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Okay, so these articles are insightful, prescient, and clear. However, the problem continues to be the people reading them are well aware of the concerns and will take a stand against the anti-democratic forces and vote accordingly in November. That will not be enough. For all the repeated warnings, the people who need to read this and open their eyes never will and certainly don't care. They live in their bubbles and echo chambers - but that's exactly what we have here. Steve, you spend time and what you convey is important, but those who understand and agree with you are already here. Your target audience needs to be those on the fence, not those already MAGA-fied.

Just think how hermetically sealed their bubble is that they think January 6th was a tourist visit and are not aware that their soon to be formally nominated candidate has 91 charges against him. If they've even heard, they don't believe. How do you reach them? Because it sure isn't reading these.

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author

Mike,

I hear you. I would ask this community to please share content from The Warning with those in your network who may benefit from reading it.

Steve

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But that's the problem. My husband is a Fox News viewer and Trump supporter. I want so much for him to read this. But I know he won't. As soon as he saw "Republican Party" and "fascists" in the same sentence, he would scoff at the idea, go on the defensive, and stop reading. There's no reaching him. I know, I've tried. And tried. And tried.

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You’re correct, and as the saying goes, Steve is speaking to the converted. Perhaps he might consider working on Biden’s campaign. Biden certainly needs someone like Steve to help with the messaging.

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I have been on him like flies on s--t to get him to get with these folks. I saw him at the screening of Bad Faith, the documentary he is interviewed in on Jan 12th.. He graciously carved out time to speak with a small group of attendees who had stayed behind to speak with him..He made a remark that inferred that he may very well be communicating with them.. I certainly hope I interpreted it correctly..

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Yes CaroleAnn, it would be great if Steve worked on the Biden campaign. Steve- please!

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Yes! Biden's campaign needs several Steves to help with the messaging.

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That is what I brought up a couple of days ago when I paid up on my lapsed sub. He writes very well, but it exists in an echo chamber. His campaign opperative media savy persona has to lean heavy on the media contacts he developed as a campaign operative to scream about lifting the MSM Biden news blackout that drives the poll numbers. The achievements of the Biden administration are greater than any administrtion since FDR. Is that not newsworthy? With the greater majority of nationwide news outets under billionaire right wing control, we have our work cut out for us. Baltimore Sun anybody? Just last week far right Sinclair says what is news to another one.

The Lincoln Project sees this clearly and is going directly at the persuadeable demographics that can be reached directly in various social media. Keek up with Rick Wilson and Reed Galen.

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Note: 'The Warning' youtube videos have a significant number of subscribers (and growing), compared to the newsletters. Steve can take it TO MAGA like nobody else I've ever seen. I feel that if some of his videos were shorter (or clips of his best videos can be put on youtube), they may go 'viral' and get into the social media algorithms so millions of people will see them. Thanks.

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You are absolutely right.......a deter must be made, not towards us, but as you say to those that are too ignorant to change and may not.....

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I think the question is not how can Steve reach them, but how can we reach friends, family, neighbors, strangers who haven’t considered the bigger picture here. And maybe it first starts with listening instead of talking...finding common ground and identifying what is important for us to continue our pursuits of happiness and for us to maintain freedom and to hold onto our republic.

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Steve: I devoutly wish that you and others in the media stop referring to these folks as conservatives. This gives them an aura of respectability which they do not merit. Rather, they should be referred to as "right wingers' or "far right wingers' which is what they really are. True conservatives have the philosophy of keeping things as they are, perhaps with incremental changes, while these right wingers wish to undo things like the ACA, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, the Chevron rule, Roe (already undone) and so on.

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“The race must become about Trump. He must be confronted, mocked, laughed at, and put off balance, every hour of every day until the election” Steve Schmidt

Your public voice and those of other hard hitting former rebubs, all who have the public forums and ears are vital in this endeavor, as we don’t seem to be hearing too much from the elected Democrats, sadly.

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Well, the presidential campaign has yet to formally begin. Biden speaks out against Trump, as do many members in Congress in committees and hearings, etc, as do some media outlets. But remember, they have a financial interest in NOT taking sides. The more balanced they can pretend to be, the more clicks and advertising dollars they get. do you think they want to alienate half (or whatever percent) of their potential audience now? Hardly. Should they is a different question and answer. So, I'm not sure what you're listening to or what you expect, but it can't be stand up on a pedestal and scream anti-Trump rhetoric, because the people who need to hear it, don't listen.

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Exactly. I was in a restaurant Monday, seated near two MAGAs. Unreal. They were yelling about their “beliefs”. They are completely brainwashed and loving it. They can’t wait for civil war. For “the comedians” to be rounded up and shipped to GITMO. For the military to run the 2024 election. And so much more.

