In September 2020, I predicted what would happen when Trump denied the election. I am not psychic. I simply listened to what Trump was saying and evaluated the weakness and cowardice of MAGA politicians. I think it is important to take every single word these people say literally and seriously. I think many people are more interested in trying to understand the “why” of it. I tend to think that is dangerous right now. What do you think?
Part 2 of my reflections on the Lincoln Project series will be out later. I don’t believe in saving this type of information for books.
Trump is a stepping stone for those others who are part of the MAGA-verse. If they say "this is what I will do" believe what they say. I have no doubt they will do what they're saying in all the rallies.
I would like it better if we had more direct confrontational messaging on "this is what they said, this is what they will do". President Biden was correct when he called them out, and they all screamed. Right thing to do...and needs to be done o a constant basis. Use MAGA's words against them.
Not sure on what rooftop I need to stand to get the DNC's attention.
For a long time, I kept asking myself again and again: Why do they keep doing this? I'm defining "this" as their constant need to defend and promote Trump. Once I realized that the specific motivations vary by person, I stopped asking myself the question. Ted Cruz, for example, is a weak, deceitful man who has not one leadership quality that would ever motivate anyone to follow him or endorse him. Lindsay Graham has a different motivation than Ted. I cannot imagine what damning information Trump has on him, but he will take it to his grave rather than come out against Trump. I think for Mitch McConnell, Trump was a useful idiot. McConnell is responsible for Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch. What I know now, for sure, is that the "why" and the "this" no longer matter. They MUST be stopped. And if there was ever a one issue election, this is it. They will stop at nothing to keep their power. There is no bottom. We have to vote out every single Republican.
I think people saving important information to write a book instead of helping expose the corruption around us by trump, maga and gqp is wrong. Unpatriotic, unethical and greedy.
Forgive my 'the sky is falling' mood, but watching Trump and the MAGA Republicans is like watching Hitler come to power (though I was not around to see the latter in real life). They are not mincing words, they are not hiding motives, they are not cloaking their hatred. Control of Congress is one thing, control of state and local elections is quite another. The test of our convictions is immediately before us. All we have is our vote, because they have the guns.
They are telling us what they want to/will do and we MUST take it seriously! We need to believe our eyes and ears. They now say (what used to be) the quiet part out loud. Dangerous times indeed!
The "why" takes us only so far. Every word spoken by MAGA politicians should be taken literally and seriously.
Again, harkening back to the European Nazi and Fascist eras of the early (and bloody) 20th century, imagine how utterly preposterous the notion of the "final solution" was or might have been to many German and European citizens....until it no longer was preposterous and became common and widespread, condemning 6.6 million Jews and "lesser" (read Roma people, homosexuals, mentally ill, and so forth) German and European people to death by incineration, the gas chamber and human medical experiments.
When some someone commits a crime, the "why" can be helpful...in future crime avoidance, in applying justice/sentencing, etc. But it does not answer the "what": what justice should society levy, what actions should be taken to avoid similar national and local crimes...and with which urgency.
We must take these extremists (who are increasingly seeking to become mainstream!) at their individual, collective, alarming and despicable words. To do otherwise would be foolish and potentially self-destructive to those Americans who value truth, the rule of law, justice and representational government "of, by and for the people".
There's ample historical reasoning to think that the hyperbolic pronouncements by candidates running for office are mitigated by the realities of the office once attained. Then there's Trump. We are now in an age that we have to believe what is told to us on the stump. That those pronouncements are in fact what that candidate will do... if elected.
GETTING VOTERS TO CAST THEIR BALLOTS FOR DEMOCRACY
Countless prominent leaders, including former Presidents and Cabinet officials and flag rank military, since 2015 have warned of threat our democracy faces from Donald Trump and his supporters.
They have stated their views individually and artfully. Admiral Mullen's comments after 6/1/2020 teargassing in front of the White House is an example. General Mattis warnings quoted in Woodward’s 9/15/2022 book Rage, about nukes as well as Trump’s remarks to John Kelly at his son’s gravesite in Arlington. I particularly remember William Cohen’s articulate comments on MSNBC in the days after January 6th. George W. Bush gave a nice but indirect warning about Trump in Shanksville, PA on 9/11/2021. Judge Luttig’s warnings were stark during the January 6th hearings.
Individually, however, they have gone silent after making their thoughts known.
Together they need to stop being nice, and speak as one, NOW, or our Democracy will be gone! They need to be General Patten rallying his troops in front of our American flag.
The following is a statement that a mover and shaker with horsepower in the DNC (or elsewhere) could use to get these leaders together to state their case to America’s voters. It might work!
Unfortunately, I have no access to contacts who could get this idea implemented in warp speed. Perhaps you or others you know could get going on this?
NOTE: I placed a LINK at the end of this comment underscoring where we are in our battle to save our democracy. The SALON article is "Biden's Historic Speech was Too Damn Nice - No hand of friendship to fascists." The time for polite, equivocating, statesmanlike scholarly discourse is over. Biden sets the tone - he and the democrats need to lead. There are no better angels left in the Republican party that are crossing over to defend their oaths. They tell you this over and over with each of their No votes on bills in Congress.
Here is the pitch to get this country’s highly placed leaders who have spoken out in the past to speak in unison:
_______
VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!
<<< IMAGE "UNCLE SAM - I WANT YOU Poster from WW II >>>
Uncle Sam wants YOU – the multitude of leaders, who swore the oath to “protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic” – to speak in one voice for our Democracy, NOW.
Steve Schmidt on 2 October 2022 in The Warning wrote, “The greatest of all American inventions is the peaceful transition of power under the Constitution. The bloodying of that transfer by Donald Trump and the lieutenants and co-conspirators of his extremist cause is among the most despicable acts ever perpetrated against America. It was a crime against all of us… both living and dead.”
Ten U.S Senators and 139 U.S. Representatives, all Republicans, dishonored their oaths while in office. Just hours after the attack on our Capitol and their own colleagues, they voted against election certification and instead pledged their fealty to a mendacious insurrectionist.
For seven years we have been living with the clear present and future danger Donald J. Trump and his disciples are to Democracy.
Many of you have eloquently warned about the threat our democracy faces, but often these warnings are followed by silence.
Enough already! Silence and individuality are no longer viable!
Together, agree on a statement that articulates the danger we face. Stand as one and demand that everyone does their duty and votes the Democrat ticket across the board for every candidate, by mail or in person, on November 8th. Failure to vote to protect our individual rights is not an option.
Create a broadsheet with your cry to arms at the top under Uncle Sam’s image and list the prominent signatories below. Circulate it to every media outlet across the country.
Uncle Sam says, “Get it done NOW. Ballots are already in the mail!”
