If media outlets like NPR, WAPO, NYT, CNN had covered Trump like the actual threat he is, we might not be I this situation. When will you learn your lesson. I’m afraid it may be too late.
Yes, even the storied NPR was lax in presenting facts, facts checking, and not being what Mark Jacob describes as stenographers repeating words of a candidate with no further context.
I have been screaming from the rooftops since 2016 that Trump was using Hitler's playbook to a Tee. That his rhetoric and ideas (not to mention propaganda techniques) were often taken verbatim from Mein Kampf and Hitler's speeches, and the propaganda (which I've also been saying started with people like Bob Grant in the 1980s) was akin to Goebbels's and Hitler's propaganda. You can't tell me that no one in the political arena in journalism didn't see that as well. Anne Frank's step sister Eva Schloss said as much in an open letter (after I had been speaking about this online, and to my friends--who said I was being dramatic. ), and the only place I saw that letter published was in Psychology Today-- as the country's most esteemed psychologists, psychiatrists, and professors who taught said subjects, etc, created Duty to Warn to utilize the 25th Amendment to get Trump out of the political arena.
Your premise is dependent on the existence of guardrails, many of which no longer exist with the loss of the Supreme Court, the Executive and possibly both legislative branches of government. It also depends on a free press that, unfortunately, has been gutted by corporate interests and now serves an oligarchy of moneyed interests. I fear Franklin's promise of "a republic if you can keep it" has been lost.
What I fear, Steve, is that the next 2-4 years will be a concerted campaign by the Trumpists to make that citizen duty more difficult. I no longer think that Trump will simply cancel elections, but he certainly could turn the Democratic party into the "Washington Generals" by any number of means. If the presidency and congress can't be effectively contested...and if the Supreme Court is basically an arm of the Republicans...is it really so much a democracy anymore?
There are many nominal, legal political parties in Russia, formally permitted to contest elections. A handful are even allowed to achieve minority representation in the Duma.
No serious observer thinks Russia is at all a democracy, or that any of the parties represent any actual challenge to Putin's authority.
How can you ignore that Trump has stated the bigger enemy is within and that it would be good to be able to shoot protesters in their legs and that he wants to imprison and execute at will whomever he chooses. With the SCOTUS ruling of immunity this scenario actually can become a horrible reality. Are the media playing nice so your heads won’t be on the chopping block? Timothy Snyder says the greatest mistake when facing Tyranny is to obey in advance. We have 2 months to call our congress members and make sure they affirm every single judge who is on their list and to pass laws making sure the departments of education and the environment can not be eliminated, among other items that are part of Plan 2025 before they even think of taking their vacation. Protecting our democracy and our republic has to come first. Also whatever they can legislate that can prevent Trump from isolating us from our allies and breaking off our trade connections.
There are 245 million eligible voters in America. When all the votes are counted, the 2024 estimated popular vote is likely 152 million, which would rival the 2020 record turnout of 158 million => 93 million eligible voters did not vote, a number that exceeds Donald Trump's popular vote count by a lot => less than a third of eligible voters voted for Donald Trump. Before declaring a sea change in American politics, what about the 93 million Americans who did not vote?
Agree!! The minority at ~48% to ~ 51% for Trump is no landslide. If people really backed Trump, they would have voted for him. People have legitimate concerns that were not addressed, have not been addressed , and
You forgot the part where you and the rest of the MSM, will continue to normalize the vile actions of a grifting, corrupt, treasonous felon and rapist. The 4th estate failed miserably. If they start rounding up journalists, you won’t be exercising those rights you assume you will have.
The guardrails are severely weakened and we are in uncharted territory.
Steve, I appreciate the conviction here, and the reminder that American democracy relies on citizens actively asserting their rights and powers. Yet, reading this as a German, I can’t help but think of the finer print voters may have missed. Many who cast their votes for lower costs may be in for a surprise as tariffs, labor shortages, and policy shifts affect prices and freedoms. Ironically, it seems a good number of Republican voters even supported causes like abortion rights—a choice that might soon be overshadowed by more extreme policies.
