Citizens in GOP districts where cowardly representatives refuse to do Town Hall Mtgs should set up their own well-publicized and videoed mtgs, using a classic 'empty chair' in place of their absent representative. Demand facts, answers, and accountability - and invite news coverage.
Congressman Jack Bergman's constituents in Michigan are way ahead of you - they did this so effectively! And 500 people marched in Alaska earlier this week to demand a town hall. The people, united
If elected reps refuse to show up for Town Hall Mtgs, then their prior, publicly available comments can be printed out and placed on the 'empty chair' and used to answer constituents' questions. These printed answers should include the elected rep's own prior statements - including contradictory statements - re: support for Ukraine, social security, US cyber security, the rule of law, Veterans, the US Constitution, etc.
John Lewis is always relevant: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. . . Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
It was at once revolting, and yet somehow hilarious, to watch the Republican response to that weird, rambling rant Trump performed before a joint session of Congress the other night.
Were they going for a North Korean vibe? Nuremburg? Or something closer to GOP hearts--a Russian vibe?
As the Republicans whooped and fist-bumped and howled and giggled and swooned and cheered the president's lies and inanities, I was reminded of other moments in history, some of them captured in grainy black-and-white.
Consider the spectacle of Soviet deputies, and their curious practice of performative listening whenever Stalin spoke.
Each deputy was desperate to seem more entranced, more adoring, more enraptured, and above all more loyal, than all the others.
It was a sort of competition. Who could laugh the hardest when Stalin wanted laughter? Who could applaud the longest when he expected applause? Who could roar the most ferocious approval when he expressed his bloody-minded madness and told his bloody-minded lies?
Any sign of disloyalty--even just a lack of sufficient enthusiasm--could doom a man. Having betrayed so many of their comrades in order to stay in Stalin's good graces, each deputy lived in constant fear that he himself would be betrayed.
They were afraid for good reason. In an authoritarian state run by a madman, informers abound. When they run out of other people to inform on, they inform on each other. Even a whisper of disloyalty is enough to finish a man
It was true in the USSR. Now it's true in the USA as well. We see it every day as Republican Senators stumble over each other (and trample their constituents, and shred their constitution) to show their absolute, cult-like adoration for the most unfit man ever to occupy the Oval Office.
Adam Kinzinger called it a Kim Jong-Un birthday party, with each fawning, sweaty deputy licking and cringing with yet another oleaginous, slime-filled tribute to the Dear Leader.
In "The Gulag Archipelago," Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn actually describes a Party Congress scene where the applause and "stormy applause " ("burnyi aplodisementy" in Russian -- yes, they actually print that) kept continuing for seconds, then minutes --- no one had bothered to give the cue for the cut-off moment, and everyone was terrified to be the first to stop clapping, knowing the penalty. Some deputies actually fainted if I remember correctly -- whether from fear or exhaustion.
Watching some of these slimebags on TV make hand gestures when Rep. Greene was thrown out reminded me of that. The highlight of the evening was surely when the Manchurian Cantaloupe called Senator Warren "Pocohantas", while that little Mini-Me asswipe in eyeliner and matching red tie behind him smirked for the cameras. "Wormtongue" indeed.
It is interesting how you chose only the Soviet example. Not of fascist Italy or nazi Germany, and yet the politics of Trump's administration appears more similar to the fascist one. All that you describe nicely can be also found in any historic example of fascism - the choice of a communist example fits beautifully with what I felt was frightening in the States, the obsession with communism almost as the only or at least the worst social evil. Decades of anti communist propaganda seem to this day to have Americans look even at socialism as a plague - and in a sense, the lack of social programs and the lack of social justice (to this day, amazingly enough, Americans are deprived of guaranteed health insurance, unimaginable in say Europe) played an important role in bringing the US to the brink of fascisim.
I chose Stalin, not to zero in on "communism," but to zero in on authoritarianism, and as a particularly ironic note given the Republican Party's contemporary affinity for Russia, which was the target, for so many decades, of the fear campaign you describe, going back long before Republican Senator Joe McCarthy made it a national spectacle.
Of course the phenomenon I describe is present in fascist states as well as communist ones: Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany, Franco's Spain, Pinochet's Chile, and, increasingly, Trump's USA. In Berlin Diary Shirer gives a chilling description of a Nazi gathering very much like the infamous examples under Stalin.
But that happened in Germany, and the Republican Party's affinities are with Putin's Russia, so I chose that illustration.
I see your point, but I also see mine :). I believe that not enough was ever done in the US to portray fascism - and even nazism for that matter - in proper light. We should keep in mind that the US opened its door to many nazis, say scientists and psychiatrists for example. Before the WW2 both the US and GB refused to give visas to uncountable number of Jews, which could help understand its sense of guilt that would push to directly support the genocide in Gaza. When I landed in the US in 1973 to learn my craft - I am a theoretical physicist - I found the country obsessed with anti communism, even anti socialism. This is why wrote to you, I believe that we should use every opportunity to fight the fascism, which is today on the rise almost everywhere, unlike communism. And fascists are racists, directly and openly, while communists were and are not. Communism was more about the persecution of dissidents internally, while fascism needs the superiority of race and takes you against minorities and/or different races. The GOP today looks far more like a fascist movement with their attack on the women, gay, black. immigrant rights. Soviet Union, as my own country of Yugoslavia - in spite of its unforgivable deprivations of democracy and even crimes - tolerated minorities, encouraged women rights (in the Soviet Union women were majority of MDs for example), preaches race equality, preached internationalism. True, both fascist and communist movements are based on personality cults of the leaders, and autocracy, but there are fundamental differences - and I for one believe, that it sis crucial to emphasise them. I hope we could converge on this.
Yugoslavia, which I was privileged to visit as a child, long before its dissolution, was a fascinating and enchanting place. TIto, flaws and all, was a remarkable man. We were in Skopje just months before the earthquake (yes, I am quite old!) and I still have vivid memories of great beauty and a sense of cultural energy and vigor, there and in Belgrade and Zagreb, that was impressive.
I agree without reservation that communism, unlike fascism, was not fueled by racism, mysticism and toxic theories of gender, although even in the USSR it was not always easy for women, or for Jewish citizens. The impetus for communism was a belief in fundamental, universal human rights, a belief in science, a belief in rational systems, a determination to rebuild society on principles of justice and fairness.