_______
Suggested "Who’s Who" List of “YOU” Signatories
Former Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Carter; VPs Cheney, Quale, Gore; White House Chiefs of Staff, Kelly, others; former Cabinet members, Mattis, Rumsfeld, Califano, Kissinger, Ramsey Clark, James Baker, Leon Panetta, William Cohen, Esper, Hagel, Kerry, Carter; CIA Directors, Brennan, Coates, Morrell, Haspel; National Security Advisors; past Chairmen of RNC, DNC; former JCS members, Admiral Mullen, General Milley; State Governors; Judges, Luttig. etc.
The signatories should be bipartisan in large print so their names cannot be ignored.
________
This SALON piece argues that the time for pussy footin is long past: "Launch the attack now!"
I don’t think I would ever be able to understand “why” the DJT supporters believe in him & support his lies. To do that, one would have to believe that the many people who oppose him are all liars, & to deny all opposing opinions & facts. It doesn’t make sense. I think that his supporters are uninformed & not interested in pursuing anything that is contrary to what he preaches. As Dick Montagne said in a comment on your previous post: “Our educational system has failed to produce an educated electorate.” They are united against a common enemy, a “them” who is “oppressing” his followers, & they are the “patriots” who will rescue our country. I think they are dangerous. Some who follow DJT don’t believe his lies, but are more interested in money & power than truth, & spout his rhetoric in order to gain wealth & control. They are dangerous. I hope that there are enough informed voters who realize this & get out & vote in order to keep Congress in the hands of the Democrats.
A few weeks ago Bari Weiss (Substack, “Common Sense”) referred to critiques of Trump/MAGA on Twitter as hashtags and hysteria. Not so. The perfectly justified alarm around the fragility of our form of government as evidenced by the sheer number of those who wish to bury it can be found if we, for example, look at figures. Today we learn from Judd Legum that 37.1 M has been poured into the campaign of a violent, lying, irrational, illiterate, brain damaged former football player running for US Senate in GA. Mitch McConnell, in thought and deed, supports and funds this GA campaign without apology. Looking at the dollar figure in this one race alone should be enough evidence of the seriousness and scope of MAGA’s influence. It is strong. It is serious. It encompasses millions of people inside and outside government. The halls of Congress teem with its proponents and crusaders. Trump continues weekly rallies where he raises millions for his legal bills and reelection. Steve Schmidt was prescient in September 2020 and has continued to be the longest serving and loudest voice around the gravity of MAGA’s intention to fight to the death for control of our country. We can’t let it happen. Period.
We are subjected to so much fuckery everyday that it's like playing a demented game of whack-a- mole.
I'm in NYS so I'm not overly concerned. Yet.
I will vote as I always do because that's my only defense.
I have a theory (maybe crackpot) that after 9/11, the country had a collective nervous breakdown. All it needed was a catalyst to bring out the fear & rage. Hence the hyper-patriot business & tough-guy, he-man posturing. Just an observation.
Why can’t the Democrats hire major marketing corporations and market all the important things that they’ve been doing all over the place into small communities in the big community center the national news the grocery stores it’s very very important that we get it out there
I, for one, am glad about the book thing. It really pisses me off what journalists will do for power. If you know something tell someone, these are dangerous times and more knowledge is better knowledge, we hope. Looking forward to Part Deux
Completely agree! Why is unimportant and immaterial. It is of course WHAT they are doing. We know the why already. Fear of loss of power and replacement. Prejudice, entitlement, basic ethnocentricity. Now is WHAT we are going to do about it🦾
I agree with you. Trump was setting up his ruse long before it actually happened. He tells us day in and day out what he will do and how he'll do it. It's foolhardy to not believe that from him and from other electeds/candidates/spokespeople and hand picked media in his magaverse. If people do not understand his psychology, they don't understand anything. He's very predictable, and he's both a symptom and an accelerant of what has turned into today's GOP. It's dangerous to downplay what these people are doing. But again, sane people outnumber these people.....we just need to all get out and vote, talk to friends and associates, do what we can do at the grassroots level to get out the vote. These people still serve at our pleasure.....people staying home and not doing the simple civic duty of voting every election, are going to hand this awful group the keys to kingdom, and we aren't likely to get it back.
I've been reading Christofascism by Carolyn Baker. It's important to understand that this pustulating movement is nothing new. During the Reconstruction a similar white authoritarian movement (The KKK, especially) wed itself to Christian evangelism. Again, post WWII, FDR was assailed by white partisans who objected to Unions, Jews and the social programs his presidency had begun (including Social Security.) MAGA is about racism, misogyny and a type of shame-based Christianity that has little to do with the teachings of compassion and forgiveness. It is also about authoritarian government and greed. As before, they will not prevail. They are a bunch of gnarly discontents, aging, disenfranchised supremacists whose magnets (pun intended) attach themselves to any movement that reflects their darkened souls.
Be alert, tuned in, ready to fight for right as opposed to might and don't be fooled by their clinging to their "flags, guns and Bibles." They misuse all three symbols with harmful intent. But we will lose the battle if we behave like them. Personally, I think the Jan 6 investigation committee is an example, as were the brave witnesses for Trump's impeachment, and now the DOJ vs. stolen documents. They show us the way to be. Ever so slowly, Trump and his minions are going down.
Yes, way too many people in positions to take action are of the many who are still thinking about the “Why” of this and not taking the words literally and seriously enough to move them into action. To crush this not so slow moving advance into authoritarianism. I 100% agree with this. “Why” is something to learn once our Democracy has been secured, when these traitors are facing 20 year prison terms and telling all of it to a Grand Jury, preferably from a jail cell via CCTV, while they wet their pants over the gravity of the mountain of evidence and corroborating testimony that make their guilt of the following charges the certainty of their lives:
18 U.S. Code § 2381 Treason
18 U.S. Code § 2383 Rebellion or Insurrection
18 U.S. Code §2384 Seditious Conspiracy
18 U.S. Code §2385 Advocating overthrow of Government
18 U.S. Code Chapter 73 - OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
What happened on January 6th 2021 was an act of war, our current government should be responding with every tool in the box to destroy this Domestic Enemy..
Here's a “Why” we should be seeking an answer for:
These people, groups, cults, under the direction of Donald Trump whatever you want to call them, it is DOMESTIC TERRORISM! Why do we still not have a Criminal Statute for this crime? @FrankFigliuzzi1 can better explain the importance of having such a statute..He talks about it all of the time on TV..
We lost a lot of valuable time in a state of shock at Trump’s behavior, watching in disbelief as he inflicted violence on protesters at his rallies leading up to the 2016 election, his treatment of the handicapped man, and on and on an on. I knew what he was capable of then. He, and now they, will not hesitate to unleash violence in their pursuit of power in Congress and the White House. I hope I am wrong, but my sense is that this process will turn much uglier through the next two elections. We must leave shock behind and deal with what is in front of us. Maga Republicans members of Congress and state government will all go down on the wrong side of history no matter what they do now. They have soiled their American souls beyond cleansing. They must be removed. Too many lives are at stake. The future of our democracy is at stake. I pray that I do not have to go looking for my pitchfork.
In America. People have advised him before, during & today. If he isn't re-elected which he won't be, bc, he's too old to run & too afraid to loose again.
