Karl Rove Told Us the Plan
Karl Rove brazenly told us in W's admin that there would be a
permanent
Republican Party in charge. That's not democracy. That's a plot -
decades old even then - to overthrow democracy. If we are to restore
our democracy and make it work for ALL of us, we can't be complacent.
Koch Brothers’ & Friends’ Plot: Dysfunction IS the Point
The Koch brothers (radical libertarians) and their
network of self-serving non-profits and friends have for 40+ years
bought government and the courts to work for them, not us. Jane Mayer’s
book
Dark Money details
their anti-government plot to destroy just about all government
institutions as part of laissez-faire capitalism — unfettered, no
regulations, privatization of most everything. Mayer also explains why
even modest attempts to address climate change, for example, have been
defeated again and again.
In the article
“Misinforming the Majority: A Deliberate Strategy of Right-Wing Libertarians,” Nancy MacLean author of
Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America states,
It was [James McGill] Buchanan who taught Koch that for capitalism to thrive, democracy must be enchained.
“Enchaining” democracy is a euphemism for “overthrow.”
Democracy means power of the people. When the rich’s power exceeds
that of the people, democracy can’t survive. It becomes the illusion of
democracy.
The modern plot, however, didn’t start with the Koch brothers.
Republicans have been trying to undo the New Deal and the Great Society
since the 1930s and the 1960s, respectively. This great article
“The Architect of the Radical Right” details how far back we can take this modern plot.
Not only that, but what these radicals want may surprise most people. For example,
What we think of as dysfunction is the result of years of strategic effort.
and
To see all this as simple obstructionism, perversity for its
own sake, is a mistake. A cause lies behind it: upholding the sanctity
of an ideology against the sins of the majority. This is what drives
House Republicans to scale back social programs.
This architect article mentions a blank slate and Chile. Naomi Klein details this and how Republicans have been using what she calls
"The Shock Doctrine"
in her book by the same name. Using crises, like the COVID-19
pandemic, Republicans push pro-corporate, unpopular policies, undoing
the safety net, while people are shocked, overwhelmed, confused,
exhausted, etc. Sound familiar?
Rorty & Trump
In 1998, Richard Rorty wrote a must-read book
Achieving Our Country
and predicted we'd get a Trump because we'd be spectators to democracy —
no vision for ALL and no will to fight for it. He explained how it
would happen & he was right.
By fighting for this vision, he envisioned marches and protests
similar to that of the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam. Without a
critical mass of people making an outcry in this manner, democracy won’t
survive. Sufficient numbers of people must be engaged and working
toward the betterment of ALL because greedy people wanting everyone
else’s share of the pie will always exist. Democracy must be protected.
As for the Republican plan of dysfunction and obstruction, it worked great for them, as Rorty warned in 1998:
[M]embers of labor unions, and unorganized unskilled workers,
will sooner or later realize that their government is not even trying to
prevent wages from sinking or to prevent jobs from being exported.
Around the same time, they will realize that suburban white-collar
workers — themselves desperately afraid of being downsized — are not
going to let themselves be taxed to provide social benefits for anyone
else.
At that point, something will crack. The nonsuburban electorate
will decide that the system has failed and start looking around for a
strongman to vote for — someone willing to assure them that, once he is
elected, the smug bureaucrats, tricky lawyers, overpaid bond salesmen,
and postmodernist professors will no longer be calling the shots. …
Rorty was right, too, about the possibility that all the gains made
by people of color and homosexuals would be wiped out. Also, he said
“jocular contempt for women will come back into fashion.”
How could Rorty have predicted this? There are patterns in history
and human behavior, including with the decline and fall of democracies,
for example. Based on the conditions that bring about the fall, we’ve
been headed for authoritarianism for decades before Rorty wrote his
prediction. We should be teaching the warning signs and patterns of
history to avoid this.
These conditions are why Mitch McConnell and the Republicans blocked
Obama at every turn and wanted to slow economic recovery, intentionally
hurting Americans. Republicans would have done it to any Democrat.
However, of course, they were super motived due to their racist fears
and hatred, wanting to maintain white supremacy. Republicans knew if
enough people didn't see positive changes, they'd vote for change one
way or another. As of March 2020,
many counties across the US still hadn't recovered from the 2008 recession.
