern, for your lucid, pugnacious, public-spirited defense of democracy and its subverted institutions.
As you know, I am inclined to see eye-to-eye with Mike S about American belief systems.
Not, of course, an exclusively American disease, but blind, deeply ingrained belief in a whole series of radically incompatible nonsenses, does seem to this outsider to be a special characteristic of American culture.
A consequence of heavy exposure to debased religion.
There is nothing like a compliment that leads what I consider to be an easy blame game -- it's the American people! I make the same recommendation to you that I did to Mike S. Learn more about what is happening to democracies around the world and read a book or two about it. The list of books in the article in the New York Times would be a start, unless you've read one or two of them.
Kathy, that is the exact link that I provided, which was not gifted. Gifted links from The New York Times are very long. Check it out, if you can. Thanks.
I watched President Biden's interview on ProPublica a few days ago, and he talked about the danger democracy faces from the MAGAs. First he discussed the fact that America is the leader of the democratic world, and that other countries follow what we do. So he said that if America's democracy collapses, "Katie bar the door." We are not alone. This horror is raising its head all over the world.
I think we need to be paying attention to a number of things, including rising world population that has well more than doubled in my lifetime. It seems to me obvious (though it seems not for many) that there is an absolute limit to how many times we can double that figure, even with minimum "footprints". It seems to me that climate change is our individual impacts X our numbers.
Too, democracy is always herding cats, which is both liberating and frustrating, even when doing it right. Misappropriating a phrase from G.K. Chesterton, I'd say democracy as not been tried and found wanting, but tried and found difficult. On the surface, a "flawless" "benign" dictator lets you get back to the game.
Thirdly (I'm sure there is more) both our technically complicated society (compared to the early, primarily agrarian US) is both better equipped and harder to reach in the scale and quality of public conversion to prepare an adequately informed electorate, and of course, any tool can be harnessed to empowering or predatory objectives. Allowing the development of media near-monopolies (or ANY near-monopolies) was a really, really bad move. History could not have said it plainer.
Blaming the American People for the current crises we find ourselves in is like getting the answer "everything" from the question "what's wrong?" There is nothing actionable about it. I appreciate your sentiment, but disagree with the hopeless nihilism it produces. 81,000,000 members of our electorate did not vote for this dysfunction. That's a lot to work with. I suspect they may resent being lumped in with the 70 - 75,000,000 who did.
Yes, but we are all responsible, so what matters is awareness of that responsibility and determination to act on it.
At the same time, sharp awareness that both the sane and the sick suffer the consequences of deliberately promoted mass psychosis.
When one lives in a severely polluted environment, full awareness of that reality and its consequences can be delayed until very late in the day. Too late to save many victims.
The reference to psychosis is true, mass psychosis. Many may see what these lies have done to loved ones; nothing less than "elder abuse" and further dementing those prone to lazy habits, as noted above. However, the reference to "sloth" needs clarified, for current views on the animal, are that they are very efficient....
Very true, Steve. But, we are the ones that allowed this to happen. We are the people that allowed the Trumpublicans to get the leadership in the House of Representatives. We barely held onto the Senate majority. So, in essence, we sat on our laurels and existed others to carry the weight, and they failed. They failed because not enough of us, the people, got to the polls in 2022 and voted. This is how we ended up with strongholds of MAGA legislative bodies in numerous states, MAGA governors in the same states, and gerrymandering going amuck in those states. We have a lot of work to do, and no time to be lazy now. The Trumpublicans are going to turn this into a dictatorship and we’ll be under Putin’s thumb if we aren’t careful.
Mike S, what you say about Americans is absolutely true. We have brought this upon ourselves by, for lack of a better word, sloth. And it's not like we haven't had any warning. I have been reading for years dire warnings and comparisons of our trajectory to the fate of the Roman Empire. Well, here we are; drink up!
Holy shit, this is no laughing matter!
