I’m not even going to attempt to untangle all of the different threads, theories, conspiracies and shenanigans in this story. This has all been a long time coming, and we’re really only halfway through – there’s so much more to come, I’m sure. Suffice to say that Congressional Republicans are not content to sell their souls to their billionaire donors – they are also selling their souls to Russia, and double-downing on anything they can do or say to help protect their unhinged orange daddy in the White House. Devin Nunes wrote a memo, and Russian bots and Deplorables were screaming “release the memo” for weeks because that was the f–king point.
Now we know what this whole “release the memo” was about: it was about Congressional Republicans doing the most to kneecap the Justice Department, the FBI and Robert Mueller’s investigation. The whole point of Nunes’ memo was to create the space for a domino-effect chain reaction of firings and resignations in the FBI and DOJ, which would give Donald Trump the space to eventually fire Robert Mueller and shut down the special counsel’s investigation into Trump-Russia. Here’s some of the sh-t that’s happened in just the past three days:
One resignation. Andrew McCabe, the FBI Deputy Director, is stepping down after being pressured to do so by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was facing pressure from the White House. Trump believes that the FBI should behave like his personal police force, and an FBI bureaucrat who disagreed with that purpose is now leaving the FBI.
McCabe was bullied by Trump. McCabe was briefly the acting FBI Director after Trump fired James Comey, and Trump attacked McCabe personally, and called his wife a “loser” and demanded to know who McCabe voted for in the 2016 election (which is against the law). Trump also took issue with McCabe allowing James Comey to take an FBI plane home to DC after Trump fired him (when Comey was in LA).
Trump’s temper tantrum. Trump apparently threw a massive hissy fit on the plane ride home from Davos last week when he learned that Associate Attorney General Stephen Boyd had warned that releasing Nunes’ memo would be “extraordinarily reckless.” Trump had not read the memo at that point, he was just told that the memo was “good for him” and the whole point of the memo was to discredit the FBI and DOJ.
What’s in this fakakta memo anyway? Congressional Republicans authorized the release of the Nunes memo yesterday, which means there’s a five-day period where the White House reviews the memo and decides whether to declassify it, blah. Apparently, the memo is basically about how Rod Rosenstein at the FBI authorized an extension on surveillance on Carter Page, a Trump campaign employee who was one of Russia’s useful idiots inside the campaign. The memo also claims that the whole Mueller investigation and FBI investigation is based on the Steele dossier, which the GOP has been trying to discredit for a year… even though most of the central claims in the dossier are true. The Nunes memo is basically a GOP dirty trick, writ large, to obfuscate what’s provable and verifiable and lump everything together in a tangled mess.
In any case, it’s a victory for the GOP and the Deplorables that we’re even talking about this and debating it. Democrats are like, “the GOP is going to be sorry they’ve worked to discredit the DOJ and FBI in the long-term,” but really… the Republican party isn’t going to be sorry about anything. They’ve gone all-in with Trump and Russia. We’re f–king doomed. Oh, and the State of the Union is tonight. That should be a f–king trainwreck.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Welp it’s been nice america. Unless the Dems grow a pair and challenge and drag the GOP for filth we are screwed.
Twitter suggested they read the other memos on the house floor ala Watergate. But again the Dems only have a spine up until a certain point
The Dems should leak their memo to every news organization as soon as the GOP’s memo is released. Nunes is scum. I hope he is being investigated too.
If the Dems leak their memo, they’d be leaking classified information, which would be prosecutable, which Republicans are basically daring them to do by voting against it. Ugh. I’m donating to Andrew Janz, who’s a Democrat running for Devin Nunes’ seat.
His actions and behaviors really seem suspicious to me. It seems like he is overly and personally vested in this whole Russia thing in terms of keeping his thumb on the scale for Trump. My statement isn’t so much about the Investigating Trump but simply to say that I’ve begun to wonder if Nunes has something to hide that would point to his own malfeasance with foreign officials or money laundering.
@Honey, Nunes has a lot to hide. Russians have invested heavily in his agricultural business. He was already removed from this investigation once and it now turns out that information was deliberately withheld from those investigating him at that time. Ryan could remove him from this committee at any time but won’t. Which means both Ryan and Nunes are actively trying to hinder the investigation.
Yuuuuuupppp.
