I truly do not believe our country can withstand 4 years of Donald Trump and Republicans.

[kentuck]

The chaos and division will take its toll.

The lies are poisonous to our personal well-being.

The policies of the Republicans will create a lot of suffering everywhere.

The doubts and confusion cannot be sustained in a working democracy.

We may survive this attack upon our senses but we will never be the same country.

[Freedomofspeech]

1. I totally agree.

The stress this monster and his party are causing is taking a toll on our family and friends. I wake up every morning wondering what hell will they bring on us today. We worked hard our entire lives to retire to this nightmare.

[rzemanfl]

7. The upside is us retired folks won't have to live with the outcome as long. n/t

[OhNo-Really]

24. The Devolution of the USA, maybe the U will be dropped

I worry for all those left behind.

[Mickju]

94. Almost every day I am glad...

that I am 73 and will not be here for the worst effects of having Republicans in charge. I hope, of course, that Democrats will prevail before I go.

[Linda Ed]

102. You are right however,

Our children, grandchildren and the unborn do. So we retired folks need to fight before we are six foot under don't you agree?

[rzemanfl]

123. Agreed. n/t

[femmocrat]

2. I agree.

Not only are they destroying this country, but our loss of prestige abroad will never be recovered. Whoever succeeds trump will have to be a miracle worker.

[maddiemom]

16. It will be a Democrat whose entire administration will be spent undoing the Trump damage.

Then another Republican will be elected. Rinse and repeat.

[narnian60]

60. Exactly.

[Pluvious]

98. Like how Obama cleaned up after Bush, with GOP sabotage thrown in n/t

[certainot]

109. all americans have to do is stop ignoring talk radio

the whole thing is amazingly stupid

[Alice11111]

116. Lime Al Frankin. Kennedy VP

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Do we have a choice in the matter ?

[kentuck]

6. The only choice we have is to understand it and to resist it.

Do not permit ourselves to be sucked into the chasm of darkness.

[greytdemocrat]

8. I'm going to act.

I'm going out today and buy some flashlights!!

[kentuck]

9. I really appreciate anyone that can maintain some humor in this environment.

I keep hoping to find some.

[mountain grammy]

70. DU's daily dose of cartoons help me.

some are honestly funny and all honestly honest, a bit dark but that's expected. But I agree, finding humor is difficult. unlike most of the world, I found Kathy Griffen's bloody head to be hysterical. That's where I've gone.....

[Dem2]

4. It's building, slowly but surely

It really feels like it's going to explode if he isn't removed from office.

This is a direct attack on our way of life - there's only so much a civilized society can take IMO.

[Bengus81]

5. Their policies won't just create suffering,it will create death.............

If they ram this Senate so called health care bill through people will DIE because of it. No exaggeration at all,people will DIE from a lack of health care or from a lack of coverage IN the health care they buy. IMO older people and the poor could also die from a lack of quality living because of spending litterly every dime they have to try and get health care coverage.

I truly hate all those Congressional Republican fuckers who side with this plan with all my being. I could only HOPE that someone in their family or someone close to them is victim #1.

[Doodley]

39. People are already dying in states where Republican governors have blocked Medicaid expansion.

But how many times do you hear the media or Democrats (including Obama and Hillary Clinton) complaining about that? How many times is it mentioned in the special elections? We are where we are because Democrat lawmakers have let it happen.

[downeastdaniel]

10. This is exactly why we all need to impeach him now.

[cstanleytech]

19. The only time we will be able to remove him is in 4 years otherwise its up to Congress and

right now the Repugnants control Congress and unless they agree to support impeachment he will remain in office because the soonest we could get the needed votes in the Senate to remove him would be in 4 years as the 2018 election doesnt have many Repugnant senators having to run for re election and so the earliest we could maybe get the needed seats would be 2020.

[red dog 1]

101. Dems only need to pick up 3 seats in 2018 to take back control of the Senate

but impeachment proceedings have to start in the House.

I'm so sick of hearing that lying, child-rapist's voice on the news programs every day...
that illiterate, whiny, Tony Soprano-mobster voice literally makes me feel ill every time I hear it.

If only three GOP senators would have the courage to say NO to the Turtle's evil, heartless, tax-cuts-for-millionaires health care bill...........if only that would happen....

