CODE RED

[kentuck]

America is in a crisis. Do not doubt that reality.

There is a threat, within our government, unlike any in the history of our nation. This is not like Watergate. It is much worse.

The President and his Party are putting their political interests above those of our nation. Unlike previous scandals, this time the crisis originates with an external adversary that has befriended the President of our country and is defended by the leaders of the Republican Party.

Our institutions and the very structure of our democracy is threatened. It is far beyond a simple Democratic/Republican division. Our necessity to promote diplomacy with other nations has been curtailed to a dangerous level and our nation is more vulnerable to external attacks.

Most dangerous of all, our country has been partitioned along political divisions, with the Republican Party and their leaders, including the President, ignoring these threats and the dangerous reality they present to our people.

We should not minimize the situation we find ourselves in. The enemy within has perfected a propaganda campaign that uses lies, diversions, obstructions, delays, and division to separate us into partisan camps, that make it almost impossible to unite behind a common cause, including the survival of our democracy.

There will be no quick solutions or victories. It will be a long and difficult struggle to inform and re-educate the American people about the true swamp within which they find themselves engulfed. The truth has been blanketed with a dark cloud of doubt.

We must maintain a strong vigilance and remain united against this enemy within. It is not a trivial matter. It is a dire threat to our democracy.

[Wellstone ruled]

1. So agree,

America,wake the F--- up. We are seeing a Reality TV show similiar to the HUSTLE happening in real time.

[bdamomma]

15. Geez, not all of us are ignorant

they (repigs) have such a low opinion on Americans, this drives me furious. We need to hit back hard.
They hate liberal ideas and facts. Our media is just a tool to the corporations.

[Wellstone ruled]

16. One could see this coming

last fall. As long as the Media(Cable News)keeps the cash register ringing,nothing will change. They have 5 Billion in free Advertising hanging with this group of Crime Syndicate Members.

[BrooklynTech]

31. You're right, not all of us are ignorant

But too many of us are. That's how we got the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in office. And I don't see us shedding those ignorant assholes who vote against their own best interests because they're blinded by hate any time soon.

[SoCalMusicLover]

2. FACISM

That's what it is!! And on the way to Dictatorship, if not there already.

[Zoonart]

3. ABSOLUTELTY

Russia hacked our election. Interfered in our democracy and the Republicans DON'T CARE. That is the scandal!
I could not agree more, Kentuck.

[Iplayoneontv]

30. They care about the checks they got

Bribes. McConnell got two million.

[workinclasszero]

4. Agreed

Freedom, democracy and the rule of law are all under imminent threat and will remain so as long as the Russian agent-in-charge remains in the white house.

[onetexan]

5. well said

rather frightening isn't it?

[Nitram]

6. Actually, it is CODE ORANGE!

[BadgerMom]

7. For me, one of the prime mysteries

is why the Republicans don't care. I discount possible Trump love. He has no love for them and Pence could do their bidding just as easily. I wouldn't be surprised if it's guilt. The most logical reason I can think of is that they all knowingly accepted tainted funds. They may fear an investigation that reveals that or they may fear the Russians hacked the info over the summer. Anyone with other ideas?

[klook]

21. Money.

Republicans serve the One Percent. Anything that serves their masters is OK by them, up to and including treasonous activity.

[certainot]

35. money is a symptom. something democracy can regulate. the problem is we

give 1200 radio stations a free speech free ride to create made-to-order constituencies that republican reps and media can point to to enable their sell out and obstruction of democracy. if they don't have a bunch of fucking idiots believing limbaugh and sons lies that money is free speech, deregulating media will lower prices, electronic voting machines will be good for democracy, voter fraud is rampant and requires voter suppression legislation, and waiting for golden trickle down showers, the billionaires couldn't do shit.

trump is president primarily because the idiot left ignores rw radio. dems can't even poll for it! most of the russian trolling played on 30 years of clinton and democratic and liberal bullshit and swiftboating. the reason trump won the primary is because limbaugh and most of his wannabes made excuses for trump and dissed rubio and bush establishment money. those 1200 radio stations at 15hrs a day and $1000/hr are worth $5BIL/yr. that's the money that beat democracy.

trump/gop/right can't do shit without liberals giving them that advantage for 30 years - without a peep of challenge.

that is the biggest political mistake in history.

just heard bill maher once again blame fox, talk radio's dumb little brother, like so many others with no clue.

i hope the russian investigations turn up limbaugh's cyprus accts - putin's probabluy been using talk radio since at least 2009 when limbaugh used a russian hack to create 'climategate' - proof that global warming was a hoax and make putin and the kochs a few more billions every year.