‘Vote to oust McCarthy is a warning sign for democracy, scholars say’ (excerpts from WAPO)
‘If you want to know what it looks like when democracy is in trouble, this is what it looks like’
‘The vote reflected the enormous power that a small group of representatives camped on their party’s ideological fringe can wield over an entire institution, said Ziblatt, co-author of the book “Tyranny of the Minority.” ‘It also showcased how difficult it will be for anyone to corral the House in a way that’s functional, with major decisions over the budget and Ukraine funding ahead.’
‘Congress arrived at this point for myriad reasons, all of which build on one another, scholars say: Social media and cable news incentivized politicians to perform for the camera, not for their constituents. Aggressive gerrymandering created deeply partisan districts where representation is decided in primary contests, not general elections. Weakened political parties became captive to their loudest and most extreme members.’
‘Taken together, those factors handed a small number of lawmakers the power to throw one of the three branches of government into disarray and, for now, paralysis.’
‘The 8 Republicans who ousted McCarthy represent a small minority of Americans’
MEMBER DISTRICT DISTRICT LEAN
Tim Burchett TN-02 R+18
Matt Rosendale MT-02 R+16
Ken Buck CO-04 R+13
Matt Gaetz FL-01 R+19
Bob Good VA-05 R+7
Nancy Mace SC-01 R+7
Andy Biggs AZ-05 R+11
Eli Crane AZ-02 R+6
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Cook Political Report
‘As unprecedented as Tuesday’s vote was, this moment is a continuation of a trend in American political culture, said Joseph Postell, a political scientist at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He pointed to the troubled tenures of previous Republican speakers of the House such as John A. Boehner and Paul D. Ryan, both of whom struggled with stiff resistance from their right flank.’
“What McCarthy faced today is another domino in the many dominoes that have fallen over the last decade or so,” Postell said. (WAPO) See gifted link to the article below.
https://wapo.st/46mUmy8
Gulp: "History has shown that government dysfunction can be a prelude to the erasure of democracy altogether, with authoritarianism rising in its place, said Harvard’s Ziblatt.
“What precedes a democratic breakdown is political stalemate and extreme dysfunction where there’s a sense that nothing can get done,” Ziblatt said. “When governments can’t respond in genuine crises, it has a delegitimizing effect, and it reinforces the sense among citizens that we have to resort to other means.”
MaryPat, many of us were complacent, being sure that Hillary Clinton was surely going to win. We were complacent as state after state was gerrymandered.
It’s like car maintenance—if you ignore it long enough, you end up with something that won’t start, much less drive safely.
I hope that we haven’t waited too late to save the engine from seizing up.
I fear we have waited too long. Republicans are entrenched now. Being too afraid to punish republican criminals for the sake of keeping the peace has empowered them.
If I may, it is not too late. Have faith and show strength. Our institutions will continue to hold. Fear is what Trump wants. Vote and support Democrats.
Not too late. The wheels of justice are slowly grinding. I do wish Garland and the DOJ had not taken so long. They did not have the luxury of time.
It will take many elections and eventually we will get the trumpers to follow the rule of law again.
Not an easy fix. Vote Blue from Dogcatcher to President.
Garland was too busy trying not to be political yet the republicans still accuse the DOJ of being political. He should have just gone ahead like Barre and started the wheels turning long ago. No matter what democrats do, it will be wrong. (even though republicans have done it.
I agree with all of this. No sense dragging it out. IMHO waiting just makes it worse.
I have the same fear but we must stay strong and VOTE. We must also get all of our like minded friends and family to VOTE!
I am hoping that the younger generation will come through. I don't think they have been around long enough to be brain washed. Also I think some of the Independents will not like the abortion rulings ( 60% were pro choice). There is hope with the unions since Biden has championed them. Hopefully the workers will realize that if trump lived up to his promises, they would not be on a picket line. I hope they realize that trump has made a mockery of them with his "fake" union rally. That was pathetic.
Lady Justice is finally showing up and the goons are panicking. The goons are such a mess, (which was to be expected) that they can no longer hide behind their propaganda.
Yes, and to this day I feel guilt being broadsided by Trump and the GOP. The signs were there but, but ignored. Went from being woefully ignorant of current events that mattered, to reading reliable news.
Currently reading Heather Richardson's newly released book and can see how we got to this point/how we missed seeing the oncoming train.