We’re standing on a precipice here and party leadership still seems scared of its own shadow.
Please don’t give them credit for actually wanting to do what is right but lacking the courage to do so. They are not scared. They knowingly and willingly are working to destroy our nation to keep themselves in power. They are not scared of their own shadow. They may be scared of Putin or the Koch brothers but they are quite happy with Trump and his wrongdoing and they support him completely. They have put party over country.
I agree. The Dems are disappointing. It’s why I never believe all their big talk and posturing. It’s why I’m not registered as a Dem either. I wasn’t a fan of how they treated black voters after we kept bailing them out. And they learned when we didn’t show up during midterms. That’s was the end of that for me.
I believe in activists. Because they seem to be the only people willing to risk something to make a change. You would think our elected officials would be in defcon mode right now but nope. Overall weak and spineless.
And that ladies and gents is how a democracy dies.
The Dems have been so disappointing. Remember how much noise the Republicans made when they were in the minority? Dems have been walking around afraid of their own shadows. They didn’t stand up to support Obamacare, didn’t go to the media to support DACA or highlight examples of dreamers who are very valuable to our country. We the people are the ones forcing them to act. They are letting Nunes, Ryan and McConnell help Trump bring down our country.
No one is as bad at their jobs as these current Democrats. We need a new generation of Dems with balls to replace them.
yes, that’s my biggest problem with Dems. Unless they descend from the high horse they are currently residing on, there is no chance in hell the investigation into his trecherous ass’s dealings with Putin continues. Case in point – today he refused to sign off on new Russian sanctions. Trump lives in Putin’s pocket.
The SANCTIONS story should be the blaring headline today — Refusing to enforce the sanctions that both House and Senate almost unanimously voted for.
As frustrating as the memo debacle is, the sanctions are the bigger flashing sign.
Perhaps a lot of dems are compromised by Russians as well, no?
The dems have never been organized. Say what you will about the GOP but they stand as one. I hate to give them credit for anything. The dems can’t even agree to stand against the GOP.
The Dems are back to being weak and poor faced and hand-wringing like a bunch of hothouse flowers with a bad case of the vapors.
Now is the time to just leak the whole the damn memo and call this shizz a day. Start leaking all the real dirt and shut the crap down. We are beyond decorum. Shut the government down and fight. I don’t care. What are they afraid of? In this news cycle, a month from now will seem like a decade has passed. They suck at PR, and their message is pathetic.
This is unheard of!!
This is unprecedented!!
Why I never!!!
They keep exclaiming and huffing and puffing and then lose steam and then what? Write a really mean Op-ed and cross their arms and stick out their tongues? What do they do? Not invite Mitch and Ryan to the Spaghetti dinner at the American Legion? Or do they get really tough and refuse to make eye contact when they pass them in the hall?
I could send my feisty kindergarten-aged daughter to the Hill and lock them in the room with her for a few hours. It is the nuclear option, but they would be begging for mercy in 20 minutes tops.
Yep. Its all screaming and blah blah blah but they lack conviction.
They ended the shutdown over the PROMISE that McConnell will bring DACA to a vote. And trump could end it before then. And that promise was created months ago.
They are idiots and we are being held hostage in the interim
THIS. every word and then some.
To me the Democrats seeming lack of action and or even noise, is most puzzling. Somebody needs to get angry. To quote Dr. River Song, “demons run when a good man goes to war.”
They do nothing. All the wins and electoral victories are won by grassroots organizations. On the national stage, they are useless.
The Dems are in a hard position because they are the minority party with little congressional power. The FBI is being accused of doing illegal things to further their investigation. Asking the Dems to do illegal things (release unapproved memos) wouldn’t help the cause overall, unfortunately. I think someone needs to get the information out there, but using our elected officials as sacrifices to the GOP Gods won’t help us much IMO. It would be seen as proof of past bias and wrong doing.
Carter Page is the WORST hill for the GOP to die on. Maybe I am foolish, but this big build up will lead to even greater humiliation when Carter Page’s sordid history comes out. He’s a career criminal who is incredibly stupid. When the reasons WHY he was under surveillance are brought to light, the GOP are going to look like idiots.
Dems can release a redacted memo. That is what the GOP will be doing with their sham memo. You can’t release the whole thing. Unfortnately I heard Nancy P shut that down. Seriously stop playing nice. These f—kers need a taste of their own medicine.
