I highly recommend this self-described Hungarian "housewife"'s historical account of the Orbán regime. She provides a powerful witness to Orban's systematic disassembly of their democracy, that MAGA holds up as their "model" government. And how it collapsed! A lesson for us all...
"The same dynamic must happen in our nation if we are to oust this regime."
This "regime" ends on January 20th, 2029, as per the Constitution. Trump, just like his predecessors, was selected as President as per the Constitution. None of them, including Trump, stayed in office past their designated term.
Now, if the Democrats take the House in the mid-terms it is more than likely they will engage in the kabuki theater known as impeachment. And it will be theater, a thoroughly useless display of "la Resistance" that will never get a conviction in the Senate. No matter. The "Resistance" needs its pound of flesh, even if it's symbolic. They can hold their heads high noting how many times Trump was impeached before leaving office. But it won't make them look any more like adults than Trump and his administration. This is where we are in American politics. From a George Washington meme: "Me and my homies woulda been stacking bodies by now".
When swooning about democracy let's not forget that the WH Crime Boss was elected democratically twice. Americans will vote for the one who they believe will deliver what they most want. Many Americans really don't give a hoot about democracy (though they probably would deny that). Forty percent of Americans wanted someone who would make them feel special and protect them from those People Not Like Themselves who they perceived were taking their stuff, raping their women, and abusing their children. They believed, and still believe comforting lies. Candidates who wish to win against the MAGA Voodoo Cult must have a story that will neutralize the MAGA Coolaide. Just chanting about democracy won't do it.
Absolutely correct. The news about the "Online R*ape Academy" reinforces this. And the continuing problem of predatory men ON BOTH SIDES makes it even more difficult. I am aware that morality signaling is unhelpful, but with m*therf*ckers like Swalwell in the mix we cannot get ahead. And apparently his proclivities were so well known int he halls of Congress that his colleagues told their female staffers to steer clear of him--and did nothing. Until men hold other men accountable for their disgusting behavior, their misogyny, and their unwarranted entitlement we will continue to shoot ourselves in the head.
I wouldn’t be too sure. The truth is out there and could surface more fully at any time if the right people will step up for the good of our country. I’m not holding my breath for that to happen but I feel a strong intuition that Trump’s involvement in the criminal world of Epstein will ultimately contribute to his downfall. If/when revelations come I suspect we will also see that Trump’s entanglement with Russia clearly crossed the traitor line, that Epstein knew and facilitated the seditious connections and cover-ups required to keep it quiet etc. Might ties to organized crime also surface? One thing for sure is that the awful truth is worse than we can imagine as evidenced by the eye-popping scale of administration’s efforts to hide it.
True, Linda, and when the news eventually broke and became public, the Democratic leaders (quite unlike the Rs) were very quick to punish Swalwell and cut him off. We Dems can be proud of our party for that part.
It's not as if I've followed Swalwell's career closely, but I've seen him on TV quite a bit and thought he was a good guy. I had no idea that he was known by some NOT to be! Who kept quiet.
Former Senator Claire McCaskill, commenting on TV this past week, mentioned Bob Packwood (whom I remember) from the early 90's and how awful that apparently things have not changed much in all that time.
" I had no idea that he was known by some NOT to be! Who kept quiet."
The importance of this fact can't be underestimated. Adam Schiff looked absolutely petrified when he said, in a TV interview after the Swalwell news broke, that he had no idea, no idea that there was gambling...rather, sexual misconduct, by members of Congress. He was protesting his ignorance way too much!
Who else, pray tell? What other members of Congress (or their staffs) are guilty of predatory sexual behavior? What members of Congress are looking the other way while sexual bullying runs rampant?
I would like to know who those colleagues were who told their female staffers to stay away from Swalwell! Reuben Gallegos seemed convincing in his reaction, but that may have been because he sees his presidential hopes going up in friend-of-Swalwell smoke.
That said, there are men who are very good at hiding that predatory side of themselves except to their victims, who they also choose carefully.
uh oh are the 2 sides more alike than we care to admit ?? what's the difference between swallowwell and any man or woman on the epstein list ? partly answers why the epstein case has floundered
To expect things to have actually changed is a pipe dream. Remember Eliot Spitzer? The heroic prosecutor-turned senator-turned governor who, it turned out, was preying on prostitutes for really nasty kinds of sex acts WHILE HE WAS PROSECUTING THEM? It is not a matter of party affiliation. Men who are in positions of power very, very often consider that power as a carte blanche to behave any way they choose. And they look the other way when other men do the same. And for far too long, they were excused for their behavior. And now that women are speaking up, they are freaking out. I want the whole lot of them swept away in a deluge.
