A peek behind the curtain. Trump is just the front man.

[Cyrano]

The Republicans are on the verge of owning America. Billionaires, whose names we don't even know, have spent decades buying their way to this point. And the irony is that Trump is too stupid to know that they lucked out when he came along. He's their flashing, neon, "free candy for everyone" billboard.-- And he's one of the most effective in history.

Tens of millions have bought into his "The drinks are on the house" pitch. After all, doesn't everyone love the guy who has said he'll pick up the tab.

Those who ran Germany's "Third Reich" sold much the same shit. It worked. They ended up owning the country, and then they tried to own the entire world. Britain, Russia and our forebears stopped them. But this time around, the shit peddlers are homegrown. Our founders called them "Domestic Enemies." And they have a good chance of winning or stealing this year's election. If they do, it will be the last.

And here we are. The majority. We're watching it unfold and our leaders seem to be caught like deer in the headlights. Yes, the media is assisting the barbarians. But you'd think that countless millions of sane people could put up a better defense. Actually, "defense" seems like joke. We're barely in this fight. And millions of people who are Democrats are only vaguely aware that the Republicans have declared war on democracy.

So what do we do besides everything possible to get out the vote and beat them at the polls? I wish I had the answer. Yet, we know going into this election that their suppression tactics, their gerrymandering, their "lost votes" claims, and everything else they have in their bag of dirty tricks, is being employed.

The only advice I have to give is VOTE! And if that's not enough, we need a Plan B, which we currently seem to lack. And it's a lack that could cost us our freedoms, our country and our lives.

[Irish_Dem]

1. It is not just the billionaires who will own us. Putin and Xi as well.

Putin has spent decades getting revenge on the US which he vowed to do when the USSR broke up.

Yes while Americans are obsessed with the price of gas, and the ongoing entertaining MAGA stunts,
our country is being taken over by autocrats and oligarchs.

Plan B appears to be letting Americans learn some very painful truths the hard way.

[Hugin]

4. Unfortunately, experiential learners seem to make up...

The majority of humans. Sometimes, not even then.

[Irish_Dem]

6. yes. Steep learning curves seem to be the norm.

Hitting bottom before making mid course corrections is human nature.

[erronis]

8. I'm one of those that need 2 or 3 or more experiences to really learn.

Some are much better at just being told what to believe.

Some need a bit of rationale and perhaps a good reference.

Some need to feel it more than once.

I may just be a difficult learner. And I don't really trust people without validation.

[WarGamer]

2. Just an FYI, a NYT story had Biden receiving support from MORE billionaires than Trump in 2020...

In net dollars, billionaires still give to GOP slightly more than Dems... but there's a new crop of socially aware billionaires supporting progressive policies.

[KPN]

3. I don't subscribe to NYT. Did the dtory provide any data or dource? Just curious

where they got that information from.

[Cyrano]

5. The Dems will use the money for

advertising, organizing, and all other legal means available to them.

The Republican thugs will spend billions on whatever it takes. Law and morality aren't part of their vocabulary.

[erronis]

7. Also don't subscribe anymore to the very tired old gray dame. More background would be helpful.

Does the once esteemed NYT trace the money flows through all the PACs and dark money channels? No, of course not. They're not into investigative journalism.

My bet is that their "access journalists" just looked at the FEC filings for the primary donors. Good guess is that those that support Democrats aren't trying to hide their activities.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

18. So sad about the NYT. It used to be the gold standard.

[Farmer-Rick]

25. Yeah, I've read that too

The filthy-rich always hedge their bets. They want a Stinking Nazi dictator but on the off chance the Dems do takeover, they'll give a bit to them too.

It's usually less, probably a lot less but it's hard to get those numbers what with all the dark money floating around ever since Citizen United (Another Nazi decision by the Supremes.)

[2naSalit]

9. DING DING DING!!!

[wolfie001]

10. Most of those billionaires think they're special

Chosen by gawd and jeebus. Even the ones that aren't particularly religious, i.e.: donald dump

[NanaCat]

16. Then he's about as religious as the average christian.

Most of the religion's members don't attend services very often (less than 20% attend on the average Sunday), and know precious little about the book, the history of the religion or whatever tenets their particular sect advocates.

Just like TSF.

So he presents as a typical christian to the outside observer.

[wolfie001]

26. Yep!!!

Just to sell the bible of his for some lucre.

[barbaraann]

11. I lived in Germany in the Fifties and Sixties and learned the lessons about the Nazis.

I can see what the Republicans are up to but almost no one I come into contact with in my daily life (except on DU) wants to even discuss politics, much less figure out how to fight fascism. It's beyond terrifying.

[Maggiemayhem]

12. Leonard Leo

Is the man behind the curtain. Pro Publica has a good article.

[H2O Man]

13. Recommended.

This is very important.

[Wounded Bear]

14. K&R...nt

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

15. Just like Reagan was a front man...

... a mediocre economics student at a 3rd tier college, but GE trained him on how to read and act out a script in the WW2 propaganda movies.

So they jumped at the chance to endorse a New Yorker trained by Roy Cohn to take it to the next level.