But that doesn't mean, others will not continue to pursue that path.
Who wants fascism In America? Who benefits from it? That is my question. Why aren't we talking more about who these folks are, what they stand to gain & what Americans will stand to lose.
If republicans don’t win, MAGA republicans will call for a civil war. Like Trump did when he told Proud Boys to stand back and stand by when he was asked if he would accept the outcome of the election if he lost. If republicans do win, they will do what they promised, which is dismantle democracy and our government.
Keri Lake called for her opponent for AZ governor to be arrested.
Mark Finchem tried to get congress to block Arizona’s electoral votes from being counted. He was at the insurrection. He is running for Sec of State and would be willing and able overthrow the election in AZ in 2024 if he wins this November. Someone who wants to dismantle and destroy democracy is running to be Arizona’s top election officer. And that is happening all over the country.
Insurrectionists are running for office on the platform of fear and election denial. They are not running on policy ideas or anything that might actually help people. Democrats do polls and think because their voters say issues like reproductive rights are important that’s what they talk about. Do any polls ask whether they care that we are on the cusp of losing the ability to vote in a meaningful way about anything else that matters to us – like climate change, reproductive rights, privacy rights, etc.? Why are they not talking about that?!?!?!?
A colleague in Georgia is putting out signs for Sen. Warnock. As they do this, they are yelled at - including someone today who yelled "STOP COMMUNISM." MAGA candidates are proliferating. Will voters who love them as candidates love them as elected officials who do harm to us all? I am sending into the world "VOTE BLUE" vibes since early voting has begun.
I don’t think Churchill gave a thought as to why Hitler banged his way through Poland, and then on to Norway, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. He knew with doubt that England would have to defend itself sooner than later. He acted. I don’t think there is any statement attributed to Churchill in which he wondered why.
Thinking in this country about the “why” of Trump is also useless. Trump wants nothing short of the destruction of democracy in this country. Nothing less. And there are plenty of people who support that idea for reasons of their own. I don’t care why. We must act! We must elect Democrats!
It is still difficult to comprehend what has happened in 7.5 years in the US and world.
Civic political organizations such as the Lincoln Project have played a majors roll to help us keep our Democracy. Now voters must do their part and vote on November 8th.
I don’t care “why?” Actually, I know why. They want the power. Period. Absolutely nothing more.
And we have to shut them down. Every day. Six times a day. On all the networks. Play their words back to them and tell them NO. You cannot kill Jews, Blacks, Muslims, etc. You cannot stop them from voting. You cannot stop asylum seekers from coming to America. You cannot deny history, whether that is the holocaust or civil rights or institutional racism. And you cannot refuse to pay your share of taxes.
I am sick and tired of the twosideism. Kanye West says something antisemitic, call him out. He does not have “a side” that needs to be heard. His “side” is pure evil. Evil needs to be rooted out.
I hope you didn't copyright this. It needs to be in every Democratic candidate's commercial; just add the name of the traitor in each district or state.
Why doesn’t the DNC have a public media campaign and voice to discredit the Republicans & credit all the successes of this administration? The media must account for themselves and the harm they have caused in keeping Trump in the news. He is a parasite on American democracy.
It is amazing and scary to me that half the country does not seem to have a problem with what those weak sycophants do and say. I think many Americans don’t follow the day to day happenings and only listen to what is said on Fox. Many have been brainwashed to not pay attention to the threat to our Democracy. Others are lacking the critical thinking skills necessary to understand the danger we are in and I cannot think of a way to reach them.
Oh, it seems clear that the Democrats are struggling with messaging. Given the fact that many have been correct about the Maga politicians, and their lack of morals, having the inside information after working with them for years, one would think the Democrats would wake up. Affective messaging has run the gamut of taste, from Pete Buttigieg to Lincoln project ads to 11 films. (They have done some wonderful work....)
All of it together, definitely seems to be working on independent and Republican voters who aren’t necessarily Maga however, it’s done nothing to stem the tide of corrupt journalism, and the constant barrage of dishonesty and print .
Biden did an excellent job of reading some senators who put in requests for dollars after voting no for the infrastructure or the chip bill but why not target the really close races and make that clear ?
 Why not send this clip to every news outlet and dare them to not have you wan?
When Illinois elected Mark Kirk in 2013, I sent him the words below. I am not a psychic either, I was paying attention.
"Regardless of your political party or affiliation once elected you have sworn an oath to serve America and the American people and should fully and wholeheartedly engage that responsibility with humility, honor and a sense of duty.
"Liberty and justice for all" are powerful and meaningful words. The truth of this statement is not negotiable and there is no room for "interpretation" of intention.
We teach and speak these words daily as a reminder that regardless of political affiliation, religious views, ethnic heritage, sexual orientation or economic status, individual rights and liberties for all exist, are protected and guaranteed in this country.
Remember and remind your peers they have a responsibility to individuals, neighborhoods and communities and not to corporations, exit polls, news pundits or lobbyists. The difficulty of your task is to ensure the protection of rights for all Americans.
When engaging in legislative discussion, creating bills and establishing laws, place the rights of the individual ahead of your personal preference and beliefs. You are responsible for guaranteeing that the rights of one extends only to where it will infringe on the rights of another.
Be respectful and professional, make the office you hold about the work and not about perfection or personal failings. Seek to do what is right not what is easy. Create opportunities not distractions. Protect and enforce every law which guarantees the rights of American's - especially the rights of those who disagree with you.
Finally, stand up in dissent to those who prefer to divide this country using fear for they, knowingly or unknowingly, will destroy the very patriotism they so loudly proclaim."
Steve you speak TRUTH…listened to what people say and Believe it first time.. they mean things literally..I’m with You…Boy oh Boy thank God you’re telling it like it is and not waiting to write it in a Book first !!!
Patriot to your Core.. you are Awesome…
Thanks … hope that after the fact you’ll
Still put some of your thoughts together
And write One OR Many Books in the Future .. I’ll BUY Read & Also purchase and gift !!! Treasure your word and opinions & thoughts …please VOTE Blue
Agree with you completely. I had doubts that they would go as far as armed insurrection despite the hints “Proud Boys stand back and stand by”. After 1/6 am now convinced they will, and that they will go even farther. Yes they are truly dangerous. Every time you speak to us I have to say thank you, your insight and resolve informs and strengthens us. And so glad you are principled regarding giving us the information we need instead of saving it for a book. Trust in public figures is at an all time low, I feel we are in a safe place listening to you. So grateful.
We owe you enormous debt for voicing your powerful observation. If you read chapter 9 of Khodorkovsky’s book The Russian Conundrum, it will give you a taste of what you were trying to help us avoid. If Trump were successful like his idol Vladimir Putin, we would be in a similar bloody situation Russia finds itself in. Most of us were like Khodorkovsky, not realizing until it would have been too late.