We could compile a very long list of offenders. How quaint a time it was when Gary Hart was driven out of power because he had a woman not-his-wife sit on his knee. Remember Ted Kennedy, maybe the best-known of the philanderers? Some of these people were given a pass because they were effective members of Congress. Should that be grounds for a pass? There are large questions of personal morality, judgmentalism, shunning, etc. How far do we want to go, how far should we go?
I remember Ross Perot when he ran against Clinton, whose sexual antics were just becoming public. Ross said, If a man can't keep the promises he made to the most important person in his life, what makes you think he'll keep his promises to voters? I was a Democrat but I thought that Perot's words rang very true.
And, JL, there is another element that should be front and center: those who hide things are security risks. Whether it's sexual conduct, or debt, or whatever: secrets make one liable to extortion. How many current members of Congress have secrets they would protect (from the public, from their families) at all costs, even to the point of taking a 'hint' about how to vote on an important issue? Our current president and many of his Cabinet members could not pass the security test that the most junior of Foreign Service Officers must pass.
In the past the fear was that an official might be pressured by a foreign power to disclose classified information. Now the greater danger is that the same official will be prevailed upon by either a domestic or foreign organization to vote against the interests of their constituents and in favor of special interests.
Let's face the fact that it usually takes a HUGE ego to think yourself capable of being a Congress-critter or Senator. People with such huge egos also feel themselves above other mortals.
Not always: sometimes it simply takes a willing determination to be part of a government that truly stands for democratic ideals paired with hard work. Of course, a cheerful and positive personality doesn’t hurt. Eg, Jimmy Carter.
I'm more than happy to swoon about democracy even when elections go badly awry. Because bad election choices can be FIXED. But the loss of democracy might not be.
Many of the people who made bad choices in 2024 have come to regret them. The problem isn't democracy - it's an uneducated, misinformed, and, let's be honest, lazy electorate. Even the Founders, like Jefferson, recognized that a well-functioning democracy depends on an educated and informed electorate. Or, as we've seen, one that has to experience the consequences of their bad decisions to wake the hell up. We shouldn't conflate bad election choices with a failure of democracy. And the fix is already happening - has been since the first off-year/special elections in 2025.
It doesn't help that popular media outlets spout lies with serious voices that carry the gravitas of truth! Some people I know in, in my case the Midwest, regularly warn me of the awful, out-of-control crime in my state, CA. I live here. That's not my experience, any more that crime is out of control in any other large city or in several states combined, which is what the size of CA represents. However, there's definitely an agenda in some news outlets to make it sound like we're slaughtering one another in our streets. And they're believed!
No, it doesn't help at all. Thankfully, we're seeing rise of non-corporate, independent media which is quickly outpacing the compromised legacy media as the go-to for solid information.
I'd only add that our problem is a lazy and also self-absorbed electorate. If I'm okay, all is okay. Let the poor, the hungry, the oppressed fend for themselves. Wars have taught the Europeans something we haven't learned: we need each other, we depend on each other for survival. To say nothing of prosperity.
It's no excuse, but an explanation: People working two or three jobs, trying to keep up with the bills, the kids and various other responsibilities may account for some of the "self-absorbed" electorate. Reaching out beyond family needs takes more work.
Yes Steve, there are people run ragged just to care for their families, and they might have not a lot of time and energy for marches, etc. I don't think that means they're self-absorbed. Maybe the key is awareness, not turning a blind eye to public issues and common needs, upholding values in whatever way we can.
Absolutely right, Donna! Self-absorption goes hand-in-hand with laziness. People who claim they're 'too busy' to pay attention to politics [i.e., what's going on with their own government!] make me want to scream. Do they think earlier generations who didn't have all the electronics and other conveniences we take for granted weren't busy, too? But those people cared enough about the country they were leaving their children to MAKE TIME for paying attention to their government. You're so right that Europeans have a much better attitude toward their fellow citizens. Is any coincidence they're also far less religious than this country? I don't think so! When don't believe some magical entity is going to swoop in and make things all better, you learn to take responsibility yourselves!
How many people (especially young ones) know what the tenets of democracy are? The decades of minimizing the teaching of Civics & Government courses and history in our public schools has exacerbated this lack of knowledge and understanding.
As for being "special" we, the U.S. are, just not in a good way.
At least in his first iteration, Trump won by less than a clear majority; it was the Electoral College (a most undemocratic institution) that took him over the line and into the White House. No doubt some international chicanery and Comey's sacking of Hillary didn't help either.
I certainly did not advocate for getting rid of democracy. On the contrary, it's something that we need to fight for and preserve, along with the Constitution.
"Americans will vote for the one who they believe will deliver what they most want."
This is what happens when there's so much power concentrated at the federal level. Grifters of all stripes (political parties, special interest groups, etc.) are a permanent fixture in Washington.
