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Showing Original Post only (View all)Mary Trump: the most cogent description ever of our current peril as a democracy [View all]
https://newrepublic.com/article/163115/donald-trump-plot-against-americaThe most dangerous Republican enabler by far is, of course, Mitch McConnell, who saw an opportunity that even he probably never dared hope for: The guy in the Oval Office wouldnt just sign off on every aspect of the Republicans agenda, he would push the envelopeof decorum, of autocracyso far that the system itself could be used to create permanent minority rule. Donald showed his party (and yes, it is his party) the limits of pretending to care about good governance or play by the rules. He also showed them the utility of not just stoking racism and hatred of the Otherin the form of immigrants, Democrats, and even epidemiologistsbut championing those who espoused them.
McConnell is the greatest traitor to this country since Robert E. Lee (with the difference that McConnell has been trying to take our country down from within). He has always been expert at using existing rules and procedures in ways they werent intended to be used, and yetwhether it was denying Merrick Garland a hearing, pushing through Amy Coney Barretts confirmation, or ending the filibuster as it applied to Supreme Court nominees but employing it to block legislation that would expand voting rightshis anti-democratic maneuvers have been performed within the bounds of the system. The fact that hes misusingthe system outlined in the Constitution isnt an exoneration of him, however; its a condemnation of the Constitutions limitations. The definition of treason in the Constitution is so narrow (levying war against the country or giving aid and comfort to the enemy) that a case could never be made against him. It would be difficult, however, to find anybody in modern times who has so undermined our democracy.
This destruction of norms by Donald and other Republicans in the executive and legislative branches has happened so quickly, and has been so thorough, that its clear the seeds of it must have been planted a long time ago. It was possible for Donald, the weakest man I have ever known, to exploit the weaknesses in the system not because he introduced them, but because they were there for him to exploit in the first place.
These situations are not the result of four years or even four decades of poor governancealthough the worsening of the problem has certainly accelerated since Ronald Reagans disastrous presidency. The combination of trickle-down economics, his devastating handling of the AIDS crisis, and the intensification of the War on Drugs, with all of its racist implications, accelerated the divide between Americans along economic, cultural, and racial dimensions. But we really need to go back to this countrys inception to understand how we got here and to assess how we can possibly repair the extensive damage. With Joe Bidens election, we did indeed snatch democracy from the jaws of autocracya rarity in human history. But as the insurrection of January 6 made clear, we are not out of the woods yetfar from it.
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Mary Trump: the most cogent description ever of our current peril as a democracy [View all]
The Blue Flower
Aug 2021
OP
Thanks for posting this - spot on commentary from Mary Trump about McConnell. n/t
iluvtennis
Aug 2021
#1
As the Fascist ReThugs are playing hardball while aiming for our heads,.. we lob ping pong balls,..
magicarpet
Aug 2021
#4
So true. The media portrays Republicans as fearing Trump, but they actually like what has has done.
Lonestarblue
Aug 2021
#11