I’m no Nostradamus, but like my ancestors in Eastern Europe I can tell when fascists are bearing down on us. Some of them got out which is why I’m alive today. Some stayed and paid the ultimate price. What I see happening here is one part of a populace that is leaning to authoritarianism and one party rule; and one part of a populace that is more liberal and wants democracy but is tired, rundown and apathetic. That’s a dangerous and reckless combination. The proof that’s in the pudding comes next month with the midterm elections.
If the former is energized and the latter is apathetic, we will have a Republican controlled Congress, either completely or partially. That will stymie Joe Biden and the Dems as far as their agenda is concerned. A GOP House and a Dem Senate will right-wing-radicalize this government and pave the way for a Trump run in ’24 which opens the door for a Putin/Orban/Lukashenko/Xi/Un autocrat in the White House. A Dem House and a GOP Senate blocks anything Biden and the Dem House propose which also opens the door for a Trump run in ’24, creating momentum for a continuation of the road to a fascist government in the United States.
As I’ve been saying in previous posts, Trump needs to be stopped in his tracks before ’24 via legal action or application of the 14th Amendment. Without that, he will run again and continue his march towards a bloodless coup (which could turn into a bloody coup as did January 6, but even more wide scale). Trump is well-schooled in the tactics of delay and avoidance, so I don’t think he will be stopped in time–another writing on the wall.
Will he win if he runs again? With the help again of the Russians and dirty tricks and misinformation and wretched attack ads, it’s possible, and perhaps probable, he will, by hook or by crook. It now approaches two years since the ’20 election and he still cries rigged election and claims of his landslide victory, despite hard evidence against this claim. Despite everything against him, his minions continue to lavish him with support and money–lots of money. Republicans have worked hard to reengineer an election infrastructure that will insure them a win in virtually any subsequent election. Their goal is essentially a one party system with a despot at the top with a cabinet, administrative offices, and a rubber-stamping Supreme Court beholden to that person, male or female (people such as Tulsi Gabard, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Kristi Noem would probably qualify). It’s how a fascist system is run. Elections are held but they are sham elections, with guaranteed results, designed for an eternity. Putin received 99.8% of the vote in the last election in Chechnya. Yeah, right!
The Senate race in Georgia is indicative of the current writing on the wall. A very able and qualified Rafael Warnock, the incumbent, is trailing in the polls to a very incompetent and unqualified Herschel Walker. Voters there say they know Walker is unqualified but their only goal is to regain a GOP majority. Power is the one and only priority, another fascist principle, democracy be damned.
Nobel Prize winning songwriter Bob Dylan, who also saw the writing on the wall in the early 60s, started his signature song, The Times They are A-Changin’, this way:
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
And you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.
His words are as applicable today as they were then. Just change “swimmin'” to votin’ Democrat up and down the ballot next month.
Leave a Reply