Dear Readers, Thank you so much for watching and commenting on last week’s video about living through a paradigm shift. I truly appreciate our dialogue, which you enrich every time you choose to go public with your thoughts.
This week I discuss the troubling political situation we face in the wake of the January 6th insurrection. This 12-minute video covers three points: 1) On the 6th, we saw the emergence of an unprecedented kind of violent anti-federalism, whose adherents come from all regions and classes of American society. 2) These elements pose an ongoing threat to the rule of law. Most of the people who perpetrated and participated in the violent attack on the Capitol, and federal government itself, have not been called out or held accountable. 3) The Republican Party has chosen to harbor and defend these elements, thwarting every effort to identify seditious people and temporizing when it comes to the threat that militant anti-federalism poses.
We can’t sit on the sidelines waiting to see what new horror the Republican Party sanctions. We must encourage the formation of a new centrist third party to draw off support from the Republican Party and hasten its demise.
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Great video; your impressions are so very true.
Yup, the GOP has slipped into a dangerous red zone. They are, as you suggest, a clear and present danger to our republic. Trump still controls the party, and those in Congress who have sided with him have broken their SACRED oath of office “to defend and protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Trump is a domestic enemy of this country, and those who follow him, the same. I wonder, what is their real goal??? To dismantle our fine country, which took so many years–since 1776–to build.
Their goal is to perpetuate their hold on power. It has nothing to do with representing voters or governing for the ends laid out in the Constitution. The Republicans are all about theatrics, which works because the theatrics build on real-world fear and animosity. The theatricality is what keeps the followers juiced.
I agree with what you wrote; they do want to hang onto power, but I think something more sinister is their aim. Very sinister. We must recall orange head’s last 2-3 weeks in office, when he became unhinged, absolutely unglued from reality, and 95% of the GOP legislators did and said nothing to oppose him.
If the GOP ever gets back to “full power,” a dismantling of our republic could follow. The rule of law and order could slowly disappear. I pray the grand jury that Cy Vance has convened will indict Trump.
Trump significantly undermined the integrity and functionality of our political system during his time in office. The nation is still stunned and disorganized; it will take time to recover (if possible) from the damage already inflicted. I agree that were he to return to power republican government would disappear. Many authoritarian countries have sham “democracies” that allow “strongmen” to rule with the ostensible support of a majority.
Even if Trump were to become a convict, he has inspired many imitators, people like Hawley who see attacking federalism as a way to get ahead in politics. The fact that this point of view is taking hold in some states is very alarming, threatening the stability and continuation of federalism.
Thank you for this Susan.
I share your concerns about the Republican party, of course. I consider myself a moderate. I worry that a third party will weaken the Democrats, not the current Republican party. I think the best bet is to join the Democrats and pull the party to the center. The progressive left is noisy but represents maybe 25% of Democratic voters. I wish Republicans in Congress who do not support Trump would simply declare themselves independents and wield their power as free agents. That would shake things up.
Two observations about Trump. He is the expression, not the cause of a rural, white nationalist, anti-government movement that has been growing for decades. The whole Second Amendment crowd has bought guns to fight the government and black people and Democrats. It is not even subtle. Talk radio has likely fed much of this. Second, this is a worldwide problem as far as I can tell. I suspect Russian propaganda is behind a lot of it. The attacks on science, immigrants, masking, globalization and democracy are widespread. The spectacle of 20,000 protesters in Berlin with pro Trump and QAnon signs was very chilling for me.
Margie
Margie, whether a third party would draw voters from the Republicans rather than the Democrats would depend on the specific content of its ideology and how adept its proponents were in crafting an identity that spoke to particular blocs of voters.
There is room for a party that is tough on immigration and China, that is protectionist, but that is more focused on the quality of the citizenry. Having a more well-educated and economically secure populace is the sine qua non of republican government.
The cultural turmoil and violence we witness signal that the nation is due to turn inward and work on cultural consolidation.
Raise people right, and they won’t believe the wrong things. Regardless of world trends, the vacuous beliefs that have gained traction in the US testify to a mind-bogglingly large failure of our culture and educational system. Many Americans are tragically ill-informed, emotionally undisciplined, and gullible. We can’t expect to have a great nation when our culture is bankrupt and blatantly mediocre.
Third parties seldom succeed in becoming dominant, but they influence the overall direction of politics by exerting competitive pressure on older parties. They also induce sidelined politicians and voters to come together around new goals and get back in the game. Right now, there’s no reason for the Democrats to move to the center, as desirable as that might be.
Your comments are always thought-provoking. Thanks, Margie.
Susan
Gullible, that is a very “key” word, I believe. There is sooo much garbage and trash floating around every social media source, every second of every day. A vast majority of it is not only trash but lies, lies, and more lies. Too many Americans will listen to ANYONE who steps up on a soapbox to speak! And many will accept what the “loudmouth” has to say. Face it, most people simply don’t want (or are too shy) to speak in front of any group of people they do not know.
The GOP has managed to seize the soapbox and control the constant cycles of trash out there. People hear and listen, and—boom—the “Big Lie” morphs into total truth. . . . As I’ve written before, Trump was and is the ultimate “hate salesman.” It comes natural to him; he is the most despicable politician ever elected. It’s much easier to sell hate and lies than kindness, caring, peace, charity, diversity, goodness, and truth! Those f….g super-conservative GOP radio stations have audiences in the tens of millions.
We who care have learned that democracy and our republic are fragile; our political system can be dismantled bit by bit.
Again I say, the grand jury Cy Vance has convened will indict Trump. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Orange head will likely be charged with multiple RICO charges and ultimately exposed as a criminal.
You are on to something–I agree that Trump and his ilk have a flare for manipulating the “cycle of trash.” They are also good at mounting the soapbox–introducing spin that supplants constructive political dialogue. Still, I think citizens hunger for something that isn’t mass-society nonsense. They don’t want the nanny state, either, though, which accounts for the breadth of popular opposition to Democrats’ plans. Even if Trump were to be convicted of white collar crimes, the US would still be dangerously unsettled politically. Our situation reminds me too much of the Civil War. The desire to rebel against federal authority, to balk at the limits the Constitution places on all of us, will still be there. The US can’t function without mutual affection and comity.