In Russia, to these fundamental principles was added a unique burden: not merely how to transform a brutal autocratic state into a free society, but how to transform a wretched, illiterate, terrorized peasantry into a literate, liberated people. What was achieved in a handful of years is really quite remarkable, although there was a terrible cost, made worse every step of the way by the opposition of the Western powers that began when WWI theoretically ended, but a covert war on Russia was launched at once.
The tendency toward authoritarianism was not built into communism, although most communist systems have tended to lapse into authoritarianism.
By contrast it is the core of fascist ideologies. Fascist states are fueled by grotesque inequality, brutality, mysticism, racism, the oppression of women--and yes, that is where we are trending.
Indeed, in the US we have already experienced the sort of fascism we're now embracing again.
Our Jim Crow South was very much the kind of monstrous place the Republicans intend to create on a national scale: brutal, oligarchic, profoundly racist, repressive, violently intolerant--a place of horror. I hope we can find within ourselves as much courage as a small but valiant minority of Southerners found within themselves for generations, resisting the horror even at incalculable cost and great personal risk.
Your life experience sounds fascinating, most impressive, and I do want to assure you that I agree with you on the broader truth: I was speaking in terms of theater rather than philosophy.
Willoughby, this post is a masterpiece. It is filled with erudite observations and historical context about dictatorial rule. The last paragraph is especially chilling because it appears that we have indeed arrived at a time in which courage is punished and cowardice is rewarded. The Constitution has been replaced with Project 2025. To what depths have we sunk?
Life brings disasters, to us individually and sometimes the collective ones. The US was by and large spared of that, but before or later we all get our turn. Think please of the WW2 and destruction of Europe and how it resurrected and today many of its countries offer higher quality of life than the US, that at some point was the master of the world, immensely rich compared to others.
And then if you get desperate, think of Gaza and feel relieved that you do not live in hell. It is all about perspective, and yes, the fascism has arrived at its door, but the US is still live and kicking and we here to fight for democracy, one way or another. If we persist, we may even win - and the fight itself should give us the joy of living.
We have indeed sunk to levels most of us over a certain age would never believe we could. But the spirit of authoritarianism -- whether left or right-wing -- lies deep within the human collective spirit. Democracy is like brushing your teeth. If you stop, they start rotting. It's sort of that simple. Half our society couldn't be bothered to take part in functions that our Founders took for granted, cemented by a reverence for education that is increasingly absent.
And yet we've seen worse here, Gaza and so many other places aside. During the great war where we fought imperialism and fascism on two fronts, still emerging from a Depression, we somehow found who we are. Before that the Civil War almost destroyed us from within. We found the 'better angels of our nature' at least for a while.
I don't minimize what we are going through. But nothing about it feels new. Peruse Aeschylus, Shakespeare's historical tragedies, the Counter-Reformation, most recently the Holocaust --- ultimately the Emperor's New Clothes long before any of i. Why people forget these great classics and pretend this is new, I don't know. It all feels very much 'been there, done that' but forgot to learn the lessons of it all.
My POS US Rep Mike Kelly has not held an in person town hall in years. He holds telephone town halls where callers are screened for content. FEH!
Every two years, some noble Dem puts his or her neck out to see if they can defeat him, but it's an onerous task here in district 16.
I can't even think about the bulk of your missive--it's overwhelming and scary. I do what I can. There was a significant death in our family, and my energy to 'do something' is very limited but today I wrote 10 shame on you postcards to the Dems who censured Al Green. (and sent him a thank you postcard)
I really wish the Rs would grow a spine and embrace their article 1 power.
Given that the Dems are rightfully criticizing the GOP for not doing their duty for going after Trump for violating the law and the Constitution, simply because he is one of their own, it might seem a bit hypocritical for not censuring Green for breaking the rules, simply because he is one of the Dems, even if his anger is justified.
I think the Dems clearly decided in advance to follow the rules, and that is why they decided on using signs. It was clearly planned to do things this way.
The Dems are between a rock and a hard place.
If they protest, it provides cover for the GOP in congress from their own base, and the news would turn to Dems instead of Trump and Musk's chaos and the GOP would say "look angry Dems" we are giving you want you want and "owing the libs." Trump must be doing something right, they would say.
Trump was intentionally trying to goad the Dems in his speech to react in order to provide fodder for right-wing media about "bad Dem behavior" to take the heat off as the GOP in congress are considering voting for trillions more in deficit and debt increases.
The Dems have zero power in congress and can't even get a bill to the floor. The GOP need to own this and the fact that they will not hold Trump to account, because there is absolutely nothing the Dems can do.
If the Dems make more noise, Trump would love nothing more. Trump seemed gleeful with his Cheshire cat grin, when Green yelled at him and made his wish come true. Now FOX opinion shows would have a field day about Dem "rule breakers" etc.
We need to keep the focus and headlines on Trump and the GOP - not ourselves.
Some Dems want to capitalize on this horrific time to criticize and bring down other Dems and promote their own ideology, and I find this self-aggrandizement rather a bit sleezy.
I have spent the last 15 years watching committee hearings and house and senate sessions. I really was amazed how the republicans controlled the narrative even when they weren’t in the majority .They didn’t whine that they were powerless. They blocked and sabotaged whenever possible. Constantly stayed on message over and over again. Delayed until they were almost embarrassing themselves. But they stayed on message every day. Rinse and Repeat. Messaged every day. Excluding a few members of the Democratic elected officials- where are they beside turning their power over to Trump. They are too busy being detached from the reality that we are losing our democracy and instead voting to censure Representative Green who is offering some resistance for his constituents. I feel the rock and hard place is that the republicans in Congress surrendered their constitutional power to Trump and the democratic have surrendered to do little. With a few exceptions, I hope there are a lot of primaries. I want a fighter !
They lost the White House and the Senate and failed to gain control of the House. Why do you think that is? If Trump and the Republicans are really as horrible as this forum continually claims, why are the Dems out of power? If Dems were really going gangbusters on policy issues and were honest with the American electorate, why are they now in the minority?
I live in the same town he does. I've encountered him outside a popular coffee shop and while he was all friendly, my husband and I were icy in our reply. No love lost there.
I am sorry about the death in your family. You have my sincere condolences. I am amazed that you were able to get those postcards sent but I completely understand the adrenaline to do so. I wanted to say that I called 2 of the 10 who voted for censure because I was really pissed off! Those two come from here in California.
It will continue to get worse, if that's possible, until Republicans in Congress recommit themselves to the Constitution. Or else this country is done!!