Hillary Clinton should never of been on the ballot. We all know that the republicons has eviscerated her reputation along with Billy Boy. But powers at dem party did it anyway. Much of what they did to the Clinton's were lies but??????????????? the damage had been done.
I am sorry, but I disagree about Hillary Clinton. She was the most knowledgeable and qualified person to ever run for president. She won more popular votes than that idiot that moved into our White House. I refuse to look in my rearview mirror and say that "she should never have been on the ballot". We are way past that...or should be.
Another AMEN!!
AMEN! And thank you.
Agree with you Colette about most qualified but she had been victimized for all of the 90's and 2000's some justified and most others not justified. She was an easy target for republiCONS and we all new that and know that lamestreet media is a bunch of billionaire thugs.
WAY past time and also, make Washington D.C. a state so their votes actually count.
I disagree for these reasons. To begin with - some of HRCs loss was a result of the FBI directors needless verbiage re an investigation that the bureau did not want to pursue further. and then we have the uphill battle of a third democrat in a row. Take away Comey's words and she might have won. And she did garner more votes. Not a mean feat.
And let's not forget that we had just had our first Democratic Black President. Then to elect a woman was just a bridge too far.
Comey’s judgement to reveal an ongoing investigation when it was a presidential candidate of one party while not revealing an ongoing investigation of the campaign/candidate of the other party (his party) still angers me with his partisanship. I Hope he’s happy with all the chaos that he helped cause.
Yes, agreed but she was a flawed candidate for the previous 16 years even if not justified. That is what repugs do. Also, I was so mad at dem party for what they did to Bernie Sanders but then they would of ripped him apart too as that is all they know hate and fear.
Don't enjoy being contrary, but the popular vote said otherwise.
That view based on her being a woman? Following that line of logic, Obama shouldn't have been on the ballot.
I would ask you...what did SHE do that made her not fit for ballot???
AND what did HE do that was ignored, even still, as he lunges for the ballot one more time.
20/20 hindsight is fun, isn't it?
Republicans, Murdoch’s, Koch’s, and Putin’s bots would have had a heyday with Bernie if they had thought he had any chance of winning.
So Bill did what? trump has done what ( probably earlier than Clinton.
I always thought we elected officers to represent us. To step up , cite the problem, set in motion the counter active measures needed and act upon it.
40-50% voter participation indicative - part of that complacency.
Most wait til we’re in trouble to get out of their chair?
Gerrymandering illegal , laws not effective, corruptive influence. Not us surely?
Is another large problem that those elected in did NOT meet their promise but colluded with the extremists.
Are the people mentioned in this Letter( the 9 ) forfilling their voters reason for voting them in? We should ask.
Sorta seems like the popular vote doesn’t win... hmmmm
So does money buy the electoral ?
What’s the old saying , get the rotting apples/potatoes out of the barrel before the whole lot is lost.
💙💙VOTE💙💙
I suspect a lot of people were unaware of their legislatures' nefarious actions in redistricting, or that anything at all could be done about it. Interestingly here in Maine, where we have 2 districts, the state capital was in District 1 (quite Blue) until the most recent redistricting; we're now in District 1 (quite red), which helps offset the red rural voters, the effect of which is to give Maine two Dem reps instead of one Dem and one republicant. So there's that; not all redistricting is evil.
Putin is happy
Who's surprised to see Steve Bannon connected to this? And guess who's working with Steve Bannon to burn down everything, leaving a scorched earth path back to the Oval Office in 2024?
Not surprised at all. Bannon is scum, and always has been. Ask his ex-wife.
Wasn't he convicted of something ? and still walks the streets. Our system does need an overhaul.
Trump pardoned him after he was convicted of embezzling millions out of a private fund meant for building Trump's wall.
Thanks Marycat
Believe he was convicted of not answering the Jan. 6 call to testify. It is on appeal.
I guess then that money talks when you have it and you can delay, delay delay. No Justice. Our system is BROKEN
"Putin is happy..."
...with his tight little band of 5th columnist saboteurs... who may yet achieve for him all that his sprawling armed forces cannot.
Yes.