[cstanleytech]

103. We need the House first, only they can write the articles of impeachment.

After they do their job only then does the Senate come into play and then we need 2/3 of the members to vote if it fails by even one vote president remains in office.
And we might get some swing Repugnants to vote yes to impeach but they as a political party have zero honor or ethics anymore so they will likely try and plan it so that it will fall just short of impeaching him to try and fool the varies independent voters into thinking that the Repugnant party can atleast be salvaged but its dead already.

[red dog 1]

124. As I stated in my reply to you: "impeachment proceedings have to start in the House"

so we're in agreement there.

Where we disagree is you're statement about having to wait until 2020 to take back the Senate.
I disagree with you on that point.
I think picking up 3 or more GOP Senate seats next year is entirely possible.
We probably won't have to wait until 2020 to do that.

As far as impeachment of Donald J. Trump goes...that may never happen,
(even if the Dems do take back control of the Senate next year, but it would make it much harder for him to carry out his evil agenda with a Democratically-controlled Senate)

[cstanleytech]

125. No, you simply misunderstood. 2020 is the earliest we could in theory impeach a president without

the Repugnants assisting us but we would to have atleast 2/3 of the seats in our hands.
We certainly can retake the majority of 51+ seats in 2018 but we cant get to that 2/3 majority any earlier than 2020 because there are only a handful of Repugnants Senators having to run for re election in 2018 and the bulk of them wont be running until 2020.

[kentuck]

126. You need 2/3rds to convict.

Not to impeach.

[murielm99]

108. We just have to keep working toward

reclaiming Congress and the White House. I keep hoping that the intelligence community and the courts will help, too. But we can't rely on other people to do this. We need to vote, to protest, call, write letters, etc.

They don't like it when their dirty deeds are exposed. That is why they create fake news and try to control every aspect of the media. We still have social media, and we can fight them.

We may not get everything we want in 2018. That does not mean we give up.

I am 68. I may not live to see a good outcome. But I have adult children who need to live in a better world.

[m-lekktor]

63. yeah, Pence as president will be a MAJOR improvement and save the day for sure!1

[roamer65]

11. At best, I expect a loose confederation of states at the end of this ordeal.

At worst, I expect a Yugoslavia-style break up of the USA.

[KingCharlemagne]

20. Why would a "Yugoslavia-style break up" be worst? As a west coaster,

I'm ready for CA, OR, WA and HI to go it alone and sick of my federal tax dollars subsidizing fascism at the national level.

[roamer65]

44. It will not break up cleanly at state boundaries.

You will have ethnic and socio-political battles street by street, house by house.

That was the 1990's in the former Yugoslavia.

[KingCharlemagne]

45. Not in Croatia or Serbia. Territorial integrity of both regions was

largely preserved without that type of fighting. Are you thinking of Bosnia?

[roamer65]

52. All areas in Yugoslavia were victims of ethnic cleansing and warfare.

The only exception may be Slovenia, as they got out quickly and without much fanfare.

Much of the United States is purple. What do you think will happen there if the divisions continue to be exploited?

If the USA is to breakup, hopefully it can be done peacefully around a negotiating table. I pray to God almighty if that is the road that must be traveled.

[defacto7]

53. I dont see Eastern Oregon

Eastern Washington, Northern California, or Southern Oregon joining in any split that is liberal. Those areas are reeady to fight the liberal areas of those states with their stockpiles of weapons and in some cases stickpiles of survival rations. Most are serious right wing and many are extremists. The boundaries will be civil war fought and ugly.

[roamer65]

54. +1000

[KingCharlemagne]

59. The South began the Civil War with the best generals and with soldiers who had

grown up around firearms. We all know how that one turned out.

For that matter, Tennessee had certain pro-Unionist areas within it and the western segment of Virginia 'seceded' from Virginia, rather than stay together with the slaveocrats.

[defacto7]

72. I believe history is a great road map,

but never really repeats itself. Add technology, larger population, mass production, less open land, quicker access to foreign sources that would aid or fight against, instantaneous communication of any information a side wishes to believe, weak untrusted government with no set policy that appeals to a liberal majority....
Maybe adding these we can come to some vague conclusions.
I do appreciate the historical reference. It just needs a 21st century context.

[roamer65]

75. A more modern comparison would be Syria.

A mixture of religious, ethnic and political conflicts...21st century style.

I agree with you 100 pct.

[KingCharlemagne]

76. I think we have to start with the premise that our future adversaries in

a hypothetical hot civil war are fundamentally stupid, witness their support for Trump, racism and white supremacy.

So while they might begin the conflict with an advantage in armaments and a knowledge of their use, such an advantage would quickly give way to the superior intelligence and intellect of our side (including our knowledge of how past conflicts have played out).

