yes, you are accurate and concise. Conniving also seems to fit the bill. That's why if we could devise a cartoon character to use broadly to laugh them out of our way that would be good.
After all the iconic long-lasting Uncle Sam cartoon had to come from somewhere. Social media has so much wording it's unfortunate because graphics speak to all. And 25% of the populace only receive messaging visually. Have a good rest of your day Kasumii. Kind regards.
These extreme women wrestler types need to be examined through the lens of an established women's group. However fact-based men communicate, it will be misconstrued. Established women's groups such League of Women Voters or Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) are conservative. But these extremist women present poorly. To everyone. Just visually, they appear anchor-less. A wind vane spinning wildly in the wind. They lack the tenacity and fortitude as displayed by other women public servants. Unlike their male autocrat counterparts, these women shriek and shrill in the public eye, desperate for attention. Even without educating yourself on the issues, these extremist women appear and present poorly.
Thank you Ruth for the link to the Politico interview. It was insightful, clear, chronological, fact-based and alarming enough but with your signature calm which helps keep us steeped in hope and focus. Kind regards.
So grateful for the results in France. Thank you for your summary on the feminist aspect of strongmen wanta bees. These woman have an enormous hunger for power and to play with the big boys. It's all a power game for these testosterone-driven wanta bees. Having been involved in state court proceedings trying to get child support established for 3 minor children, -- one would think hiring a female attorney to do the challenge would make sense. No. I tried, hired two and had two different female judges. These females all used my (hot-potato) case to try to catapult into the big boy crowd, and gain acceptance, further their careers by supporting the male illegalities that defied federal law and public policies. They (the power-seeking broads) know no bounds. Their use of the terms 'children', 'family', are a ruse. They do the exact opposite, by extracting money from these entities, using children as biblical chattel to further their wonkish under-flated egos. They know nothing of motherhood, femininity or retaining healthy families for children. There are religious organizations that tutor the same Phyllis Schlafy-like agenda or playbill to the opera. They wrongly lead uneducated Republican-like wives, waiting to get for their manicure appointments, down a misguided and blinded road. These women are the filth of the earth. They work in direct opposite to what they say, as do their small-egoed male counterparts. The world is challenged by the Quick winner-take-all Tiny-Tims of egos, masquerading as else.
Like you, I followed closely. Grateful for the results. I still cannot shake off the feeling of being in a reprieve. Like minded folks, have right to be concerned. One of the "leads" for the info on Deutsche Bank investigation, is dead. Not poison, or a window. I wonder if he choked on a Big Mac. I still wonder who paid off Kavenaughs debt, as well as Justice Kennedy's "retirement", and connection to Deutsche Bank. The world at large is no better. A reprieve, nothing more.
Your Politico interview is an example of why your voice needs to be heard far and wide. You make me think of that Michigan woman legislator slimed by a Republican. You and she call it like it is.
My wish is for the prosecutions to continue as Free Speech for the People are doing. Last week in Georgia they put Marjorie Taylor Green on the stand. Can the DOJ be far behind?
What if Sec 3, Article 14 keeps Trump from running and it goes to the Supreme Court?
Arizona has become a hotbed of feminine proto-fascism. Kari Lake, Wendy Rogers and Karen Robson are at the forefront of a wave of vile, vulgar and vitriolic hate and post-truth. Their propaganda is attempting to create a sense of anger and victimhood by making followers feel besieged by an outside enemy. This technique is right out of the fascist playbook. They are selling fascism but their followers don't understand what they are buying. They think it is still Republicanism.
Happening in Oregon, too, Steve. Betsy Johnson is campaigning for Governor as an independent and my representative in the state senate, Lily Morgan, are learning lessons from Le Pen to polish the autocratic dog-whistles … the MAGA mobs hear it loud and clear.
Sometimes I think that the real threat from Trumpism might come from Ivanka Trump after her father Donald is out of the picture. She has all qualities that our culture loves, yet she has the same dishonest heart that is committed to the same power and money values as her dad. I fear that she will be the one to receive the sceptre after her father, much like Le Pen in France. And she will be much harder to defeat.