[BigmanPigman]

37. Ailes may be dead but Fux News and the deplorable mind set and foreign banks are alive and thriving.

Too many Americans are dumber than dirt and enjoy staying that way. Too bad people who are aware and smart enough to realize the dire situation our government and country are in will suffer more than the purposely ignorant, immoral majority.

[certainot]

39. there is a major propaganda operation going on in most parts of 40 states with 80 senators

where there a no free easy alts for politics other than rw radio - especially while driving and working

and all americans have to do is stop ignoring that fact.

liberals are so fucking stupid about talk radio:
- we let idiots and trolls convince us it's an irrelevant bygone tech and just an expression of free speech - ignore it
- we've let a few hundred ignorant think tank-scripted liars kick our ass for 30 years (now putin).
- we don't even poll for the closest connection to trump outside of 'white'
- we don't even monitor it to analyze the patterns and repetition
- we blame its stupid little brother fox for what it does and guys like rove laugh
- we blame symptoms like money and media and ignore the main obstruction to fixing them
- we even let 88 universities endorse 257 limbaugh stations without complaining!

[Bozvotros]

38. I've said this for years too

Abandoning the fairness Doctrine without a real fight gave us fascist radio around the clock. Fascist radio gave us Fox television, all of which has supplanted or supplemented religion as the new opiate for the masses. Withdrawal from the staggering cognitive dissonance created in that world is too painful. The only thing that can relieve it is more of the same.

[certainot]

40. dems have to boycott and protest it and

tell 88 universities they can't support it anymore

[whathehell]

41. You've made excellent points on the underrated impact of RW Radio..

and the lack of pushback from the Left. The Fairness Doctrine, which was allowed to die under Reagan, is never even referenced anymore.

[CrispyQ]

26. Republicans don't want to govern; they want to rule.

I think Molly Ivins said that.

IMO, top GOP leadership is in the Russian thing up to their necks. They knew back when they blocked the Garland nom that they would get outside help. McConnell, Ryan, Gov. Scott, & others & I'm sure Pence, too, have all taken Russian money and/or knew about the Russian interference. They will stand by the Con cuz they know he would rat them out in a nano second. In the meantime, while the media focuses on the investigation, nothing is reported on health care, environment, public lands, and all the other shit that the GOP is chopping.

[BarbD]

28. Fear is forcing them to shove their heads in the sand.

The Republicans don't have a graceful way out on this. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't. They kept thinking that he couldn't be that bad, but even my California Republican cousins are wincing at his antics. At some point, I hope they will think of the good of the country ahead of their stock portfolios.

[Plucketeer]

34. It's really pretty simple

As long as they have a guy who can sign his name to the citizen-screwing bills they send him, they are NOT going to try to de-throne him!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

8. Stop the Watergate comparisons. This is a result of Voodoo economics.

People need to know that. The media in large part only harkens to Watergate because they made that happen. They are a big reason we got trumped, but won't tell the whole truth about Oligarchs and mass media worldwide aligning to suppress the rest of us.

[FakeNoose]

18. +1000

Sleepless you are so right about this!

The media didn't do their job last year and that's why we're in this predicament now. The top dogs in the news media decided "Donald Trump is good for business" and they sat back and watched the advertising money roll in, while they did nothing.

I sure hope Rachel Maddow calls them out this year, after she gets done eviscerating the Republican party. The media guys are not the heroes on this one!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

25. They are her boss though. Keith Olbermann needs a better platform.

I think some big money liberal power brokers need to buy FOX or CNN.

Rupert Murdoch, ancient as he is, is still trying to buy Sky News in the UK. Streaming it now. A hard right would be horrific over there today. Apparently FNC fired O'Reilly in order to buy Sky.