In short, just as Grant and Sherman opened a can of whoop-ass on the slaveocrats after 1863, so too we would eventually prevail over the knuckle-draggers, albeit not without some early reverses.

[defacto7]

82. Your's is a reasonable hypothesis with terrible consequences.

Do you think we as a nation still have the gut courage to face any reversals with an organized front? This is an unknown we have yet to determine as I see it.
Edit: or as any organized remnant of our nation.

[roamer65]

84. The Russians and Chinese won't sit on the sidelines.

There will be foreign elements involved. The nuclear uncertainty will draw them into it.

What do I really think will be attempted before disintegration and complete chaos? A military coup d'etat.

Prime examples have been Argentina, Chile, Brazil, etc, etc.

Most failed democracies end up under military rule.

[DonCoquixote]

92. because

Then the states that have no problem handling 500 million plus people like China and India will dictate from the throne.

[KingCharlemagne]

97. Methinks the Chinese and Indians will be wiser than we were (Vietnam, Iraq) - nt

[DonCoquixote]

110. fatal bet

Power corrupts, and once they know they can command, it will corropt absolutely

[SleeplessinSoCal]

12. this week I've heard several high profile women say they are suffering daily.

He is making us sick and/or crazy.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. America has been conquered from within with help from abroad

Our sustainability depends on the framework of institutions and our ability
to rebuild those institutions once the usurpers are swept from office

It takes political will

We may be a demoralized and weak country, or a country led by fascists
for awhile

[SweetieD]

14. I agree. But I'm at a loss as to what we can do. Nt.

[cstanleytech]

15. If our country can survive Nixon, Reagan and Bush Jr it can survive Trump. nt

[kentuck]

17. Trump is in another league, imo.

Although those Repubs sucked also.

[cstanleytech]

21. Ya but the key to survival is to take away his power base which means atleast taking back majority

control over atleast the House or Senate.
Both would be best but barring that taking atleast one of them would help neuter him.

[treestar]

78. agreed.

Ordinary Republicans are one thing. Donald is another.

[KingCharlemagne]

22. Respectfully disagree. "A country" may survive but many people are going to DIE

thanks to Trump, far more than Nixon, Reagan and Bush Jr. combined.

[cstanleytech]

28. The OP raised the question of the country, people is another thing entirely. nt

[KingCharlemagne]

29. the land is probably not going anywhere, but the political arrangement may

disintegrate, especially if Trump tries to ethnically cleanse undocumented workers.

[Zorro]

38. Well, a lot of them will be Trump voters

so there's that.

[KingCharlemagne]

40. I'm hopeful that the suffering that lands on the head of Trump voters

(adults, not chidren) is biblical in scope, as God shows His or Her wrath.

[defacto7]

57. May I suggest an analogy that compares fruit types? nt

[Golden Raisin]

83. I am not so sure.

With decades of carefully-crafted and purposeful gerrymandering, Republican control of Congress (and probably control of the Supreme Court), the phenomenon of a funded, pure propaganda network (Fox) masquerading for many Americans as "news", the rest of the media, with only a few exceptions, corporate-owned, spineless and looking after ratings and bottom-line, bottomless pits of big-time right wing money (Koch Brothers, Mercer Family, etc.), plus serious Russian cyber interference (basically an undeclared declaration of all-out war on us), I am not so certain we can survive all of these cancerous tumors eating away at us. The combination of elements is extremely daunting and scary.

[LenaBaby61]

113. I so agree ...

With your post.

This country is in a LOT of trouble.

How do we get thuglicans out of office when they control EVERYTHING? The only way is through voting, but they have that all tied-up in their favor literally.

I have no clue how 2018 goes, especially if Dem votes are purged or go missing after the votes are counted, and AFTER thuglicans increase their numbers in the Senate and House. ALL they need is a few more state houses and they'll start meddling with the Constitution, and God help those of us who aren't rich, white, right-winged, male landowners. Dems are in a position we've never been in before, where a foreign government has more power than we do on what goes on in this country. thuglicans have shown us who they are many times, and Dems never believed them. I have a dear friend (Dem/Catholic) who continues to live in la la land. She told me that she's sure the better angels of the thuglican party will step up and stop this bill. I told her there are no better angels in that party, and if this death bill doesn't pass, it'll because of luck and divine intervention or both, but not because of thuglican compassion. Those two do not go together.