The "why" of it is easy: money, power, status, pleasure in being a shit-disturber, owning the libs, etc. Not important. We are on a slippery slope to losing our democracy. What is important is to take people at their word. If we do that enough, maybe those who kid around too much will learn to say what they mean and mean what they say. Trump et al have told us what they will do. How can we not see this or even expect it when law enforcement experts will tell us that those who threaten their spouses and children most often carry out those threats if not stopped, even if it's years into the future? Women, in particular, are told if we are threatened we must take it seriously. Losing our democracy is about as deadly serious as it gets for us and the world. The world has been in a form of extended mourning over the loss of the U.S. since the sociopaths took over the ship of state. The evildoers can all say that they told us what they would do. Why do so many folks even think we will still have a free press at all or any government benefits of any type for the needy or anyone competent left to run the administrative state? They want chaos and that always leads to one form of tyranny or another. Words will continue to have no meaning if we do not make people responsible for what they do and say. This has been going on for decades, largely on the GOP side, with people serving divorce papers to wives suffering in hospital beds and politicians from mid-Atlantic states flying to Florida to intrude at the death bed vigil of an incurably vegetative woman's grieving family and a woman who could not hold another job running for the US House proclaiming herself a witch, while knowing nothing of the spiritual practices of wiccan. On it goes. It is everywhere, but the conservative movement has attracted and them embraced these people, not knowing or caring that soon those are what they'd become. Huge portions of the real silent majority, the 70%, are sick to death of women traipsing all over the nation with Falwell/Graham types and talking on the airwaves about the sanctity of marriage and parenthood = family values. Meanwhile, back at their own homes are 5 relatively unattended children and a husband who is now free to wander while the rest of us are doing homework with our children and making love with our spouses and not leaving the sacraments of daily life, like morning breakfast or coffee together, to strangers all the time all day long. So many have lied to themselves and us for so long that even we are shocked at the breadth and depth of the vast right-wing conspiracy. We have been encouraged to ignore the infrastructure of our nation and families and by the 1980s were being told that the quarterly bottom line was all that mattered while we let our infrastructure literally crumble. So now when headed into the New Dark Ages intellectually and spiritually, we will have our world crumbling and burning around us quite literally to match our freedoms.
Boy do I agree Steve and I don't understand why the clip of trump, which was his first appearance after losing, saying verbatim, "It would be much easier for the country if I stayed president."
I saw it once and never saw it again. Do you have friends in high places who could dig it up? I remember he had on a tan jacket (seriously), it is that burned into my brain.
The Lincoln Project was irreplaceable in defeating Trump. I grieve for it’s loss and worry about the future without it. I have watched the 5 part documentary and it raised more troubling questions than it answered.... I was a financial supporter but can’t continue to be with such a fractured response about where all of the money went and will go.
Yes, believe them. But also remember that some of the verbal garbage and culture war stuff can be designed to distract from what they are really doing, like a magician’s patter. What’s really happening has usually been evil, evil because it denies or hides its own existence.
**SLIGHT RANT BUT HERE GOES ** I think the GOP needs to be thought of as an abusive institution. They have no regard for their constituents , they feed them garbage and need them like oxygen for their own survival. The rest of us in the fact based world have been gaslit on a daily basis. This I think we can all agree on. It is heartbreaking and unamerican. so if the GOP could be reduced to a person for illustrative purposes living in your house, what woudl it look like to live there ? Lets call him "Randy". Randy was a track star in college with a good job gets married and has a family. Fast forward 20 years, He is lazy, has no solutions, complains all the time, nobody quite knows where he gets his money from. He has lousy friends-- he brings home lunatics named Putin and Bosenaro. Swears a lot. He is a bad example to his kids, manipultes them-- they seem far gone if you ask me. He is against certain people moving in theo subdivision. The wife/partner (is an independent woman) is just trying cope --. She talks to friends a LOT, drinks a few too many glasses of chardonney just to cope. She is unsure of what to do . she says no we need to try and work it out. Finally the family plans an intervention - the only day they can do it is Nov 8th . The extended family decides after years of this nonsense ENOUGH. He needs to be removed from the household. The family can get theraply later. Folks, in my mind Nov 8th isnt an election its an INTERVENTION. I started to think in personal terms. If I thought of this party as a toxic individual , what would need to happen? Drastic measures is what would need to happen. Every single person voting might want to consider thinking of this as an intervention. We the American people are the extended family in this example. The wife/partner is the indecisive one is like the democratic party . She has got to live with the guy and is doing her best, but needs help.
Dear Steve Schmidt I am so very grateful for your reporting and scholarship.
I worry these thieving lying Republicans shall succeed and destroy our democracy.
I was in Europe in sumner of 2016 and naturally on all flights I was asked about Hillary and Trump.
I campaigned for Hillary a second time and this time many selfish people in the campaign saw a sure win for Hillary..they treated ordinary volunteers like dirt. They were selfish elitist
DJT’s father, Fred, had undeniable, obvious dementia by the time he was 85 (1991), based on Mary Trump’s 1st book (p. 155). Dementia is progressive so he clearly had been deteriorating for years. How many years? DJT is now 76. Some of us would say that we already see signs of dementia, but how long before it is obvious to all & undeniable? How might that affect his cult followers?
It weighs heavy on my heart and mind how few Americans are listening closely and taking seriously what the MAGA-verse politicians, et al are saying. Some sort of polite denial or rote optimism grips them. "It can't happen here" ..."Their bark is worse than their bite" kind of thing. Yours was a voice I sought back when I was listening to the LP podcast. Your consistent, relentless truth-speaking continues to help me get through this nightmare.
I position myself now way at the bottom of these comments, hopefully. Because I need to say to you that you are the only ex-Republican with the experience that I have trusted and continue to trust to tell the truth about these times. It is a one to one, telling you that your analyses were the most valued because you were focused on one person and the damage done by him to the country. Other ex-Republican commentators, and Republicans who saw the damage, instead still saw Republicans in government (or about to take some form of Republican leadership) as having the required quality to hold such positions. They were all wrong, because in office or once in office they became pure Trumpists. I hate to see a divided country, but the divisions now have brought to light that which you foresaw. And, honestly, I will add that people who want to break the experiment we so honor did not and do not fall out of the sky. They are amongst us AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN amongst us. It is not a phenomenon, but a failure to stress what it takes to move us forward in an inclusive democracy.
Lyndon Johnson said, "if you convince the lowest white man that he is better than the best black man he will empty his pockets", I would add he will facilitate handing over this country to foreign powers.
Trump is a stepping stone for those others who are part of the MAGA-verse. If they say "this is what I will do" believe what they say. I have no doubt they will do what they're saying in all the rallies.
I would like it better if we had more direct confrontational messaging on "this is what they said, this is what they will do". President Biden was correct when he called them out, and they all screamed. Right thing to do...and needs to be done o a constant basis. Use MAGA's words against them.
Not sure on what rooftop I need to stand to get the DNC's attention.