The Founders knew this would be an eventual possibility because there are too many people whose love of power is greater than desire for public service. The Constitution was designed to keep the federal government small and less powerful when compared to state and local governments.
You complain about "MAGA Voodoo Cult" but fail to call out your own preferred political ideology. Both Dems and Repubs alike are primarily concerned with power and all that flows from such. Be honest enough to recognize that.
I vote for Democrats most of the time but was once a Republican. I agree that many, if not most, elected leaders (including The Founders who were wealth white men, some of which were also slave holders ) are overly focused on power. I use the labeL "MAGA Voodoo Cult" because it seems apparent to me that most of the people in MAGA base their enthusiasm on info that is demonstrably false. They seem to be motivated mostly by paranoia, superstition, and magical thinking. There are those on the Left whose thoughts also seem to based on voodoo-like thinking, but their numbers seem to be smaller and they aren't in power. I believe it's possible to have reasonable debates about Conservative vs Liberal values but such debates should be based on facts and not on notions that are bat-shit crazy.
"I believe it's possible to have reasonable debates about Conservative vs Liberal values but such debates should be based on facts and not on notions that are bat-shit crazy."
"Democracy defenders" must also rid our country of Citizens United, so that my (and your) relatively miniscule contributions to candidates become most meaningful and effective.
We do need campaign finance changes, changes to the length of campaigns, and the removal of the influence of lobbyists to make our governance more responsibe to the people, which despite the supreme court decision, corporations are not.
You're talking about a reversal of a SC decision. We've certainly seen them do that recently, but this court, this issue? Not likely. And how do "democracy defenders" change the direction of SCOTUS?
IF there was a big enough Democratic majority in Congress, the number of justices could theoretically be increased, but it's hard to imagine that happening. Even when Democratic presidents get elected, they rarely have a big enough margin to do dramatic things. And any legislation they come up with regarding campaign finance reform, will wind up in front of the SC ultimately..
And now we have Trump wanting to replace Alito and Thomas with younger, just-as-bad choices, while we have aging liberals on there too who might not make it to a Democratic president's term.
A lot of the things Péter Magyar did to win are things we need to be doing now. Getting our politicians out talking to real voters is key. The rethugs are not doing so very well if they hold town halls. More congressional Dems - both House and Senate - need to go out and hold town halls not just in their own districts, but in rethuglican districts. We need a short, concise set of things we will do to start to fix things. I still don't have any sort of sense that Democrats are close to a unified message to voters... edit - added the word Dems.
Vance has what I would call negative charisma - he removes charisma from people around him, in addition to having none of his own. Did this help President-elect Magyar beat the incumbent?
The words “ordinary people” are, to me, the most important in the entire essay. We, the ordinary people, see the Trump regime for what it is, and this has been true from the very beginning. Our voices have and are making a difference. Some among us have died while resisting Trump’s police state. It’s the powerful, connected and established who are taking their time, dragging their feet, inching to the conclusion that Trump is an authoritarian, American style (thinking of The NYT but there are many others). It pretty much falls to us ordinary people, with support from talented people like Jen and Norm, to shift the political balance of power in this country.
Magyar's effort will rival the famed 12 labors of Hercules. He will have to undo all the changes Orban used to centralize his power each of which will be a hard task in its own right. Cleaning up the corruption will be equivalent to cleaning the Stygian stables.
The issue is institutions stocked with Orban flunkies and accolytes. These institutions have to keep functioning, yet the "faceless bureaucrats" still loyal to Orban and his political philosophies can and will throw sand in Magyar's gears. We should expect the same to happen here in the US. For instance, with lifetime appointments, the Supreme Court is going to continue supporting oligarchs.
Of course, Magyar has the mandate, skills and know-how to clean house, but it will not happen overnight. Orban will continue with his propaganda undermining Magyar, just as Trump did to Biden.
I have been saying for a while now, if Dems want to win in the red districts and red states they must talk to the voters and have a clear message. This is not easy, but it’s essential to breaking through Republican strongholds when the voters are simply tolerating the GOP. Maygar went out two years and clearly made breakthroughs in the Hungarian electorate.
I live in that kind of district - MI's Upper Peninsula - which has voted for Trump three times, three to one. I can't imagine what that "clear message" would be. People who are anti-reproductive rights, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Black/Brown, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrants won't vote for a Democrat, even on one of those issues. They just won't.
"Well, sure, I like what he says about the economy, but I just can't vote for somebody who is pro-abortion". "Sure, I like what he says about the economy, but I don't want my kids being taught to be gay in the schools." "Sure, I like what he says about the economy, but we just can't have Muslims and sharia law in America!" Etcetera.