All I hope is for Dems to grow a big pair if we EVER get out of this mess--STOP being so nice and caving in. Be the party of the people you said you'd be the party of. Hell, even if we get this mentally-declining, racist, lying, freakish, treasonous pig out of the oval office, will the 4 years of damage done be too much to reverse, especially if all of these appellate courts etc. are filled with right-winged loonies, racists and homophobic asses? The Supreme Court is lost for a few generations if not more. tRumputin will pack it so far to the right, that we might not recognize this country in the next 5 years.

Heaven help us--and I mean the "good" us. The others who want to put their foot on my neck can go straight to HELL.

[NotASurfer]

85. If Trump Repeat Nixon but worse

Last edited Mon Jul 3, 2017, 07:46 PM - Edit history (1)

Do we also have to go through another Reagan (but worse) to get to another Clinton?

Need to cut a few steps out of the analogy!

[Va Lefty]

18. This country is done

The level of hatred on both sides, and I confess I hate the deplorables, is insubstantial for The US to function as a country.

[HipChick]

23. US is done for...allies will turn their backs..

[LiberalLoner]

32. +1

[RKP5637]

34. +1, n/t

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. Hard to argue with the Original Post. Solution: Make Republican-Trump brands toxic & indivisible.

Weld the Trump and Republican brands together. Should be easy because he is the apex of 40 years of Republican effort and the winner over the Republicans' 16 finest candidates.

Then impeach before too long. I estimate late 2017, after some Mueller findings are reported.

Then take the House in 2018 and Senate and Presidency in 2020.

[Doodley]

43. Thanks for the positive outlook in a sea of misery on this thread.

[emulatorloo]

55. Thank you, +1

[WaitWut]

27. Unfortunately, the thought that makes me feel better is...

Every "New Deal" needs a "Great Depression."

We almost had one in '08 and it changed a lot of peoples opinions on the need for regulation and the social benefit of Government Programs. When the seeds of deregulating the banks and imposing austerity on the lower classes need to be sown. The lessons that we should have learned from the 1930's will be refreshed.

I just wish that the self proclaimed history experts and pure constitutionalist wouldn't need to get burned before they realized the pot was hot. But I guess some folks learn by doing.

[KingCharlemagne]

30. This country will not survive 25% unemployment (Jan. 1933). People will die

in large numbers and there wil be massive civil unrest.

[RKP5637]

31. For some, it will be like a silent cancer. By the time they finally comprehend what is going on

it will be far too late. The US will slide down the scale in just about everything and be recognized by the international community as a has-been country. Talent will no longer immigrate to the US, there are far better places in the world to be. The educational level will continue to fall in the US as many are taught fiction rather than facts. Sickness will be prevalent across the land as vital infrastructures fail. Trump and his regime are like corporate raiders and history documents well what is left when they finish. That, will be the US of the future. And, increasing hatred will rip the country apart.

[defacto7]

67. The dominionists created their prophesy and

are fulfilling it as well being used by the corporate millitary and banking oligarchs. The dominionists see it as biblical prophesy leading to armageddon and welome it, and the oligarchs see it as culling the population into controllable proportions. That's what has been allowed to eat the US from the inside.. promotion of stupid.

[RKP5637]

71. Definitely! And IMO if Trump is out of there, Pence will accelerate it ... dominionist. n/t

[defacto7]

74. Agreed

Who ever masterminded this coup surely throught through our countries weaknesses and patiently set it up for the most damaging effect. Our answer to that can only be outside of the box I'm afraid. I just don't know what that is. They all have to come down at once without causing an even bigger disaster in the process.

[magicarpet]

99. As a propellant - Tr-dump is like using kerosene toward reaching the-destination of Fascism.....

Pence is a blend or jet fuel and rocket fuel in a voyage toward Fascism combined with strict fundamentalists Dominionist theocracy ideology.

That is precisely why pence was installed as VP. Because pence is a better destroyer when it comes to the destruction of democracy than dip-shit (djt) who is bat-shit cray-cray.

They will both de-construct and dismantle our precious democratic republic except pence will use stealth and surgical precision - (like Turtle McConnell). Tr-dump will employ the bull in the china shop - blindfolded goat rodeo technique.

[sinkingfeeling]

33. I truly don't believe the country will ever recover. I remember how our democracy

looked prior to Ronald Reagan and started to become alarmed. After 9/11, I adopted my name, 'Sinkingfeeling'.