For a long time, I kept asking myself again and again: Why do they keep doing this? I'm defining "this" as their constant need to defend and promote Trump. Once I realized that the specific motivations vary by person, I stopped asking myself the question. Ted Cruz, for example, is a weak, deceitful man who has not one leadership quality that would ever motivate anyone to follow him or endorse him. Lindsay Graham has a different motivation than Ted. I cannot imagine what damning information Trump has on him, but he will take it to his grave rather than come out against Trump. I think for Mitch McConnell, Trump was a useful idiot. McConnell is responsible for Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch. What I know now, for sure, is that the "why" and the "this" no longer matter. They MUST be stopped. And if there was ever a one issue election, this is it. They will stop at nothing to keep their power. There is no bottom. We have to vote out every single Republican.
I think people saving important information to write a book instead of helping expose the corruption around us by trump, maga and gqp is wrong. Unpatriotic, unethical and greedy.
I can't get over that trump is still walking free. Yesterday he was bragging about having documents that this psycho really believes are his.
Forgive my 'the sky is falling' mood, but watching Trump and the MAGA Republicans is like watching Hitler come to power (though I was not around to see the latter in real life). They are not mincing words, they are not hiding motives, they are not cloaking their hatred. Control of Congress is one thing, control of state and local elections is quite another. The test of our convictions is immediately before us. All we have is our vote, because they have the guns.
They are telling us what they want to/will do and we MUST take it seriously! We need to believe our eyes and ears. They now say (what used to be) the quiet part out loud. Dangerous times indeed!
The "why" takes us only so far. Every word spoken by MAGA politicians should be taken literally and seriously.
Again, harkening back to the European Nazi and Fascist eras of the early (and bloody) 20th century, imagine how utterly preposterous the notion of the "final solution" was or might have been to many German and European citizens....until it no longer was preposterous and became common and widespread, condemning 6.6 million Jews and "lesser" (read Roma people, homosexuals, mentally ill, and so forth) German and European people to death by incineration, the gas chamber and human medical experiments.
When some someone commits a crime, the "why" can be helpful...in future crime avoidance, in applying justice/sentencing, etc. But it does not answer the "what": what justice should society levy, what actions should be taken to avoid similar national and local crimes...and with which urgency.
We must take these extremists (who are increasingly seeking to become mainstream!) at their individual, collective, alarming and despicable words. To do otherwise would be foolish and potentially self-destructive to those Americans who value truth, the rule of law, justice and representational government "of, by and for the people".
There's ample historical reasoning to think that the hyperbolic pronouncements by candidates running for office are mitigated by the realities of the office once attained. Then there's Trump. We are now in an age that we have to believe what is told to us on the stump. That those pronouncements are in fact what that candidate will do... if elected.
GETTING VOTERS TO CAST THEIR BALLOTS FOR DEMOCRACY
Countless prominent leaders, including former Presidents and Cabinet officials and flag rank military, since 2015 have warned of threat our democracy faces from Donald Trump and his supporters.
They have stated their views individually and artfully. Admiral Mullen's comments after 6/1/2020 teargassing in front of the White House is an example. General Mattis warnings quoted in Woodward’s 9/15/2022 book Rage, about nukes as well as Trump’s remarks to John Kelly at his son’s gravesite in Arlington. I particularly remember William Cohen’s articulate comments on MSNBC in the days after January 6th. George W. Bush gave a nice but indirect warning about Trump in Shanksville, PA on 9/11/2021. Judge Luttig’s warnings were stark during the January 6th hearings.
Individually, however, they have gone silent after making their thoughts known.
Together they need to stop being nice, and speak as one, NOW, or our Democracy will be gone! They need to be General Patten rallying his troops in front of our American flag.
The following is a statement that a mover and shaker with horsepower in the DNC (or elsewhere) could use to get these leaders together to state their case to America’s voters. It might work!
Unfortunately, I have no access to contacts who could get this idea implemented in warp speed. Perhaps you or others you know could get going on this?
NOTE: I placed a LINK at the end of this comment underscoring where we are in our battle to save our democracy. The SALON article is "Biden's Historic Speech was Too Damn Nice - No hand of friendship to fascists." The time for polite, equivocating, statesmanlike scholarly discourse is over. Biden sets the tone - he and the democrats need to lead. There are no better angels left in the Republican party that are crossing over to defend their oaths. They tell you this over and over with each of their No votes on bills in Congress.
Here is the pitch to get this country’s highly placed leaders who have spoken out in the past to speak in unison:
_______
VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!
<<< IMAGE "UNCLE SAM - I WANT YOU Poster from WW II >>>
Uncle Sam wants YOU – the multitude of leaders, who swore the oath to “protect the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic” – to speak in one voice for our Democracy, NOW.
Steve Schmidt on 2 October 2022 in The Warning wrote, “The greatest of all American inventions is the peaceful transition of power under the Constitution. The bloodying of that transfer by Donald Trump and the lieutenants and co-conspirators of his extremist cause is among the most despicable acts ever perpetrated against America. It was a crime against all of us… both living and dead.”
Ten U.S Senators and 139 U.S. Representatives, all Republicans, dishonored their oaths while in office. Just hours after the attack on our Capitol and their own colleagues, they voted against election certification and instead pledged their fealty to a mendacious insurrectionist.
For seven years we have been living with the clear present and future danger Donald J. Trump and his disciples are to Democracy.
Many of you have eloquently warned about the threat our democracy faces, but often these warnings are followed by silence.
Enough already! Silence and individuality are no longer viable!
Together, agree on a statement that articulates the danger we face. Stand as one and demand that everyone does their duty and votes the Democrat ticket across the board for every candidate, by mail or in person, on November 8th. Failure to vote to protect our individual rights is not an option.
Create a broadsheet with your cry to arms at the top under Uncle Sam’s image and list the prominent signatories below. Circulate it to every media outlet across the country.
Uncle Sam says, “Get it done NOW. Ballots are already in the mail!”
_______
Suggested "Who’s Who" List of “YOU” Signatories
Former Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Carter; VPs Cheney, Quale, Gore; White House Chiefs of Staff, Kelly, others; former Cabinet members, Mattis, Rumsfeld, Califano, Kissinger, Ramsey Clark, James Baker, Leon Panetta, William Cohen, Esper, Hagel, Kerry, Carter; CIA Directors, Brennan, Coates, Morrell, Haspel; National Security Advisors; past Chairmen of RNC, DNC; former JCS members, Admiral Mullen, General Milley; State Governors; Judges, Luttig. etc.
The signatories should be bipartisan in large print so their names cannot be ignored.
________
This SALON piece argues that the time for pussy footin is long past: "Launch the attack now!"
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/09/joe-bidens-historic-speech-was-too-damn-nice-no-hand-of-friendship-to-fascists/
It is spot on and deserves your complete attention. All of the "leaders" I list need to stop their equivocation and tell it like it is!