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Thank you Mike, I am not that politically savvy! Learning though.

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Right On!! Thanks :-)

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We keep hearing about "far-left extremists". Would someone please point some out to me because I don't know who they are. AOC? Bernie Sanders?

On the other hand, I don't think any of us would have a problem naming at least a hundred far-RIGHT extremists (a.k.a., fascists). So, who are their counterparts on the left? Or are they just some nebulous cabal, made up by the far right to scare the living daylights out of their supporters—mainly for the purpose of getting those supporters to fork over their life savings to fund a far-right agenda?

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founding

I have this same question! Also, why us it that MAGA thinks Joe Biden is a threat to our nation. I need it explained to me.

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Why is it that MAGA thinks Joe Biden is a threat to our nation? Because their leaders TELL them he is. That's their job! If they said Joe Biden is the greatest thing since sliced bread, how many people do you think would vote for THEIR candidate? Also, how much money could they RAISE for their candidate/their pockets?

Actually, what we have here is simply a fill-in-the-blank situation: if MOTHER TERESA were running, the MAGA leaders would portray HER as a threat to this nation.

And if JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF were running, they'd go absolutely ballistic, because of the overwhelming threat HE'D pose to this nation, with his horror-show of policies: welcome the stranger; do unto others as you would have them do unto you; the meek shall inherit the Earth; whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me; and ad infinitum.

Again, it doesn't matter what name is in the blank; whoever it is will be a "threat to this nation"! It just happens to be Joe Biden this time around. Next time around it could be Joe Btfslpk, from Lil Abner, or Axolotl Potrzebie, from Mad magazine. Again, it DOESN'T MATTER! As long as it terrifies the rubes, job done!

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deletedJan 25
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The problem, Marian, is a matter of pronunciation: if these "Christians" pronounced the word the way it SHOULD be pronounced—"CHRIST-ee-ans"—they might have a tougher time with lacing the Rio Grande with razor wire; coming down on the LGBTQ+ community; denying bodily autonomy to women; etc., since they'd have the image of a non-approving Jesus looking over their shoulder all the time.

However, when you pronounce it the way it's COME to be pronounced—"CHRIS-tchuns"—the word could very well be referring to a guy down the street named "Chris", who, they know, wouldn't give a damn about how many people the razor wire was chewing up; the inordinate number of LGBTQ people taking their own lives because they get tired of being harassed over their born-in sexual orientation; etc.

So, there's the solution: just start saying the word properly (here's me, holding my breath waiting for that to happen!)

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deletedJan 25
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Yeah, well "Paul" didn't start out so good in life, did he? Kind of at war with the world, so, not surprising that he'd create something that would lead to larger wars.

Will look through the Urantia material; thanks for the referral.

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And I'll add, Trump doesn't wage a war only against "a belligerent left." Trump may use the phrase "Radical leftists," etc but he means anyone who isn't MAGA, and even the MAGA crowd understands that. Trump is delighted to wage a culture war against anyone and everyone who doesn't fall in line goose stepping behind him. He needs no further provocation.

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Why was my original comment removed?

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Steve, respectfully, there is no equivalence on the left to the MAGA fascist movement. In the sixties and seventies there was, but that ship sailed decades ago.

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If you go back to 60’s and 70’s, there is a difference. The people protesting and even being charged with arson and bomb making, weren’t representatives in Congress, or necessarily even democrats.

Here we have house members and senators who were complicit and conspirators on J6th. Who are also cheerleaders for the “Stop the Steal” movement, even after their own Republican state SOS’s said no fraud was committed, and the courts (including Trump appointees), threw out 62 complaints filed by Trump and his minions.

This doesn’t even include all the shenanigans at the state level with elected officials claiming to be valid electors to verify the election. And more than 24 republican Attorney Generals filing in support of the lawsuits.

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Robert Jaffee; Thanks for reinforcing my point with all of that. No members of Congress were supportive of any of the radical crap that groups like the Weather Underground were pushing back then like the MTG’s and her ilk are doing now. Traitors!

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founding

Good one! Succinct and correct. Let’s keep ourselves out of the belly of the tiger.

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“Not only do [Republicans] support President Trump, we support his policies. And any Republican that isn’t willing to adapt these policies, we’re completely eradicating from the party.”--MTG

And therein lies the rub! The entire party has become a cult; the Mango mafia. I often debate friends who say that democrats have the same looney’s on the left.

And I continue to tell them that the few within Congress aren’t the majority or even a minority majority of the party. Whereas the entire republican party is now a wholesale operation of Trump Inc. The squad who are not a bunch of ignorant buffoons, are just a small left-wing contingent of the party, with little to no power.