[Golden Raisin]

35. We are already done.

Our democracy and the Republic are gravely wounded and bleeding out. Even a 'deus ex machina' courtesy of Mueller (if he isn't fired) will not help us. The divisions are too great, and I say that having lived through the Vietnam War era (also including Civil Rights) when we were also terribly divided. This is worse, deeper and uglier.

[world wide wally]

36. I am wondering if America has become too weak and soft to face reality and fight back.

Obviously, Congress has.

[BlueJac]

37. BUT.......

The fools will "STILL VOTE REPUBLICAN"

[defacto7]

81. because they worship stupidity. nt

[weydowner]

41. A Cancer destroys the Whole Body.

You might have the healthiest legs in the Universe; your pancreas might be on the front cover of the Lancet.
All is worthless if one tiny - actually qute a large section - set of cells goes rogue and takes over.
Pity. Who would have thought that the US could be ruined by a malignant tumour that is totally home-grown?
Even if he does last much longer, the people who put him in this position will still be there. The Republican Party might fracture and regorm, but they won't really change to a nice sensible party of the right.

[smirkymonkey]

42. Since he has been inaugurated, it has been a daily assault against our freedom, our values

and our integrity. Every fucking day. Without a break. I don't know how much more of this we can take. I know for myself that I have just about had it. I can't tolerate this anymore.

[Loge23]

46. The IPOTUS is a symptom

The disease is already too widespread for this country to survive as we prefer to know it.
It's always been about the people, regardless of the fools we elect. The people of this country have given up. Look around, we're shot.

[H2O Man]

47. Recommended.

I agree. We are at a crossroads: one side leads directly to the destruction of our constitutional democracy, the other to its restoration. Four years of Trump would normalize the abnormal. Thus, we must struggle to not allow that to happen. We do that by advocating for our values, in the context that the Constitution defines.

Outstanding OP. Well said, and at an important time. Thank you.

[burrowowl]

115. I agree!

[spicysista]

48. wow

I do agree that things are pretty dark and divided now. I will, because I've resigned my self to be so, remain hopeful that this country will regain anything that tRump destroys in the future. You see, I grew up in deep red Louisiana. Currently, we have a democratic governor and my home town of Baton Rouge has recently elected its first black female mayor to replace the outgoing black male mayor ( also a first). She ran on a platform of social justice and won! It is at the local and state levels that we must focus our efforts. Not only on national. I loved Howard Dean's 50 state strategy. It will work!
Any time we were defeated, we simply regrouped and continued to build on the foundation that had been lain. Now, it's time to get to work. Follow up on the newly registered voters in the Georgia 6 district. Keep them engaged! Find out if any of them had trouble casting their votes and follow up! There's work for us to do!
It's been pretty dark and divided in America for certain segments of the population since.....well, forever. I have experienced things that would seem better placed in the 1950s rather than the 1990s and early 2000s. Please, look to those communities for inspiration. Hey, it's PRIDE month. When you see members of the LGBT community around town at the many celebratory events, take a moment and ask someone if they are register to vote! Just a small amount of engagement can lead to big outcomes.
Be encouraged! Stay strong my brothers and sisters!

[First Speaker]

50. Welcome to DU...

...and I wish I shared your optimism...hopefully, I'm staying strong. But encouraged? I'm finding that harder every day...

[spicysista]

62. thanks

I appreciate the welcome. I'm sending all the encouragement that I can to you. There is always a fight, always a new frontier of progress that must be forced forward. There will always be setbacks and there is most certainly going to be pain. But it is worth it.
I'm not going to lie, as the mother of 4 black children, there are times when I've felt broken. I mean absolutely hurt. The fear that my husband and I have experienced in this country is unreal. But, all 6 of us are still here! We're going to raise money, march, volunteer, and anything else that will fight against oppression.
You're still here. Your allies can not afford your discouragement. We need you.
It's okay to take a step back. Rest, whatever you need. Please, come back to the fight when you can.

[First Speaker]

66. As they say in the movies--thanks, I needed that...

...as long as there are people like you and your family in the fight, how can one not be encouraged? We have not yet begun to fight...

[Docreed2003]

107. Amen!!!!

Please keep on posting!

[First Speaker]

49. I guarantee one thing--if things do get this bad, the GOP will blame the "liberals"...

...and their sheeple will follow them to the slaughter, bleating all the way about how evil the Democrat Party is. This isn't 1932; the country is much stupider now. People do not learn from experience anymore. All they care about is justifying their hatred. They'll let the country die before giving those hatreds up.

[Mr. Ected]

51. This is what happens when a distinct minority of the population

Takes over leadership by sordid means, then hunkers down on its fascist leanings to deny the will of the vast majority of the people.

