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Kim's avatar

Yes, I have definitely noticed. Fascism is mean and it is violent. You're so right! They are on a methodical path to a total take over as evidenced by Justice Samuel Alito. There's an article about this in the NY Times today by Charlie Savage. To me, they seem to be trying to kill democracy slowly - a death by a thousand cuts. Everyday we are finding out more and I appreciate Thom finding out where it’s happening and reflecting our feelings on it. Because it’s hard to believe - shocking and upsetting. It’s refreshing to hear a validation of this in Thom’s essays and weekday shows.

To me, especially as a woman, the Middle Ages (which is where Alito & who he serves are getting their basis for understanding the world) represented the worst of humanity: total cruelty and enslavement of the human spirit - especially anything deemed as having feminine qualities. It’s awful that they feel that their "freedom" will come when only they have total control to make the world exactly how they feel it should be instead of how it is - full of diversity; a diversity not established or controllable by "man." I hear about this from some right wing christian acquaintances. They express that they believe they "don't have religious freedom." Why? it's because they can't express bigotry without being criticized; they cannot openly oppress without someone standing up to it. By attempting to make the perpetrator of oppression the victim is a way to distract from the point - which is that they are causing pain and suffering to others. It's also a grandiosity that exists to cover their own shame of being afraid of feeling out of control and/or a personal loss of feeling strong and indispensable in society. I think we have to heal this on both the individual level and at a governmental level through stopping the take over of our democracy. They know this so they are trying to dismantle the democratic institutions where people learn to accept & appreciate diversity. It's hard to feel the shame that you've violated someone else's boundaries or somehow hurt them. When a person justifies violence, then they can rid themselves of feeling shame and humiliation.

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Daniel DeCamp's avatar

Democrats have a lot of responsibility for the dire situation, but just as much?; I don't think it's even close. What the Democratic party has been able to do or not been able to do over the past four decades has been conditioned by the fact that the Republican party, after decades of being the perennial opposition party, figured out a way to win elections, not by offering but good public policy, but by activating a dormant religious right and by picking up the Jim Crow south once the Democrats fell out of favor with the segregationists after Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights and Voter Rights Acts and the subsequent southern strategy. For a multitude of reasons the American people shifted right and started voting Republican in big numbers at all levels of government, starting with Reagan's landslide victory over Mondale in 1984. I think there are times when society gets in a certain mood and tends to vote for one party over the other whether or not it's a very good idea in the long run. We saw that in the 1920s when Republicans were riding high with Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, whose laissez-faire economic policy led to the great depression. Those failures and the subsequent successes of FDR's New Deal kept voters in the Democratic camp for decades to come, up until the so called Reagan Revolution. I think one of the main things that turned voters against the Democratic party, especially the solidly middle and upper middle class ones who gained their status largely thanks to New Deal policies and Keynesian economics, was that they associated Democrats with the welfare state and excessive government regulation, and they weren't so much in favor of government helping the little guy any more. They wanted lower taxes, an even higher standard of living and a good retirement. Too much regulation could hurt their investment portfolio or pension fund. Right or wrong, they saw Republicanism as a better alternative and I think during this whole period since Reagan when his brand of conservatism has reigned, Democrats have had to dramatically moderate their tendency towards more progressive public policy in order to have any hope of winning elections in certain parts of the country. Clinton, who I think deep down is and was a flaming New Deal type liberal, is a perfect example. He was an incredibly astute politician and he saw the writing wall. Gingrich and the GOP were on a roll, the American people were with them and Clinton knew some power was better than no power, so he did what he had to do. This was the case with many other Democrats. Look, I'm aware of the shortcomings and failings of the Democratic party—ineffective messaging, uninspiring candidates, etc. etc. etc. But I just happen to think that the Democrats have an infinitely better vision for what the country needs now and in the future than the Republicans do. We always talk about the politicians and their successes or failings. But we often forget the, other side of the equation, the people, the voters. Sometimes the people, rightly or wrongly, just aren't buying what you're selling. The Republican party has done a very good job at selling a culture war that has gotten people to vote for them and against their own interests and well being, and, in my opinion, against the interests of the country as a whole. Sure Democrats have many faults, but I believe the Republican party is downright toxic and harmful, even nihilistic. If and when the Democratic party gains enough power that it can actually put its money where its mouth is and deliver the goods, my criticism will be strong and unwavering if it doesn't. In the meantime, I just want Democrats to win elections and Republicans to lose because it's very clear to me which party is more likely to move this country in the direction it needs to go. (I didn't even talk about the structural flaws in our electoral system that is making it possible for minority rule which is causing a lack of progress. For example, we have a 50/50 Senate while one party represents 41 million voters than the other. Can you guess which? The Electoral College needs to go, as well as gerrymandering.)

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