I don’t think I would ever be able to understand “why” the DJT supporters believe in him & support his lies. To do that, one would have to believe that the many people who oppose him are all liars, & to deny all opposing opinions & facts. It doesn’t make sense. I think that his supporters are uninformed & not interested in pursuing anything that is contrary to what he preaches. As Dick Montagne said in a comment on your previous post: “Our educational system has failed to produce an educated electorate.” They are united against a common enemy, a “them” who is “oppressing” his followers, & they are the “patriots” who will rescue our country. I think they are dangerous. Some who follow DJT don’t believe his lies, but are more interested in money & power than truth, & spout his rhetoric in order to gain wealth & control. They are dangerous. I hope that there are enough informed voters who realize this & get out & vote in order to keep Congress in the hands of the Democrats.
A few weeks ago Bari Weiss (Substack, “Common Sense”) referred to critiques of Trump/MAGA on Twitter as hashtags and hysteria. Not so. The perfectly justified alarm around the fragility of our form of government as evidenced by the sheer number of those who wish to bury it can be found if we, for example, look at figures. Today we learn from Judd Legum that 37.1 M has been poured into the campaign of a violent, lying, irrational, illiterate, brain damaged former football player running for US Senate in GA. Mitch McConnell, in thought and deed, supports and funds this GA campaign without apology. Looking at the dollar figure in this one race alone should be enough evidence of the seriousness and scope of MAGA’s influence. It is strong. It is serious. It encompasses millions of people inside and outside government. The halls of Congress teem with its proponents and crusaders. Trump continues weekly rallies where he raises millions for his legal bills and reelection. Steve Schmidt was prescient in September 2020 and has continued to be the longest serving and loudest voice around the gravity of MAGA’s intention to fight to the death for control of our country. We can’t let it happen. Period.
We are subjected to so much fuckery everyday that it's like playing a demented game of whack-a- mole.
I'm in NYS so I'm not overly concerned. Yet.
I will vote as I always do because that's my only defense.
I have a theory (maybe crackpot) that after 9/11, the country had a collective nervous breakdown. All it needed was a catalyst to bring out the fear & rage. Hence the hyper-patriot business & tough-guy, he-man posturing. Just an observation.
Why can’t the Democrats hire major marketing corporations and market all the important things that they’ve been doing all over the place into small communities in the big community center the national news the grocery stores it’s very very important that we get it out there
Americans need to resist fascism like the future freedoms of our children and grandchildren depend on it. Which it does.
The “why” can be examined after the “what” is stopped.
I, for one, am glad about the book thing. It really pisses me off what journalists will do for power. If you know something tell someone, these are dangerous times and more knowledge is better knowledge, we hope. Looking forward to Part Deux
Completely agree! Why is unimportant and immaterial. It is of course WHAT they are doing. We know the why already. Fear of loss of power and replacement. Prejudice, entitlement, basic ethnocentricity. Now is WHAT we are going to do about it🦾
I agree with you. Trump was setting up his ruse long before it actually happened. He tells us day in and day out what he will do and how he'll do it. It's foolhardy to not believe that from him and from other electeds/candidates/spokespeople and hand picked media in his magaverse. If people do not understand his psychology, they don't understand anything. He's very predictable, and he's both a symptom and an accelerant of what has turned into today's GOP. It's dangerous to downplay what these people are doing. But again, sane people outnumber these people.....we just need to all get out and vote, talk to friends and associates, do what we can do at the grassroots level to get out the vote. These people still serve at our pleasure.....people staying home and not doing the simple civic duty of voting every election, are going to hand this awful group the keys to kingdom, and we aren't likely to get it back.
I've been reading Christofascism by Carolyn Baker. It's important to understand that this pustulating movement is nothing new. During the Reconstruction a similar white authoritarian movement (The KKK, especially) wed itself to Christian evangelism. Again, post WWII, FDR was assailed by white partisans who objected to Unions, Jews and the social programs his presidency had begun (including Social Security.) MAGA is about racism, misogyny and a type of shame-based Christianity that has little to do with the teachings of compassion and forgiveness. It is also about authoritarian government and greed. As before, they will not prevail. They are a bunch of gnarly discontents, aging, disenfranchised supremacists whose magnets (pun intended) attach themselves to any movement that reflects their darkened souls.
Be alert, tuned in, ready to fight for right as opposed to might and don't be fooled by their clinging to their "flags, guns and Bibles." They misuse all three symbols with harmful intent. But we will lose the battle if we behave like them. Personally, I think the Jan 6 investigation committee is an example, as were the brave witnesses for Trump's impeachment, and now the DOJ vs. stolen documents. They show us the way to be. Ever so slowly, Trump and his minions are going down.
Steve thank you for your devotion to our country and honesty reporting truth …
Keep reporting, speaking and Doing !!!
Yes, way too many people in positions to take action are of the many who are still thinking about the “Why” of this and not taking the words literally and seriously enough to move them into action. To crush this not so slow moving advance into authoritarianism. I 100% agree with this. “Why” is something to learn once our Democracy has been secured, when these traitors are facing 20 year prison terms and telling all of it to a Grand Jury, preferably from a jail cell via CCTV, while they wet their pants over the gravity of the mountain of evidence and corroborating testimony that make their guilt of the following charges the certainty of their lives:
18 U.S. Code § 2381 Treason
18 U.S. Code § 2383 Rebellion or Insurrection
18 U.S. Code §2384 Seditious Conspiracy
18 U.S. Code §2385 Advocating overthrow of Government
18 U.S. Code Chapter 73 - OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
What happened on January 6th 2021 was an act of war, our current government should be responding with every tool in the box to destroy this Domestic Enemy..
Here's a “Why” we should be seeking an answer for:
These people, groups, cults, under the direction of Donald Trump whatever you want to call them, it is DOMESTIC TERRORISM! Why do we still not have a Criminal Statute for this crime? @FrankFigliuzzi1 can better explain the importance of having such a statute..He talks about it all of the time on TV..
We lost a lot of valuable time in a state of shock at Trump’s behavior, watching in disbelief as he inflicted violence on protesters at his rallies leading up to the 2016 election, his treatment of the handicapped man, and on and on an on. I knew what he was capable of then. He, and now they, will not hesitate to unleash violence in their pursuit of power in Congress and the White House. I hope I am wrong, but my sense is that this process will turn much uglier through the next two elections. We must leave shock behind and deal with what is in front of us. Maga Republicans members of Congress and state government will all go down on the wrong side of history no matter what they do now. They have soiled their American souls beyond cleansing. They must be removed. Too many lives are at stake. The future of our democracy is at stake. I pray that I do not have to go looking for my pitchfork.
Trump has opened the door to fascism
In America. People have advised him before, during & today. If he isn't re-elected which he won't be, bc, he's too old to run & too afraid to loose again.
But that doesn't mean, others will not continue to pursue that path.
Who wants fascism In America? Who benefits from it? That is my question. Why aren't we talking more about who these folks are, what they stand to gain & what Americans will stand to lose.
If republicans don’t win, MAGA republicans will call for a civil war. Like Trump did when he told Proud Boys to stand back and stand by when he was asked if he would accept the outcome of the election if he lost. If republicans do win, they will do what they promised, which is dismantle democracy and our government.
