When these persecuted megalomaniac people gain power, they begin their campaign of 'justified' reprisals and revenge. They justify the purge to their believers by saying I'm only doing to them what they would have been trying to do to us. Republicans take the mantra of "elections have consequences" to a terrifyingly brutal level.
How do we get through to people what is most certainly going to become our future if we don't stop the neo-fascist party now? We need an aggressive, relentless and unsparing prosecution of the entire Republican Party and the majority of their members. Anything less will allow them to live on to fight again. They have been trying to destroy a democratically formed government since the days of Reagan, every decade getting more extreme and more dangerous. They won't stop unless they are crushed and sent to the dustbin of history.
Republicans are desperate now because they have gone too far and are starting to realize that their sins, lies, and corruption are catching up to them. If they succeed in stealing the coming elections at the state and Congressional levels, they will lock in place laws that further entrench their hold on government. They will move to further suppress the vote and stop investigations of their wrongdoing. Do not underestimate their treachery or their capacity for attempting a coup!!
If the Justice Department doesn't act soon or if Republicans act to fraudulently overturn an election result, we should be prepared to forcefully fight to take back what was stolen. There is a stacked deck against the will of the majority.
I and many others have serious doubts about whether the Democratic Party and the Justice Department fully appreciates the gravity of the situation. Their failure to recognize the peril the country is in, and the violence which will erupt because of drawn-out, overly cautious hearings, investigations, and lack thereof is putting us on a path to a violent civil war. They have been unwilling to quickly prosecute traitors and insurrectionists. They have failed to call out elected representatives who swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution. They have allowed Republicans to steal Supreme Court seats and seat ultra-right-wing justices.
When they write the history of the United States this period, 1980s to now, will be marked by a massive failure of political leadership and failure to prosecute those who violated their oath of office. Can there be any doubt that Republicans have disavowed their oath?
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
There is something known as the victimized bully syndrome (VBS) that is used by people like Trump to claim that they are victims and therefore rationalize their right to be a bully. But the victimization is just a phantom that they create to rationalize their deviant behavior. One doesn't have to be a secondary psychopath like Trump to suffer from VBS, but it seems to be common among these people. Since Trump deems himself as a demigod and someone to be worshipped, he needs to have followers feel sorry for poor Donald. VBS fits perfectly into his twisted reality. His followers are just dripping with obsequiousness at the thought of hearing that their god-like hero is in pain. This whole scenario just adds to the anger, hate and vengeance already prevalent in society.
Are we having fun yet ? State and local elections up in Maine, have taken on the insanity of the MAGA Brigade. There is no distortion anymore, just plain outright lies. Confrontation of such, is fruitless. I think it very important to remember that Putin, is a Master of psyops. As are other State actors who wish us in turmoil. I live by the statement:" Just cause you're Paranoid, don't mean they ain't out to get ya." This is a time for us to be extremely aware and very vigilant. Keep up the good fight.
Narrow. That's the word that comes to mind after re-reading today's essay. GOP wants us to narrow our language (see Tim Snyders Be Kind to our Language), minds, opinions, rights and relationships.
The opposite - if we play their game - is plurality, joyful diversity, openness, free media. That is why it is paramount that the media continue to bolster, promote the wide vast array of legislation and work that the Biden administration is working on and accomplishing. Be the opposite of 'narrow' and be joyful.
The opposites game -- the persecuted is really the persecutor. That twisted mess messes with people's minds, logic and emotion. The cult members can't see the sunlight thru the trees. It becomes a fear-based swirl. Who has time (as an average busy citizen) to sort it all out?
The FBI executed a legally issued search warrant keeping the event as low key as possible. Trump announced the event which gave him the opportunity to characterize it as a “raid.” Pls don’t use the word “raid” when describing this event as it was not a raid and adds to the Trump narrative.
I feel deep in my bones that he will be re-elected, even if he is prosecuted. History points to it, all alarms ringing, and this 1.6B gift to right wing causes seals the deal. I despair.
Excellent post, the fact that Flynn (special operations) has been running an Alekdandr Dugin style psyop on a media dummied down society in America has certainly lent opportunity for fascist leaders like Trump and his band of unctuous derps!
Again, another brilliant and deeply insightful analysis. As I read this, I keep thinking, why do authoritarian followers not see the many tactics being used on them to accept and buy the autocrat’s scam? The Strongmen as victim is such a blatant ploy. Historians recognize the replay immediately. The ignorant cash in everything to purchase the charlatan’s do nothing diploma from Trump U.
Trump gets away with all this because Republicans allow it. There is a column written by conservative Peter Wehner that I can't get out of my head. He wrote it just after Trump's inauguration. He wrote "Republicans in Congress need to be ready to call Mr. Trump on his abuses and his excesses, now that he is actually in office...They need to ask themselves a simple, searching question...'If Barack Obama did this very thing, what would I be saying and doing now?' - and then say and do it." We can just imagine what Republicans would have done if it were Obama who said "Lock him up", who encouraged the insurrection, who took classified files to his home, who said to the president of Ukraine "I want you to do me a favor, though". I could go on and on...
It’s truly frightening to think of Trump making a comeback in 2024. But his followers are still sending him their hard-earned money. To a criminal and obvious traitor to the US. If Erdogan can pull off a return to power…what’s to stop this from happening here? If the DOJ works fast enough, maybe not. But his people and the Republicans say YES to him. Scared in Colorado
Far too much information to unlock here!