To me, this election feels like a wake-up call to examine what’s at stake beyond campaign slogans. The “democracy isn’t dead” line rings true only if people actively protect their rights, rather than taking those democratic safeguards for granted. The question remains: will voters rise to this challenge, or find themselves as mere spectators to the erosion of the very rights they assumed were secure?
I hope you're right. While democracy may not be dead in the US, it certainly seems like the rule of law will be, at least for the next 4 years. Trump will never be held to account now, and he's promised to pardon the Jan 6 insurrectionists. He wants civil servants to be loyal to him above the constitution.
But that’s not what we have seen with our own eyes in these last 10 years. This is not 1850. A single wealthy evil man very skilled in the art of brainwashing has all the technological tools at his disposal to influence minds. American minds in 2024 are nothing like they were back then. Until our national security takes seriously the risk of a single evil person’s ability to maliciously influence the masses we will be sorely challenged to keep our democracy functioning
In Tennessee where I live, and other states with super majority Republican legislatures, the rights of women have already been taken away. Women no longer have the right to necessary, life saving healthcare in emergencies. Tell me again how you will not cede your Constitutional Rights.
Good points. But I fear the supreme court's immunity decision has crippled the bulwarks in ways Lincoln could never have imagined.
Good piece. When the tanks start rolling down the streets and the summary executions begin I'll come back and give it a re-read.
If media outlets like NPR, WAPO, NYT, CNN had covered Trump like the actual threat he is, we might not be I this situation. When will you learn your lesson. I’m afraid it may be too late.
Agree! The Press was complicit when we still
had a chance.
Yes, even the storied NPR was lax in presenting facts, facts checking, and not being what Mark Jacob describes as stenographers repeating words of a candidate with no further context.
I have been screaming from the rooftops since 2016 that Trump was using Hitler's playbook to a Tee. That his rhetoric and ideas (not to mention propaganda techniques) were often taken verbatim from Mein Kampf and Hitler's speeches, and the propaganda (which I've also been saying started with people like Bob Grant in the 1980s) was akin to Goebbels's and Hitler's propaganda. You can't tell me that no one in the political arena in journalism didn't see that as well. Anne Frank's step sister Eva Schloss said as much in an open letter (after I had been speaking about this online, and to my friends--who said I was being dramatic. ), and the only place I saw that letter published was in Psychology Today-- as the country's most esteemed psychologists, psychiatrists, and professors who taught said subjects, etc, created Duty to Warn to utilize the 25th Amendment to get Trump out of the political arena.
And here we are.
Your premise is dependent on the existence of guardrails, many of which no longer exist with the loss of the Supreme Court, the Executive and possibly both legislative branches of government. It also depends on a free press that, unfortunately, has been gutted by corporate interests and now serves an oligarchy of moneyed interests. I fear Franklin's promise of "a republic if you can keep it" has been lost.
What I fear, Steve, is that the next 2-4 years will be a concerted campaign by the Trumpists to make that citizen duty more difficult. I no longer think that Trump will simply cancel elections, but he certainly could turn the Democratic party into the "Washington Generals" by any number of means. If the presidency and congress can't be effectively contested...and if the Supreme Court is basically an arm of the Republicans...is it really so much a democracy anymore?
There are many nominal, legal political parties in Russia, formally permitted to contest elections. A handful are even allowed to achieve minority representation in the Duma.
No serious observer thinks Russia is at all a democracy, or that any of the parties represent any actual challenge to Putin's authority.