Keri Lake called for her opponent for AZ governor to be arrested.
Mark Finchem tried to get congress to block Arizona’s electoral votes from being counted. He was at the insurrection. He is running for Sec of State and would be willing and able overthrow the election in AZ in 2024 if he wins this November. Someone who wants to dismantle and destroy democracy is running to be Arizona’s top election officer. And that is happening all over the country.
Insurrectionists are running for office on the platform of fear and election denial. They are not running on policy ideas or anything that might actually help people. Democrats do polls and think because their voters say issues like reproductive rights are important that’s what they talk about. Do any polls ask whether they care that we are on the cusp of losing the ability to vote in a meaningful way about anything else that matters to us – like climate change, reproductive rights, privacy rights, etc.? Why are they not talking about that?!?!?!?
I hate the writers that kept it to themselves to make money
Seems the Democrats are bringing a boy scout knife to a MAGA GUN fight! Time to WAKE UP! Speak up! Rise up! Autocracy vs. Democracy!
A colleague in Georgia is putting out signs for Sen. Warnock. As they do this, they are yelled at - including someone today who yelled "STOP COMMUNISM." MAGA candidates are proliferating. Will voters who love them as candidates love them as elected officials who do harm to us all? I am sending into the world "VOTE BLUE" vibes since early voting has begun.
I don’t think Churchill gave a thought as to why Hitler banged his way through Poland, and then on to Norway, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. He knew with doubt that England would have to defend itself sooner than later. He acted. I don’t think there is any statement attributed to Churchill in which he wondered why.
Thinking in this country about the “why” of Trump is also useless. Trump wants nothing short of the destruction of democracy in this country. Nothing less. And there are plenty of people who support that idea for reasons of their own. I don’t care why. We must act! We must elect Democrats!
It is still difficult to comprehend what has happened in 7.5 years in the US and world.
Civic political organizations such as the Lincoln Project have played a majors roll to help us keep our Democracy. Now voters must do their part and vote on November 8th.
I don’t care “why?” Actually, I know why. They want the power. Period. Absolutely nothing more.
And we have to shut them down. Every day. Six times a day. On all the networks. Play their words back to them and tell them NO. You cannot kill Jews, Blacks, Muslims, etc. You cannot stop them from voting. You cannot stop asylum seekers from coming to America. You cannot deny history, whether that is the holocaust or civil rights or institutional racism. And you cannot refuse to pay your share of taxes.
I am sick and tired of the twosideism. Kanye West says something antisemitic, call him out. He does not have “a side” that needs to be heard. His “side” is pure evil. Evil needs to be rooted out.
I hope you didn't copyright this. It needs to be in every Democratic candidate's commercial; just add the name of the traitor in each district or state.
Why doesn’t the DNC have a public media campaign and voice to discredit the Republicans & credit all the successes of this administration? The media must account for themselves and the harm they have caused in keeping Trump in the news. He is a parasite on American democracy.
It is amazing and scary to me that half the country does not seem to have a problem with what those weak sycophants do and say. I think many Americans don’t follow the day to day happenings and only listen to what is said on Fox. Many have been brainwashed to not pay attention to the threat to our Democracy. Others are lacking the critical thinking skills necessary to understand the danger we are in and I cannot think of a way to reach them.
Oh, it seems clear that the Democrats are struggling with messaging. Given the fact that many have been correct about the Maga politicians, and their lack of morals, having the inside information after working with them for years, one would think the Democrats would wake up. Affective messaging has run the gamut of taste, from Pete Buttigieg to Lincoln project ads to 11 films. (They have done some wonderful work....)
All of it together, definitely seems to be working on independent and Republican voters who aren’t necessarily Maga however, it’s done nothing to stem the tide of corrupt journalism, and the constant barrage of dishonesty and print .
Biden did an excellent job of reading some senators who put in requests for dollars after voting no for the infrastructure or the chip bill but why not target the really close races and make that clear ?
 Why not send this clip to every news outlet and dare them to not have you wan?
When Illinois elected Mark Kirk in 2013, I sent him the words below. I am not a psychic either, I was paying attention.
"Regardless of your political party or affiliation once elected you have sworn an oath to serve America and the American people and should fully and wholeheartedly engage that responsibility with humility, honor and a sense of duty.
"Liberty and justice for all" are powerful and meaningful words. The truth of this statement is not negotiable and there is no room for "interpretation" of intention.
We teach and speak these words daily as a reminder that regardless of political affiliation, religious views, ethnic heritage, sexual orientation or economic status, individual rights and liberties for all exist, are protected and guaranteed in this country.
Remember and remind your peers they have a responsibility to individuals, neighborhoods and communities and not to corporations, exit polls, news pundits or lobbyists. The difficulty of your task is to ensure the protection of rights for all Americans.
When engaging in legislative discussion, creating bills and establishing laws, place the rights of the individual ahead of your personal preference and beliefs. You are responsible for guaranteeing that the rights of one extends only to where it will infringe on the rights of another.
Be respectful and professional, make the office you hold about the work and not about perfection or personal failings. Seek to do what is right not what is easy. Create opportunities not distractions. Protect and enforce every law which guarantees the rights of American's - especially the rights of those who disagree with you.
Finally, stand up in dissent to those who prefer to divide this country using fear for they, knowingly or unknowingly, will destroy the very patriotism they so loudly proclaim."
Steve you speak TRUTH…listened to what people say and Believe it first time.. they mean things literally..I’m with You…Boy oh Boy thank God you’re telling it like it is and not waiting to write it in a Book first !!!
Patriot to your Core.. you are Awesome…
Thanks … hope that after the fact you’ll
Still put some of your thoughts together
And write One OR Many Books in the Future .. I’ll BUY Read & Also purchase and gift !!! Treasure your word and opinions & thoughts …please VOTE Blue
Agree with you completely. I had doubts that they would go as far as armed insurrection despite the hints “Proud Boys stand back and stand by”. After 1/6 am now convinced they will, and that they will go even farther. Yes they are truly dangerous. Every time you speak to us I have to say thank you, your insight and resolve informs and strengthens us. And so glad you are principled regarding giving us the information we need instead of saving it for a book. Trust in public figures is at an all time low, I feel we are in a safe place listening to you. So grateful.
I agree that understanding the “why” is secondary to just stopping the insanity. Of course I guess
understanding the “why” could aid in bringing it to its knees. The election deniers are such a
danger to our democracy. I’m 82 and just hope I live long enough to see the end to this
madness and the demise of the Republican Party as it exists today.
We owe you enormous debt for voicing your powerful observation. If you read chapter 9 of Khodorkovsky’s book The Russian Conundrum, it will give you a taste of what you were trying to help us avoid. If Trump were successful like his idol Vladimir Putin, we would be in a similar bloody situation Russia finds itself in. Most of us were like Khodorkovsky, not realizing until it would have been too late.
