As a politician, he’s the logical outcome of the 40 years of greed, bigotry, bad faith, and antipathy toward democracy that’s characterised the modern Republican party. In some ways he’s the culmination of those tendencies, as it’s hard to imagine someone who embodies all of them as cartoonishly as he does.
22 Likes
13 Likes
I notice how in the description of being a journalist in Turkey during a transition to authoritarianism, the author doesn’t mention anything about having pushed back against it. In fact, I’d be quite surprised if they weren’t writing vapid centrist pieces in Turkey 15 years ago telling people to calm down and stop over-reacting to the rising fascism
Of course it can happen here if we don’t collectively work to stop it
22 Likes
When we were at school and studied the United States, teachers said that despite having a political system with two different parties, the result was more or less the same. Of course there were differences, they said, but in the big picture, the scenario was the same. But it seems that this gentlemanly agreement was gradually broken and today it no longer exists, at least that’s what it seems to us here south of the Rio Grande.
15 Likes
There is a particular rhythm and process to dismantling a democracy, a kind of incubation period for despotism: There are laws to change, institutions to dismantle, alliances to build. With a concerted effort by Trump, the incubation period could be squeezed into eight more consecutive years, but not four.
FFS, the Trump movement has already spent the last eight consecutive years doing those things. It’s not like all the MAGA folks have been staying home twiddling their thumbs since Biden was elected.
15 Likes
I have to admit there are a couple parallels between Trump and Caesar though. Both killed people to further their ambitions. Both spent time making sure their hair looked a particular way. Both had a book published listing them as the author. Both had never run a successful casino. Both could not speak coherent English. Both got stabbed 23 tim–oops, no, I think that one’s just wishful thinking on my part.
25 Likes
[cough]
16 Likes
Come on, Duke. That is very plainly Augustus Caesar.
15 Likes
Technically, yes. Metaphorically, is one allowed to say one hopes not, here?
6 Likes
It took about two years in his first administration to realize that there were many people willing to work for him that weren’t willing to commit crimes on his behalf. This time he will start out with a cabinet willing to commit murder and any other crime he wants them too. When you combine that with a plan to enable him to legally sack and replace anybody in the civil service that is insufficiently loyal or resists his criminal impulses, it will be very difficult to rely on the “guardrails.” When you combine that with a few impeachments of any federal judges that get in his way, a second Trump maladminstration could be very dark.
10 Likes
And that’s why we call him the Orange Julius.
2 Likes
With a concerted effort by Trump, the incubation period could be squeezed into eight more consecutive years, but not four.
It would be best not to test that idea. Just look at the damage he did through sheer stupidity during his first term. Imagine what he & the 2025 Project could do with a concerted effort.
9 Likes
It’s crazy to still be taking the position that Trump will be stymied. We saw how close he got last time, and that he was willing to outright break laws. We know he’s figured out what stymied him last time, and he’s prepared to not make the same mistakes. More than that, he’s already had 8 years of the right preparing for this, having been taken by surprise by the 2016 results. (No one, not even Trump, was prepared for him to take office then.) When he says he’ll be a dictator on day one, it’s not an empty threat.
When the pieces are in place, which they are now, it can happen a lot faster than anyone expects. Hitler was appointed chancellor, ended civil liberties and started concentration camps within a period of two months. Two freaking months. Don’t tell me Trump can’t do real damage in four years.
Yeah, the speed with which the Republican party became the Trump party really shows how non-anomalous Trump was. They eased right into it.
8 Likes
Also, where is this just four years nonsense coming from? Trump wouldn’t need to completely dismantle democracy in one term, all he’d need to do is repeal term limits and rig one election to keep going.
12 Likes
Guardrails? Anything opposes him will be used as fuel/example for his murderous regime. He will call himself ***** the first, and the year will start as 1 AT.
I was being hyperbole but it feels like too close for comfort.
5 Likes
And yet some people seems to hate him.
5 Likes
I’ll be honest, I’m really a lot more concerned about the terrifying parallels between Trump and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power.
16 Likes
Trump certainly managed to alienate a particular wing of the Republican party, who had previously been providing the candidates that became president, but that wing had been declining in power. Though frankly even the Republicans that directly paved the way for Trump didn’t necessarily like him, just because he’s so uncouth and stupid, not because he’s a fascist.
5 Likes
Remember that stunt that Comcast/NBC just pulled?
Judge Cannon, anyone?
Ever hear of a Junta?
Houston is blue.
This didn’t stop Czar Abbott from appointing a toady to take over the Houston School District & ‘temporarily’ oust the voter approved school board; replacing them with ‘unpaid volunteers’.
He is hell bent on destroying public education in Texas and setting up a de facto theocracy. And he has the backing of billiionaires to do so.
If Lord Dampnut wins the election, I can see him demanding to be installed into office immediately, Or Else.
If Lord Dampnut wins the election I don’t see Uncle Joe declareing martial law & locking up the whole damned lot including CongressCritters, financiers, and other enablers.
They aren’t a ‘cancer’ upon the Body Politic. They are gangrene.
8 Likes
THAT is the more apt comparison, in fact…
9 Likes