Sure as s—t is🥴
This could very well be "Profile-in-Courage" time: a small group of Republicans can come together to join the Congressional Democrats to elect Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House. Otherwise the nation is faced with a catastrophe, with Steve Bannon getting his wish to destroy the administrative state.
A moderate Republican as House Speaker would, I believe, the best course in getting necessary legislation passed, the government working and reducing the power of radical right wing politicians, MAGAs and the former president.
I agree, if one should step forward and if the Republicans could support such a candidate and behave rationally, but that is a tall order. At lunch, after golf, today I had a discussion with three Republicans. They cannot discuss even rational matters such as government spending and the deficits. For example, though the Republicans controlled Congress and the White House during Trump's term in office, the national debt soared to $8.2 trillion more in four short years. But, the Democrats were to blame for that. They are completely controlled by confirmation bias. There is no objectivity there. We can't reason with them. We simply must beat them at the polls.
The image of four white American male golf players at lunch having a discussion about legislative options for the House of Representatives, prompted the desire to be a documentarian with crew being the fly on the wall.
Jefferies will need the skill. along with a few of the Republican representatives in districts that Biden won and at least a several more moderate Republicans to attract enough others that together come up with a Republican candidate for House Speaker who has a chance of taking it. Most of the Republicans in the House would like to see the end of Trump and the right-radical fringe. It may seem like threading the needle, but it's the way to some light; right now the House is paralyzed and the Republicans in it look worse than ever.
With promises to stick to action on issues where they can reach bipartisan consensus. This would show that centrist governing can work and serve the people. We should not underestimate the vilification and demonizing that is done by making “the left” the enemy. Jeffries could show that we’re not. And focus on what helps the majority of people.
Naive perhaps. But prefer to be optimistic
And he could give Nancy Pelosi back her office. Really, how petty can you get?
Lynn, why petty? Even if I were a conservative Republican, I don’t think that I would want an avowed racist who’s proud of the fact (Scalise) or a guy (Jordan) who admires Erdogan/Putin and vows to table any bill to provide aid to Ukraine to disuade Putin from attacking a neighboring NATO country. To me, preventing both of those persons from controlling what financial bills are advanced is crucial.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand your comment. The temporary speaker's first action was to evict Pelosi from her so-called hideaway office in the Capitol. While she was in California for Senator Feinstein's funeral. That is petty.
Lynn, it appears that I misinterpreted your remark, thinking that you had called Richard petty. I apologize.
In the absence of a functioning House, the mechanisms of the Constitution no longer function. I don’t believe any Federalist Paper addressed such a situation or even imagined that 8 extremists could disrupt their Chessboard of checks and balances
President Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus, might President Biden declare a national emergency and simply declare previous funding levels be maintained while the House gets its act in gear (or when sane voters elect sane Representatives)?
Maybe - but in Federalist #70 one of Hamilton's arguments in favor of a strong presidency was that the Congress would be slow and "deliberative." Clearly he was kindly taking a jab at the chaos and demonstrated lack of action that arose when the Continental Congress's seemed unable to act when action was sorely needed, and at the current convention which was in a state of chaotic disagreement much of the time.
It may be hard to see and appreciate, but this chaos among the R's could very well end up being a kind of creative destruction. People like Matt G and MTG are nothing if not entertaining fools. Years from now people will be having lots of fun at their expense. Imagine a play with the title "Gaetz Smart."
Good idea, Dave. In times of war the President has this right. While we may not be shooting up the Streets right now, this is pretty damned close to war.
All this is true but I want to add another issue that should not be forgotten--just about all our goods and services are for profit and subject to the speculative markets. Corporations not legislators are controlling just about everything. They have bought everything including the legislators. And the Supreme Court put the cherry on top with Citizens United. If corporate power wants the Republican Party to get its act together it will happen tomorrow. I think in fact the people who are helping direct the wealth of this country into a few pockets are happy with a dis-functioning government. The largest too big to fail corporations have no special allegiance to one particular country. They don’t want to pay taxes to help the country and its citizens. We have ceded control of life essentials to profit makers. Is our government even relevant anymore? We stopped taking care of people and turned to taking care of profit long ago. Just saying I am wondering what big profits may be being made off this turmoil.