She needs to retire. I am so tired of her, and she doesn’t win. She allowed them to lose the majority in 2010 AND redraw districts. No fight.
I agree about Pelosi. While she has had victories in her long career, she is currently a symbol for the GOP. It is time to have a new congressional leader that doesn’t have so much baggage.
F*ck this memo! What’s really important is that the white house is saying Russia doesn’t deserve the sanctions that were levied against them by Congress. There are refusing to enact the sanctions proving once again that DT is a treasonweasel.
Yeah that’s yet another crazy angle that gets buried in all the insanity. I was freaking out a bit, ok a lot, last night until I finally read something that reassured me a bit, that McCabe’s replacement will likely be someone we can trust. There are a lot more in the FBI/DOJ than there are in Trump’s circle of goons.
Did you hear who replace McCabe? Former cop, former SWAT team member/sniper, a career law enforcement guy whose credentials the GOP would normally have a major boner over.
he’s also been referred to as a “mini Mueller.”. he actually might be WORSE for Drumpf than McCabe.
Yep I’m not ready to write out Wray yet. The whole asking McCabe to step down (he was not fired, he is burning out all his vacation pay before he leaves). If McCabe was “fired” he would not be entitled to burn that leave before he goes.
I certainly hope Wray, McCabe and the rest of the G-Men are doing a big end around these losers.
Wray also hired Dana Boente (USA WA DC) to be general counsel (He replaced Baker – who orangino wants to get rid of too).
I want all the treason weasels caught and thrown out in the Atlantic with 1 ton bags of sand.
Ironically Trump refusing to carry them out is treason. Yet you don’t hear very many Dem’s or anyone at all from the GOP bringing that point up.
Obstruction too. DEMS should a big drum and start banging that in.
Ironically Trump refusing to carry them out is treason & an impeachable offense. Yet you don’t hear very many Dem’s or anyone at all from the GOP bringing that point up.
Yes. And the director of the CIA is saying that Russia will most certainly interfere with the 2018 elections. So now even voting won’t help, as the GOP is clearly the Russian party now.
Yes to this. I shared a story this morning where Susan Collins calls the decision not to implement sanctions, “perplexing”.
“Perplexing?” Seriously?
We are so f*cked. I’m so tired.
The disaster Trump and his enablers are turning our country into becomes more and more like a dramatic reality show every minute. I wish I could change the channel and this would all end
Well, here we are…the rise of the Fourth Reich. I honestly thought my handbasket was going elsewhere…
LOL. It’s funny bc it’s true and if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.
Preach.
Democrats are like, “the GOP is going to be sorry they’ve worked to discredit the DOJ and FBI in the long-term,” but really… the Republican party isn’t going to be sorry about anything.
SPOT. ON.
The GOP isn’t sorry about anything, because everything they’ve done so far to prop 45 up has worked. And any idea that 45 is “thinking” about releasing the memo is playacting. He’s been handed another gift and he’ll take it.
Lyin Ryan just called the FBI to be “cleansed.” WTF are we looking at Nazis?
Fascism. That is what they are and what the Koch brothers believe in. Their father was a fascist.
“CLEANSED?!”
Americans (those who did not vote for Sweet Potato Saddam voters), you have my deepest sympathies from France. And I tought we had “la droite la plus bête du monde” (the dumbest right in the world).
You mean the majority of Americans because he lost the popular votes by 3 million people.
Don’t forget that when you remember the circumstances we are in.
Oh and thanks from the bottom of our hearts.
Luca76, you just know that, by the end of his term, Trump will claim that HE actually won the popular vote with the bigliest margin ever!
I still believe in Mueller. He’s been 2 steps ahead this whole time, and stealth as hell. He’s backing all his shit up as we speak, and will either drop a massive inditement to silence these morons or publish the whole damn case in the NYT as a last resort. He won’t go silently.
Me too – last hope for America is Mueller and I think he will prevail.
NO!!! Mueller is not the last hope for America!! VOTERS are the last hope for America!!! Please don’t forget that we are in a midterm election year! VOTE. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO VOTE. REGISTER AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN. We are not helpless.