When these persecuted megalomaniac people gain power, they begin their campaign of 'justified' reprisals and revenge. They justify the purge to their believers by saying I'm only doing to them what they would have been trying to do to us. Republicans take the mantra of "elections have consequences" to a terrifyingly brutal level.
How do we get through to people what is most certainly going to become our future if we don't stop the neo-fascist party now? We need an aggressive, relentless and unsparing prosecution of the entire Republican Party and the majority of their members. Anything less will allow them to live on to fight again. They have been trying to destroy a democratically formed government since the days of Reagan, every decade getting more extreme and more dangerous. They won't stop unless they are crushed and sent to the dustbin of history.
Republicans are desperate now because they have gone too far and are starting to realize that their sins, lies, and corruption are catching up to them. If they succeed in stealing the coming elections at the state and Congressional levels, they will lock in place laws that further entrench their hold on government. They will move to further suppress the vote and stop investigations of their wrongdoing. Do not underestimate their treachery or their capacity for attempting a coup!!
If the Justice Department doesn't act soon or if Republicans act to fraudulently overturn an election result, we should be prepared to forcefully fight to take back what was stolen. There is a stacked deck against the will of the majority.
I and many others have serious doubts about whether the Democratic Party and the Justice Department fully appreciates the gravity of the situation. Their failure to recognize the peril the country is in, and the violence which will erupt because of drawn-out, overly cautious hearings, investigations, and lack thereof is putting us on a path to a violent civil war. They have been unwilling to quickly prosecute traitors and insurrectionists. They have failed to call out elected representatives who swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution. They have allowed Republicans to steal Supreme Court seats and seat ultra-right-wing justices.
When they write the history of the United States this period, 1980s to now, will be marked by a massive failure of political leadership and failure to prosecute those who violated their oath of office. Can there be any doubt that Republicans have disavowed their oath?
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
There is something known as the victimized bully syndrome (VBS) that is used by people like Trump to claim that they are victims and therefore rationalize their right to be a bully. But the victimization is just a phantom that they create to rationalize their deviant behavior. One doesn't have to be a secondary psychopath like Trump to suffer from VBS, but it seems to be common among these people. Since Trump deems himself as a demigod and someone to be worshipped, he needs to have followers feel sorry for poor Donald. VBS fits perfectly into his twisted reality. His followers are just dripping with obsequiousness at the thought of hearing that their god-like hero is in pain. This whole scenario just adds to the anger, hate and vengeance already prevalent in society.
Are we having fun yet ? State and local elections up in Maine, have taken on the insanity of the MAGA Brigade. There is no distortion anymore, just plain outright lies. Confrontation of such, is fruitless. I think it very important to remember that Putin, is a Master of psyops. As are other State actors who wish us in turmoil. I live by the statement:" Just cause you're Paranoid, don't mean they ain't out to get ya." This is a time for us to be extremely aware and very vigilant. Keep up the good fight.
Narrow. That's the word that comes to mind after re-reading today's essay. GOP wants us to narrow our language (see Tim Snyders Be Kind to our Language), minds, opinions, rights and relationships.
The opposite - if we play their game - is plurality, joyful diversity, openness, free media. That is why it is paramount that the media continue to bolster, promote the wide vast array of legislation and work that the Biden administration is working on and accomplishing. Be the opposite of 'narrow' and be joyful.
The opposites game -- the persecuted is really the persecutor. That twisted mess messes with people's minds, logic and emotion. The cult members can't see the sunlight thru the trees. It becomes a fear-based swirl. Who has time (as an average busy citizen) to sort it all out?
The FBI executed a legally issued search warrant keeping the event as low key as possible. Trump announced the event which gave him the opportunity to characterize it as a “raid.” Pls don’t use the word “raid” when describing this event as it was not a raid and adds to the Trump narrative.
I feel deep in my bones that he will be re-elected, even if he is prosecuted. History points to it, all alarms ringing, and this 1.6B gift to right wing causes seals the deal. I despair.
Excellent post, the fact that Flynn (special operations) has been running an Alekdandr Dugin style psyop on a media dummied down society in America has certainly lent opportunity for fascist leaders like Trump and his band of unctuous derps!
Again, another brilliant and deeply insightful analysis. As I read this, I keep thinking, why do authoritarian followers not see the many tactics being used on them to accept and buy the autocrat’s scam? The Strongmen as victim is such a blatant ploy. Historians recognize the replay immediately. The ignorant cash in everything to purchase the charlatan’s do nothing diploma from Trump U.
Is the Friday date for next Q&A is meant to be Aug 26?
Trump gets away with all this because Republicans allow it. There is a column written by conservative Peter Wehner that I can't get out of my head. He wrote it just after Trump's inauguration. He wrote "Republicans in Congress need to be ready to call Mr. Trump on his abuses and his excesses, now that he is actually in office...They need to ask themselves a simple, searching question...'If Barack Obama did this very thing, what would I be saying and doing now?' - and then say and do it." We can just imagine what Republicans would have done if it were Obama who said "Lock him up", who encouraged the insurrection, who took classified files to his home, who said to the president of Ukraine "I want you to do me a favor, though". I could go on and on...
It’s truly frightening to think of Trump making a comeback in 2024. But his followers are still sending him their hard-earned money. To a criminal and obvious traitor to the US. If Erdogan can pull off a return to power…what’s to stop this from happening here? If the DOJ works fast enough, maybe not. But his people and the Republicans say YES to him. Scared in Colorado