Checks and balances?
Goodbye, House of Representative and the Supreme Court with Trump leading the charge to dictatorship! We have more than a nightmare in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. UNITED STATES?!
Fern, the power of leveraging propaganda and American belief systems is clearly on display. I just heard on NPR yesterday that 53% of Americans "trust" the Republican party to better handle the "economy".
Given the mess that Republicans made of the economy (just more cutting taxes on wealthy corporations) during the Pandemic and the mess that 8 years of Republican policy made in 2007 and 2008, and the failure of Reagan's "trickle down", and the loss of the middle class due to Republican policy and Republican support for offshoring and outsourcing, starting with Jack Wlech, AND how well the Democrats have handled the economy in the last 2.5 years I am "aghast" to use a word none of my kids or their friends use.
I am left with this echo in my head: The Problem with America is Americans. I know you are not a big fan of that phrase, but, to me it rings true.
Yep. Americans are now their own worst enemy. Ignorance combined with overly developed belief systems combined with underdeveloped critical thinking capacity and a (strong) preference for propaganda (Fox News) AND a willingness to spend large amounts of "free time" drinking beer, watching football, watching survivor on TV, tailgating, and generally pursuing lazy habits ........
........has now produced Matt Gaetz and Ted Cruz: Men my wife says are the ugliest two men she has ever heard or seen (ugly in every way, says she).
Whew! I was worried when she started that "The ugliest men are" sentence yesterday!!
Good morning to you Fern.
Ugly is perfect. Perfect. Steve Bannon, Trump, Cruz.. just revolting. Self-loathing governs this hoary cult. Racism is their odor, Putinism is their creed and methodology, sexual dysfunction oozes from their every pore, this is a sick bunch of Black and Jew hating ugly males backed by 70 million American racists that hate the memory of Abraham Lincoln. These are Confederate soldiers of yore, they’re fighting the Civil War and seek revenge for the Reformation - they are still hanging the slave over the fire and celebrating the worst of our history. The GOP House reflects who we are. Trump is the wet dream of Bannon racists. Planet Earth is the scene of the crime. Vladimir Putin plays Trump like a three string busted 🪕 banjo. Our embedded racism allows Musk to destroy our cultural commitment and Ukraine. Antisemitism rules as Musk blames the ADL for X going down.
Most MSM blatantly ignores our national intolerance, our innate racism, our exploding antisemitism, Black hatred in the GOP - and the Trump Bannon Putin Orban Gaetz white supremacy cult that wants to bring down our democracy and our Republic.
Ukraine is the hot deadly battleground for decency and democracy, and WW III, Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan will let Ukraine and Europe fall .. as ugly Steve Bannon smiles.
Fascism Rules the GOP of today, President Biden says all the best things, and FOX News ignores Biden and pumps Trump’s line.
The Book of Job never gets old. Our national political playground is ruled by God and the Devil for all to see. Man is tested day and night. Our children are threatened by this mess. Deep down they feel it. Most are numb.
Warming and Don’t Look Up and death of the smallest living things in our universe and our personal microbiome threaten all life. The metaphors are everywhere.
The People Shall Choose - vote, America.
Vote.
A republic if we can keep it.
Ben Franklin saw it all.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, save us, please. 🙏
Save us from ourselves.
Self loathing is spot-on. Last night I was watching a program about serial killers, and the shrink who was providing commentary explained how the contempt killers display towards their victims comes from their own deep lack of self esteem. These men, like Trump et al, are destructive people who feel a weird kind of comfort in being able to harm others. Decades of complacency, the deterioration of our educational system and the middle class have created a society that eschews politics in favor of entertainment.
Television and it's ilk is the real opioid of the masses. I watch too, but selectively. I gave up on TV "news" and commercial TV during Bush II's Iraq war. Somehow modern TV debates seem more like gameshows than presentation of of a credible "business plan" worthy of Lincoln-Douglas; and it's not that the world is any simpler, just that TV tends to the superficial.