The Resistance movement cannot allow itself to lose momentum. There are FAR more of us than them. We need to overwhelm them at the voting booth in 2018...and immediately begin action that undoes the gerrymandering and the voting machinations that Republicans have employed to deny many Americans the right to vote.

Unfortunately, the damage wrought, particularly in the USSC, will haunt us for generations.

[DFW]

56. In November 2016, I now believe we were at a fork in the road as a nation

We had the chance to head towards sunlight or the darkness, and we got pulled away from the light.

I just saw a clip of Al Franken and Rick Perry at a Congressional hearing, and Perry was so far out of his depth, a fish out of water would have been having an easy time of it by comparison. Our energy policies and any efforts to combat global warming and CO2 emissions have been effectively put on hold for four years. Trump won't live to see Miami evacuated due to flooding. Barron might. The Arctic and Antarctic ice is melting at an ever greater rate. We don't HAVE four years of grace before we contemplate doing something about it. The Republicans know that as well as we do--not idiots like Perry, but the ones who give their leadership the real story. The difference is not in knowledge but in caring. They don't. We do.

We were on a path to universal health care coverage. Due to entrenched financial interests and structures in place (and Congresspeople owned), it was not going to happen overnight. But we WERE on the way.

Our foreign policies were geared to confronting those who would wish us ill, and toward working closer with those with whom we shared common goals. Now, Europe has reached the point where Angela Merkel publicly declares that "the times in which we could reliably depend on others are a bit past us." Make no mistake, she meant us, and she now considers France's Macron her best buddy. That should have been Hillary.

We got conned, pure and simple. We got distracted as a nation, and took the wrong turn at the fork. Selfish people who do not care what is left of this planet once they are gone (Stein, McConnell, Putin, LeFarge, Ryan, Hannity, the list is long and spans the globe) convinced a great number of people to vote for their early demise and for the misery of those that will survive them. The motives stem from pride to power to greed to nothing more evil than a burning need to see their name in headlines). In the old East Germany, the population knew that the state-run media was lying to them because they got West German TV except in a small corner of Saxony near the Czech border. The most regime-loyal followers, who thought that their version of Socialism was paradise and the capitalism of West Germany was a living horror, lived, surprise, in that one corner of East Germany. In the USA, it's even worse. Millions in the USA who DO have a choice nevertheless choose to exclusively watch the Republican version of East German TV, i.e. Fox "News," and refuse to be told they hearing anything but the unvarnished truth.

Trump's boorish tactics have indeed put off some, but only a tiny percentage of that minority who supported him. A third rate performance at the SOTU address even convinced someone as savvy as Van Jones to declare that this was moment Trump "became President of the United States." Et tu, Van? Are our last lines of defense as a nation of rational, educated, aware citizens really down to Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Al Franken and Kamala Harris? Don't get me wrong, I'm part of the choir, and I love it when they preach, but they are not going to turn things around on their own.

I WANT that last line ("we will never be the same country&quot to be wrong, but I fear the opposite is true. The darkness has a serious advantage over us, and that is this: it only takes a few seconds to blow up a building. I takes years or more to build it back up.

[sharedvalues]

121. +1 excellent

[kentuck]

122. Any jackass can kick down a barn...

But it takes hard work and effort to build it.

[calimary]

58. Agreed.

It seems to be almost traditional - that Dems have to come in and clean up a republi-CON's mess. Carter had to rehabilitate the White House after Nixon/Ford, Clinton had to clean up after GHWB, and sweet God in Heaven, and Obama had to detoxify and fumigate the joint, and damn near perform an exorcism after bush/cheney.

The MASSIVE disaster that's developed in just a few long months of THIS one-man wrecking crew now, MAN - I dunno... it'll take a long time to recover from the absolutely epic mess he's making.

I can't help but think that even those addled, misinformed, and fantasy-loving voters who willingly swallowed all this because they just wanted to "burn it all down," or "blow shit up," really and truly wanted all of this. Or maybe they still don't get it. Maybe the repercussions haven't hit, or if they have, these same folks haven't noticed or felt the pain yet.

BTW - my husband just came up with a BRILLIANT comment about the GOP's proposed redistribution of income upward from Medicaid to people who already enjoy BIGLY income - "republi-CONS want the poor and sick and needy to do more with less, so the rich can do less, with more." DAYUM I love the way he thinks!

[broadcaster90210]

61. We're just about dead already

We won't make it to the mid-terms.