The political play to red districts like yours is not to turn every single red vote into a blue vote. The political play is to cut Republicans margins for a national or statewide win. We are seeing people peel off from MAGA in rural Texas. I looked at the vote distribution in Texas after the Talarico win. There are some counties in Texas with less than 50 people, for instance. Talaricio might have gotten five votes there. By taking those votes away from the Republican in the fall, Talarico can win the so-called "deep red" state of Texas.
And yet, once he wins, those counties will still be red. But, if (and I believe he will) represents these voters going forward, the momentum toward purple or blue will continue. I believe this is exactly why Magyar spent time knocking on those doors and why he promised to represent them.
So, I guess the clear message that might work is not a specific policy, but "I see you, I hear you and I will work for your interests" out there. And then to follow through on that. It is what FDR did.
Too often we are told to suck it up and vote for a candidate who's squishy on abortion rights because they're running as a Democrat or Independent.
NO. Absolutely not. We will not support, fund, canvass, cheer, or vote for a misogynist who thinks it's okay to force women to lose their reproductive organs or to die because a doctor refused to provide them with an abortion necessary to save them.
Nor will we lift a finger for an accused rapist just because he represents the best chance for a Democrat to win an important seat.
We expect every candidate to loudly and repeatedly champion women's rights to access health care, birth control, education, employment, and vote.
Everyone's civil rights must be acknowledged, honored, and defended.
That's not a purity test. It's a fight for our lives.
Wow - this is an amazing piece. In reading the first paragraphs about how Orban came into his powerful hold on Hungary made me think immediately of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's “Mandate For Leadership,”, the 900-page manual for reorganizing the entire federal government agency by agency to serve a very conservative agenda. Then I realized that Orban had consolidated his power before Project 2025 was published, so I wonder if the former MAGA people from the first administration decided to use Orban as the example of how to become an despot and turn the Untied States into an autocracy and made trump the head of this project. In describing how Magyar was able to win his election, it can provide an example of how the Democrats can organize themselves for this coming November and for 2028. We have different political and cultural issues than Hungary, but the concepts used in this landslide election can still work here. It is my fervent hope that the leaders of the DNC: Ken Martin, Jane Kleeb, Reyna Walters-Morgan, Jason Rae, Chris Korge, Stuart Appelbaum and all of the other vice chairs take those lessons documented at the end of this piece to heart, believe in them, and install them as the bedrock for all Democrats in these next two election cycles. We have to start now to be successful and to correct the mistakes of this second administration before it is too late.
It is my understanding that Project 2025 was copied directly from the Orban playbook. MAGA leaders like Vought and others have been very close to the Orban party in Hungary. I believe this is why Vance campaigned for Orban. If you look at the political power consolidation and the rhetoric here in Texas coming from the MAGA Republicans, it is extremely clear there is an intentional strategy coordinated with Orban and other illiberals to turn democracy into a sham to perpetuate an autocracy.
The work and efforts that it will take to upend our own autocratic regime will (hopefully) start to reveal itself in the midterm elections. We need a style and standard of leadership that respects the people of this country. Unlike the current White House resident, we need a leader who does good works for us. The Hungarians gave us an example that it can happen.
I was thinking the same thing. There are two streams here. There is the grassroots coalition of organizing on the ground and there is a candidate who can embody and direct these coalitions of like-minded, but differing in the details, real people. The key is not unnecessarily demanding purity merely for the sake of being in lockstep. As long as we have a professional system and mindset, there are proven processes for working out the details of our differences while keeping our eyes on the prize.
Here in the US, I see the grassroots coming together. I believe as we move into and past the mid-terms, we will see our own leaders rising from the grassroots to move our initiative forward. Given what I'm seeing in the political press speculating about Democratic Party presidential candidates, I hope and trust Democrats find someone more tuned in to the grassroots than the Democrats currently in Congress.
The same dynamic must happen in our nation if we are to oust this regime. Young people must rise up to fight against the evil and corruption.
We SHALL overcome.
I highly recommend this self-described Hungarian "housewife"'s historical account of the Orbán regime. She provides a powerful witness to Orban's systematic disassembly of their democracy, that MAGA holds up as their "model" government. And how it collapsed! A lesson for us all...
https://razkaca.substack.com/p/i-lived-in-orbans-hungary-this-is?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2rctb
A young leader must come out from DEMs. A best example is seen in Texas senate race.
James Talarico is definitely a leader who questions so very well. My first viewing of him was very positive--he doesn't take any bull****.
I have been slowed by the youth of charlie jerk's followers
"The same dynamic must happen in our nation if we are to oust this regime."
This "regime" ends on January 20th, 2029, as per the Constitution. Trump, just like his predecessors, was selected as President as per the Constitution. None of them, including Trump, stayed in office past their designated term.