Yeah, women are going to love her. In talking to my mom about such things, she was only focused on how well the woman was dressed and her beauty. It was weird, almost an Anglo-Saxon throwback to when attractiveness was your best bet for getting ahead.
Ivanka is dangerous because she is a good speaker and fashionably attired. She will garner attention.
Yikes, a grotesque 21st-century Evita knockoff who fulfills the MAGAts' wildest fantasies – what a concept. Sounds like the makings of a Dan (Tom Tomorrow) Perkins cartoon.
But we can't simply laugh and dismiss the idea entirely, can we? Or do so at our peril. This prospect may explain the Trumpublicans' cynical War on Truth. It brings to mind what Peter Pomerantsev wrote way back in 2014 about Donald Trump's role model, Vladimir Putin:
"If nothing is true, then anything is possible."
For those who don't have enough nightmares already, they can now add one more.
"Eternal vigilance," an ideal commonly attributed to Jefferson, is required to beat back the forces of fascism. Fortunately for the French people who fervently believe in representative democracy, they've done so again in 2022. But whether their American counterparts can do likewise – on a preliminary basis this year and then, crucially, in 2024 – is very much an open question.
(And speaking of "hate with a feminine touch," Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sarah Palin and their ilk don't take a back seat to anyone.)
The fact that the worshippers of Orange Mussolini have already become adept at seizing the levers of power that at the state and local levels oversee elections within the federal system, and that Trumpism could start controlling one body of Congress and perhaps both as early as January 2023, is certainly not a cause for complacency, let alone optimism, now. Or ever.
Sincerest thanks yet again to Ruth Ben-Ghiat for being such a brilliant beacon to help us navigate through our collective fog, nationally as well as internationally. Anyone who still thinks "It Can't Happen Here" need only look back to the American presidential election of 2016.
Its not that it can't happen here...its that it is happening here. Its happening in a slow, gradual step by step way. We are devolving from democracy into autocracy...
Excellent observation Dr. Ben-Ghiat! Even though France and the world dodged another far right extremist bullet the real question remains is "how long will this trend continue?" The world is very unsettled right now with the Ukrainian conflict, combined with the recent Hungary election, and the looming mid-term elections here in the US. Your interview in Politico with Michael Kruse only serves as a reminder of the instability that is facing us. Thank you for your continuing attempts to keep these issues in the spotlight!
Until we fix the income gap and plutocratic legal forms of aligning state actions with interests of the wealthy, populist ethno-nationalists will have plenty listening to their seductive lies. As they learn from these short term defeats, they will become better at messaging. Those who prefer a liberal democratic order need to get organized and start fixing the governance structures that are rotting away the stability of the middle class, pronto.
We can breathe easier with Macron for the next 5 years, but we should not be complacent. Marine Le Pen's percentages have grown every year, like a cancer.
It may be time for us to recognize that the human species is the problem and to start to recognize illiberal minds, racist minds, violent minds. The danger is in the species' thinking and the logic behind its actions. Any human being can be a threat. We must learn to look beyond surface trivialities to discern the principles of action motivating different individuals.
There is no easy analysis of what is taking place. Our political system is under enormous pressure, our cultural institutions are under enormous pressure, our economy is the most unequal it has ever been. Things are fracturing and ceasing to function sufficiently. This is hitting millions and millions of folks in ways too subtle for us to know in full detail. But it is creating fear, and that fear is creating anger. People feel a loss of control, and that loss of control is real. And many good people are trying very hard get control. But many are not.
The most significant common thread between Trump voters was their authoritarian personalities. They wanted a leader that was just like them. They didn't notice that the politics that Trump was selling was fascism, and when told as much, rejected the idea. It is classic Backfire Effect, which is so critical in the perpetuation of fascism.