The "why" of it is easy: money, power, status, pleasure in being a shit-disturber, owning the libs, etc. Not important. We are on a slippery slope to losing our democracy. What is important is to take people at their word. If we do that enough, maybe those who kid around too much will learn to say what they mean and mean what they say. Trump et al have told us what they will do. How can we not see this or even expect it when law enforcement experts will tell us that those who threaten their spouses and children most often carry out those threats if not stopped, even if it's years into the future? Women, in particular, are told if we are threatened we must take it seriously. Losing our democracy is about as deadly serious as it gets for us and the world. The world has been in a form of extended mourning over the loss of the U.S. since the sociopaths took over the ship of state. The evildoers can all say that they told us what they would do. Why do so many folks even think we will still have a free press at all or any government benefits of any type for the needy or anyone competent left to run the administrative state? They want chaos and that always leads to one form of tyranny or another. Words will continue to have no meaning if we do not make people responsible for what they do and say. This has been going on for decades, largely on the GOP side, with people serving divorce papers to wives suffering in hospital beds and politicians from mid-Atlantic states flying to Florida to intrude at the death bed vigil of an incurably vegetative woman's grieving family and a woman who could not hold another job running for the US House proclaiming herself a witch, while knowing nothing of the spiritual practices of wiccan. On it goes. It is everywhere, but the conservative movement has attracted and them embraced these people, not knowing or caring that soon those are what they'd become. Huge portions of the real silent majority, the 70%, are sick to death of women traipsing all over the nation with Falwell/Graham types and talking on the airwaves about the sanctity of marriage and parenthood = family values. Meanwhile, back at their own homes are 5 relatively unattended children and a husband who is now free to wander while the rest of us are doing homework with our children and making love with our spouses and not leaving the sacraments of daily life, like morning breakfast or coffee together, to strangers all the time all day long. So many have lied to themselves and us for so long that even we are shocked at the breadth and depth of the vast right-wing conspiracy. We have been encouraged to ignore the infrastructure of our nation and families and by the 1980s were being told that the quarterly bottom line was all that mattered while we let our infrastructure literally crumble. So now when headed into the New Dark Ages intellectually and spiritually, we will have our world crumbling and burning around us quite literally to match our freedoms.
Boy do I agree Steve and I don't understand why the clip of trump, which was his first appearance after losing, saying verbatim, "It would be much easier for the country if I stayed president."
I saw it once and never saw it again. Do you have friends in high places who could dig it up? I remember he had on a tan jacket (seriously), it is that burned into my brain.
He was warning , actually threatening us.
The Lincoln Project was irreplaceable in defeating Trump. I grieve for it’s loss and worry about the future without it. I have watched the 5 part documentary and it raised more troubling questions than it answered.... I was a financial supporter but can’t continue to be with such a fractured response about where all of the money went and will go.
Yes, believe them. But also remember that some of the verbal garbage and culture war stuff can be designed to distract from what they are really doing, like a magician’s patter. What’s really happening has usually been evil, evil because it denies or hides its own existence.
**SLIGHT RANT BUT HERE GOES ** I think the GOP needs to be thought of as an abusive institution. They have no regard for their constituents , they feed them garbage and need them like oxygen for their own survival. The rest of us in the fact based world have been gaslit on a daily basis. This I think we can all agree on. It is heartbreaking and unamerican. so if the GOP could be reduced to a person for illustrative purposes living in your house, what woudl it look like to live there ? Lets call him "Randy". Randy was a track star in college with a good job gets married and has a family. Fast forward 20 years, He is lazy, has no solutions, complains all the time, nobody quite knows where he gets his money from. He has lousy friends-- he brings home lunatics named Putin and Bosenaro. Swears a lot. He is a bad example to his kids, manipultes them-- they seem far gone if you ask me. He is against certain people moving in theo subdivision. The wife/partner (is an independent woman) is just trying cope --. She talks to friends a LOT, drinks a few too many glasses of chardonney just to cope. She is unsure of what to do . she says no we need to try and work it out. Finally the family plans an intervention - the only day they can do it is Nov 8th . The extended family decides after years of this nonsense ENOUGH. He needs to be removed from the household. The family can get theraply later. Folks, in my mind Nov 8th isnt an election its an INTERVENTION. I started to think in personal terms. If I thought of this party as a toxic individual , what would need to happen? Drastic measures is what would need to happen. Every single person voting might want to consider thinking of this as an intervention. We the American people are the extended family in this example. The wife/partner is the indecisive one is like the democratic party . She has got to live with the guy and is doing her best, but needs help.
Dear Steve Schmidt I am so very grateful for your reporting and scholarship.
I worry these thieving lying Republicans shall succeed and destroy our democracy.
I was in Europe in sumner of 2016 and naturally on all flights I was asked about Hillary and Trump.
I campaigned for Hillary a second time and this time many selfish people in the campaign saw a sure win for Hillary..they treated ordinary volunteers like dirt. They were selfish elitist
DJT’s father, Fred, had undeniable, obvious dementia by the time he was 85 (1991), based on Mary Trump’s 1st book (p. 155). Dementia is progressive so he clearly had been deteriorating for years. How many years? DJT is now 76. Some of us would say that we already see signs of dementia, but how long before it is obvious to all & undeniable? How might that affect his cult followers?
It weighs heavy on my heart and mind how few Americans are listening closely and taking seriously what the MAGA-verse politicians, et al are saying. Some sort of polite denial or rote optimism grips them. "It can't happen here" ..."Their bark is worse than their bite" kind of thing. Yours was a voice I sought back when I was listening to the LP podcast. Your consistent, relentless truth-speaking continues to help me get through this nightmare.
I position myself now way at the bottom of these comments, hopefully. Because I need to say to you that you are the only ex-Republican with the experience that I have trusted and continue to trust to tell the truth about these times. It is a one to one, telling you that your analyses were the most valued because you were focused on one person and the damage done by him to the country. Other ex-Republican commentators, and Republicans who saw the damage, instead still saw Republicans in government (or about to take some form of Republican leadership) as having the required quality to hold such positions. They were all wrong, because in office or once in office they became pure Trumpists. I hate to see a divided country, but the divisions now have brought to light that which you foresaw. And, honestly, I will add that people who want to break the experiment we so honor did not and do not fall out of the sky. They are amongst us AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN amongst us. It is not a phenomenon, but a failure to stress what it takes to move us forward in an inclusive democracy.
Lyndon Johnson said, "if you convince the lowest white man that he is better than the best black man he will empty his pockets", I would add he will facilitate handing over this country to foreign powers.
"When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time."
The same holds true when those people tell you what they want, what they plan.
We really need to kill the Pollyanna instinct in ourselves! asap! It really IS as bad
as it seems if not worse!
I have thought we were in a Constitutional and existential crisis since May 2017.
I have thought we (the People) were "on our own out here" since Katrina.
And I am long past caring about WHY. It doesn't matter why someone is trying to
kill you; it only matters if your survival instinct (and weaponry) is better than theirs.
I have no empathy to give Maggots and no interest in understanding them.