Now, if the Democrats take the House in the mid-terms it is more than likely they will engage in the kabuki theater known as impeachment. And it will be theater, a thoroughly useless display of "la Resistance" that will never get a conviction in the Senate. No matter. The "Resistance" needs its pound of flesh, even if it's symbolic. They can hold their heads high noting how many times Trump was impeached before leaving office. But it won't make them look any more like adults than Trump and his administration. This is where we are in American politics. From a George Washington meme: "Me and my homies woulda been stacking bodies by now".
When swooning about democracy let's not forget that the WH Crime Boss was elected democratically twice. Americans will vote for the one who they believe will deliver what they most want. Many Americans really don't give a hoot about democracy (though they probably would deny that). Forty percent of Americans wanted someone who would make them feel special and protect them from those People Not Like Themselves who they perceived were taking their stuff, raping their women, and abusing their children. They believed, and still believe comforting lies. Candidates who wish to win against the MAGA Voodoo Cult must have a story that will neutralize the MAGA Coolaide. Just chanting about democracy won't do it.
Absolutely correct. The news about the "Online R*ape Academy" reinforces this. And the continuing problem of predatory men ON BOTH SIDES makes it even more difficult. I am aware that morality signaling is unhelpful, but with m*therf*ckers like Swalwell in the mix we cannot get ahead. And apparently his proclivities were so well known int he halls of Congress that his colleagues told their female staffers to steer clear of him--and did nothing. Until men hold other men accountable for their disgusting behavior, their misogyny, and their unwarranted entitlement we will continue to shoot ourselves in the head.
And thus the magic word is still EPSTEIN.
If you think that is going to go anywhere, I have a bridge I can sell you for cheap.
I wouldn’t be too sure. The truth is out there and could surface more fully at any time if the right people will step up for the good of our country. I’m not holding my breath for that to happen but I feel a strong intuition that Trump’s involvement in the criminal world of Epstein will ultimately contribute to his downfall. If/when revelations come I suspect we will also see that Trump’s entanglement with Russia clearly crossed the traitor line, that Epstein knew and facilitated the seditious connections and cover-ups required to keep it quiet etc. Might ties to organized crime also surface? One thing for sure is that the awful truth is worse than we can imagine as evidenced by the eye-popping scale of administration’s efforts to hide it.
Your right on point. This will destroy the fat bastard.
You bet! The fat felon can't bomb his way out of those files.
True, Linda, and when the news eventually broke and became public, the Democratic leaders (quite unlike the Rs) were very quick to punish Swalwell and cut him off. We Dems can be proud of our party for that part.
kinduv dulls the action that they knew about it for years huh ?
It's not as if I've followed Swalwell's career closely, but I've seen him on TV quite a bit and thought he was a good guy. I had no idea that he was known by some NOT to be! Who kept quiet.
Former Senator Claire McCaskill, commenting on TV this past week, mentioned Bob Packwood (whom I remember) from the early 90's and how awful that apparently things have not changed much in all that time.
" I had no idea that he was known by some NOT to be! Who kept quiet."
The importance of this fact can't be underestimated. Adam Schiff looked absolutely petrified when he said, in a TV interview after the Swalwell news broke, that he had no idea, no idea that there was gambling...rather, sexual misconduct, by members of Congress. He was protesting his ignorance way too much!
Who else, pray tell? What other members of Congress (or their staffs) are guilty of predatory sexual behavior? What members of Congress are looking the other way while sexual bullying runs rampant?
Ah, a reference to Claude Rains in Casablanca...
I would like to know who those colleagues were who told their female staffers to stay away from Swalwell! Reuben Gallegos seemed convincing in his reaction, but that may have been because he sees his presidential hopes going up in friend-of-Swalwell smoke.
That said, there are men who are very good at hiding that predatory side of themselves except to their victims, who they also choose carefully.
uh oh are the 2 sides more alike than we care to admit ?? what's the difference between swallowwell and any man or woman on the epstein list ? partly answers why the epstein case has floundered
To expect things to have actually changed is a pipe dream. Remember Eliot Spitzer? The heroic prosecutor-turned senator-turned governor who, it turned out, was preying on prostitutes for really nasty kinds of sex acts WHILE HE WAS PROSECUTING THEM? It is not a matter of party affiliation. Men who are in positions of power very, very often consider that power as a carte blanche to behave any way they choose. And they look the other way when other men do the same. And for far too long, they were excused for their behavior. And now that women are speaking up, they are freaking out. I want the whole lot of them swept away in a deluge.
We could compile a very long list of offenders. How quaint a time it was when Gary Hart was driven out of power because he had a woman not-his-wife sit on his knee. Remember Ted Kennedy, maybe the best-known of the philanderers? Some of these people were given a pass because they were effective members of Congress. Should that be grounds for a pass? There are large questions of personal morality, judgmentalism, shunning, etc. How far do we want to go, how far should we go?
