If you had to pick three words to describe the modern GOP these three would do it very simply.
The GOP has abandoned even a pretense of caring for our country and supporting democracy at home and abroad. Now all they care about are bigots, billionaires, and bullies.
There was a time in this country when most Americans — regardless of political affiliation — agreed on a basic set of principles:
— Comity in politics is a good thing, as is compromise in the name of the public good.
— We want “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all Americans.
— America defends other democracies.
— Politicians don’t interfere with the criminal justice system to help their friends.— Trying to overthrow our government is treason.
— Business supports America because America makes it possible for business to grow and prosper.
— Political parties put the nation first and individual politicians second.The Democratic Party still supports all these ideals, sometimes to their detriment, like when they refuse to “fight dirty” by creating sketchy scandals like “her emails” and “Benghazi.” While these may give the party a short-term benefit, most Democrats realize the long-term harm to the nation isn’t worth the temporary gain.
The post-Trump GOP, however, has rejected them all. Instead, it’s become the party of Putin, bin Salman, and Orbán, rejecting out of hand George Washington’s warning about partisanship replacing patriotism and, increasingly, rejecting the very idea of democracy in our republic.
https://www.rawstory.com/hartmann-radio/
In short the question….Has the GOP become anti-American, anti-government and anti-United States?
Today, the Republican Party is openly rejecting this historic view of America’s destiny, the ideal of ever-greater inclusion, of support and compassion for our fellow human beings, of our willingness to work and even fight to support democracy both at home and around the world.
This is a crisis because a nation without a positive vision of itself, without a moral compass that points toward ever-more-inclusive democracy, inevitably becomes a nation heading toward anarchy and autocracy.
While the seeds of fascism and anti-Americanism have a long history in this country (check out the story of Smedley Butler and the attempted coup against FDR, or the rise of the Klan in the 1920s and the American Nazi movement in the 1930s), it has never before so completely seized one of our two main political parties that its leadership would openly reject Americanism and embrace foreign dictators.
https://www.alternet.org/can-the-gop-be-stopped-from-crushing-america-s-historical-vision/
Many people see Trump’s raise as his attempt to become an authoritarian or dictator if you like….now ask what can we do about it?
Donald Trump is a dictator in waiting. Like other dictators, he is threatening to put his “enemies” in prison – and to do even worse things to them. These are not idle threats or empty acts of ideation: Donald Trump is a violent man who is a proven enemy of democracy and freedom.
These threats of violence against his enemies are part of a much larger pattern of violent and dangerous behavior that is only growing worse as he faces criminal trials and the possibility of going to prison for hundreds of years.
In “banana republics” the enemies of the leader and the regime are usually imprisoned, tortured, executed, and face death squads and mass executions. Trump himself has publicly expressed his admiration for murderous dictators and autocrats such as Vladimir Putin and N. Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
The corporate news media — with MSNBC being a notable exception — as is their policy, mostly ignored Trump’s most recent threats to kill and imprison President Joe Biden and the other “enemies” of the MAGA movement. Ignoring the danger will not make it disappear or otherwise go away; moreover, to ignore Trumpism and neofascism is to normalize them.
https://www.salon.com/2023/09/07/plans-to-become-a-dictator–denial-will-not-save-you/
Trump and the anti-American GOP are a serious threat to our beloved country….I know this is nothing new…..but it bears repeating and often or we could lose what so many have died to protect.
At what point to voters stop worrying about crap and consider the health and existence of our society….a society that use to be the envy of the world and now we are nothing more than a joke among nations.
Be Smart!
Learn Stuff!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Most Americans are too concerned with instant gratification to even give a damned whether our social order survives or not.
That is why there are people like me to rattle their cages. chuq
Trouble with your argument here is that neither you or I are influential enough to rattle anybody’s cage.
Maybe so that that will not deter me from trying….I suffer from some ailments but defeatism is not one of them. chuq
Keep on blowing your horn then and someday, someone who can actually do something about your concerns might hear …it is possible…not likely, but entirely possible.
Thanx for the encouragement….not to fear I have been tooting that horn for decades and most times I am right…I do so love uttering the words….,’told you fucking so” chuq
I love those words too..