Shambles, my fear is that we’ll never have another even close to free and fair election again. Between the Russians, voter suppression, and gerrymandering, I fear that the Republicans will stay in power even if we all turn out to vote against them. At this point I’m hyperventilating because we are so close to becoming a puppet state. Within the decade the UN will have people observing our elections because they’ll be such an obvious joke. We obviously still need to vote but right now I’m not even sure we’ll get a chance to have another actual election. I hate to pin all of my hopes on Mueller but he’s truly our only hope. I just don’t know what to do at this point. There are huge swaths of my friends and family that I can’t even speak to at this point because they were (and probably still are) Trump voters.
Jess,
I understand your fears and they are completely justified. At the same time, I still have hope. Doug Jones’s win and the November elections last year in which the Dems swept Virginia told me that free and fair elections are still possible. And two voting districts (there will probably be more) have already been ordered to redraw due to republican gerrymandering. This is a great thing. I know it seems so scary right now, but there are still things to fight for. If we give it up now, we’ll end up a puppet state for sure. Keep the faith!! We’re all here to support one another.
What do you guys think of this?
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/even-if-trump-is-found-guilty-mueller-wouldnt-be-the-indictment-decision-maker/551753/
I’m so scared. I don’t see a way out of this that ends well for us.
Lorelai,
The last sentence of your article reads, ” The future lies with Congress and, ultimately, the electorate, not with prosecutors and the courts.”
This is why NOVEMBER IS EVERYTHING! We must flip the House, which plays a special role in the impeachment process.
Thing is it will be up to the Republicans to do something about his findings. As a sitting President, Trump can’t be charged criminally, only political via impeachment. At least Muller’s findings can go into the historical records to be release 25 or so years in the future.
A Blue wave or Tsunami needs to wipe out the GOP in November. I thought they might turn on DT if they didn’t get their tax plan passed but they got it passed and now they’re closing ranks. It’s very frustrating. I doubt any real change will happen until Dems are in control.
If Mueller’s findings also implicate McConnell and Ryan?
That trapped rat bares his teeth.
True that a few Emperor Zero agents are working to squelch the Russian probe by discrediting the FBI but while mildly effective, it’s a desperate move and undermines national security in the US. All for The Dotard.
Mr Mueller and his banditos have a few tricks up their sleeves. Be patient. It may suck for a while but the probe doesn’t stop if Mueller gets fired.
Plus!
Remember Preet Bahara? He and Mueller had/have been handing over docs and info to the NYAG, Schneidermann.
Yes! And the President can only pardon federal crimes, so if Mueller shares info with Schneiderman on financial crimes committed in New York, Trump and his myriad of money laundering relatives are screwed.
Eric – your enduring optimism cannot be overstated – I appreciate it and watch for it on these political posts.
I too think that Mueller has been preparing for this fight most of his professional life. He knows what he’s fighting and I truly believe he has contingency plans for his contingency plans.
That said, never underestimate human stupidity and ego – it’s how we ended up here in the first place.
My understanding is that getting Trump on airtight state charges is the only guarantee for a modicum of success, assuming a spineless GOP does f#^ksh!t with federal charges.
Eric, Like others here I too appreciate your optimism. It’s help keep me going. I would like to add my own words of optimism, as I’m feeling discouraged lately, and I’m trying to cheer myself up.
So here’s my cheerful thought for the day: Remember these people are stupid. DT and his cronies are complete morons that don’t know what they’re doing. It’s obvious. And DT is self sabotaging; He never does what’s good for himself. His whole administration has been a sh*t show from the beginning and will continue to be so until the end. It will be messy and it will be sh*tty just like DT himself. The incompetence Of these people will be their undoing. This is the end of the GOP and they know it which is why they are clinging so desperately to this dumbass in the White House.
One example of utter ineptness: Took a sizeable inheritance and went bankrupt multiple times, including the casino business. Who could end up losing money on a casino?
I think the topic that would irritate the most would be to have finances unmasked. Even if no charges were ever filed against him or his family, having it known that the mega-smart-businessman-billionaire branding is a total sham, would melt him.
Thank you, Eric and Rapunzel. I needed some hope to cling to today!
Thank you, Eric!
Another thank you to Eric. Truly, it does help.
