digby: This is no drill

[babylonsister]

https://digbysblog.net/2020/02/this-is-no-drill/?fbclid=IwAR2G5u8HXp54TPC70IOBii0pEBtlhL-_PmV_FwW40hwLagDKXWdiQebtpoI


This is no drill
Published by digby on February 17, 2020


We’ve been talking about the danger Trump presents to democracy since the day after the election in 2016. But this past week has really brought that concern into high relief.

CNN’s Brian Stelter’s newsletter on Sunday featured the following:

Quoting the watchdog group Freedom House: “Trump has assailed essential institutions and traditions including the separation of powers, a free press, an independent judiciary, the impartial delivery of justice, safeguards against corruption, and most disturbingly, the legitimacy of elections.” With that in mind, consider the headlines of the past week:

— Separation of powers: Trump has been challenging the legislative branch’s power of the purse by diverting Pentagon $$$ to build more border wall.

— Free press: His newest budget proposal would cut funding for PBS, NPR, and the military’s iconic Stars and Stripes newspaper.

— Independent judiciary: Via Twitter he attacked a federal judge, the same woman who will be sentencing his friend Roger Stone.

— Safeguards against corruption: He has been smearing the Ukraine whistleblower and those who testified about the scheme to the House.

— Impartial delivery of justice: Look no further than the DOJ crisis. The NYT’s Sunday front page carried new concerns about political interference.

— Harvard professor Stephen M. Walt has been keeping a “dictator” checklist since 2016. He revisited the list for Foreign Policy mag a few days ago. He wrote that “after impeachment, the president has been passing most of the checkpoints on the way to authoritarianism.”

— The Guardian has an excerpt from the 2018 book “How Democracies Die.”

— This 2016 piece by Vox has aged well: “The rise of American authoritarianism.”

I guess you can say that this is all silly, wine-mom, hysteria if you want. But it strikes me as extremely serious. We’re in a new stage.

[flying_wahini]

1. Man, Putin is on a roll isn't he?

Everyone of these is Putin’s fantasy USA. And make no mistake IT is happening now.

[CaptYossarian]

2. Too bad the Supreme Court can't just declare him unconstitutional.

He's totally violated his Oath of Office and 52 Senators (who swore the same) acquitted his orange ass.

We didn't break the system. They did.

[abqtommy]

3. There's unity among optimists and pessimists. Both groups agree that it's gonna get worse

before it finally gets better.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Republicon Senate AGAIN nixed election security safeguards, AGAIN.

It's a pattern.

[calimary]

8. And we have to ask "WHY?" Because they want to be able to CHEAT.

Their “freedom-freedom” is being “threatened” by efforts to prevent them from CHEATING!

Maybe we ought to spread a meme about the new demands for “freedom to cheat”.

[johnthewoodworker]

5. Mark Twain said history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.

The unfortunate nazi reference is that Hitler was elected in 1932, took power in 1933, and passed the enabling act that changed the German constitution. It took the republicans until 02/05/2020 to officially ignore the constitution with the impeachment acquittal. All the things mentioned at the beginning of the thread are indicators that the coup is well underway and won't be easily challenged. If the republicans have worked this hard, and openly, to cheat our democracy it only makes sense that they would cheat and steal an election. The reward is too great to leave the decision to voters.

[bullwinkle428]

6. The death of critical thinking skills on the part of way too many Americans

is perhaps the biggest factor that's put us on the path that Digby and so many others are describing.

K&R.

[certainot]

7. americans can't anticipate or foil all their election schemes but we can destroy their talk radio

advantage - the only unique advantage they have

the ad industry and the talk radio stations have to be scared limbaugh will croak and dems can force them to stop subsidizing a propped up monopoly propaganda operation with a minimum of activism aimed at it.

like protesting the 87 universities that support it and all that global waming denial

talk radio was instrumental getting us here and keeping trump in the WH. fox is not the problem and without rw radio they will lose many more elections, will not be able to attack and define dem candidates as usual, and will not be able to create the buzz they want to define whatever emergencies they create.

[peggysue2]

9. Don't think this is wine-Mom hysteria

We’re in real trouble as a country, a functioning democratic Republic. The urgency couldn’t be higher. Trump and his criminal cabal are a threat to us all, to our future.

Wake up, America!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. Hell, yes, it's serious!

It's a world war -- rule of law versus rule by riches. Pick a side and take a stand.

[TNNurse]

11. Trump is worse than 9/11

He is doing more damage.