They are a much bigger threat than that

Yes they cheated, but they cheated within the system. The GQP wants to do away with democracy, the GQP wants minority rule, the GQP wants an apartheid type system. Once the GQP controls everything, sites like DU will be gone. People had better understand what is happening.

A Qanon company is violating federal election laws in Arizona and our DOJ is doing nothing, with no consequences these people are going to move on to other states because Nazi judges are allowing it. Think about it; the 2020 election was certified, giving ballots and voter information to a private company is insane.

I don't know if the Republican Party in total is "done with democracy" or "done with truth", but with many in that Party, that does seem to be the case.

All 3 groups are wild to keep their grasp on power - and will destroy anything that threatens their position.

If we let that happen, the US will quickly go down the drain. Democracy will quickly go with it, because who else is to take up the banner of democracy? China? Russia?

Republicans and the new GQP don't even write their own bills. ALEC wrote bills for the Republicans and now The Heritage Foundation is writing bills for the new GQP party. The Heritage Foundation has been picking the judges and justices.

Big money also controls the MSM which means it controls the narrative. I'm still waiting to hear why 2 FEC members failed to vote to investigate "individual 1," that topic disappeared in 1 day.

Billy Graham started the modern day “Christian Republican” movement and was a precursor to Falwell.

Initially, Graham was dismissed as just another fire & brimstone preacher, but when he married Jesus to capitalism and told Christians to vote, he all of sudden got traction in the press. Eisenhower saw the potential, especially after Graham “moderated” his message for mass appeal.

But Graham was always power hungry. And he had a gift for gab. Prior to preaching, he was a top ranked door to door salesman, who would immediately “stick his foot inside their door” to force people to listen to him.

Graham was just a long line of Carnival Barkers who could do the dirty work, that would further the interests of the very wealthy in this country.

Smedley Bultler (of War is a Racket) a told them to go to hell!

But those that still hold the ideals of democracy and a free republic sure aren't doing much to hang on to them.

It's the entire GOP, not a subset of a political party. It is the ENTIRE PARTY that has to be seen as enemies of the Constitution and our democracy.

"GQP" denotes, IMO, a subversive element perhaps festering and throbbing within the Republican Party, as if we can set them aside when we have to talk about real political business. We can't set them aside without setting the entire GOP aside. The GOP and the "GQP" are one in the same. There is no other Republican Party than an aggregate of fascists for Trump. They will invade and take over all of government if they are not stopped. They must be stopped. They are not civil. They are barbarians.

or the misunderstandings in a few million traditionalists. GQP or QOP will work just fine until there's another legitimate coalition, one that's not bent on devolving democracy for the sake of a few mega-wealthy psychotics and fools.

The big differences are:

1) They see it finally within reach. Just one last push and they can grab all the marbles; and

2) The clock is running out for them. The time for blaming all problems on government has passed now that a generation or two have witnessed all the problems lax government brings, and often puts right in their face. If they don't grab all the marbles now, they can kiss it goodby for over 50 years.

They accepted democracy until Obama. Until then, they saw D as sufficiently respectable (white, straight, christian, men) opposition as a necessary part of democracy.

Today they have collapsed into authoriarianism.

The difference is in the expansion of democracy into groups they deem as unworthy. As the voting franchise expands, the commitment to democracy contracts.

It also has to do with the collapse of the unions. The blue collar white Dems that they saw as culturally valid opposition members of democracy. Today many are are now cultural republicans and that makes the Dems more the enemy, and less worthy of participation in democracy.

Things have changed a lot

The demonization of Bill & Hillary Clinton opened the door to take over the House and Senate in 1994 because Rush was on radio for 3 hours a day - unopposed.

They learned that people actually believed THE BIG LIES. Maybe they always knew this, or maybe they discovered it. It’s a moot issue now.

Just a few....