I remember Ross Perot when he ran against Clinton, whose sexual antics were just becoming public. Ross said, If a man can't keep the promises he made to the most important person in his life, what makes you think he'll keep his promises to voters? I was a Democrat but I thought that Perot's words rang very true.
And, JL, there is another element that should be front and center: those who hide things are security risks. Whether it's sexual conduct, or debt, or whatever: secrets make one liable to extortion. How many current members of Congress have secrets they would protect (from the public, from their families) at all costs, even to the point of taking a 'hint' about how to vote on an important issue? Our current president and many of his Cabinet members could not pass the security test that the most junior of Foreign Service Officers must pass.
In the past the fear was that an official might be pressured by a foreign power to disclose classified information. Now the greater danger is that the same official will be prevailed upon by either a domestic or foreign organization to vote against the interests of their constituents and in favor of special interests.
Integrity matters.
Remember Edwards? Same story.
Let's face the fact that it usually takes a HUGE ego to think yourself capable of being a Congress-critter or Senator. People with such huge egos also feel themselves above other mortals.
Not always: sometimes it simply takes a willing determination to be part of a government that truly stands for democratic ideals paired with hard work. Of course, a cheerful and positive personality doesn’t hurt. Eg, Jimmy Carter.
I'm more than happy to swoon about democracy even when elections go badly awry. Because bad election choices can be FIXED. But the loss of democracy might not be.
Many of the people who made bad choices in 2024 have come to regret them. The problem isn't democracy - it's an uneducated, misinformed, and, let's be honest, lazy electorate. Even the Founders, like Jefferson, recognized that a well-functioning democracy depends on an educated and informed electorate. Or, as we've seen, one that has to experience the consequences of their bad decisions to wake the hell up. We shouldn't conflate bad election choices with a failure of democracy. And the fix is already happening - has been since the first off-year/special elections in 2025.
It doesn't help that popular media outlets spout lies with serious voices that carry the gravitas of truth! Some people I know in, in my case the Midwest, regularly warn me of the awful, out-of-control crime in my state, CA. I live here. That's not my experience, any more that crime is out of control in any other large city or in several states combined, which is what the size of CA represents. However, there's definitely an agenda in some news outlets to make it sound like we're slaughtering one another in our streets. And they're believed!
No, it doesn't help at all. Thankfully, we're seeing rise of non-corporate, independent media which is quickly outpacing the compromised legacy media as the go-to for solid information.
I'd only add that our problem is a lazy and also self-absorbed electorate. If I'm okay, all is okay. Let the poor, the hungry, the oppressed fend for themselves. Wars have taught the Europeans something we haven't learned: we need each other, we depend on each other for survival. To say nothing of prosperity.
It's no excuse, but an explanation: People working two or three jobs, trying to keep up with the bills, the kids and various other responsibilities may account for some of the "self-absorbed" electorate. Reaching out beyond family needs takes more work.
Yes Steve, there are people run ragged just to care for their families, and they might have not a lot of time and energy for marches, etc. I don't think that means they're self-absorbed. Maybe the key is awareness, not turning a blind eye to public issues and common needs, upholding values in whatever way we can.
Absolutely right, Donna! Self-absorption goes hand-in-hand with laziness. People who claim they're 'too busy' to pay attention to politics [i.e., what's going on with their own government!] make me want to scream. Do they think earlier generations who didn't have all the electronics and other conveniences we take for granted weren't busy, too? But those people cared enough about the country they were leaving their children to MAKE TIME for paying attention to their government. You're so right that Europeans have a much better attitude toward their fellow citizens. Is any coincidence they're also far less religious than this country? I don't think so! When don't believe some magical entity is going to swoop in and make things all better, you learn to take responsibility yourselves!
How many people (especially young ones) know what the tenets of democracy are? The decades of minimizing the teaching of Civics & Government courses and history in our public schools has exacerbated this lack of knowledge and understanding.
As for being "special" we, the U.S. are, just not in a good way.
Yes. But it's not only young people.
Correct, some older people have forgotten, and it's the younger ones who aren't getting the benefit of the teaching.
At least in his first iteration, Trump won by less than a clear majority; it was the Electoral College (a most undemocratic institution) that took him over the line and into the White House. No doubt some international chicanery and Comey's sacking of Hillary didn't help either.
That's an argument for eliminating the anachronistic electoral college [which I agree with] but not for doing away with democracy.
I certainly did not advocate for getting rid of democracy. On the contrary, it's something that we need to fight for and preserve, along with the Constitution.
Sorry if I misunderstood, Steve. My apologies.
Sadly true!
"Americans will vote for the one who they believe will deliver what they most want."