True dat. But this is the pestilence that Roberts' Supreme Court visited on us with their onerous and amoral Citizens United decision. Proof: Musk spent $250mio to help Trump win. And everybody knows it and as all the news outlets have advised us. Joni Ernst caved on confirming Hegseth. Musk was going to primary her. No more small dollar limitations to gifts for political purposes.
There is one other solution and that is for Dem leadership to "sweeten the pot" and ask the few less MAGA types in the GOP to switch to independent and caucus with them.
Then, as a bipartisan coalition, they could once again be an independent branch of government and hold him to account.
Sadly, it may be hard to find a couple in the House and 4 in the Senate, so they may have to wait until more of these GOP in congress are dealing with the fallout in their states from all the chaos and cuts and tariffs.
He seems looney and completely unhinged and now wants to impose a 250% tariff on dairy, even though the USA does not pay a tariff to Canada because we never go above the known quota limits (that we helped to set) and we even have a trade surplus on milk with Canada.
"The U.S. has obtained a favorable quota and, as a result, exports more dairy products to Canada than it imports from Canada. In 2017, Americans sold $792 million in dairy products to Canada, while Canadians sold $149 million in dairy products to the U.S., creating a tidy trade surplus for the U.S. of nearly $650 million."
"Do we want oligarchy or democracy? Only the masses will decide."
I'd rather have the republic the Founders gave us. That means a small (not smaller) federal government. The masses are unwilling to support that and our two major political parties love the power of a larger central government.
Thanks for the links. I personally think Trump views tariffs as simply political tools with no actual thought as to the consequences to the voters. If other nations call his bluff it's the consumer that loses, not Trump.
"For example, CBSA's list shows milk has an initial tariff of 7.5 percent (with exemptions again for USMCA signatories) but above a certain quantity that could rise to 241 percent for any exporter. This is still less than the 270 percent claimed in the post."
So, for the USMCA trade agreement (Trump signed) there is no milk tariff and it is only 7.5% for others not in the trade agreement, unless there is an excess of an import above a certain level. And guess what, no one imports above the cut off point so there is no large tariff
It seems Trump knows nothing about what happens in his administration or what he signs, or anything really, and is getting his info from social media, as usual, or he assumes his base will believe anything he repeats from social media.
Here is another source from Brookings from 2018 when Trump made the same nonsense argument back then, as well :
"Second, Canada only imposes high tariffs on imports above the quota, not on all the dairy products U.S. producers sell to them. For example, Canadian tariffs on dairy products within the quota are often zero and never more than a few percent. As a practical matter, no dairy products are sold to Canada outside the quota, so no U.S. exports really pay a high tariff."
You're the one who said Trump was imposing a 250% tariff without any details as to how it was to be implemented. I merely showed what Canada was doing. We both agree that it's not 200-plus percent at all times on all products.
All too reminiscent of Mussolini's rise to power, including the contempt for women revealed in the elevation to powerful roles of sexual predators. The recent court rejections of some of Trump's moves should be heartening, but the speed with which they are breaking things continues to be alarming. Why would the Republicans think it's a good idea for the United States to lose its role in the world, for our scientists to be prevented from doing cutting edge work, for people to lose housing and healthcare and public schools? None of it makes any logical sense unless the motive is just retribution and a raw Power grab? Do congressional republicans really like the world we would end up with if this persists?
A comment long on hope: "Yet, none of this is inevitable. Congress, in particular, enjoys extraordinary powers under the Constitution, from oversight to legislation. It’s not too late for them to use it and stand for the system of checks and balances the Founding Fathers created."
With Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, and John Cornyn, and other GOP stalwarts folding like cheap tents, my faith in the seriousness of the Senate has been severely damaged.
John Cornyn graduated law school a year or two ahead of me in Texas. I took con Law, excelled in it, and I know what the Constitution says! Apparently he was absent during that course. Or he never comprehended what they were talking about. If I thought he would show up at the class reunion in April, I would go and ask him what was his grade in that course? Cause he’s failing now.
Scare him for what reason? That he might lose his Senate seat? Well he deserves to if he’s such a coward. Whatever happened to standing up for the oath you swore to defend the constitution?
I think there's an element of being physically scared for your own and your family's well being. This is what Trump and Bannon have brought to us. Bondi will be no help.
It is really frustrating to live in Elise Stefanik's district. She is doing nothing but supporting the Felon in Chief as she waits to assume her role at the UN which the MAGA's are stalling to keep her vote in the House. Our NY Democratic senators are doing what they can. I've been writing to Republicans who head the important committees A LOT, but only the Senators allow voters from outside their states to e-mail them. The Reps do not (cowards). They are so afraid to lose their seats, but they will in any case as their voters realize that they don't give a damn about their constituents' 'petty' concerns and care only about their own preservation. I keep repeating that if they do their duty to the nation and the Constitution, the voters will be grateful. They should have nothing to fear if they do what they were elected by the people to do. So far, the message hasn't made much of an impression, but like a gnat, I keep pestering them in the hopes that it will.
It's the kleptocratic authoritarian oligarchy being formed with Congress neutered; Trump embracing Supreme Court Chief Justice and thanking him for granting nearly blanket immunity and hoping he has the court in his pocket; extorting Ukraine for its minerals and Canada, China, and Mexico with tariffs; attacking law firms and universities. And with ten Democrats afraid to the point of joining with MAGA Republicans in censuring their colleague, Rep. AL Green, for the audacity of speaking "truth to power," have we lost our democracy without realizing it?
Yes, we have, and it's been a long, slow descent. It's not hopeless, but only because anything can happen. People can change. But there will always be more wannabe oligarchs. There will always be disinformation campaigns targeting aggrieved groups. There will always be a tendency toward complacency. There will always be authoritarians and those willing to do violence against others if allowed. And now we have the wonderful but oh-so-exploitable worldwide web.
Potential D challengers, or neighboring D Reps, or if no one else voters who are disgusted, should organize and hold their own Town Halls. Those will highlight the R Reps who are cowards, and create a forum for the district voters to be heard.
A friend of mine sent this to me and there is a groundswell of people doing it in the Western New York area:
Fwd: Something to do!
On March 15th, many people will mail Donald Trump a postcard that publicly expresses our opposition to him. And we, in vast numbers, from all corners of the world, will overwhelm the man with his unpopularity and failure. We will show the media and the politicians what standing with him — and against us — means. And most importantly, we will bury the White House post office in pink slips, all informing Donnie that he’s fired.
Each of us — every protester from every march, each congress calling citizen, every boycotter, volunteer, donor, and petition signer — if each of us writes even a single postcard and we put them all in the mail on the same day, March 15th, well: you do the math.