- Hillary had people murdered.
- Hillary was a radical lesbian that wanted to destroy capitalism.
- Hillary had FBI files she used to blackmail people.
- Hillary was a diabolical feminist who hated men and wanted to castrate them.
- Hillary had written “radical communist manifestos” in college.
- Hillary planned to take people’s guns, bibles and livelihoods by force.
- Bill had a secret tunnel used by prostitutes who were Russian agents.
- Bill had all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Chelsea was Vince Foster’s child.

Imagine the surprise when they discovered that millions of Americans believed all this - and they could use that to drive them to the polls in 1994. Yes, there would be collateral damage such as the 1995 OKC bombing —- but who cares when it gives them Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House.

Once you discover the power of propaganda, who needs policy? Who needs democracy?

that have been screaming our heads off since 1979, it actually started with the Reagan group corruptly installing Ronnie. It was Fox news and RW radio that merely kicked it into warp drive............

WASF

In my mind, a perfect title for a book written about the past 40+ years would be:

WHILE THE NATION SLEPT

Yep.

INDEED! YEP!

That is it, exactly.

I still remember feeling a deep sense of dread the morning after that particular Election Night. I didn't know and couldn't imagine what might be coming. But I knew something bad would be coming. There was a great unleashing of very bad forces - who had just been formally validated and crowned with the biggest and most powerful success. The ultimate reward for bad behavior: the White House!

But we supposedly don't teach our kids that! You're NOT supposed to be rewarded for bad behavior. Because that only reinforces and encourages and validates the bad behavior. Any child psychologist knows that (or ought to). Anybody who cares about responsible parenting knows that (or ought to).

As my dear, wise, and beloved late mother-in-law used to say "they don't suck it outta their thumbs!"

The day after Bill Clinton won the 1992 election, Rush Limbaugh was on the air to delegitimize him. He rallied despondent Republicans by saying Clinton was "only technically" president because he'd won a plurality of the vote, not a majority. That Clinton had no mandate to carry out any big policies (like health care reform).

Even before the election they grabbed at any straw or made-up rumor to generate headlines about non-stop "scandals". The entire goal of that was to hobble him and, even better in their eyes, to bring him down. Those continued throughout his presidency, even to the point of engineering a perjury trap on a personal matter to give them the excuse they needed to impeach him. An impeachment they went through with even though they knew the Senate would not vote to convict because it would mar and delegitimize him, Hillary, and all Democrats to the base they were cultivating.

Two years after Rush made delegitimizing Clinton as the de facto Republican message, the Republicans swept into a majority in the House, thanks to Rush and to equally incendiary Newt Gingrich. As Speaker, Gingrich set about changing the House rules to make it harder for congresspeople to "fraternize with the enemy" across the aisle, and expanded the Speaker's ability to put pressure on any members of his party who balked at this arrangement.

The late 90s is also when they started the "voter fraud" chant, scapegoating ACORN and other groups working to register low-income and minority people to vote. Like a lot of instruments in their band, it had been playing in the background for years until they brought it up front and made it one of the headliners.

Who are all those Republicans who "accepted Democracy"? The old guard who steadily retired as they found themselves being dismissed as "RINOs" by the new kids raised in the house that Rush & Newt built? They were OK with the 2000 election, which certainly called for some public criticism by prominent Republicans about Bush's "MINE MINE MINE" stance when it rested on a paper-thin margin in a state run by his brother with loads of ballot problems.

Everything they threw against Obama was launched off the foundations and playbook they'd built to block Clinton and hamstring Hillary. Nobody's trying to deny that they super-sized the racist portion of their mix, but how much of that was actually more, and how much was just the fig leafs coming off? All the pieces they needed were already in place.

If you think it started with Obama, then you're wrong. That was when the Republican foamer tide had come in far enough that your feet got wet. This tide has been rising and getting foamier for a very long time.

... from where we are at today.

It's all a part of the journey. Rush was the key factor in turning white, union Dems into Republicans using lies and fear.

But that GOP didn't invite violence against the capital. They didn't conspire with our greatest global enemies to seize power. They didn't seek to undermine NATO. They didnt refuse to accept the peaceful transition of power when they lost elections. They didn't allow batshit crazy nonsense to dominate their political narrative.