This is what happens when there's so much power concentrated at the federal level. Grifters of all stripes (political parties, special interest groups, etc.) are a permanent fixture in Washington.
The Founders knew this would be an eventual possibility because there are too many people whose love of power is greater than desire for public service. The Constitution was designed to keep the federal government small and less powerful when compared to state and local governments.
You complain about "MAGA Voodoo Cult" but fail to call out your own preferred political ideology. Both Dems and Repubs alike are primarily concerned with power and all that flows from such. Be honest enough to recognize that.
BTW, thank you for your service.
I vote for Democrats most of the time but was once a Republican. I agree that many, if not most, elected leaders (including The Founders who were wealth white men, some of which were also slave holders ) are overly focused on power. I use the labeL "MAGA Voodoo Cult" because it seems apparent to me that most of the people in MAGA base their enthusiasm on info that is demonstrably false. They seem to be motivated mostly by paranoia, superstition, and magical thinking. There are those on the Left whose thoughts also seem to based on voodoo-like thinking, but their numbers seem to be smaller and they aren't in power. I believe it's possible to have reasonable debates about Conservative vs Liberal values but such debates should be based on facts and not on notions that are bat-shit crazy.
"I believe it's possible to have reasonable debates about Conservative vs Liberal values but such debates should be based on facts and not on notions that are bat-shit crazy."
Totally agree.
"Democracy defenders" must also rid our country of Citizens United, so that my (and your) relatively miniscule contributions to candidates become most meaningful and effective.
We do need campaign finance changes, changes to the length of campaigns, and the removal of the influence of lobbyists to make our governance more responsibe to the people, which despite the supreme court decision, corporations are not.
You're talking about a reversal of a SC decision. We've certainly seen them do that recently, but this court, this issue? Not likely. And how do "democracy defenders" change the direction of SCOTUS?
IF there was a big enough Democratic majority in Congress, the number of justices could theoretically be increased, but it's hard to imagine that happening. Even when Democratic presidents get elected, they rarely have a big enough margin to do dramatic things. And any legislation they come up with regarding campaign finance reform, will wind up in front of the SC ultimately..
And now we have Trump wanting to replace Alito and Thomas with younger, just-as-bad choices, while we have aging liberals on there too who might not make it to a Democratic president's term.
It's quite depressing.
A lot of the things Péter Magyar did to win are things we need to be doing now. Getting our politicians out talking to real voters is key. The rethugs are not doing so very well if they hold town halls. More congressional Dems - both House and Senate - need to go out and hold town halls not just in their own districts, but in rethuglican districts. We need a short, concise set of things we will do to start to fix things. I still don't have any sort of sense that Democrats are close to a unified message to voters... edit - added the word Dems.
All good. If there’s an election. This is the overarching risk on the domestic front just as nukes in the hands of a madman are on the international.
Another inspiring post. Thank you, Jen.
Vance has what I would call negative charisma - he removes charisma from people around him, in addition to having none of his own. Did this help President-elect Magyar beat the incumbent?
The words “ordinary people” are, to me, the most important in the entire essay. We, the ordinary people, see the Trump regime for what it is, and this has been true from the very beginning. Our voices have and are making a difference. Some among us have died while resisting Trump’s police state. It’s the powerful, connected and established who are taking their time, dragging their feet, inching to the conclusion that Trump is an authoritarian, American style (thinking of The NYT but there are many others). It pretty much falls to us ordinary people, with support from talented people like Jen and Norm, to shift the political balance of power in this country.
Magyar's effort will rival the famed 12 labors of Hercules. He will have to undo all the changes Orban used to centralize his power each of which will be a hard task in its own right. Cleaning up the corruption will be equivalent to cleaning the Stygian stables.
We will face the same cleanup in this country and it won't be easy. It will also take a lot longer than one election cycle.
That bad? My understanding is that he's got a decent enough majority to get things done. And he has the insider knowledge to know what and how.
The issue is institutions stocked with Orban flunkies and accolytes. These institutions have to keep functioning, yet the "faceless bureaucrats" still loyal to Orban and his political philosophies can and will throw sand in Magyar's gears. We should expect the same to happen here in the US. For instance, with lifetime appointments, the Supreme Court is going to continue supporting oligarchs.
Of course, Magyar has the mandate, skills and know-how to clean house, but it will not happen overnight. Orban will continue with his propaganda undermining Magyar, just as Trump did to Biden.
Pray for him!
I have been saying for a while now, if Dems want to win in the red districts and red states they must talk to the voters and have a clear message. This is not easy, but it’s essential to breaking through Republican strongholds when the voters are simply tolerating the GOP. Maygar went out two years and clearly made breakthroughs in the Hungarian electorate.
