General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsExtremely spot on and Important from NYT/Krugman "The Slippery Slope of Complicity"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opinion/the-slippery-slope-of-complicity.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-regionWhen was the last time centrist talking heads declared, Donald Trump just became president (because he bombed someone, or something like that)? I think its been more than a year. At this point, you have to be a truly fanatical practitioner of bothsidesism not to see that Trump is every bit as terrible a human being, and every bit as much a menace to the republic, as some of us warned when all the cool kids were busy snarking about Clintons emails.
The real news of the past few weeks isnt that Trump is a wannabe Mussolini who cant even make the trains run on time. Its the absence of any meaningful pushback from Congressional Republicans. Indeed, not only are they acquiescing in Trumps corruption, his incitements to violence, and his abuse of power, up to and including using the power of office to punish critics, theyre increasingly vocal in cheering him on.
Make no mistake: if Republicans hold both houses of Congress this November, Trump will go full authoritarian, abusing institutions like the I.R.S., trying to jail opponents and journalists on, er, trumped-up charges, and more and hell do it with full support from his party.
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(end of the article - and all bolding is mine)
Even now, I dont think most political commentators have grasped how deep the rot goes. I dont think they understand, or at any rate admit to themselves, that democracy really could die just a few months from now.
And if it doesnt, if Republicans lose Congress and Trump leaves office on or before January 2021, the same people who kept declaring that Trump just became president will try to go back to pretending that Republican politicians are serious, honorable people who care about policy. But they arent.
So remember this moment. Were seeing, in real time, what the GOP is really made of.
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)apparently not a shred of American integrity.
Duppers
(28,088 posts)alwaysinasnit
(5,035 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)I'm not being dramatic. I really do think...so this is how it happened.The perfect storm, and complicity all around, complete with scapegoats, greed, white supremacy, hate except for love of self.
So this is how it happened. Step by step. Inch by inch. Lie by lie. The water rises, while decent people get drowned out.
Once his party acquiesced in the inhumane treatment of children, they became lost souls. No longer American or democratic or decent human beings. They crossed a line with that one.
dalton99a
(80,905 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,563 posts)CrispyQ
(36,112 posts)Too many believe "It Can't Happen Here" even as it's happening here. We gain control of at least one chamber in November or it's over. Even then, I don't think most democratic politicians have grasped how deep the rot goes either.