Republicans are investigating Biden and Hunter because Trump told them to do it. The FreeDumb caucus wants to shut down the government to destroy the economy so Trump has a better chance of winning in November. They refuse to do an immigration bill because it might help Biden win the election. Rinse, lather, repeat!

Since when have any democrats plotted to overthrow the government? Since when do members of the Democratic Party conspire with domestic terrorists to storm the Capitol; even placing pipe bombs throughout the Capitol grounds? Since when have democrats conspired with the Whitehouse to send fake electors to Congress, and thwart a democratic process of certifying the election?

It never happened and quite frankly never will, because democrats respect the rule of law; even when they are screwed by it. See Bush v Gore; an actual election stolen by a bunch of corrupt fascists Supreme Court Justices.

So seriously, we need to win and democrats need to delineate the fact that Trump isn’t the only problem. If he wins and republicans also retake the senate, we can be sure that both Alito and Thomas will retire before the mid-terms, so that the religious fascists could control the courts for at least the next four decades.

And mark my words, even if Trump leaves peacefully in 2028, and republicans never take the Whitehouse again, they will rule by judicial fiat; keeping any major democratic legislation in the courts for years.

Let that sink in!...:)

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Besides all that he is promising he will do, this is what comes if Trump gets back into the White House..And it is already in the House via Mike Johnson, MTG et.al.

https://www.badfaithdocumentary.com

And let us not forget this:

https://washingtonspectator.org/nelson-cnp/

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100% agree. They already have infiltrated the Whitehouse and Congress for years with the Family Research Council, which has held weekly prayer breakfasts for decades, and been a favorite of conservatives and some democrats since Reagan was in office.

Thank you. You need to share this with everyone....:)

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You're welcome Robert..I made it the subject of my current Substack post at Photos And Other Things..I have posted it here before, I have posted it on the only social media platform I am on Post.News..Steve is there with The Warning..I encourage everyone on multiple platforms to spread it far and wide..and send it to everyone they know..

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I’ll check it out, thanks and have a great evening...:)

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Bravo Robert Jaffee, you are hired!

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There’s a PBS episode of American Experience : Nazi Town USA about American Nazis camps and even a town in the 1930s. Unbelievably chilling - should be watched by everyone reading this substack

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Voters need to be told how electing Trump and ushering in fascism will impact them for the worse in their everyday lives. Steve, please spell this out for us in simple specific details, so those of us in swing states can message properly on the local and statewide level.Most folks don't really understand abstract terms like democracy and fascism. They need simple specific details about how their lives will change for the worse.

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A better use of a word...is to stop using the word Democracy to describe what can be lost to the us, the world......I believe the use of the word FREEDOM, should be used and emphasized......Does anyone really believe that younger generations understand this word fully?? Do not think so because they simply believe that it is a mainstay in everyone's life, will never be destroyed, just comes with being an American......The Idea of the word, Freedoms, must be utilized and HEARD as this interprets what our lives will be like if our rights are removed..We WILL lose it all! "Speak in terms of Freedoms and Liberties"..........instead

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Freedom is better than democracy. But I'd attack Trump specifically and directly .

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"Freedoms and Liberties" -Yes, this is the language we must use! Thanks.

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founding

I would have to agree. Nazi Germany is the only example of fascism that most Americans can relate to and they disregard the thought that we can slip into that. Unfortunately history's lesson is that the only non-catastrophic way out of fascism is to never decend into it. As Elizabeth notes, we need to connect the dots to traditional vote casting levers.

Just brainstorming but things like how safe will you feel in your community knowing the rule of law is now open to be steered to please the ruling power. Loyalists will be given immunity or favorable outcomes, non-loyalists will be targeted, etc.

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An excellent essay. However, neglect and policies that stopped short of addressing problems often associated with poverty are far more culpable than far-left extremists for the previous decline in the safety of America’s greatest cities. I say "previous" because increasingly only the rich and the poor live in these cities. It is true (or at least I agree) the far left can be illiberal and intolerant, but the primary reason Americans are duped by the fascist-conservative coalition is they are duped by Fox "News" and similar sources. No newspapers and MSM for them!

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Steve, I get it, and I’m on it. Another excellent analysis. This is my question. We voted this ghoul OUT in 2020, and handed Joe Biden 81 million more votes. And here we are again. Donald Trump has been even more damaging and dangerous since he LEFT office than he was when he was IN office. Election lies, stolen election, blah blah on the daily now for THREE years. An insurrection. Four indictments, 91 charges. He’s controlling Congress through his disciples like Mike Johnson.

He is already planning the next insurrection. He said so last night, again. “The only way we lose is if they cheat”. Laying the groundwork.

Wash rinse repeat. The world gets this. There isn’t trust in the US abroad. I know this anecdotally because my daughter has a corporate global job, spends lots of time in Europe and Asia, and hears the following constantly from her counterparts: WTF IS WRONG WITH THE US??