Next up? Reichstag fire.

[TNNurse]

64. I really miss living in the United States of America.

I have not moved, but this is not the country it once was.

In addition, my blood pressure which had been under control for several years with one medicine, now requires two. Fortunately they have not yet destroyed Medicare so I can afford another. I blame Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell and anyone who supports them.

[ananda]

65. Agree

It will increasingly turn into the good America
of the rich and corporate, and the horrible
third-world America of everyone else.

[zentrum]

68. Yup. Termites

Absolutely destructive.

[Bayard]

69. We have a choice

Either try to hang on to the next election and hope everything is not destroyed in the mean time, (I do NOT believe there's any way Rump would be re-elected, unless he tries to hold on by martial law), or resist. At some point, the constant protests are going to become violent. The disabled protest at McConnell's office yesterday is a case in point. If cops start trying to haul able-bodied people out the way they pulled people out of wheelchairs, somebody is going to get hurt. Some cops are going to keep saying they're just doing their jobs, others with a conscience are eventually going to join the protesters. Especially if they are met by crowds the size of the armies in the street the day after the inauguration. Rump will call up the National Guard, fun-loving guy that he is, and we will start having Kent State scenarios in multiple places.

The general populace is going to get pretty tired of being told they can eat cake, and die. Are we sheep, or do we persist harder?

Chop away at my theory.

[blue-wave]

73. You might be correct

We might never be the same country. Hopefully we come out of this smarter, stronger and wiser.

It is so difficult because the anti-American forces at work here are so relentless. But they were also relentless in the revolutionary war, in the civil war and in the fight for civil rights. America has been under attack since our countries' founding. Maybe now it's just more in the open, people are awakening again, today, to the fact. Never give up hope and never stop living to move forward. Remember always, it's always darkest before the dawn.

[INdemo]

77. I believe there are enough patriotic Congressman that will save our democracy but

on the other hand I believe there are those in Congress that believe our Democracy is a worn out system. They probably think they could gain more wealth (the Koch Brothers theory) with a Totalitarian style government and its scary as hell to think that its becoming more of a real possibility that this could happen when the Republican puts party first over Country,

[MontanaMama]

79. We won't win any election

or in 2018 or 2020 if we don't get the Russians out of our election process. With all of the hair on fire BS coming out of the WH every damned day I'm afraid we're not shoring up our cyber security where we need to. Paper ballots. Every state. Every precinct. Pipe dream I know but it is the only way. We can't solve gerrymandering and voter suppression in 18 months before midterms.

[democratisphere]

80. drumpf, his family, his administration and his deplorable followers

have placed our country in a death spiral. It is unfortunate that many of US will live out our remaining days saddled with this mess.

[c-rational]

86. Agreed...this manic pace is unsustainable...we have already changed...and change again we must.

[ashling]

87. Mind if I borrow (steal?) this?

[kentuck]

88. Absolutely!

Go ahead.

[underpants]

89. We are really vulnerable

Not just from the coordinated cyber attacks but also due to the clear lack of leadership. I've never even heard of another operation this poorly run.

[Initech]

90. It all started last year when Scalia died.

And traitorous fuckhead Mitch McConnell refused to allow Obama to pick a replacement. I swear when the layers are peeled back on this Russia deal, we'll see that he's the ringleader.

[riversedge]

91. AND remember that his cabinet and agencies are killing mother earth!!

[Progressive dog]

93. You are probably right nt

[lsewpershad]

95. Do something about it.

Vote in 2018.

[gilligan]

96. Well it may be bad.

But it's not cancer. A least not the physical type.
I am a13 year stage 3 cancer survivor. Even though I feel the same nausea I felt during chemotherapy. This too shall pass.It may not be quick but we will come out if this stronger as did i.
We must carry on. Life is tough but we are on the right side of history. There are more of us than them.
Peace out!

[Maynar]

105. Welcome to DU Gilligan!

And big kudos for your courage in the face of the "Big C."

Fight the good fight, sir!

[lambchopp59]

100. That's putting it mildly. I truly shudder at the fate of all our grandchildren.

What sort of Mad-Max empire are they trying to bring on? Will they survive once the starving masses rise up to conquer them... especially when the well-armed sort figures out they've been blatantly lied to?
The RWNJ's are bringing about an apocalyptic mass extinction, but not before there has been massive violence and bloodshed. I believe that before we can vote out this madness, there will be many more shocking and wild events. There is no good outcome to a mass delusional state of a country.
Yet even if we do get sane politicians back at the wheel after the Repug's have alllowed billions of tons of CO2 and other carbon pollutants to be unleashed, we will be past the threshold of climate change reversibility.