In the end, it is we who steer the ship of state through the icebergs. Asleep at the wheel almost guarantees a bumpy ride at best, and complete disaster at worst. Our current trajectory is alarming.
If only…. Jym Jordan or Steve Scalise would surely finish the job
I call him "Gym Jordan". The maps in Ohio are SO gerrymandered that his district actually looks like a salamander...if they don't redraw them we may be stuck with his ugly face and personality forever!
Amen, SB, Amen.
That about says it all! God help us!
Ugly is more than skin deep, really never just appearance. Habitual malice does seem to show for a lot of demagogues, though not always. It's mostly in the "body language" they express, such as the anal-oid Trumpian mouth.
I could not agree with you morel Americans have become fat and lazy and let others make the decisions for them. My sister says Gaetz has a forehead full of Botox. Ugly in every way. I’m glad the democrats didn’t bail out McCarthy. He is an unprincipled feckless self interest self absorbed fool. This never happened under Speaker Pelosi’s watch!
Pelosi reports the Temporary House 'leader' has evicted her from her House office space, (H-132). Per the Twit Temporary, Pelosi's House office lock is being "re-keyed". Meanwhile all the House R's left town split DC. So there will be no reporters seeking comments outside House elevator doors this week. Best make sure you are buckled up when nihilists return.
The Rs can only do pettiness at this point. I just hope that somehow enough sane people will find a new speaker (not Gym and Sheetless KKK) and get on with what is necessary. The Ds as a block and enough Rs could do this and maybe enough Rs are in swing districts to accomplish this. OK, I am being hopeful and probably naive before I have had my first cup of coffee.
McCarthy has long been on my short list of horrible people. He's been around quite a while now, and his snake-like back-stabbing hypocritical behavior has been on full display the whole time. I wish only the worst for him. But even he has his limits, at least momentarily. In a moment of temporary sanity, he decides he will avert a shutdown. But look at what happened - he had made a deal with the devil, and for that act of temporary sanity the devil stabbed him in the back. So good - he got what he deserved. But careful what you wish for. We may very well get Gym Jordan as his replacement. Or maybe Stefanik? Scalise? Makes me want to puke...
PBS News Hour interviewed “moderate” NY R- congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis at length. If that’s moderate, it’s moderate compared to Jim Jordan. She blamed Dems for the fall of Kevin, and her top priorities were “border security” and cutting spending. (Interviewers seem not to be allowed to ask, why not bring in more revenue, even by enforcing current tax laws and making tax cheats pay what they owe?)
Paul Krugman in the NYT explained why MAGAs don’t support Ukraine. It has absolutely nothing to do with money. The public has been encouraged to think 25% of our taxes go to foreign aid, though it’s actually 1%. Ukraine aid is only 5% of our defense spending, and 0.3% of GDP, but 77 billion dollars is a lot of money if no one puts it in context. Projected spending for Halloween is 12 billion dollars.
By no means is it necessary to choose between border security or support to Ukraine. MAGAs just want Putin to win.
I think any of those are terrible and much worse if possible than Keystone. I have made much use of the puke emoji.
Republicans vary in degree of vile.
"Americans have become fat and lazy and let others make the decisions for them. "
I think it's a security code in our genetic code, more exploitable for some than for others. I think that growing up in an authoritarian family tends to bring it forward.
"Gaetz has a forehead full of Botox."
That explains a lot. It has obviously seeped into his cranium.
Mike S, many of us would benefit from knowing more about the structural weaknesses of American Democracy, aspects of our system that make it vulnerable to the threats we are undergoing. If you read the article in the Washington Post, for which I provided a link and, perhaps, have known, social media, Fox News and other recent tools have made democracy here and in other counties wobble and fall as democracies. I would not lay all the blame as you have on the American people. We are absolutely not alone with our share of bigots, racists, greedy and uninformed citizens.