Obscene Wealth Inequality Destabilizes Democracy
Therefore, Trump is just a symptom of decades of problems, and
systemic racism is at the heart of this. Massive inequality
destabilizes democracies and so does a propaganda machine, like we see
on the right. Because they create an alternate reality. This is what
Hitler did, folks. It’s a classic Authoritarian 101 requirement.
Democracy can’t survive with mass inequality or the propaganda machine.
We are seeing the hidden costs of all of this and paying dearly,
especially communities of color.
Check out this CBS morning video, using a real pumpkin pie, how many slices of the 10 the top bracket gets. Take a guess...
According to this second video, 2/3 of wealth is owned by the
top 5% and 38+ million Americans live in poverty. In the first 3 months
of the pandemic, net worth of 600 billionaires rose 20%. This isn't
sustainable for a democracy. (Note the one guy is from American
Enterprise Institute = Koch funded)
While getting rid of Trump is just a first step, it won't solve these other problems. Without
massive reforms (
big structural changes ASAP), we are kicking the can down the road — democracy will die.
How Someone Like Hitler Rises
Have you ever wondered how the German people and media could allow Hitler to rise to power?
We are watching it here. We, like Nazi Germany, have extreme white
nationalism (“Make America Great Again”), aggrieved population,
polarization, concentration camps, genocide (pandemic), mass
sterilizations, a state-sponsored propaganda machine (spewing bigotry
and an alternate reality), death cult, leader viewed by Christians as
the “Chosen One” who is also a malignant narcissist. Both Trump and
Hitler are malignant narcissists = sadistic, paranoid, vindictive,
aggressive, narcissistic
psychopaths. These are all conditions from Nazi Germany.
Trump, who studied Hitler’s speeches, has been using Hitler's playbook since before 2016.
This was my response to a psychologist,
who obviously hadn't studied authoritarians & Hitler, saying Trump
was unique. No, he's not unique. He's part of a pattern in history.
Fascism Is Here
We have one other thing that parallels the rise of Hitler.
These libertarian and many other oligarchs are anti-government,
except for themselves. They have massive wealth = power. The rest of
us have to fend for ourselves. These oligarchs, heads of big
businesses, are tightly married with government. Just look where most
of the pandemic bailout money is going.
Coupled with Trump’s nationalism, this is fascism.
While fascism takes different forms in different countries
because it is coupled with that country’s nationalistic rhetoric,
fascism — according to
Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America and other experts — boils down to:
Fascism = Government + Big Business (where government and big business are tightly coupled)
Another way to put this is documented in the book
Fascism in Action,
which is a study and analysis of fascism in Europe during WWII. It
concluded that fascism was a political system that combined extreme
nationalism and monopolistic power — a “dictatorship of big business.”
Fascism = extreme nationalism + “dictatorship of big business”
Warning from Supreme Court Bar Judge: Loss of Rights
This Supreme Court Bar judge
resigned in protest earlier this year and issued this warning in his
resignation letter to Chief Justice John Roberts of what is coming.
Just to put this in context, Trump is catering to the white
Christian fundamentalists (evangelicals) + far-right Catholics. I spoke
to an expert last year about them. His term: “Christian ISIS.” They
want to turn this country and world into a
Christian theocracy with THEIR brand of Christianity.
Their goal is to take over ALL world institutions and await for the
rapture. (I’ve been watching them for about 15+ years with growing
alarm.) Check out
“Rick Perry’s Army of God.”
Therefore, based on listening to them wanting to take the
country back to before the New Deal and earlier, this shouldn’t come as a
surprise.
It is clear to me that your Court is willfully hurtling back to the cruel days of Lochner and even Plessy. The
only constitutional freedoms ultimately recognized may soon be limited
to those useful to wealthy, Republican, White, straight, Christian, and
armed males— and the corporations they control. This is wrong. Period.
This is not America.
We are actually back at the founding of the country in some
apparent ways. Folks, because we haven’t stood up for everyone, just
about everyone may lose freedom and worse. And because we haven’t come
to terms with America’s original sins of genocide and slavery
(MORAL FAILURE), this
(as a pattern of history) sets us up for
MORE genocide. We are well on the way to genocide on a massive scale.