Agree, and I believe it's the new middle-class lawless is fashionable crowd, thinking they've missed out. Hold the phone! Back up. Let's read our history books, put our hats on straight and get with the program, the clock of history is ticking way too fast. When I talk to the average folk, I do sense some reflection going on.
Last week I spoke on bus to a 80 year old grandmother who described a tax haven her family has going on. I asked some Columbo-style neutral questions to her buoyant story of family travels. Just out in the open, talking about it like it's today's price of bread.
Weird. No conscience. Just grabbin' it for the fam.
The following paragraph was written in 2018 by The Atlantic's always incisive Adam Serwer, to conclude an essay titled "The Cruelty Is the Point," republished in a 2021 book of the same name, as part of a collection of his work subtitled "The Past, Present, and Future of Trump's America":
"Trump’s only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president’s ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united. And as long as he makes them feel that way, they will let him get away with anything, no matter what it costs them."
Sums up the darkness of Trumpism pretty well, albeit frighteningly, doesn't it?
Yes, sadism is a major part of fascism but so is the cult-like symbiosis seen, and the building of angry camps of followers ready to bomb their fellow citizens. Fascism is a societal disease led by lunatics, that rips the social fabric apart.
I also wonder if part of this is driven by decades of American-consumerism. On TV (when we use to have it), it always painted the grand-est of sets and props, the most fashionable of clothes, vacations and countless vacation trips. Remember the ol' Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Game on. And people thought they were the only ones without all the glamour. Envy, greed and rat-race accelerated. Who has time for church or values? That's how it played out in my family, for those that left the Good Road. The scent of money was too strong. And that's middle-class people sniffing out loopholes. A couple decades later, and here we are.
The mutation of capitalism into neoliberal economics created a war between corporate power and society. This concept benefitted the wealthy/corporations, while stifling the general public. It deindustrialized the nation, leaving the middle class broken and angry and ready to try fascism as a solution. Long ago, Marx predicted that capitalism would evolve into this sort of mess.
I believe it is their underlying anger that must be dismantled. Where did all this come from? Currently reading a book Guilt, Same and Anxiety which the author postulates are the underpinnings of the emotion of anger and its accompaniment of numbing.
In the case of the anger in Trump followers, I believe that most of the anger is generated by besiegement propaganda that makes them feel besieged by an evil outside force. At first it causes paranoia and fear, then anger, then vengeance. This is the same type of propaganda that resulted in the Jan 6th riot.
Wouldn't it be great if Disney came back with a counter-attack somehow. Be a great updated Disney story-line of the good guys vs. the villain. Good guys win. Cartoon version please, box-office hit.
We have a bullpen in the US of potential far right female authoritarians. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sara Palin, Marsha Blackburn, Elise Stefanik and others. They are all vicious and determined to bring about one party autocratic control through demagoguery, corruption, conspiracy theories and propaganda.
There's an opinion article by French journalist/filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo on The Washington Post's website (headlined "Marine Le Pen is now part of of France's mainstream. That should scare us all."), in which she writes, "The far right has succeeded in normalizing its ideology."
Just as it has in America, with the normalization of Trump; his agenda of hate, divisiveness and authoritarianism; and his adoration of Putin, including a shared wish to cripple NATO.
This doesn't explain how Le Pen is an 'authoritarian' though.
yes, you are accurate and concise. Conniving also seems to fit the bill. That's why if we could devise a cartoon character to use broadly to laugh them out of our way that would be good.
After all the iconic long-lasting Uncle Sam cartoon had to come from somewhere. Social media has so much wording it's unfortunate because graphics speak to all. And 25% of the populace only receive messaging visually. Have a good rest of your day Kasumii. Kind regards.
These extreme women wrestler types need to be examined through the lens of an established women's group. However fact-based men communicate, it will be misconstrued. Established women's groups such League of Women Voters or Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) are conservative. But these extremist women present poorly. To everyone. Just visually, they appear anchor-less. A wind vane spinning wildly in the wind. They lack the tenacity and fortitude as displayed by other women public servants. Unlike their male autocrat counterparts, these women shriek and shrill in the public eye, desperate for attention. Even without educating yourself on the issues, these extremist women appear and present poorly.