It seems that the hurricane is developing very quickly now. Lots of news items (McCabe, Wray getting to pick his own Dep Director david Borwich–a mueller/Comey ally, the Shearer dossier, corroborating parts of the Steele dossier–including the salacious parts about EZ in Moscow 2013, EZ ordering Sessions to criminally investigate Mueller, etc).
Seems some very big news via mueller is due shortly–a massive bombing run, perhaps. Keep your heads held high! The rule of law shall prevail and the rule of diaper Donny will fall.
Peace.
It does seem that intensity is ramping up and the defensive moves are pretty telling.
Thank you for sharing your insight and keeping morale up!
Thank you, Eric.
Bless you and your wonderful soul. You keep us going sometimes. I heard something big is about to go down, but you make me believe it is true.
Trump will not be impeached. Anyone who thinks so needs to get that out of their head. He is pushing the Republican agenda, which is all they care about. Republicans don’t care about the racism, sexism and the vulgar insults because THEY AGREE WITH HIM. The republican party thinks the same thoughts as Donald Trump. The only difference is that Trump said is bluntly out loud.
Republicans want power. They want control. And if that means Russian influence, then so be it. They told us this during the election with their “Never Hillary” slogan. They don’t care about American. They don’t care about you. They don’t care that they are total hypocrites. They only care about tax cuts for the rich so they can line their own pockets.
We all need to accept what this is. Even is Muller comes out with proof of total collusion, it won’t make a difference. Trump isn’t going anywhere. And don’t think for one second that he can’t be elected again.
God Bless America.
I agree. The Donald Trump is truly THE VOICE of the Republican party everything he says and does is what they’ve been wanting to say and do for years. Honestly I’m deeply pessimistic about the future of America.
what you say is true, unless the predicted “blue wave/tsunami” actually comes to fruition in the mid-terms.
if the Dems take control of both the House and the Senate, articles of impeachment will be drawn up and presented within 24 hours. he’s already committed several impeachable offenses; it’s just a matter of getting a congress that will act on it. frankly, though, I think he’ll resign if that happens, just like Nixon.
I truly hope that a blue wave is coming, but I can’t count on it. Not with the knowledge that the electoral process has been compromised by the Russians, and that the GOP won’t do a single damn thing to try and fix it, because they know that the Russians are on their side. The US is currently functioning at a banana republic level of democracy, so it can expect banana republic level results from any upcoming elections.
Yes, there is a lot riding on the mid-term elections. Hopefully people will get out and vote in larger numbers than the last election. I guess if the Republicans are able to prevail this next time around, then this country is really in deep, deep trouble.
That said, I want to remain optimistic for the time being. Trump and all of his supporters just aren’t very intelligent, except I suppose the big-money donors. They know how to get what they want by throwing money in the Republican’s pockets. It’s despicable, yes. It’s also predictable.
The November elections are critically important.
If people care about what Trump is doing, we MUST vote, but we also MUST put our time and money into helping elect democrats across the country.
Sometimes I look back at history, and I think “What would I have done?” if I lived through Nazi Germany, or slavery in the US, or Jim Crow laws. Would I fight the powerful? Or would have I have stood at the sidelines watching as others suffered? I’ve always thought that I would have done something….Now is the time to prove it.
These are the times that show us what we are truly made of.
In case anyone needs inspiration, here is a bit on a heroine that stood up and gave her life for TRUTH in the face of misinformation. She was beheaded by the Nazis when she was 21 years old for distributing pamphlets describing the horrors of what the Nazi gov’t was doing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Scholl
Luckily for us, we don’t have to give our lives. We can just register to vote, make phone calls, and register others to vote.
She was a true hero.
What angers me is that the Dems are acting slowly and like they are in a daze when this is an emergency situation. It calls for drastic action.
Mueller can start indicting those treason weasels in Congress. Last I checked a congressman can be indicted. It takes one or two indictments to shut the rest of them up.
If anything, Trump and his supporters have shown that “traditions” without the rule of law can be broken at the highest degree and all hell can break loose. The presidency has too much power and Trump can actually give away any American secret he wants. Russia has an asset with Trump in the White House and the GOP have allowed for the inconceivable. The far right, the NRA and the Russians are working hand in glove to destabilize America … they do it by promoting the real fake news about “deep state”, taking away guns and religion. It’s a crazy upside down world and for the moment it looks like Trump is winning. But hopefully his evilness will be squashed in the end. I’m waiting.