Trump’s REAL Plan Via Steve Bannon
Here’s a great article from authoritarianism expert Sarah Kendzior telling us in November 2016 that we were
heading into dark times. She talked about Trump's REAL plan, which is echoed by Steve Bannon.
“I’m a Leninist,” Bannon proudly proclaimed... “Lenin,” he answered,
“wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring
everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.”
Bannon, by the way, is a far-right Catholic, just like several other zealots (like Barr) at the top of the government.
Who’s behind this?
The Mercer/Koch/DeVos billionaire government coup has stuck
these raving lunatics everywhere... People keep looking to these
operatives to instil order and sanity, but that’s like entrusting the
chickens to the foxes.
This Is How a Society Dies & Authoritarians Take Over
Umair Haque has written many great articles, having experienced the horrors, himself, of authoritarianism. As his article
”This is How a Society Dies”
says, we are on the brink of collapse. “America and Britain are
Textbook Examples of a New, Gruesome Phenomeon: Rich Nations
Self-Destructing Into Poor Failed States.”
The U.S. has stagnated for 50 years because the ruling class has been concerned more about money and power than uplifting ALL.
Anglo-American societies aren’t really democracies in any sensible
meaning of the word anymore. They’re run by and for a class of elites,
who could care less, literally, whether the average person lives or
dies. In America, that class is a bizarre coterie of Ivy Leaguers
pretending to be aw-shucks-good-ole-boys on the one side, like Ted Cruz,
and Ivy Leaguers pretending to be do-gooders on the other, like Zuck
and Silicon Valley.
Again we see how the people’s needs are ignored, like Rorty predicted
would be the case, resulting in the takeover by an authoritarian. It’s
classic Authoritarianism 101.
Haque talked about other factors such as arrogance, selfishness (many
Republicans follow Ayn Rand’s selfishness philosophy), stupidity, and
ignorance of the elites. That’s in addition to the naked power-grab by
the Republicans to install a dictatorship. Couple this with Rorty’s
concern that most Democrats would be spectators to democracy, leaving
people behind, and it’s not hard to see how we got here.
Anyway, without a major intervention of
big, structural changes,
we are watching how a failed state collapses. When that happens, many
people die. It's the overthrow of democracy Republicans wanted.
Here’s a great
article detailing how authoritarians seize control. It’s not just happening here. Alfons López Tena details how and why this is happening, especially in Catalonia. Notice the similarities to Trump and his base.
Voting Is NOT Enough
Many people are waiting for a "savior" to swoop in, not
realizing the "savior" is us. Since democracy only works when a
critical mass of people are engaged and working toward the betterment of
ALL, we ALL need to vote. (In 2016 over 100 million people stayed
home.) However, the election, itself, will not be the "savior.” Voting
is NOT enough.
Part of the Republican plot is to keep people mired in debt,
overwhelmed, confused, ignorant, exhausted. In survival mode. And
there are many millions of people who are barely surviving and without
healthcare. The Republicans love this because people trying to survive
can't fight the system easily, can’t pay attention to politics, can’t
vote if they don’t have an address, etc.
Therefore, those who can fight MUST do so. We MUST fight for
everyone’s rights and the betterment of
ALL.
This is a righteous fight. It’s our last chance for a democracy, and
that’s not hyperbole. Hitler imprisoned and murdered people who opposed
Nazi ideology or who weren’t useful to them. And the Nazis had
slaves. Does anyone really think
Barr (who is a Christian zealot wanting a Holy War against us) is going to be kind to the opposition?
If Trump wins the election, he will complete his consolidation
of power, like Hitler did in 1933. If Biden doesn’t win by a landslide,
expect this to get VERY ugly.
Before, During & After Election
Therefore, don’t wait for the election. We must ALL do what we can, if we are able both
BEFORE and AFTER the election. Democracy requires that we:
Spread the word about what is truly happening with the Republicans. We can’t fix what we don’t know about or understand.