[NanaCat]

20. WTF

For all his faults, reagan learned how to act after Warner Brothers asked him to audition for a screen test in 1936, and liked what they saw. Like all newly signed actors there, he learned about professional acting--including reading a stupid bloody script--under their studio system. He made his film debut in 1937 and proceeded to make numerous movies where he made money reading a script and acting it out--well before WWII. You can argue that he wasn't a great actor (which is true), but you can't argue where he learned reading scripts and acting them out.

So he didn't need GE to teach him anything about how to read a script and act it out. He had years of experience at it before WWII.

[Traurigkeit]

24. Reagan was a tool

https://archive.org › details › dark-victory-ronald-reagan-mca-and-the-mob
Dark Victory Ronald Reagan, MCA, And The Mob - Archive.org
With Reagan's help, MCA would become the most powerful entertainment conglomerate in the world. And with MCA's help, Reagan would secure a fortune (resulting in a federal grand jury hearing), be marketed to the public as a viable politician, and ascend to the presidency of the United States. But according to reporter Dan E. Moldea, there ...

[BlueKota]

17. I have been thinking and saying the same thing,

but I think far too many are still in denial.

They insist our side needs to keep playing by the rules, even though the other side cheats and constantly thumbs their noses at them. Yet there is zero being done to stop them, at least as far as we know, because, our existing laws, don't allow it.

At some point someone in power needs to decide what is more important. Saving the majority of the people from a bunch of psychotic fascists, or sticking to rules that prevent any action to try and stop them from taking over and endangering many lives. I know which decision I prefer they make.

[Martin68]

19. That's what scares me. The only hope I have is that without his cult of personality, the people behind Trump will

lose their standing with the his base.

[Caliman73]

21. And yet, when leftists talk about how it is a systemic issue ... they get dismissed.

Part of the problem is that While Democrats and Liberals are WAY WAY better than Conservatives, they still play by the same rules within the same system. Yes Capitalism can be restrained, but it will ALWAYS ALWAYS try to break those restraints, and money will flow into fewer and fewer hands and those fewer, wealthier people, will try to change the rules to keep themselves in power.

The problem is the incentive structure. We are ALL OF US taught "competition" and "rugged individualism" and "bootstrapping" and if you don't succeed, then it's because you are lazy or there is something wrong with you, or your people, or your culture. All of us have that inside our minds to some extent. Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative. It is the degree to which it drives us. Liberals recognize inequality and think is isn't a good thing. They want to spread the benefits of society more equitably, but again, they think that Capitalism is an ally, that "the wealth" can be spread through government. It shouldn't be about "the wealth". People need food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.. just to basically survive. Then we need to be mentally and emotionally fulfilled. Capitalism doesn't do that because Capitalism is designed to SELL. It sells you what you think is happiness but only if it makes somebody money and only if you can afford it. If you can't then it's because you don't deserve it.

We need redefine what "success" is. We need to redefine our relationship to one another. That sounds idealistic and utopian, but the reality is that if we keep going this way, we are all going to die, and soon.

[Maggiemayhem]

22. Trump is a useful idiot.

Trump is a shiny dangly thing. There are far more dangerous people to worry about. They are so confident they will take over and have 1000s of people ready to take over the minute he is sworn in.

[onecaliberal]

23. Where are the investigations? Why are there none?

[live love laugh]

27. THIS "Billionaires, whose names we don't even know ..."

Oligarchal ownership of media by mega billionaires allows them to hide. Conversations about wealth and the wealthy are limited. It's nearby impossible to follow the money as they hide their own names and demonize others’ in a compromised media scape devoid of context, civility and basic truth.

[speak easy]

28. "Those who ran Germany's "Third Reich" sold much the same shit"

Oh yeah. Hitler was. just a front man. Wow.

[Cheezoholic]

29. Exactly... posted this last week. This has been a slow moving coup for 40-50 years

Trump is the "something shiny" for the status quo repukes, they could care less WTF happens to him in the end. He's an anomaly in their plan. The OP is a continuation of their main plan for the last 40 or 50 years. Sure, if Trump wins it makes their job of destroying the equal right to vote, of ending this experiment that is America easier. Even if he loses, the original plan laid forth that was/is being enabled by McConnel and the Federalists Society and the billionaires that finance this BS by planting far right extremist judges in every court they can and dismantling individual rights is in full force. I've said it before, there are a lot of Democrats who think beating Trump will free us from the oppressive fascism on our doorstep. Nothing is farther from the truth.

He is not the end, he is the beginning. The edge's of the woods are still far far away for us whether he wins or not. I fear too many are still asleep as to where the real wolf is hiding.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

30. There will be future elections.

But they'll be the sham elections they claimed the 2020 election was.

They are proud thieves who know they can take the country. After decades of trashing teachers, allowing the school buildings to crumble and undermining education itself, with their army of right wing talking heads and corrup SCOTUS, they pretty much OWN US.

[czarjak]

31. John Birch Society dream come true.

He Who Has The Most Money Wins?

[republianmushroom]

32. Yup, this posting is correct.

trump doesn't know how to pour p**s out of a boot with the instruction written on the heel.
He is nothing but a pawn.