[CrispyQ]

27. This: I think some big money liberal power brokers need to buy FOX or CNN.

They should have done this long ago. And take on hate radio, too. Not addressing this issue has been one of the biggest mistakes the left/dems made.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

36. They should have done that years ago.

Decades ago....we knew that way back. Why can't anyone in a position to do so go ahead and do it?

[SleeplessinSoCal]

43. Agreed. Why hasn't it happened?

Two wealthy Los Angeles liberals tried to buy the L A. Times from Tribune and they refused to sell. Dont know if the same thing happens with cable news.

[kairos12]

9. I think the Reich Wing see themselves as preserving the government

for U.S. oligarchs. They believe in a kleptocracy and therefore find alignment with Putin something that is beneficial

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

10. Let's call it like it is...

We have no president in the WH, we have a terrorist.
We need to take back this government.


I'd say by any way possible, but that could be misconstrued.

[bdamomma]

14. no call it as it is

he is a domestic enemy of the state.

Get ready if they take away Social Security something has to drive people into the streets.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

17. Ok with ya.

Then Medicare and all the social programs. Repealing the ACA.

There will be blood in the streets if this admin is allowed to continue.

[bdamomma]

19. geez, I want to see all of them to go.

the Repigs don't care about the American people, it's all about their frigging tax cuts.

[zentrum]

11. The President

...and the Republican party are not "ignoring" the threat.

They are creating the threat. They are the reason for the threat.

They have been trying to do this for 30 years at least and with Trump-Bannon-Sessions-Miller-Mercer, it's coming to fruition.

[Amaryllis]

12. Yes, but... Everyone here agrees with you. What do we do?.

[bdamomma]

13. So even another

March we had on January 21st in DC would not help. July 4th would be a great time to have another.... this means war.

Again, those who are in power right now need a heavy dose of people power.

[Loge23]

42. I agree - this is on all of us

I wonder what it will take to get people up and on the streets. The mass demonstrations of the Vietnam era are what we need now once again. The Left must come together - we are indeed a very big tent of diverse interests - we must find a way to work together.
In my lifetime (in my 60's) there has never been as severe a crisis as there is now for our country, Cuban missile crisis not withstanding. We must prevail and that has to be through people power.

[world wide wally]

20. The most dangerous part is that these traitors are running the country for the foreseeable future

That means we all have to work and resist that much harder.

[klook]

22. This is why Masha Gessen is required reading

We would all do well to review Autocracy: Rules for Survival from time to time.

It's no exaggeration, and it's not hysteria.

"Rule #4: Be outraged. If you follow Rule #1 and believe what the autocrat-elect is saying, you will not be surprised. But in the face of the impulse to normalize, it is essential to maintain one’s capacity for shock."

This is where we are. RESIST.

[AlexSFCA]

23. how fascism begins

straight from nazi germany playbook with putin help. Organized armed alt right militia across the country, dismantling fbi and justice departments. A real coup. What watergate?? that was simple domestic issue; we are talking about imminent authoritarian regime now. trump is not nixon, he will never resigne nor will be impeached by republicans cause they also used campaign money from russia. And putin has sufficient compramising material on key people so one wrong move and wikileaks at his finger tips. Ukraine was just a proof of concept.

[padfun]

24. Just in case

I think I will take some courses in Russian at the local college. Just in case.

[Pluvious]

29. Perfect, except one word: Not "befriended," but "likely is blackmailing entire family" n/t

[lordsummerisle]

32. We're screwed

The American people, through the archaic Electoral College, have not only elected Trump but a majority of Rethugs in both the House and Senate as well to protect and support him. At this point it doesn't even matter that Trump's popularity is very low and going lower, Congress is in place and will not go against the president of their own party despite any public outcry...

Impeachment? Even if by some miracle the Dems took the House, the Constitution requires a two-thirds super-majority of the Senate to oust a sitting president. In the current situation, that would mean that 19 Republican senators (out of 52) would need to join all 48 or their Democratic and Independent colleagues to convict Trump...

2018? Tell me about the prospect of the Dems taking control of even one chamber...

The great American experiment was great while it lasted. Thomas Jefferson might also agree...

[dalton99a]

33. Kick.