What is the scenario for us? Will we have to go through this every four years? Because Donald Trump resurrects himself and runs for office over and over and over again?

And that outcome is presuming that Biden can and WILL start kicking ass and taking names 24/7 and wins this thing.

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Yes, and what did DJT do with those classified documents?! What else would he do? Scary.

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I think he sold them to the Saudis and they responded by giving Little Jared $2 billion dollars. This is my opinion. But it makes sense.

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Yes, I hope that $2 Billion Jared deal gets exposed and soon. And Russia!

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It should have been exposed when it first happened. No accountability for Little Jared, but Hunter Biden is being pilloried and investigated massively. And yes! I’m sure Putin is sitting around with some classified documents, too.

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"What is the scenario for us? Will we have to go through this every four years? Because Donald Trump resurrects himself and runs for office over and over and over again?"

Age and cholesterol will take Trump. His last stand, unless he wins and tosses democracy out the window. But he's old too. It's not as if 81 is a death knell and 77 is a spring chicken. Sadly, Biden has many great accomplishments and although I believe he's still with it and Trump is truly in mental decline, the fact that he's 81 is a scary fact for many who want to support him and are concerned that an ill-prepared Harris is a heart beat from the presidency. I appreciate her, but these are simply the facts that we're facing. Many people have that concern and we can't ignore it.

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I get it. Thank you for your response. Biden might be 81, but the gibberish that Trump spewed Monday night at a rally, all about “solven” putting the US in a “great death penalty, we have to do it” should really, I think, pump up the fears about Trump and allay some fears about Biden.

And if Biden wins, we appear to be looking at the exact same insurrection playbook from Trump.

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Thanks Julie. I agree that Trump is in decline.

There will be no insurrection/sedition/acts of treason if Biden wins because Trump won't have the control and people in place like he had in 2020 where his attempts thankfully failed. That's why he and his allies are all in on Project 2025. They don't want to risk a repeat of a failed coup and worse, they don't even hide it. He would have to win to enact that and not a chance in hell to do so if he loses.

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That makes sense.

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Thanks. On your way to Iowa, can you sit on my front porch and have these discussions. I’ve learned so much and am embarrassed at what I don’t. My favorite so far

Duty

Honor

Country

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“Moderate” Democrats, who also tend to be corporate Democrats, contributed to the current state of affairs by being moderate, non-confrontational incrementalists. They happily endorse the idea that anyone to their left is a “radical liberal”, best ignored and marginalized, leaving the accurate impression that they don’t stand for much of anything - especially the notion that democratic representative government should somehow serve the populace. Republicans created MAGA and Trump through years of treacherous campaigning and governance while a largely supine Democratic Party looked on. We must do better

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I agree with the analysis, and am deeply troubled by the spewing of words like "genocide Joe" or "from the river to the sea" or "colonial power" being bandied about on campuses and in public spaces as a handle for "conservatives" to hang on to while they implement actions against DEI and LGBTQ. We can't underestimate the risks here of painting with a broad brush against all democrats, with a small d.

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you left out their "god & country"....for that is what this all about...They think their god Jesus has sent him and are afraid, as archaic as this is, of being punished by their god now & when they die...they all believe in hell!...These people are not exactly what one would call Smart, or intelligent, lastly AWARE OF SELF OR THE WORLD...THEY CONTINUE TO LIVE IN THE PAST...HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO IN THOUGHT..NEVER EXCELLED IN EDUCATION OR ANY WISDOM IN LIFE!!!!!!!

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And, it’s right in our faces each day, thanks to the orange orangutan! Everyone, open your eyes and ears to see through the facade!

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You are preaching to the choir by posting this here. We already know this, but the message never reaches the ones that it needs to.

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We must reach a much wider audience. It is, though, ok for people to express here, too.

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I agree totally!

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founding

People better start talking up Kamala Harris. No one has shown me anything that says she cannot do a hood job as potus if the need arises. Trump and/or Haley are going for the fascist fear mongering with Hartis being a heartbeat away from the presidency. I'm sorry to say, reading Steve's essays lately is depressing. He's not telling me anything I don't know already regarding this election. It's not motivating me. It's not reaching MAGA. The world is right to look at us all and as wtf is wrong with the USA. Did I want a Biden vs Trump rematch? Hell NO. But I am going to be ENTHUSIASTICLY voting for him. I will crawl through broken glass.

And on another note, I cannot stand the headlines I'm seeing on CNN and AP. They are giving Trump s headlines tgat sound great for him, but don't represent the story. Last, and I never thought I'd say this, but I'm getting sick of MSNBC.

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founding

*Good, not hood.

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