'It Can Happen Here: 8 Great Books to Read About the Decline of Democracy
It’s among the world’s oldest forms of government, but it’s increasingly under threat. These books consider the sources and effects of an alarming global trend.' (NYTimes, Nov. 4, 2022)
'Autocratic demagogues. The erosion of the rule of law. Growing inequality. The upending of elections. Normalization of violence. These are all symptoms of what the scholar Larry Diamond has called “democratic recession” — and we are seeing them not just in America, but around the world. Over the last 16 years, according to Freedom House, a nonprofit that researches and promotes global democracy, more nations have moved away from democratic principles than strengthened their embrace of them. The list includes the United States. What’s new is that this trend is happening in modern, prosperous, liberal democracies.'
'Here’s a smart starter set of books about how and why democracies deteriorate and how vulnerable we are.'
'How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
Crown, 2018'
'The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America, by Timothy Snyder
Tim Duggan Books, 2018'
'Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, by Anne Applebaum'
'How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley
Random House, 2018'
'Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, by Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Norton, 2020'
Unfortunately, I could not gift this link. This article and the rest of the books listed are well worth pursuing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/02/books/review/books-on-democracy-under-threat.html
Add: American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America Paperback – 8 January 2008
by Chris Hedges (Author)
Way back in 2008 I read this and have followed since. Chris Hedges saw what we see now, then. If you are looking for where our problem has been percolating, look to those who have forgotten "Never combine church and state again" it is the historic recipe for disaster.
Bruce, we had a fill-in preacher at my Baptist church who started talking about how abortion was a sin and that Biden had allowed 93 million abortions. He went on to rant, Do NOT vote for Biden!! He said if you do, you will be sinning, because abortion Is a sin.
I could not believe it! Sickening.
Thank you Fern.
Thank you, Lynn Sanguedolce, for your attention to democracy as well as our need to share and work together. Salud!
Many thanks Fern. I will take a look at the references.
As for leaning to Fascism, I recommend you guys watch "The Last Days" on Netflix although I am not sure it is still there.
Take note: Fascism can turn ANYONE into one of the "survivors". Or, not.
That documentary will NOT make you a fan of fascism. Unfortunately, it may not make you much of a fan of the human race either. To say the least.
Mike S, the documentary features five survivors and provides a sense of the last year of the war. While moving in terms of the suffering that was inflicted by the Nazi's, in terms of the roots and functions of fascism, you will learn a good deal from the books provided in article, 'Democracy Under Threat' and there are many other excellent books if you wish to learn more.
At my advance age, I grow more misanthropic by the day. Death star represents the worse in humankind as do his minions. The problem is further acerbated by a sense among most people that something is wrong and many of them do not know what it is, so they are easy pickings for those who play on fear. I feel personally that it is climate change as more and more people are being in the midst of very bad weather outcomes. And as we know, in some places home insurance is no longer available. Yet so many refuse to do anything to turn the tide, if at this point it can be turned. My hope is in young people who often display much more sense than adults. And despite people's beliefs, neither God nor money is going to save them.
Thank you, Fern, for your lucid, pugnacious, public-spirited defense of democracy and its subverted institutions.
As you know, I am inclined to see eye-to-eye with Mike S about American belief systems.
Not, of course, an exclusively American disease, but blind, deeply ingrained belief in a whole series of radically incompatible nonsenses, does seem to this outsider to be a special characteristic of American culture.
A consequence of heavy exposure to debased religion.
There is nothing like a compliment that leads what I consider to be an easy blame game -- it's the American people! I make the same recommendation to you that I did to Mike S. Learn more about what is happening to democracies around the world and read a book or two about it. The list of books in the article in the New York Times would be a start, unless you've read one or two of them.
I have several of those books. We need one on how democracies Survive Fascist Onslaughts!
link to: BOOKS ON DEMOCRACY UNDER THREAT
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/02/books/review/books-on-democracy-under-threat.html?
Gifted link
Kathy, that is the exact link that I provided, which was not gifted. Gifted links from The New York Times are very long. Check it out, if you can. Thanks.
All,
I would add Dr. Richardson's new book that I am reading right now.
Democracy Awakening......
Kathy.
