Mary Trump: the most cogent description ever of our current peril as a democracy

[The Blue Flower]

https://newrepublic.com/article/163115/donald-trump-plot-against-america

The most dangerous Republican enabler by far is, of course, Mitch McConnell, who saw an opportunity that even he probably never dared hope for: The guy in the Oval Office wouldn’t just sign off on every aspect of the Republicans’ agenda, he would push the envelope—of decorum, of autocracy—so far that the system itself could be used to create permanent minority rule. Donald showed his party (and yes, it is his party) the limits of pretending to care about good governance or play by the rules. He also showed them the utility of not just stoking racism and hatred of the Other—in the form of immigrants, Democrats, and even epidemiologists—but championing those who espoused them.

McConnell is the greatest traitor to this country since Robert E. Lee (with the difference that McConnell has been trying to take our country down from within). He has always been expert at using existing rules and procedures in ways they weren’t intended to be used, and yet—whether it was denying Merrick Garland a hearing, pushing through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation, or ending the filibuster as it applied to Supreme Court nominees but employing it to block legislation that would expand voting rights—his anti-democratic maneuvers have been performed within the bounds of the system. The fact that he’s misusingthe system outlined in the Constitution isn’t an exoneration of him, however; it’s a condemnation of the Constitution’s limitations. The definition of treason in the Constitution is so narrow (levying war against the country or giving aid and comfort to the enemy) that a case could never be made against him. It would be difficult, however, to find anybody in modern times who has so undermined our democracy.

This destruction of norms by Donald and other Republicans in the executive and legislative branches has happened so quickly, and has been so thorough, that it’s clear the seeds of it must have been planted a long time ago. It was possible for Donald, the weakest man I have ever known, to exploit the weaknesses in the system not because he introduced them, but because they were there for him to exploit in the first place.

These situations are not the result of four years or even four decades of poor governance—although the worsening of the problem has certainly accelerated since Ronald Reagan’s disastrous presidency. The combination of “trickle-down” economics, his devastating handling of the AIDS crisis, and the intensification of the “War on Drugs,” with all of its racist implications, accelerated the divide between Americans along economic, cultural, and racial dimensions. But we really need to go back to this country’s inception to understand how we got here and to assess how we can possibly repair the extensive damage. With Joe Biden’s election, we did indeed snatch democracy from the jaws of autocracy—a rarity in human history. But as the insurrection of January 6 made clear, we are not out of the woods yet—far from it.

[iluvtennis]

1. Thanks for posting this - spot on commentary from Mary Trump about McConnell. n/t

[Tommymac]

2. She is a TRUE Patriot.

A rotten tree can bear worthwhile fruit.

[CommonHumanity]

3. Concise and perfect (nt)

[magicarpet]

4. As the Fascist ReThugs are playing hardball while aiming for our heads,.. we lob ping pong balls,..

.... back in their direction,.. to no result or effect.

They will succeed in totally trashing our Democracy and replacing it with a Fascist Faux-Christian Theocracy before most realize what even happened.

By 2022 and 2024 it will too late to alter this stampede to an Autocratic Nazi State headed by a Fascist Despot.

Wake up America,... the clock is ticking,... time to act decisively is running out.

[Cosmocat]

9. Yep

Spot on.

[wnylib]

12. If you really believe that it

will happen no matter what we do to fight it, then why are you still here and not fleeing abroad?

We already have enough to deal with in fighting these scum. We don't need to add hopelessness and destruction of morale to our problems.

Yes, things are dire. Things were dire in 1941, 1861, and 1775. I am not ready to give up in despair yet.

[magicarpet]

16. .... reading comprehension your weakness,.... ?

Let me phrase it another way....

If we don't fight these Fucking Fascists with all the energy and resources at our disposal they will trash our Democracy into an Orthodox Fascist Theocracy.

The days of fighting these Nazis with feather pom poms is long beyond us. These Nazis mean business - we must push back hard and make an example of trDUMP and his Nazi Stormtroopers.

The US Capitol insurrectionists getting a slap on the wrist, often no jail time, and minimal court fines imposed ? For God's sake their intention was to overthrow our government and they caused $30 million in damages so their Orange Fuhrer could have his coup d'tat and void a free and fair election.