I live in that kind of district - MI's Upper Peninsula - which has voted for Trump three times, three to one. I can't imagine what that "clear message" would be. People who are anti-reproductive rights, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Black/Brown, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrants won't vote for a Democrat, even on one of those issues. They just won't.
"Well, sure, I like what he says about the economy, but I just can't vote for somebody who is pro-abortion". "Sure, I like what he says about the economy, but I don't want my kids being taught to be gay in the schools." "Sure, I like what he says about the economy, but we just can't have Muslims and sharia law in America!" Etcetera.
The political play to red districts like yours is not to turn every single red vote into a blue vote. The political play is to cut Republicans margins for a national or statewide win. We are seeing people peel off from MAGA in rural Texas. I looked at the vote distribution in Texas after the Talarico win. There are some counties in Texas with less than 50 people, for instance. Talaricio might have gotten five votes there. By taking those votes away from the Republican in the fall, Talarico can win the so-called "deep red" state of Texas.
And yet, once he wins, those counties will still be red. But, if (and I believe he will) represents these voters going forward, the momentum toward purple or blue will continue. I believe this is exactly why Magyar spent time knocking on those doors and why he promised to represent them.
So, I guess the clear message that might work is not a specific policy, but "I see you, I hear you and I will work for your interests" out there. And then to follow through on that. It is what FDR did.
I know you are right. americans are a not smart lot....no problem telling YOU what to do but you cannot tell them what to do !!
This resonates with our “possible” return to a Democratic society.
"Purity tests are for losers."
Too often we are told to suck it up and vote for a candidate who's squishy on abortion rights because they're running as a Democrat or Independent.
NO. Absolutely not. We will not support, fund, canvass, cheer, or vote for a misogynist who thinks it's okay to force women to lose their reproductive organs or to die because a doctor refused to provide them with an abortion necessary to save them.
Nor will we lift a finger for an accused rapist just because he represents the best chance for a Democrat to win an important seat.
We expect every candidate to loudly and repeatedly champion women's rights to access health care, birth control, education, employment, and vote.
Everyone's civil rights must be acknowledged, honored, and defended.
That's not a purity test. It's a fight for our lives.
Like MAGAts here, the Orbanians are still lurking and plotting. Do diligence is essential.
Sorry, Due Diligence.
Before someone points it out.
Wow - this is an amazing piece. In reading the first paragraphs about how Orban came into his powerful hold on Hungary made me think immediately of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's “Mandate For Leadership,”, the 900-page manual for reorganizing the entire federal government agency by agency to serve a very conservative agenda. Then I realized that Orban had consolidated his power before Project 2025 was published, so I wonder if the former MAGA people from the first administration decided to use Orban as the example of how to become an despot and turn the Untied States into an autocracy and made trump the head of this project. In describing how Magyar was able to win his election, it can provide an example of how the Democrats can organize themselves for this coming November and for 2028. We have different political and cultural issues than Hungary, but the concepts used in this landslide election can still work here. It is my fervent hope that the leaders of the DNC: Ken Martin, Jane Kleeb, Reyna Walters-Morgan, Jason Rae, Chris Korge, Stuart Appelbaum and all of the other vice chairs take those lessons documented at the end of this piece to heart, believe in them, and install them as the bedrock for all Democrats in these next two election cycles. We have to start now to be successful and to correct the mistakes of this second administration before it is too late.
It is my understanding that Project 2025 was copied directly from the Orban playbook. MAGA leaders like Vought and others have been very close to the Orban party in Hungary. I believe this is why Vance campaigned for Orban. If you look at the political power consolidation and the rhetoric here in Texas coming from the MAGA Republicans, it is extremely clear there is an intentional strategy coordinated with Orban and other illiberals to turn democracy into a sham to perpetuate an autocracy.
And quite outrageous that Orban was financially supporting CPAC! No more, says the new guy. I wonder who paid off Tucker Carlson? Orban or Putin?
The work and efforts that it will take to upend our own autocratic regime will (hopefully) start to reveal itself in the midterm elections. We need a style and standard of leadership that respects the people of this country. Unlike the current White House resident, we need a leader who does good works for us. The Hungarians gave us an example that it can happen.
I was thinking the same thing. There are two streams here. There is the grassroots coalition of organizing on the ground and there is a candidate who can embody and direct these coalitions of like-minded, but differing in the details, real people. The key is not unnecessarily demanding purity merely for the sake of being in lockstep. As long as we have a professional system and mindset, there are proven processes for working out the details of our differences while keeping our eyes on the prize.
Here in the US, I see the grassroots coming together. I believe as we move into and past the mid-terms, we will see our own leaders rising from the grassroots to move our initiative forward. Given what I'm seeing in the political press speculating about Democratic Party presidential candidates, I hope and trust Democrats find someone more tuned in to the grassroots than the Democrats currently in Congress.
Thank you. A great morning article.