Right there with you, Robyn. Does the two party system, and even the presidency itself, need to evolve into a completely different animal in order for us to be healthy and functional?
Surveliance has compromised testimony of Flynn, Sessions, Kushner and Manafort. If the GOP really want a debate with Justice about their conduct?!? My guess, that’s a winning position for the DOJ….
I’m losing hope. I have no doubt that Mueller has/will have the goods against Trump and his cabal, but Mueller is an honorable man. If Trump manages to shut him down, he won’t leak anything. We’ll be screwed. The GOP certainly won’t do anything to prevent it; hell, they’re doing everything they can to further fuck us over. And the Dems have no power—they are in the minority. There is literally nothing they can do to stop it. We’re screwed until and unless the Dems can take the House and Senate. And who knows what else Trump is going to pull before the elections? We’ll be lucky to have enough elections proceed without interference to achieve a blue wave.
No. There is ALWAYS something we can do. First & foremost if Mueller is shut down or if GOP doesn’t vote to impeach. We can take to the streets and protest just like after Drumpf was elected. Except everyone! It might get ugly. But we can do it unless we just accept & cower for the Fourth Reich.
An honest question: what can be done? I’m from canada, been living in Texas for five years. What can we do to stop this? I’m a permanent resident but not a citizen so I can’t vote anybody out. I hate what I’m seeing.
This is what can be done: https://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/search/
Taking to the streets is the only truly effective recourse in an autocracy. And make no mistake about it, the US is on its way to becoming just that. Now that the acting POTUS has defied congress by illegally refusing to impose sanctions on a hostile foreign power that has been proven to have interfered with our electoral process, it is clear that his power will only continue to grow unchecked by the GOP. America is on the road to becoming a one-party fascist state, and only its citizens can prevent this.
Voting in November is so important. If the Dems take back control of the House (which plays a vital role in the impeachment process), it will change things ENORMOUSLY. If the GOP retains control, it will be very hard to impeach.
Vote, volunteer, make calls, register others to vote, be a part of “Get Out the Vote” (GOTV) efforts. GOTV helps voters know their correct polling location, can help with transportation or child care issues, etc.
Question: if Mueller brings forth charges, and the R’s refuse to act, and *then* there’s a blue wave in Nov 2018, would the Democrats have the option to do…something? If the R’s ignore charges, can the D’s take action later..?
Yes, I think they could.
Yes, the Dems could do something. But I wouldn’t count on it. Because we all know how spineless the Democrats are.
Here is how I seeing it playing out if the Dems win the 2018 elections: Trump will side with the Dems, because he wants to win. And he likes Chuck Schumer. So he pass Dem friendly legislation and then boost about himself being a winner/reaching across the aisle/that the republicans lost because they didn’t negotiate like him/ect. Meanwhile, Republicans will want his butt out of there because he’s not working for them anymore, while the Dems will just sit tight until 2020.
Trump is just a puppet being used by both parties. If you can’t beat him, join ’em.
I’ve seen several interviews of attorneys who’ve worked w/Mueller, their conventional wisdom is that Mueller won’t charge Trump but will present evidence to Congress ( please God after 2018 elections) so compelling they mcan’t disregard. Theres no precedence for these kinds of charges and Mueller’s a strict Constitutionist.
Agree with everybody! Not sure that people will understand the memo is bu**shit and that they are deliberately withholding Schiff’s facts. I’m really worried too.
PS thank you Celebitchy for covering this!
i don’t think Carter Page is a useful idiot. i think he was a mole. he’s been investigated long before trump. he is cooperating with the russians and is possibly their plant into the trump campaign.
What a quagmire? NY FBI office was instrumental in having Comey start the Clinton investigation during the election because their agents were Trump supporters. The notoriously conservative/Republican FBI is being systematically undermined BY Republicans that disparage even a hint of criticism of LEO. The Republican party is going out of their way to antagonize the intelligence community and the Feds. If this wasn’t so dire, I’d be tickled.
I feel like I’m being paranoid, but I had a serious conversation with my mother a few weeks ago about – “What happens if it really does wind up being the rise of Fascist America? What are we going to do?” None of the answers we could come up with were comforting. Frightening times we live in.
You aren’t paranoid at all. This is exactly how fascism begins.