Got it and thank you.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/02/books/review/books-on-democracy-under-threat.html?unlocked_article_code=o-kMsiYzl4zNXRU_fEItv9jZErpuMh0kk9Y6d3Frz-lCgorl3jwmaBgTEqZLU0nw8ObDdQJlHT-LAjTXOdi_3hCq4X_NBRrScMIgHVLBdfHX3VeY0Qi_QY7gLUwsxV1Qrx_09cWWYXLGlqYEzzsBVY0F2wDrcuhdwPFb04kdfwPjKClaS4NZ9SqKBSu9VmvPQogvK-RDedNqHuGBgpXGwjTwR377gXtnlf_5wBU0Taegyp9-sVxw9xiHfwStdJnbiS3lUWXUaioZY19czH1GSRKrd0BUf0cJgSHX9NKlhqrjweoSetUJlByP8j92HTHnJjuUYSo31FUcicz8d3S8AONBQ9YxhaLrJJGNpo-n&smid=url-share
I watched President Biden's interview on ProPublica a few days ago, and he talked about the danger democracy faces from the MAGAs. First he discussed the fact that America is the leader of the democratic world, and that other countries follow what we do. So he said that if America's democracy collapses, "Katie bar the door." We are not alone. This horror is raising its head all over the world.
Thanks so much for this list of books. I have heard all of these authors speak on MSNBC ( or most of them) but not read their books.
Fern, thank you for sharing this list.
I think we need to be paying attention to a number of things, including rising world population that has well more than doubled in my lifetime. It seems to me obvious (though it seems not for many) that there is an absolute limit to how many times we can double that figure, even with minimum "footprints". It seems to me that climate change is our individual impacts X our numbers.
Too, democracy is always herding cats, which is both liberating and frustrating, even when doing it right. Misappropriating a phrase from G.K. Chesterton, I'd say democracy as not been tried and found wanting, but tried and found difficult. On the surface, a "flawless" "benign" dictator lets you get back to the game.
Thirdly (I'm sure there is more) both our technically complicated society (compared to the early, primarily agrarian US) is both better equipped and harder to reach in the scale and quality of public conversion to prepare an adequately informed electorate, and of course, any tool can be harnessed to empowering or predatory objectives. Allowing the development of media near-monopolies (or ANY near-monopolies) was a really, really bad move. History could not have said it plainer.
I appreciate your long view, J L. It is much calmer than being absorbed with current affairs. Are you in the long view state of mind?
Blaming the American People for the current crises we find ourselves in is like getting the answer "everything" from the question "what's wrong?" There is nothing actionable about it. I appreciate your sentiment, but disagree with the hopeless nihilism it produces. 81,000,000 members of our electorate did not vote for this dysfunction. That's a lot to work with. I suspect they may resent being lumped in with the 70 - 75,000,000 who did.
Yes, but we are all responsible, so what matters is awareness of that responsibility and determination to act on it.
At the same time, sharp awareness that both the sane and the sick suffer the consequences of deliberately promoted mass psychosis.
When one lives in a severely polluted environment, full awareness of that reality and its consequences can be delayed until very late in the day. Too late to save many victims.
The reference to psychosis is true, mass psychosis. Many may see what these lies have done to loved ones; nothing less than "elder abuse" and further dementing those prone to lazy habits, as noted above. However, the reference to "sloth" needs clarified, for current views on the animal, are that they are very efficient....
Very true, Steve. But, we are the ones that allowed this to happen. We are the people that allowed the Trumpublicans to get the leadership in the House of Representatives. We barely held onto the Senate majority. So, in essence, we sat on our laurels and existed others to carry the weight, and they failed. They failed because not enough of us, the people, got to the polls in 2022 and voted. This is how we ended up with strongholds of MAGA legislative bodies in numerous states, MAGA governors in the same states, and gerrymandering going amuck in those states. We have a lot of work to do, and no time to be lazy now. The Trumpublicans are going to turn this into a dictatorship and we’ll be under Putin’s thumb if we aren’t careful.
Mike S, what you say about Americans is absolutely true. We have brought this upon ourselves by, for lack of a better word, sloth. And it's not like we haven't had any warning. I have been reading for years dire warnings and comparisons of our trajectory to the fate of the Roman Empire. Well, here we are; drink up!
Absolutely, positively. This comment aligns with my beliefs more than anything I've ever read on here.