Thank you Ruth for the link to the Politico interview. It was insightful, clear, chronological, fact-based and alarming enough but with your signature calm which helps keep us steeped in hope and focus. Kind regards.
So grateful for the results in France. Thank you for your summary on the feminist aspect of strongmen wanta bees. These woman have an enormous hunger for power and to play with the big boys. It's all a power game for these testosterone-driven wanta bees. Having been involved in state court proceedings trying to get child support established for 3 minor children, -- one would think hiring a female attorney to do the challenge would make sense. No. I tried, hired two and had two different female judges. These females all used my (hot-potato) case to try to catapult into the big boy crowd, and gain acceptance, further their careers by supporting the male illegalities that defied federal law and public policies. They (the power-seeking broads) know no bounds. Their use of the terms 'children', 'family', are a ruse. They do the exact opposite, by extracting money from these entities, using children as biblical chattel to further their wonkish under-flated egos. They know nothing of motherhood, femininity or retaining healthy families for children. There are religious organizations that tutor the same Phyllis Schlafy-like agenda or playbill to the opera. They wrongly lead uneducated Republican-like wives, waiting to get for their manicure appointments, down a misguided and blinded road. These women are the filth of the earth. They work in direct opposite to what they say, as do their small-egoed male counterparts. The world is challenged by the Quick winner-take-all Tiny-Tims of egos, masquerading as else.
Like you, I followed closely. Grateful for the results. I still cannot shake off the feeling of being in a reprieve. Like minded folks, have right to be concerned. One of the "leads" for the info on Deutsche Bank investigation, is dead. Not poison, or a window. I wonder if he choked on a Big Mac. I still wonder who paid off Kavenaughs debt, as well as Justice Kennedy's "retirement", and connection to Deutsche Bank. The world at large is no better. A reprieve, nothing more.
Your Politico interview is an example of why your voice needs to be heard far and wide. You make me think of that Michigan woman legislator slimed by a Republican. You and she call it like it is.
My wish is for the prosecutions to continue as Free Speech for the People are doing. Last week in Georgia they put Marjorie Taylor Green on the stand. Can the DOJ be far behind?
What if Sec 3, Article 14 keeps Trump from running and it goes to the Supreme Court?
Pack the court.
Arizona has become a hotbed of feminine proto-fascism. Kari Lake, Wendy Rogers and Karen Robson are at the forefront of a wave of vile, vulgar and vitriolic hate and post-truth. Their propaganda is attempting to create a sense of anger and victimhood by making followers feel besieged by an outside enemy. This technique is right out of the fascist playbook. They are selling fascism but their followers don't understand what they are buying. They think it is still Republicanism.
Happening in Oregon, too, Steve. Betsy Johnson is campaigning for Governor as an independent and my representative in the state senate, Lily Morgan, are learning lessons from Le Pen to polish the autocratic dog-whistles … the MAGA mobs hear it loud and clear.
It's a shame women voters are such pansies to not see thru this anti-family ****
Sometimes I think that the real threat from Trumpism might come from Ivanka Trump after her father Donald is out of the picture. She has all qualities that our culture loves, yet she has the same dishonest heart that is committed to the same power and money values as her dad. I fear that she will be the one to receive the sceptre after her father, much like Le Pen in France. And she will be much harder to defeat.
Yeah, women are going to love her. In talking to my mom about such things, she was only focused on how well the woman was dressed and her beauty. It was weird, almost an Anglo-Saxon throwback to when attractiveness was your best bet for getting ahead.
Ivanka is dangerous because she is a good speaker and fashionably attired. She will garner attention.
Yikes, a grotesque 21st-century Evita knockoff who fulfills the MAGAts' wildest fantasies – what a concept. Sounds like the makings of a Dan (Tom Tomorrow) Perkins cartoon.