No alternative fact or Russian translation will explain away our record-breaking, officially-verifiable, warehouse-filling flood of fury. Hank Aaron currently holds the record for fan mail, having received 900,000 pieces in a year. We’re setting a new record: over a million pieces in a day, with not a single nice thing to say.
So sharpen your wit, unsheathe your writing implements, and see if your sincerest ill-wishes can pierce Donald’s famously thin skin.
Prepare for March 15th, 2025, a day hereafter to be known as #TheIdesOfTrump
Write one postcard. Write a dozen! Take a picture and post it on social media tagged with #TheIdesOfTrump ! Spread the word! Everyone on Earth should let Donnie know how he’s doing. They can’t build a wall high enough to stop the mail.
It is important for all members of the DC Bar to be aware of this upcoming election and to vote against Bondi (at Paul Hastings LLP) and Long. Diane Seltzer (The Seltzer Law Firm) is the only other candidate for president elect, and Amanda C. Molina (Microsoft Corporation) is the only other candidate for treasurer.
The Democracy Index is so greatly needed, and invaluable! Thank you so much, Joyce and Julie, for conceiving the project, and devoting your thought, time, and energy to so cogently summarize, and help us understand, the specific dangers to our democracy; and what we must do to preserve and protect it.
If Congress and the Senate will not lead, then voters need to step up. The key is that someone, some individual with some authority, or some institution with some authority needs to take a leading role in mobilizing voters on to the streets. Until we can mobilize millions around the country, Trump and the GOP will continue the present flagrant attack on our democracy and freedom. There seems no other way to stop this juggernaut. As expected the Trump regime has had over 4 years to prepare for these actions. We knew it was coming - at least some of us did. I personally expected a bad time from Jan 20th onwards, but I must admit it is worse than I expected. Trump has outdone himself even by his pretty high standards. The shock and awe tactics, the level of cruelty, the depth of his lies, the evil plans are really horrifying! The fact that nothing seems to stop the harassment of good people, the threats to those who won’t switch to his unlawful approach to governing, the overt use of illegitimate methods whether in the DOJ, military or other civil organizations is just staggering. Some of the actions are laughable and petty to the point of ludicrousness, but merely point to the abject banality of his grab for power. For instance the removal of photos of the Enola Gay from all official military sites because it does not comply with the new rules banning DEI plans or concepts is just absurd. It is a stunningly stupid act. An action as dumb as halting USAID that was doing such necessary and life saving work around the world. The one act is idiotic the other purely evil. Both just indicative of the nasty autocracy and fascist mendacity that Trump, Musk and Vance are asserting on the American Republic. Rebellion is what seems left to us to correct this evil before it becomes entrenched in a society already corroded by years of QANON and other right wing conspiracists.
I don’t care who you are. What does it have to do with this discussion in any case. I don’t think you have any gifts by the way except ignorance where I think you score pretty high.
If you cannot see cruelty for what it is then don’t bother interacting with me. You are either blind or incredibly evil yourself.
Cruel policies - closing USAID that served millions of needy people around the world, threatening to stop programs like food stamps and Medicaid in favor of a tax program to benefit the rich. Separating immigrant children from their parents and keeping them in deplorable circumstances for punishment. Firing people without cause, upending the lives of thousands, again to satisfy yourself and the wealthy. Treating President Zelenskyy like an errant schoolboy and threatening Gaza with further ethnic cleansing for his own commercial benefit. I could go on and on.
What by the way does Biden’s state of mind have to do with this discussion? Parenthetically, if it is so important, how about Trump’s dementia and sociopathic behavior let alone the total lack of qualifications of most of his cabinet members?
Truth is I am not angry at you. I am merely saddened that seemingly intelligent people do not see the obviously misguided direction in which America is headed under this regime. As the son of Holocaust survivors, I am horribly distressed by the racist, authoritarian, anti education and meritless society being forged by Trump and his acolytes.
And you sound like the GOP ignoring the cruelty of their policies. Or is it an absence of policy relying on Project 2025 as the blueprint for governing - a truly autocratic plan to create a White Christian Nationalist country to which Trump wants to add Imperialist ally of Russia. I would rather support a liberal inclusionary vision that promotes the ideas of a meritocracy providing equal opportunities for health , education and liberty for all than an autocracy where the good goes only to the ultra wealthy.
I am a registered republican, retiree and veteran and I am watching the stress level of everyone in the United States, from Newborns to the Supreme Court and Worldwide, skyrocket all due to one man, Donald Trump. Congress has the power to impeach Trump and he has given Congress a Container Ship of Cause. Please take back your power.
Fellow Republicans please contact your Congregational representatives and request they take back their power. Congress.gov (202) 224-3121
Citizens in GOP districts where cowardly representatives refuse to do Town Hall Mtgs should set up their own well-publicized and videoed mtgs, using a classic 'empty chair' in place of their absent representative. Demand facts, answers, and accountability - and invite news coverage.
Congressman Jack Bergman's constituents in Michigan are way ahead of you - they did this so effectively! And 500 people marched in Alaska earlier this week to demand a town hall. The people, united
If elected reps refuse to show up for Town Hall Mtgs, then their prior, publicly available comments can be printed out and placed on the 'empty chair' and used to answer constituents' questions. These printed answers should include the elected rep's own prior statements - including contradictory statements - re: support for Ukraine, social security, US cyber security, the rule of law, Veterans, the US Constitution, etc.
John Lewis is always relevant: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. . . Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
Excellent idea!
It was at once revolting, and yet somehow hilarious, to watch the Republican response to that weird, rambling rant Trump performed before a joint session of Congress the other night.
Were they going for a North Korean vibe? Nuremburg? Or something closer to GOP hearts--a Russian vibe?
As the Republicans whooped and fist-bumped and howled and giggled and swooned and cheered the president's lies and inanities, I was reminded of other moments in history, some of them captured in grainy black-and-white.
Consider the spectacle of Soviet deputies, and their curious practice of performative listening whenever Stalin spoke.
Each deputy was desperate to seem more entranced, more adoring, more enraptured, and above all more loyal, than all the others.
It was a sort of competition. Who could laugh the hardest when Stalin wanted laughter? Who could applaud the longest when he expected applause? Who could roar the most ferocious approval when he expressed his bloody-minded madness and told his bloody-minded lies?