This GOP is radicalized like a terrorist group.

This GOP is not the same as the GOP in the 80s. The dogwhistle is now their stump speech. That changes everything.

That's when most of this shit got a booster shot and great and metastasized and started trying to eat our world.

Spot on.

Can tell us a lot about conservatives and changes .. additions

of legislation helpfull to wall street, back in the 80s. Confusing to many...

Banks loved it though....

With all due respect, what is going on is an attack on our form of government. Once the GQP controls counting the votes for elections, Democrats will never control any branch of government, ever.

nt

So we should throw up our hands and say it's over. I will never be a part of that. Maybe the fight will get tougher, but I never count us out. We will win because we our on the right side of history.

That simply isn’t true

Could be there are many in that nest of rats who would work overtime vilifying Democrats to the point of actual oppression based solely on political affiliation.

'Papers please.'

The electorate will come out in great numbers 2022 and 2024. If the votes are counted, the GQP is toast. Not counted, we're toast.

'I see here where you have participated in Democratic Underground. Please get in that line over there. Yes, the one where the officer will see to your protection. Next!'

And if there's no pushback or effort to stop it, that'll read loud 'n' clear that "gee, nobody's objecting, so it must be okay!"

They've changed the game by stacking the Supreme Court. We will be suffering from that for decades to come.

which will only happen if we resoundingly beat the GQP in 2022. That’s a must or else.

They want the same thing here.

.... being good people too. Hire really smart and accomplished people who might disagree with you
and tell you why, let them do their jobs, always give credit to others, and get the jobs that are needed
to be done, done. Also do not bother to rise to the right wing bait. Most Americans will see on who is
really on their side.

Joe and the K-Bomb are building a Juggernaut of a really strong, diverse, national, majority party,
and the old guard Republicans know that and their are crapping their tighty whities about it too.



This is what a leader looks like.

recognizing this and stepping forward in strong support. We're just not as obnoxious, offensive and loud as the other party, and so we don't get the same coverage.

I love the image of JoeKam building a "Juggernaut of a really strong, diverse, national, majority party"... what an incredible goal to have and achieve.

... in the House and Senate. 2 things need to be done:

1) Make sure the Biden/Harris/the Democrats are given credit for the good things that they
have gotten done.

2) Hang the 1/6/21 violent coup attempt around the GOP's neck and make 'em own it and
own Donald Trump too.

BTW Darwin Awards

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215458630

And, this didn't happen overnight. The way Florida operated in the nineties was a precursor to what we see today. Legal authorities skirted the rules in order to develop property in their municipalities. It was like an operation. They needed support so they cultivated people to "spread the story." Members of those business and social networks saw, firsthand, how the laws were pushed aside to reach an outcome. That is what happens in Florida, everyday. People in positions of power only pretend to follow the rules, but the decisions are really being made in their private circles. And, think about the education that their children receive, witnessing it all happen in their living rooms. So, now you have a generation who they have no use for the laws or for government process.

You want to set everything straight? At least in Florida, I have an answer. Provide what was denied back in the nineties. Make it easier for those of us who were run-over during those times to seek reparations. If there is no public admonishment, it only legitimizes that way of life.

Thanks for posting.

The GQP are all about pulling the wool over your eyes, deflecting their evil so you won't see them picking your pockets. It's more than that, but that's their regular modus operandi. It's scary how many Americans have been fooled and brainwashed. The GQP plays to their weaknesses (mostly it's racism) and they become blind to everything else.

I'm not saying the Democrats are perfect, but my God, we are light-years better than the GQP.

They tried to assassinate our leaders and overthrow our democracy. Now, they gleefully block any legislation Democrats introduce while continuing to feed a racist and terrorist agenda. They may have failed the first time but make no mistake, they have no intention of going anywhere.

“… If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.” 
― David Frum, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic  2019

We are in a fight for the soul of this Country, for our Democracy.

Game on and we all need to take it seriously.