Thanx again my friend. chuq
Never forget that throughout the USA individuals will keep blowing their horn. You are not alone!
“Thou shall not be a perpetrator
Thou shall not be a victim
And thou shall never
But never be a bystander”
Yehuda Bauer
I agree….do what you can and never stand by and let it go to hades without at least trying to stop it. Have a good weekend. chuq
You hit a home run with this!
Thank you my friend I am pleased you liked it. chuq
Many people seem to like the idea of having a dictator. Then they don’t have to worry about policies or voting and just wander through life like sheep driven led by a dog.
Best wishes, Pete.
Then I am in a minority….I have always had a problem with authority. chuq
Thanx Ned I appreciate your help as always. chuq
Pete is correct in that some folks actually do prefer the tribal “strong man” to lead them rather to think for themselves. I do agree with you that Trump, having been all along since the escalator descent from the heavens, a clear and present danger to the country. The Founders, the Constitution the folks back then ratified, never promised American democracy as being a road to “easy street”, or the path to a Utopia of any sort. What has given the Constitution legitimacy has been the generations that followed that chose to keep following in it, sticking with its defense of our rights by using it to defend our rights. If by some twist of fate Trump makes it back into office and it was legitimate to the Constitution, then we have another four years of his chaos. But that’s all he gets. As before, he will not have a Congressional majority. Nothing happens but a few clumsy declarations that will get bogged down in the courts. In the end.. if he doesn’t succumb to his age in the meantime… the country will recover… normalcy will again prevail.. and balance will settle back in. Democracy can indeed sometimes be messy. I don’t rightly care what the world perceives in our democracy. The entire Trump experience in America, from escalator until he fades away, will be our Constitution’s finest hour.
What about SCOTUS? You know those political hacks that have aging or lif are basically trying to change the Constitution without going thru the process….the Constitution may survive but in what form? Americans need to protect our heritage and fight to keep it….they are not doing either. chuq
SCOTUS can do what they will, even if they are political hacks. Constitution says they are the final word.. of sorts. Congress can impeach them.. or.. legislate “go-rounds” to their decisions. That is the remedy the Constitution provides. Admittedly not “instant” and certainly not without its own politics… but then that alone is part of the remedy.. taking the time to think and debate change. I don’t care if they are all nine “Trumps” sitting there. If they were selected fairly then they get to make the interpretations of law until such time as Congress acts.. one way or the other. To me, protecting our heritage is entirely about keeping to the Constitution as the roadmap and keeping it active as a tool of our democracy. The politics of social change is not part of the Constitution. It’s the arbiter of how we rule ourselves. But… that’s only my opinion.
The problem is these ‘people’ are picked by special interests like the Federalist Society the president just rubber stamps them for nomination. I agree the Constitution is the word of law….but the word is being distorted every day….Impeach them is out of the question. chuq
…and I believe Congress approves that nomination, or not, under Advise & Consent… special interests or not. As for the word of law being distorted every day… is that you who is determining that “distortion”? That is what the MAGA people assign to Liberals… determining for our self-serving agendas what the Constitution “really” means. Hell, we (Libs and Conservatives) can’t even agree on the meaning of that single sentence in the Second Amendment.
They do and how has that gone lately? All true chuq
Doug you might to read this assessment….https://www.upi.com/Voices/2023/09/15/US-Supreme-Court-rewrites-roots-law/4421694778245/
chuq
Interesting link.. thanks. But while I can see points of time where there might be a “constitutional revolution” as a dominant political ideology of the Court shifts .. it seems to me that could go either way. The biggest illustration of that is the reversal of Roe after 50 years of apparently “settled law”. Meaning, things can shift and sway over the years and truly nothing is ever “settled law”. It also seems to me that a strongly Conservative Court can be reversed by a strongly Liberal Congress.. that meaning the will of the people can shift the will of the Court… even to the point of removing members of the Court. Admittedly Congress would take time to act.. but that forces debate over emotional knee-jerk.
BTW.. cool show, Boston Legal. I recall that specific episode.
I am glad that you have such confidence in the court…I do not and nothing they have done recently will change that….too far right for proper interpretation. chuq