Any sign of disloyalty--even just a lack of sufficient enthusiasm--could doom a man. Having betrayed so many of their comrades in order to stay in Stalin's good graces, each deputy lived in constant fear that he himself would be betrayed.
They were afraid for good reason. In an authoritarian state run by a madman, informers abound. When they run out of other people to inform on, they inform on each other. Even a whisper of disloyalty is enough to finish a man
It was true in the USSR. Now it's true in the USA as well. We see it every day as Republican Senators stumble over each other (and trample their constituents, and shred their constitution) to show their absolute, cult-like adoration for the most unfit man ever to occupy the Oval Office.
Adam Kinzinger called it a Kim Jong-Un birthday party, with each fawning, sweaty deputy licking and cringing with yet another oleaginous, slime-filled tribute to the Dear Leader.
In "The Gulag Archipelago," Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn actually describes a Party Congress scene where the applause and "stormy applause " ("burnyi aplodisementy" in Russian -- yes, they actually print that) kept continuing for seconds, then minutes --- no one had bothered to give the cue for the cut-off moment, and everyone was terrified to be the first to stop clapping, knowing the penalty. Some deputies actually fainted if I remember correctly -- whether from fear or exhaustion.
Watching some of these slimebags on TV make hand gestures when Rep. Greene was thrown out reminded me of that. The highlight of the evening was surely when the Manchurian Cantaloupe called Senator Warren "Pocohantas", while that little Mini-Me asswipe in eyeliner and matching red tie behind him smirked for the cameras. "Wormtongue" indeed.
Kinzinger also compared the GOP in congress to clapping circus seals being thrown fish by Trump.
He’s soooo good!
Great post, Corbin. Adam Kinzinger is a true patriot.
It is interesting how you chose only the Soviet example. Not of fascist Italy or nazi Germany, and yet the politics of Trump's administration appears more similar to the fascist one. All that you describe nicely can be also found in any historic example of fascism - the choice of a communist example fits beautifully with what I felt was frightening in the States, the obsession with communism almost as the only or at least the worst social evil. Decades of anti communist propaganda seem to this day to have Americans look even at socialism as a plague - and in a sense, the lack of social programs and the lack of social justice (to this day, amazingly enough, Americans are deprived of guaranteed health insurance, unimaginable in say Europe) played an important role in bringing the US to the brink of fascisim.
I chose Stalin, not to zero in on "communism," but to zero in on authoritarianism, and as a particularly ironic note given the Republican Party's contemporary affinity for Russia, which was the target, for so many decades, of the fear campaign you describe, going back long before Republican Senator Joe McCarthy made it a national spectacle.
Of course the phenomenon I describe is present in fascist states as well as communist ones: Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany, Franco's Spain, Pinochet's Chile, and, increasingly, Trump's USA. In Berlin Diary Shirer gives a chilling description of a Nazi gathering very much like the infamous examples under Stalin.
But that happened in Germany, and the Republican Party's affinities are with Putin's Russia, so I chose that illustration.
I see your point, but I also see mine :). I believe that not enough was ever done in the US to portray fascism - and even nazism for that matter - in proper light. We should keep in mind that the US opened its door to many nazis, say scientists and psychiatrists for example. Before the WW2 both the US and GB refused to give visas to uncountable number of Jews, which could help understand its sense of guilt that would push to directly support the genocide in Gaza. When I landed in the US in 1973 to learn my craft - I am a theoretical physicist - I found the country obsessed with anti communism, even anti socialism. This is why wrote to you, I believe that we should use every opportunity to fight the fascism, which is today on the rise almost everywhere, unlike communism. And fascists are racists, directly and openly, while communists were and are not. Communism was more about the persecution of dissidents internally, while fascism needs the superiority of race and takes you against minorities and/or different races. The GOP today looks far more like a fascist movement with their attack on the women, gay, black. immigrant rights. Soviet Union, as my own country of Yugoslavia - in spite of its unforgivable deprivations of democracy and even crimes - tolerated minorities, encouraged women rights (in the Soviet Union women were majority of MDs for example), preaches race equality, preached internationalism. True, both fascist and communist movements are based on personality cults of the leaders, and autocracy, but there are fundamental differences - and I for one believe, that it sis crucial to emphasise them. I hope we could converge on this.
Yugoslavia, which I was privileged to visit as a child, long before its dissolution, was a fascinating and enchanting place. TIto, flaws and all, was a remarkable man. We were in Skopje just months before the earthquake (yes, I am quite old!) and I still have vivid memories of great beauty and a sense of cultural energy and vigor, there and in Belgrade and Zagreb, that was impressive.
I agree without reservation that communism, unlike fascism, was not fueled by racism, mysticism and toxic theories of gender, although even in the USSR it was not always easy for women, or for Jewish citizens. The impetus for communism was a belief in fundamental, universal human rights, a belief in science, a belief in rational systems, a determination to rebuild society on principles of justice and fairness.
In Russia, to these fundamental principles was added a unique burden: not merely how to transform a brutal autocratic state into a free society, but how to transform a wretched, illiterate, terrorized peasantry into a literate, liberated people. What was achieved in a handful of years is really quite remarkable, although there was a terrible cost, made worse every step of the way by the opposition of the Western powers that began when WWI theoretically ended, but a covert war on Russia was launched at once.
The tendency toward authoritarianism was not built into communism, although most communist systems have tended to lapse into authoritarianism.
By contrast it is the core of fascist ideologies. Fascist states are fueled by grotesque inequality, brutality, mysticism, racism, the oppression of women--and yes, that is where we are trending.
Indeed, in the US we have already experienced the sort of fascism we're now embracing again.
Our Jim Crow South was very much the kind of monstrous place the Republicans intend to create on a national scale: brutal, oligarchic, profoundly racist, repressive, violently intolerant--a place of horror. I hope we can find within ourselves as much courage as a small but valiant minority of Southerners found within themselves for generations, resisting the horror even at incalculable cost and great personal risk.
Your life experience sounds fascinating, most impressive, and I do want to assure you that I agree with you on the broader truth: I was speaking in terms of theater rather than philosophy.
Willoughby, this post is a masterpiece. It is filled with erudite observations and historical context about dictatorial rule. The last paragraph is especially chilling because it appears that we have indeed arrived at a time in which courage is punished and cowardice is rewarded. The Constitution has been replaced with Project 2025. To what depths have we sunk?
Life brings disasters, to us individually and sometimes the collective ones. The US was by and large spared of that, but before or later we all get our turn. Think please of the WW2 and destruction of Europe and how it resurrected and today many of its countries offer higher quality of life than the US, that at some point was the master of the world, immensely rich compared to others.