But we can't simply laugh and dismiss the idea entirely, can we? Or do so at our peril. This prospect may explain the Trumpublicans' cynical War on Truth. It brings to mind what Peter Pomerantsev wrote way back in 2014 about Donald Trump's role model, Vladimir Putin:
"If nothing is true, then anything is possible."
For those who don't have enough nightmares already, they can now add one more.
Cartoons are effective.
"Eternal vigilance," an ideal commonly attributed to Jefferson, is required to beat back the forces of fascism. Fortunately for the French people who fervently believe in representative democracy, they've done so again in 2022. But whether their American counterparts can do likewise – on a preliminary basis this year and then, crucially, in 2024 – is very much an open question.
(And speaking of "hate with a feminine touch," Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sarah Palin and their ilk don't take a back seat to anyone.)
The fact that the worshippers of Orange Mussolini have already become adept at seizing the levers of power that at the state and local levels oversee elections within the federal system, and that Trumpism could start controlling one body of Congress and perhaps both as early as January 2023, is certainly not a cause for complacency, let alone optimism, now. Or ever.
Sincerest thanks yet again to Ruth Ben-Ghiat for being such a brilliant beacon to help us navigate through our collective fog, nationally as well as internationally. Anyone who still thinks "It Can't Happen Here" need only look back to the American presidential election of 2016.
Its not that it can't happen here...its that it is happening here. Its happening in a slow, gradual step by step way. We are devolving from democracy into autocracy...
They are the Disney-like Cruella Deviles of our time. Unfortunately, multiplied out. I pray for a good Disney ending, in more ways than one.
Agreed to all you've said. And yet MTG, Boebert and Palin are the utter extreme opposite of feminine by any standard.
Excellent observation Dr. Ben-Ghiat! Even though France and the world dodged another far right extremist bullet the real question remains is "how long will this trend continue?" The world is very unsettled right now with the Ukrainian conflict, combined with the recent Hungary election, and the looming mid-term elections here in the US. Your interview in Politico with Michael Kruse only serves as a reminder of the instability that is facing us. Thank you for your continuing attempts to keep these issues in the spotlight!
Until we fix the income gap and plutocratic legal forms of aligning state actions with interests of the wealthy, populist ethno-nationalists will have plenty listening to their seductive lies. As they learn from these short term defeats, they will become better at messaging. Those who prefer a liberal democratic order need to get organized and start fixing the governance structures that are rotting away the stability of the middle class, pronto.
Eliminating the income gap encourages peace like nothing else.
that's the rub
We can breathe easier with Macron for the next 5 years, but we should not be complacent. Marine Le Pen's percentages have grown every year, like a cancer.
And, worldwide, so have the people that follow and vote for people like that. It won't take much for us, or the world, to slip over the edge.
need to encourage more people to turn away from the Putin-is-a-Genius crowd, complete with heartbreaking photos of Maripol.
Who on God's green earth could support this pack?
It may be time for us to recognize that the human species is the problem and to start to recognize illiberal minds, racist minds, violent minds. The danger is in the species' thinking and the logic behind its actions. Any human being can be a threat. We must learn to look beyond surface trivialities to discern the principles of action motivating different individuals.
Fascism wears Prada.
When I think , read from broad sources and try to drill down about this it seems the common thread is anger. We have millions of angry people.
The opposite of anger is gratitude. We have millions of ungrateful Americans.
That alone is illogical to me and requires thought.
There is no easy analysis of what is taking place. Our political system is under enormous pressure, our cultural institutions are under enormous pressure, our economy is the most unequal it has ever been. Things are fracturing and ceasing to function sufficiently. This is hitting millions and millions of folks in ways too subtle for us to know in full detail. But it is creating fear, and that fear is creating anger. People feel a loss of control, and that loss of control is real. And many good people are trying very hard get control. But many are not.
The most significant common thread between Trump voters was their authoritarian personalities. They wanted a leader that was just like them. They didn't notice that the politics that Trump was selling was fascism, and when told as much, rejected the idea. It is classic Backfire Effect, which is so critical in the perpetuation of fascism.