With a corrupt SCOTUS handing Trump unlimited immunity for “official acts” the White House will become, as KBJ said, “the seat of crime in America”
How can you ignore that Trump has stated the bigger enemy is within and that it would be good to be able to shoot protesters in their legs and that he wants to imprison and execute at will whomever he chooses. With the SCOTUS ruling of immunity this scenario actually can become a horrible reality. Are the media playing nice so your heads won’t be on the chopping block? Timothy Snyder says the greatest mistake when facing Tyranny is to obey in advance. We have 2 months to call our congress members and make sure they affirm every single judge who is on their list and to pass laws making sure the departments of education and the environment can not be eliminated, among other items that are part of Plan 2025 before they even think of taking their vacation. Protecting our democracy and our republic has to come first. Also whatever they can legislate that can prevent Trump from isolating us from our allies and breaking off our trade connections.
This is the only viable course of action that I have seen so far in these remarks. Let’s see if our congressman will even try to save us.
We need to call them. I think if enough of us call it can make the difference.
Lincoln had less power than Trump will have in office. Also, Lincoln didn’t envision a president who would incite a violent mob against the Congress.
It’s possible I am overestimating the chance that Trump will try to remain in office past his term, but he already tried to do so once.
It’s possible that the system will be able to resist a second time. But, the system will have been corrupted by Trump cronies.
I would like to know who will ensure that Trump will leave office after his term is up. I foresee a civil war.
I don’t even see an opportunity for a civil war. They are in charge of a military of weapons beyond anything Lincoln had at his disposal.
There are 245 million eligible voters in America. When all the votes are counted, the 2024 estimated popular vote is likely 152 million, which would rival the 2020 record turnout of 158 million => 93 million eligible voters did not vote, a number that exceeds Donald Trump's popular vote count by a lot => less than a third of eligible voters voted for Donald Trump. Before declaring a sea change in American politics, what about the 93 million Americans who did not vote?
What about them? They ceded their influence.
Too late now
Agree!! The minority at ~48% to ~ 51% for Trump is no landslide. If people really backed Trump, they would have voted for him. People have legitimate concerns that were not addressed, have not been addressed , and
I wish I believed this. I pray that you are right.
You forgot the part where you and the rest of the MSM, will continue to normalize the vile actions of a grifting, corrupt, treasonous felon and rapist. The 4th estate failed miserably. If they start rounding up journalists, you won’t be exercising those rights you assume you will have.
The guardrails are severely weakened and we are in uncharted territory.
Absolutely.
Steve, I appreciate the conviction here, and the reminder that American democracy relies on citizens actively asserting their rights and powers. Yet, reading this as a German, I can’t help but think of the finer print voters may have missed. Many who cast their votes for lower costs may be in for a surprise as tariffs, labor shortages, and policy shifts affect prices and freedoms. Ironically, it seems a good number of Republican voters even supported causes like abortion rights—a choice that might soon be overshadowed by more extreme policies.
To me, this election feels like a wake-up call to examine what’s at stake beyond campaign slogans. The “democracy isn’t dead” line rings true only if people actively protect their rights, rather than taking those democratic safeguards for granted. The question remains: will voters rise to this challenge, or find themselves as mere spectators to the erosion of the very rights they assumed were secure?
I hope you're right. While democracy may not be dead in the US, it certainly seems like the rule of law will be, at least for the next 4 years. Trump will never be held to account now, and he's promised to pardon the Jan 6 insurrectionists. He wants civil servants to be loyal to him above the constitution.
Democracy without the rule of law is like soup without a bowl.
But that’s not what we have seen with our own eyes in these last 10 years. This is not 1850. A single wealthy evil man very skilled in the art of brainwashing has all the technological tools at his disposal to influence minds. American minds in 2024 are nothing like they were back then. Until our national security takes seriously the risk of a single evil person’s ability to maliciously influence the masses we will be sorely challenged to keep our democracy functioning
Agree!!
Well one side believes this, anyway. We will see what the other side leaves us with when they are done raping and pillaging the Constitution.
In Tennessee where I live, and other states with super majority Republican legislatures, the rights of women have already been taken away. Women no longer have the right to necessary, life saving healthcare in emergencies. Tell me again how you will not cede your Constitutional Rights.