Many Americans will scoff at that notion, because they have blind faith in their political system and assume that America will always be a democracy. But that blind faith is dangerous, because currently there are a whole lot of people who think of themselves as patriots and defenders of democracy who are cheering on every anti-constitutional decision that is currently being made in the White House. And just because they prefer to label themselves “republicans” doesn’t mean that they aren’t behaving exactly as fascists do.
Trump has to stop the Russian Investigation so that he can stop the sanctions. That’s what this is all about. Many in the GOP are in on this scam–either paid off, or blackmailed, or both. We need those sanctions, and so do our allies. I can’t imagine Merkel or Macron slept that well last night either. The world is watching. This is a last gasp effort for the Trumpkins. Their treachery is now in full view. It looks like they are at their strongest, but I believe they are actually weak and desperate. Time for the full Rule of Law to strike!
There are not checks and balances that can work when the mayority of the people in positions of power have no decency nor shame. From the perspective of a developing country that is still yet to heal the wounds of dictatorship that lasted 17 years after a coup that took place almost 45 years ago ( backed and financed by United States btw) is hard to believe what is going on there. I mean the GOP, Trump, and his administration are so transparent in their motives, intentions and it seems that there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. Trump is authoritarian. Erdogan and Chavez were democraticaly elected but slowly their countries began to look less than a democracy and more like a dictatorship.
Internationally, Trump is a liability for all of us. First, because he’s an unhinged, racist, tempermental man who happens to be in charge of the most powerful nuclear arsenal in the world. Secondly, because he sets a bad precedent. Leaders all around the world look at him and say: If he and his administration can get away with blatant lies constantly, why can’t i do the same?
You need to fight for your democracy. Calling your congressmen won’t do it, the once a year woman march won’t do it. As i said before South Korea and Romania there were massive pacific protests that achived great political changes recently. Maybe that’s one way to be more effective opposition.
Logistics are a huge part of the problem in America. Beyond the fact that enough of the population supported Trump to get him in office, the reality is that South Korea and Romania have a fraction of the population and geographic area to organize those sort of protests. I mean, I get, and I agree with you, but I’ve had non-American friends bring this same point up, and I honestly think they don’t realize that America really is much bigger than some foreigners realize.
@Veronica that is such an important point, and one that many non-Americans can’t grasp.
@Lorelai
Yeah, I think part of the problem is that maps can be really deceptive. It’s easy to read the statistics and see that America is the third most populous country and the third largest country and not really sink in what that actually means. I mean, our country is literally larger than the continent of Australia. A continent! The entirety of Europe is only about 500,000 square miles larger than us. Texas is almost big enough to fit France and Germany inside of it. We aren’t just talking about the sheer difficulty of getting people in one place, at one time, in an organized event, it’s having to deal with the fact that the country is large enough to have radically different cultural experiences even within it borders. A person living in Manhattan, New York City knows a completely different side of American than somebody living in rural Wyoming. Trying to bridge those differences is where the government has failed over and over again and led to the current culture war.
For some reason, today is the day that I have felt the most hopeless. It really feels like Trump and his minions in Congress and all the deplorables are winning. It feels like the strategy of constant lying and discrediting all the institutions on which democracy depends (a free press, an independent judiciary and law enforcement etc.) is slowly but surely eroding the ability of the country to get back on track.
I’d love to believe in the blue wave in 2018 but with continued Russian interference, the inability of nearly 40% of Americans to understand even basic facts (because they’re drinking thirstily from the toxic stream of Fox, Breitbart etc.), and the gerrymandered districts in so many parts of the country, I find it tough to think we will be able to vote and change things.
I dunno, y’all. The effectiveness of this campaign to discredit Mueller, the DOJ etc. has surprised me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by it. This quote from an Axios article today hit home:
“This strategy is working better than you think. Trump portrayed Hillary Clinton as an enemy of the state, and she lost. He turned the media into an enemy of the state, if you look at polls of Republicans. And, perhaps most alarming of all, he’s trying to make the FBI look like an enemy of the state. “
Don’t let them make you lose hope! That is their ultimate goal.
Tiffany, you’re totally right that the loss of hope plays into their strategy so I’m going to try to buck up. I kicked in $10 to Emily’s list and emailed my (horrible) congressman.
Well played, Lindy!!!!! 😀