[jimlup]

104. I agree but worry for my country

when the house of cards comes tumbling down as it inevitably must.

[Tatiana]

106. If the situation continues as-is, we are headed towards another Civil War.

I honestly don't know what the solution is to this sickness. It's beyond Republican and Democrat. It's almost beyond class warfare.

This is starting to feel like a banana republic.

[Awsi Dooger]

111. This was mostly inevitable once activists took more control of primaries

I know I've mentioned this many times but I warned Chris Bowers directly on MyDD. He thought it would be wonderful to clear out moderate Democratic nominees and replace them with progressives only. What could possibly go wrong?

Not exactly complicated. The other side is not going to maintain the status quo. They have online activist push also, and that means GOP nominees who are going to be so extreme it's going to be beyond any logical scope or forecast, circa 2006. That's when these discussions took place. Obviously I never envisioned Donald Trump as president but I screamed that it could not possibly work in our favor, since the 3-2 edge of conservatives over liberals nationwide was inevitably going to get their extremists elected here, there and mostly everywhere, changing the perception of what a standard conservative really was.

It probably didn't matter what Bowers did. The internet was our enemy, even if it wasn't recognized at the time. The internet has been as damaging to Democratic cause as it's been to brick and mortar stores. We could fend off a vast right wing conspiracy when they were isolated and mostly writing magazine articles and books with one-word titles. But once the hate was spread fake and wide and accessible via one click, all the long held solutions no longer apply. The internet is exponentially more harmful than talk radio.

I just turned 58. I don't know what to root for. I'm thrilled the bulk of my life preceded this reality but I may be stuck for a while. How are Republicans ever going to accept a normal nominee who tells a semblance of the truth half the time when they got across the finish line with this lowlife?

[Kablooie]

112. And don't forget the permanent locking in of an extremist SCOTUS.

That will doom the country more than everything else.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

114. Unless we're in a nuclear war, I doubt it gets as awful as the Civil War.

I fear that Trump could be a harbinger of even worse in the future!

The lies from right-wing think tanks and their propagandists get more outrageous over time, and that indicates to me a win-at-all-costs attitude. It's reached the point where I think they could support an outright dictator (fascist) eventually. It's not like those powers haven't already done it to other countries that didn't comply with their money interests. Also, what was their main complaint about the Soviet Union? That it wasn't a democracy? Nope! Their main complaint was that it was a communist regime. Those kinds of people financed Hitler too. They don't care about democracy.

[sharedvalues]

117. If GOP holds house in 2018 American democracy is over

[kentuck]

118. No doubt, many will have lost faith in the idea of self governance.

If that were to happen.

[sharedvalues]

119. It means we will have a permanent one party state

Because voter suppression will be only stronger going forward,
Media manipulation will be only stronger going forward,
And four years of SCOTUS appointments will ensconce huge billionaire money in politics and voter suppression .

Really if Dems don't win the house in 2018 there will be no reversing this autocratic movement we are in.

[roamer65]

127. If they steal the 2018 election, we will be calling it the "former United States".

[Nevernose]

120. I think the conservatives finally won. The US is over

And we've gone back to the "good old days," or whatever hallucinatory version they've got of better times they've got in their heads,

We're back to racism, in many cases flat-out open racism.
Schools haven't been this segregated in generations.
Welfare is "reformed." The social safety net is effectively gone.
We've been in a near constant hot war for 25 years.
The government has shredded any remaining right to privacy.
We've now got whatever the opposite of gun control is.
No more "free" health care for the poor and elderly.
Harder to get an abortion in most of the country than at any point since 1972.
Robber barons are back.
Economy has craters for 95% of us.
Reality tv stars can make more in a year than a schoolteacher will make in a lifetime.
The GOP is getting rid of the endangered species act and most of our public lands.
They're apparently about to get the permanent Supreme Court majority.

Not only have we lost all progress, but America is fucked. We're over. This particular historical fashion is now out f fashion; I hope the Chinese can decide a better job.

[lovemydogs]

128. Our economy is not strong enough to withstand the next 4 years

On one hand I feel afraid of what will happen when it crashes again because of Trump, et. al.
But, it will take a massive shock to shake people up from apathy and their deaf ears regarding republicans. Republicans crashing the economy twice in such a short time may open people's eyes.