Agree, and I believe it's the new middle-class lawless is fashionable crowd, thinking they've missed out. Hold the phone! Back up. Let's read our history books, put our hats on straight and get with the program, the clock of history is ticking way too fast. When I talk to the average folk, I do sense some reflection going on.
Last week I spoke on bus to a 80 year old grandmother who described a tax haven her family has going on. I asked some Columbo-style neutral questions to her buoyant story of family travels. Just out in the open, talking about it like it's today's price of bread.
Weird. No conscience. Just grabbin' it for the fam.
The following paragraph was written in 2018 by The Atlantic's always incisive Adam Serwer, to conclude an essay titled "The Cruelty Is the Point," republished in a 2021 book of the same name, as part of a collection of his work subtitled "The Past, Present, and Future of Trump's America":
"Trump’s only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president’s ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united. And as long as he makes them feel that way, they will let him get away with anything, no matter what it costs them."
Sums up the darkness of Trumpism pretty well, albeit frighteningly, doesn't it?
They must read a different Bible than I do.
"Make love your flawless moral compass"
Yes, sadism is a major part of fascism but so is the cult-like symbiosis seen, and the building of angry camps of followers ready to bomb their fellow citizens. Fascism is a societal disease led by lunatics, that rips the social fabric apart.
I also wonder if part of this is driven by decades of American-consumerism. On TV (when we use to have it), it always painted the grand-est of sets and props, the most fashionable of clothes, vacations and countless vacation trips. Remember the ol' Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Game on. And people thought they were the only ones without all the glamour. Envy, greed and rat-race accelerated. Who has time for church or values? That's how it played out in my family, for those that left the Good Road. The scent of money was too strong. And that's middle-class people sniffing out loopholes. A couple decades later, and here we are.
The mutation of capitalism into neoliberal economics created a war between corporate power and society. This concept benefitted the wealthy/corporations, while stifling the general public. It deindustrialized the nation, leaving the middle class broken and angry and ready to try fascism as a solution. Long ago, Marx predicted that capitalism would evolve into this sort of mess.
I believe it is their underlying anger that must be dismantled. Where did all this come from? Currently reading a book Guilt, Same and Anxiety which the author postulates are the underpinnings of the emotion of anger and its accompaniment of numbing.
Until we unravel anger, here we are.
In the case of the anger in Trump followers, I believe that most of the anger is generated by besiegement propaganda that makes them feel besieged by an evil outside force. At first it causes paranoia and fear, then anger, then vengeance. This is the same type of propaganda that resulted in the Jan 6th riot.
Also wondering how Floridians are thinking about their Disneylandness Tax for next year?
Hopefully that with a The-Putin-is-a-Genius crowd message might shudder some into reflection.
Looks like the tax increases will fall largely on the surrounding blue counties.
Wouldn't it be great if Disney came back with a counter-attack somehow. Be a great updated Disney story-line of the good guys vs. the villain. Good guys win. Cartoon version please, box-office hit.
We have a bullpen in the US of potential far right female authoritarians. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Sara Palin, Marsha Blackburn, Elise Stefanik and others. They are all vicious and determined to bring about one party autocratic control through demagoguery, corruption, conspiracy theories and propaganda.
It's like a vicious dog fight. These women defy femininity and are being haplessly used.
Indeed.
There's an opinion article by French journalist/filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo on The Washington Post's website (headlined "Marine Le Pen is now part of of France's mainstream. That should scare us all."), in which she writes, "The far right has succeeded in normalizing its ideology."
Just as it has in America, with the normalization of Trump; his agenda of hate, divisiveness and authoritarianism; and his adoration of Putin, including a shared wish to cripple NATO.
Let's bring back the Disney character Cruella Devile. I am all in for equal rights in every fashion but these women defy femininity.
Yes Gary! another scary idea. Finding ones self on a long cruise to, oh Pyongyang with an energetic group of borderlines.