*** Everyone has a role ***
Republican & Christian Right Had Long-Term Plans — Democrats Need Them
And as for voting in EVERY election and why it is not enough either? Check out what Jeff Sharlet, author of
The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, said this week:
The modern Christian Right--without which there would be no
Trumpism--began not in national politics but on school boards. Those
elections matters. The Right knows that. Those dismissing "patriotic
education" as 2020 tactic are themselves ignoring history... 11/ https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet/status/1306947643298508804
— Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet) Sep 18, 2020
His whole thread, by the way, is an important read. He’s explaining
Trump’s “pro-America” education, which is fascism + fundamentalism, folks. This is akin to indoctrination into the
Hitler Youth but as Christian ISIS.
This has been a 50+ year plan by the Republicans and far-right
Christians to take over everything. The Christian Right, as you can see
above, didn’t start at the national level. They started at the school
boards.
Democrats have to get involved in running for ALL
levels of offices and care about candidates running for school board,
judges, and other seemingly mundane positions to take back our
government.
Education is the foundation of democracy. Is it a wonder then that Republicans have been destroying education?
Democrats have to have a long-term, big, bold vision for ALL
with plans to get there. Richard Rorty said Democrats needed them or
democracy would fall.
People come out en masse to vote when they are excited to vote FOR
something. Research shows that people are not as motivated to vote
against something. Hitler and Trump both offered
generational changes to their bases. Yes, this is what people excitedly vote for.
Numerous Existential Crises — All Hands on Deck
We have many existential crises: economic, pandemic, healthcare, climate, religious zealots, narcissistic psychopath, etc.
Dr. Bandy Lee
is a forensic psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine, expert on violence, and editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.”
She states (bolding is my emphasis),
A president’s mental incapacity, at this level
of severity, is not an issue that non-experts can grasp or handle.
Whether it is impeachment, the 25th Amendment, or an ultimatum on
resignation is for the politicians to decide, but our prescription is removal. It is a prescription for survival.
Trump is a scorched-earth person and will take plenty of us down with him. He’s already destroyed plenty of lives.
He’s a pattern in history. Like Hitler, Jim Jones, Ted Bundy, etc.
I’m a long-time progressive, and I’m volunteering before the election
for some Democratic and progressive races and organizations locally and
across the country, as well as doing GOTV. Republicans are an
existential threat and have to go.
Then, after the election, I’ll be volunteering with organizations, as
well as working on strategy to get more progressives (and Democrats)
elected (especially women and people of color) and strategy to get rid
of the racist Electoral College. I’ll also be working to primary
Democrats who are not for big, structural change in key races. I’ve
already helped successfully do so, like Cori Bush, who is in a safe
Democratic district.
We need to look at how candidates are being funded and who is funding
them. Research shows that it changes how they vote, how they tweet,
how they report things, etc.
Here’s a great analysis, which is similar to others I’ve seen.
After the election, we can’t just vote and expect to get what is
needed to fix all of this. We have to apply pressure to the Democrats
to overcome the big donors and numerous Republicans who have supported
them and Biden. If you haven’t seen the MSNBC special
“American Swamp,” I highly recommend it.
One of the things that I keep seeing and hearing from people I talk
to is that people do want big, structural changes, like the New Deal
(some older folks don’t use the term “Green New Deal”), which is exactly
what we need. However, they also want a moderate. That’s not what
moderates represent. They represent the status quo with few big,
structural changes because big donors don’t typically don’t want the
changes needed.
Dr. King said of white moderates:
I must confess that over the past few years I have been
gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the
regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his
stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku
Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order'
than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of
tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice [...]
This also applies to any moderate because they are beholding to big donors. Corporate Democrats.
I’m not happy voting for Biden. BUT I’m closing my nose and voting for him.
Not voting or voting 3rd party is a vote for Trump and Christian zealots, Christian ISIS, and a coming holocaust.
Voting for other than the Democrat or staying home has helped get us
here, too. Whether I’ve liked it or not, I’ve always voted for the
Democrat. Why? Because the US isn’t set up for a 3rd party yet. Right
now, the only way to change things is from the inside — the way the
Christian Right has co-opted the Republican Party.
#VoteBlue #VoteForYourLife