And then if you get desperate, think of Gaza and feel relieved that you do not live in hell. It is all about perspective, and yes, the fascism has arrived at its door, but the US is still live and kicking and we here to fight for democracy, one way or another. If we persist, we may even win - and the fight itself should give us the joy of living.
We have indeed sunk to levels most of us over a certain age would never believe we could. But the spirit of authoritarianism -- whether left or right-wing -- lies deep within the human collective spirit. Democracy is like brushing your teeth. If you stop, they start rotting. It's sort of that simple. Half our society couldn't be bothered to take part in functions that our Founders took for granted, cemented by a reverence for education that is increasingly absent.
And yet we've seen worse here, Gaza and so many other places aside. During the great war where we fought imperialism and fascism on two fronts, still emerging from a Depression, we somehow found who we are. Before that the Civil War almost destroyed us from within. We found the 'better angels of our nature' at least for a while.
I don't minimize what we are going through. But nothing about it feels new. Peruse Aeschylus, Shakespeare's historical tragedies, the Counter-Reformation, most recently the Holocaust --- ultimately the Emperor's New Clothes long before any of i. Why people forget these great classics and pretend this is new, I don't know. It all feels very much 'been there, done that' but forgot to learn the lessons of it all.
My POS US Rep Mike Kelly has not held an in person town hall in years. He holds telephone town halls where callers are screened for content. FEH!
Every two years, some noble Dem puts his or her neck out to see if they can defeat him, but it's an onerous task here in district 16.
I can't even think about the bulk of your missive--it's overwhelming and scary. I do what I can. There was a significant death in our family, and my energy to 'do something' is very limited but today I wrote 10 shame on you postcards to the Dems who censured Al Green. (and sent him a thank you postcard)
I really wish the Rs would grow a spine and embrace their article 1 power.
Given that the Dems are rightfully criticizing the GOP for not doing their duty for going after Trump for violating the law and the Constitution, simply because he is one of their own, it might seem a bit hypocritical for not censuring Green for breaking the rules, simply because he is one of the Dems, even if his anger is justified.
I think the Dems clearly decided in advance to follow the rules, and that is why they decided on using signs. It was clearly planned to do things this way.
The Dems are between a rock and a hard place.
If they protest, it provides cover for the GOP in congress from their own base, and the news would turn to Dems instead of Trump and Musk's chaos and the GOP would say "look angry Dems" we are giving you want you want and "owing the libs." Trump must be doing something right, they would say.
Trump was intentionally trying to goad the Dems in his speech to react in order to provide fodder for right-wing media about "bad Dem behavior" to take the heat off as the GOP in congress are considering voting for trillions more in deficit and debt increases.
The Dems have zero power in congress and can't even get a bill to the floor. The GOP need to own this and the fact that they will not hold Trump to account, because there is absolutely nothing the Dems can do.
If the Dems make more noise, Trump would love nothing more. Trump seemed gleeful with his Cheshire cat grin, when Green yelled at him and made his wish come true. Now FOX opinion shows would have a field day about Dem "rule breakers" etc.
We need to keep the focus and headlines on Trump and the GOP - not ourselves.
Some Dems want to capitalize on this horrific time to criticize and bring down other Dems and promote their own ideology, and I find this self-aggrandizement rather a bit sleezy.
I have spent the last 15 years watching committee hearings and house and senate sessions. I really was amazed how the republicans controlled the narrative even when they weren’t in the majority .They didn’t whine that they were powerless. They blocked and sabotaged whenever possible. Constantly stayed on message over and over again. Delayed until they were almost embarrassing themselves. But they stayed on message every day. Rinse and Repeat. Messaged every day. Excluding a few members of the Democratic elected officials- where are they beside turning their power over to Trump. They are too busy being detached from the reality that we are losing our democracy and instead voting to censure Representative Green who is offering some resistance for his constituents. I feel the rock and hard place is that the republicans in Congress surrendered their constitutional power to Trump and the democratic have surrendered to do little. With a few exceptions, I hope there are a lot of primaries. I want a fighter !
This. I really wish we’d wise up and stop eating our own.
"The Dems are between a rock and a hard place."
No, the Dems are in a hole of their own making and are clueless as to how to get out.
Are YOU one of WE the PEOPLE?
"Are YOU one of WE the PEOPLE?"
What manner of rhetoric is that, other than useless and non-specific?
How so?
They lost the White House and the Senate and failed to gain control of the House. Why do you think that is? If Trump and the Republicans are really as horrible as this forum continually claims, why are the Dems out of power? If Dems were really going gangbusters on policy issues and were honest with the American electorate, why are they now in the minority?
Just looked him up. Seems like a real dirtbag.
I live in the same town he does. I've encountered him outside a popular coffee shop and while he was all friendly, my husband and I were icy in our reply. No love lost there.
I am sorry about the death in your family. You have my sincere condolences. I am amazed that you were able to get those postcards sent but I completely understand the adrenaline to do so. I wanted to say that I called 2 of the 10 who voted for censure because I was really pissed off! Those two come from here in California.
Ellen, Take care as you grieve and/or care for others in your family. If you can find Anne Lamott 's column of March 7, it may be a balm.
It will continue to get worse, if that's possible, until Republicans in Congress recommit themselves to the Constitution. Or else this country is done!!
True dat. But this is the pestilence that Roberts' Supreme Court visited on us with their onerous and amoral Citizens United decision. Proof: Musk spent $250mio to help Trump win. And everybody knows it and as all the news outlets have advised us. Joni Ernst caved on confirming Hegseth. Musk was going to primary her. No more small dollar limitations to gifts for political purposes.
There is one other solution and that is for Dem leadership to "sweeten the pot" and ask the few less MAGA types in the GOP to switch to independent and caucus with them.
Then, as a bipartisan coalition, they could once again be an independent branch of government and hold him to account.
Sadly, it may be hard to find a couple in the House and 4 in the Senate, so they may have to wait until more of these GOP in congress are dealing with the fallout in their states from all the chaos and cuts and tariffs.
He seems looney and completely unhinged and now wants to impose a 250% tariff on dairy, even though the USA does not pay a tariff to Canada because we never go above the known quota limits (that we helped to set) and we even have a trade surplus on milk with Canada.
"The U.S. has obtained a favorable quota and, as a result, exports more dairy products to Canada than it imports from Canada. In 2017, Americans sold $792 million in dairy products to Canada, while Canadians sold $149 million in dairy products to the U.S., creating a tidy trade surplus for the U.S. of nearly $650 million."
