Read on Twitter
A Scottish friend of mine who’s lived in the US for the last 40 years has posted this on his Facebook page and I thought it was worth sharing. (Thread).
‘My school education of European history ended somewhere around Napoleon. (We beat him, you know). Probably this was good, because post-Napoleon history is really complicated.
I often wondered what WWI was all about (and I still don’t know).
I often wondered what WWI was all about (and I still don’t know).
And I often wondered how Hitler came to power. Not the war part – Europe has been at war for centuries. No, the monster part. The brutal nationalism. The Jews. The Fascism. The gangs of supporters running amok. The split of the country into us-versus-them.
After all, Germany was a modern and civilised European country. How could they not only elect, but actually like, Herr Hitler? (The same question can be asked of Mussolini and, more recently, Berlusconi.)
Trump has provided the answer. You provide a cult of personality, through oratory, rallies, promises, and lies. As Hitler declared and Goebbels repeated, if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. Trump has provided so many lies, you can’t even tell what they are.
If you thought it couldn’t happen here, you were wrong.
If you thought the Constitution would protect you from fascism, you were wrong.
The US is (was) desperately close to becoming an autocracy, with Donald the First in power. How could he achieve this?
If you thought the Constitution would protect you from fascism, you were wrong.
The US is (was) desperately close to becoming an autocracy, with Donald the First in power. How could he achieve this?
· Control of the intelligence services. Done.
· Control of the Justice system. Done.
· Locking up his opponents. He calls for it regularly.
· Restrictions on the Press. Ditto.
· Voter suppression. Under way, on many fronts.
· Control of the Courts. Done, maybe.
· Control of the Justice system. Done.
· Locking up his opponents. He calls for it regularly.
· Restrictions on the Press. Ditto.
· Voter suppression. Under way, on many fronts.
· Control of the Courts. Done, maybe.
· Constitutional Amendment to remove the 2-term limit. Well, this takes longer to achieve, but you only need 33 Republican Governors (currently there are 26), and with some nifty voter suppression, surely you can achieve that.
How do you hold on until it’s done? You do a Putin/Medvedev deal. Pence becomes President, Donnie is VP and has the Twitter account. You think Pence wouldn’t go for this? Fire him and find a different toadie who will.
You think the Republicans wouldn’t go along with this? The same Republicans who ignored the impeachment and whose actual party platform is “whatever Donnie says”? With this, he would get 12 more years, which would be plenty.
· You say this wouldn’t happen? Sure. Look back at all the things in the last 4 years which couldn’t happen. Look at the way Putin took over Russia, constitution and all. (Donnie admires Putin, not because he likes Communism (he doesn’t), or takes Putin’s money (he likely does),
but because Putin is the ultimate kleptocrat, taking a percentage of all Russia’s assets.)
· Now of course Donnie won’t do this. Not because he would think it immoral (hah!). But because he is too old.
· Now of course Donnie won’t do this. Not because he would think it immoral (hah!). But because he is too old.
For this to play out, he’d be 86. Still, there is always the possibility of a Dynasty, with junior or Ivanka. (Donnie is a fan of nepotism, after all).
Democracy is fragile. A strong Constitution may slow down a country’s collapse, but it doesn’t stop it.
Democracy is fragile. A strong Constitution may slow down a country’s collapse, but it doesn’t stop it.
As Ben Franklin didn’t say, “A republic, if you can keep it.” As Ben Franklin did say, “The executive will be always increasing here, as elsewhere, till it ends in a monarchy.” Mad King Donald is not quite fiction any more.
Yet it appears we likely have been spared. Donnie will lose, fight in the courts, and lose. (He won’t go easily.)
It’s not clear why he lost, assuming he does. There are so many reasons. Entire newspapers & TV shows full of things he did wrong, from locking up children onwards.
It’s not clear why he lost, assuming he does. There are so many reasons. Entire newspapers & TV shows full of things he did wrong, from locking up children onwards.
How many times have you observed that it couldn’t get worse, and were wrong?
There are two common themes, though:
There are two common themes, though:
· Covid, at which he failed utterly. His incompetence is obvious to the world.
· Chaos. Daily tweets, serving no purpose other than making things worse and displaying Donnie’s obvious psychopathy, have made people tired. Exhausted. Enough, already!
· Chaos. Daily tweets, serving no purpose other than making things worse and displaying Donnie’s obvious psychopathy, have made people tired. Exhausted. Enough, already!
Covid was probably the thing that ended Donnie.
So, to covid, I say: I hate you. I might love you. Ask me in a few days.
Win or lose, attempted fascism isn’t dead. Half the country wanted Trump back, and if that wasn’t a vote for fascism, I don’t know what is.’
So, to covid, I say: I hate you. I might love you. Ask me in a few days.
Win or lose, attempted fascism isn’t dead. Half the country wanted Trump back, and if that wasn’t a vote for fascism, I don’t know what is.’