The above quote is from Brookings from 2018, you would think Trump would know this by now : https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-trumped-up-charge-against-canadian-dairy-tariffs/
Yes, the 250% dairy tariff is outrageous! This guy who sits at the resolute desk, doesn’t know a damn thing about economy. He is such a disgrace!
"Now, Trump is proposing 250% tariff on milk from Canada."
"FACT CHECK: Does Canada Charge A 270% Tariff On US Dairy?"
https://checkyourfact.com/2018/06/11/fact-check-canada-270-percent-tariff-dairy/
https://thehill.com/business/5182833-trump-threatens-tariffs-on-canadian-dairy-lumber-products-as-soon-as-friday/
https://apnews.com/article/china-canada-retaliatory-tariffs-agricultural-products-trade-d35f11cd9612b25283f202a8a59be859
Probably doesn't matter, because our focus should be much deeper. Do we want oligarchy or democracy? Only the masses will decide.
"Do we want oligarchy or democracy? Only the masses will decide."
I'd rather have the republic the Founders gave us. That means a small (not smaller) federal government. The masses are unwilling to support that and our two major political parties love the power of a larger central government.
"Get Konnected with The Kronies Action Figures"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDXuPQ9ML9E
Thanks for the links. I personally think Trump views tariffs as simply political tools with no actual thought as to the consequences to the voters. If other nations call his bluff it's the consumer that loses, not Trump.
Actually, No. You need a reliable source
AFP Fact Check - https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.36ZB6AD
"For example, CBSA's list shows milk has an initial tariff of 7.5 percent (with exemptions again for USMCA signatories) but above a certain quantity that could rise to 241 percent for any exporter. This is still less than the 270 percent claimed in the post."
So, for the USMCA trade agreement (Trump signed) there is no milk tariff and it is only 7.5% for others not in the trade agreement, unless there is an excess of an import above a certain level. And guess what, no one imports above the cut off point so there is no large tariff
It seems Trump knows nothing about what happens in his administration or what he signs, or anything really, and is getting his info from social media, as usual, or he assumes his base will believe anything he repeats from social media.
Here is another source from Brookings from 2018 when Trump made the same nonsense argument back then, as well :
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/a-trumped-up-charge-against-canadian-dairy-tariffs/
"Second, Canada only imposes high tariffs on imports above the quota, not on all the dairy products U.S. producers sell to them. For example, Canadian tariffs on dairy products within the quota are often zero and never more than a few percent. As a practical matter, no dairy products are sold to Canada outside the quota, so no U.S. exports really pay a high tariff."
Once again, we have a looney tunes president.
You're the one who said Trump was imposing a 250% tariff without any details as to how it was to be implemented. I merely showed what Canada was doing. We both agree that it's not 200-plus percent at all times on all products.
All too reminiscent of Mussolini's rise to power, including the contempt for women revealed in the elevation to powerful roles of sexual predators. The recent court rejections of some of Trump's moves should be heartening, but the speed with which they are breaking things continues to be alarming. Why would the Republicans think it's a good idea for the United States to lose its role in the world, for our scientists to be prevented from doing cutting edge work, for people to lose housing and healthcare and public schools? None of it makes any logical sense unless the motive is just retribution and a raw Power grab? Do congressional republicans really like the world we would end up with if this persists?
I think they think they will become part of the oligarchy
But they are also understandably afraid. No excuse, but reality.
The goal is global oligarchy. Kleptocracy thrives in chaos.
"All too reminiscent of Mussolini's rise to power, including the contempt for women revealed in the elevation to powerful roles of sexual predators."
That's why Trump has women in his Cabinet and other places.
At least Trump can probably tell you what a woman is, unlike some Democrats:
"What's a Woman?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rByYJ3gfiWA
congress is a cesspool of republican cowards.
"congress is a cesspool of republican cowards"
The entire federal government is a cesspool because both parties have more allegiance to power than to the Constitution.
BS
When you decide to take off the partisan shades let me know.
Same. Until then, buh bye magafucker.
A comment long on hope: "Yet, none of this is inevitable. Congress, in particular, enjoys extraordinary powers under the Constitution, from oversight to legislation. It’s not too late for them to use it and stand for the system of checks and balances the Founding Fathers created."
With Roger Wicker, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, and John Cornyn, and other GOP stalwarts folding like cheap tents, my faith in the seriousness of the Senate has been severely damaged.
John Cornyn graduated law school a year or two ahead of me in Texas. I took con Law, excelled in it, and I know what the Constitution says! Apparently he was absent during that course. Or he never comprehended what they were talking about. If I thought he would show up at the class reunion in April, I would go and ask him what was his grade in that course? Cause he’s failing now.
The thing is: he knows better. But he's scared. Trump and Musks money scare him. Not without reason.
Scare him for what reason? That he might lose his Senate seat? Well he deserves to if he’s such a coward. Whatever happened to standing up for the oath you swore to defend the constitution?
I think there's an element of being physically scared for your own and your family's well being. This is what Trump and Bannon have brought to us. Bondi will be no help.
It is really frustrating to live in Elise Stefanik's district. She is doing nothing but supporting the Felon in Chief as she waits to assume her role at the UN which the MAGA's are stalling to keep her vote in the House. Our NY Democratic senators are doing what they can. I've been writing to Republicans who head the important committees A LOT, but only the Senators allow voters from outside their states to e-mail them. The Reps do not (cowards). They are so afraid to lose their seats, but they will in any case as their voters realize that they don't give a damn about their constituents' 'petty' concerns and care only about their own preservation. I keep repeating that if they do their duty to the nation and the Constitution, the voters will be grateful. They should have nothing to fear if they do what they were elected by the people to do. So far, the message hasn't made much of an impression, but like a gnat, I keep pestering them in the hopes that it will.
It's the kleptocratic authoritarian oligarchy being formed with Congress neutered; Trump embracing Supreme Court Chief Justice and thanking him for granting nearly blanket immunity and hoping he has the court in his pocket; extorting Ukraine for its minerals and Canada, China, and Mexico with tariffs; attacking law firms and universities. And with ten Democrats afraid to the point of joining with MAGA Republicans in censuring their colleague, Rep. AL Green, for the audacity of speaking "truth to power," have we lost our democracy without realizing it?
Yes, we have, and it's been a long, slow descent. It's not hopeless, but only because anything can happen. People can change. But there will always be more wannabe oligarchs. There will always be disinformation campaigns targeting aggrieved groups. There will always be a tendency toward complacency. There will always be authoritarians and those willing to do violence against others if allowed. And now we have the wonderful but oh-so-exploitable worldwide web.
Potential D challengers, or neighboring D Reps, or if no one else voters who are disgusted, should organize and hold their own Town Halls. Those will highlight the R Reps who are cowards, and create a forum for the district voters to be heard.
This is an absolutely excellent idea!
Challengers holding town halls.
That might force them out of the woodwork and come out of hiding!
It would force the truth out in the open, as well and into even more headlines.
It is suggested in the column. Empty chair town halls they call it.
A friend of mine sent this to me and there is a groundswell of people doing it in the Western New York area:
Fwd: Something to do!
On March 15th, many people will mail Donald Trump a postcard that publicly expresses our opposition to him. And we, in vast numbers, from all corners of the world, will overwhelm the man with his unpopularity and failure. We will show the media and the politicians what standing with him — and against us — means. And most importantly, we will bury the White House post office in pink slips, all informing Donnie that he’s fired.
Each of us — every protester from every march, each congress calling citizen, every boycotter, volunteer, donor, and petition signer — if each of us writes even a single postcard and we put them all in the mail on the same day, March 15th, well: you do the math.
No alternative fact or Russian translation will explain away our record-breaking, officially-verifiable, warehouse-filling flood of fury. Hank Aaron currently holds the record for fan mail, having received 900,000 pieces in a year. We’re setting a new record: over a million pieces in a day, with not a single nice thing to say.
So sharpen your wit, unsheathe your writing implements, and see if your sincerest ill-wishes can pierce Donald’s famously thin skin.
Prepare for March 15th, 2025, a day hereafter to be known as #TheIdesOfTrump
Write one postcard. Write a dozen! Take a picture and post it on social media tagged with #TheIdesOfTrump ! Spread the word! Everyone on Earth should let Donnie know how he’s doing. They can’t build a wall high enough to stop the mail.
Then, on March 15th, mail your messages to
President (for now) Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
It might just be enough to make him crack.
It is important for all members of the DC Bar to be aware of this upcoming election and to vote against Bondi (at Paul Hastings LLP) and Long. Diane Seltzer (The Seltzer Law Firm) is the only other candidate for president elect, and Amanda C. Molina (Microsoft Corporation) is the only other candidate for treasurer.
The Democracy Index is so greatly needed, and invaluable! Thank you so much, Joyce and Julie, for conceiving the project, and devoting your thought, time, and energy to so cogently summarize, and help us understand, the specific dangers to our democracy; and what we must do to preserve and protect it.
If Congress and the Senate will not lead, then voters need to step up. The key is that someone, some individual with some authority, or some institution with some authority needs to take a leading role in mobilizing voters on to the streets. Until we can mobilize millions around the country, Trump and the GOP will continue the present flagrant attack on our democracy and freedom. There seems no other way to stop this juggernaut. As expected the Trump regime has had over 4 years to prepare for these actions. We knew it was coming - at least some of us did. I personally expected a bad time from Jan 20th onwards, but I must admit it is worse than I expected. Trump has outdone himself even by his pretty high standards. The shock and awe tactics, the level of cruelty, the depth of his lies, the evil plans are really horrifying! The fact that nothing seems to stop the harassment of good people, the threats to those who won’t switch to his unlawful approach to governing, the overt use of illegitimate methods whether in the DOJ, military or other civil organizations is just staggering. Some of the actions are laughable and petty to the point of ludicrousness, but merely point to the abject banality of his grab for power. For instance the removal of photos of the Enola Gay from all official military sites because it does not comply with the new rules banning DEI plans or concepts is just absurd. It is a stunningly stupid act. An action as dumb as halting USAID that was doing such necessary and life saving work around the world. The one act is idiotic the other purely evil. Both just indicative of the nasty autocracy and fascist mendacity that Trump, Musk and Vance are asserting on the American Republic. Rebellion is what seems left to us to correct this evil before it becomes entrenched in a society already corroded by years of QANON and other right wing conspiracists.
I don’t care who you are. What does it have to do with this discussion in any case. I don’t think you have any gifts by the way except ignorance where I think you score pretty high.
If you cannot see cruelty for what it is then don’t bother interacting with me. You are either blind or incredibly evil yourself.
Cruel policies - closing USAID that served millions of needy people around the world, threatening to stop programs like food stamps and Medicaid in favor of a tax program to benefit the rich. Separating immigrant children from their parents and keeping them in deplorable circumstances for punishment. Firing people without cause, upending the lives of thousands, again to satisfy yourself and the wealthy. Treating President Zelenskyy like an errant schoolboy and threatening Gaza with further ethnic cleansing for his own commercial benefit. I could go on and on.
What by the way does Biden’s state of mind have to do with this discussion? Parenthetically, if it is so important, how about Trump’s dementia and sociopathic behavior let alone the total lack of qualifications of most of his cabinet members?
Truth is I am not angry at you. I am merely saddened that seemingly intelligent people do not see the obviously misguided direction in which America is headed under this regime. As the son of Holocaust survivors, I am horribly distressed by the racist, authoritarian, anti education and meritless society being forged by Trump and his acolytes.
"If Congress and the Senate will not lead, then voters need to step up."
The voters did step up, back in November.
The dumb ones stepped up. The others have to fix what they fucked up.
Sounds just like the Democratic Party - blaming the voters for their loss, not their own policies.
And you sound like the GOP ignoring the cruelty of their policies. Or is it an absence of policy relying on Project 2025 as the blueprint for governing - a truly autocratic plan to create a White Christian Nationalist country to which Trump wants to add Imperialist ally of Russia. I would rather support a liberal inclusionary vision that promotes the ideas of a meritocracy providing equal opportunities for health , education and liberty for all than an autocracy where the good goes only to the ultra wealthy.
it is the job of the DNC
Congress must IMPEACH trump.
Senator Chris Murphy seems to have created a scenario for impeachment. See his YouTube video.
How, if they do not control the House?
Fellow Republicans
I am a registered republican, retiree and veteran and I am watching the stress level of everyone in the United States, from Newborns to the Supreme Court and Worldwide, skyrocket all due to one man, Donald Trump. Congress has the power to impeach Trump and he has given Congress a Container Ship of Cause. Please take back your power.
Fellow Republicans please contact your Congregational representatives and request they take back their power. Congress.gov (202) 224-3121