What do we need a trDUMP Fascist Militia Junta to take control of Washington DC before we take action against these Nazis and let them know subverting and trashing Democracy is not acceptable or tolerable. We must slam them hard for their intentions, schemes, attempted execution to trash and turn our Democracy upside down, render it totally dysfunctional, and in the end jeopardize its very existence.

My call is not to give up and run,.... My call is to FIGHT BACK against and slam this encroaching Fascism real hard until we push them off the political and social landscape.

[wnylib]

17. My comprehension is fine but you

might want to hone your expression skills.

[magicarpet]

20. .... actually you read something I wrote,...

TWISTED it into something I never said,..

then criticized me for saying/writing it,...

although I never wrote it,.. said it,... or implied it.

[druidity33]

22. why don't you elaborate...

on precisely HOW you would, you know, "FIGHT BACK against and slam this encroaching Fascism real hard until we push them off the political and social landscape." as you say.

[magicarpet]

25. .... here is an idea,...

You know the Mueller Report....

Is Bill Barr still blocking the public release ......?

Why is it that the new AG Garland did not immediately rescind the Barr executive order to keep that Mueller legal beagle information about his review of legalities of the Trump Administration private.

Release it to the public now,....

....it is only fair that the public get to review the report that they paid for via taxes.

Need they be reminded we own the government ?

[druidity33]

27. sure, that'd be great....

but how do you think that will change what you are complaining about in THIS thread? If they release the report in full would you find something else to rail about? You say "we own the government" but really it's we,THE PEOPLE, own the government. And what if many of the people don't agree with you, or don't feel that their priorities quite align with yours?

[magicarpet]

28. Okay,... I give up,... Keep the Mueller Report.

Why out maneuver them and embarrass The Orange One ?

Leave it be,... Billy Barr said it was nothing anyways. He is such a reputable and honorable man.

Besides the Mueller Report is on the bottom of everyone's wishlist,... why make waves,... how selfish can you be to even bring this up ? ....... such a scum bucket you are,... (excuse me,... I am).

[hadEnuf]

35. Some just can't see the forest because of all the trees.

[StarfishSaver]

19. Thank you

This kind of gloom and doom is tiresome.

Much of the whining seems to be coming from those who previously paid scant attention to and know and cared little about history and have enjoyed the privilege of viewing the burden of political marginalization and challenges as not affecting them but as something to be shouldered by others and who are now horrified that they are now facing the hardships those others have been dealing with all along.

Democracy isn't self-executing. People need to get over themselves, stop moaning, and get to work - just like others have done for generations.

[Hekate]

5. KnR

[ewagner]

6. K & R

[jaxexpat]

7. It reads like a history chapter or a manifesto. Try the whole thing.

[stillcool]

8. a good read...thanks

It’s impossible to understand the appeal Donald has for his followers if we try to do so from the perspective of people who value honor, decency, empathy, and kindness in their leaders. It isn’t that they see things in Donald that aren’t there. They identify with what is—the brazenness of his lies, his ability to commit crimes with impunity, his bottomless sense of grievance, his monumental insecurity, his bullying, and, perhaps most intriguing, the fact that he is an inveterate failure who keeps being allowed to succeed. Donald is their proxy and their representative.
============================
By the same token, elected Republicans, Donald’s chief enablers, see Donald as a means of perpetuating their own power. But they aren’t just putting up with the worst of him simply because they see him as a means to an end. He is them. They value his mendacity and his name-calling and his autocracy because these work for them as well.

[Lonestarblue]

11. So true. The media portrays Republicans as fearing Trump, but they actually like what has has done.

They like his refusal to let any laws stand in his way, and they see Trump as their means to put themselves in power permanently. Corruption and power are their gods.

[Azathoth]

10. The answer is a very simple two words: Rush Limbaugh

It seems reductionist, but that's really what it all comes down to. The country spent decades pretending that the deranged, hyper-radicalizing, eliminationist propaganda being pumped into tens of millions of people daily wasn't going to have some kind of permanent structural effect. It's like pretending that the decades of concrete and steel erosion in that Miami condo building was’t having any structural impact.

The vast right-wing entertainment complex pioneered by Limbaugh has systematically radicalized an entire sector of the population and completely walled them off from reality-based information streams. Sociopathic vultures like Trump and McConnell and their imitators like DeSantis are merely feeding off this self-perpetuating toxic waste swamp.

[Beartracks]

13. Propaganda masquerading as entertainment.

[speak easy]

14. cruelty as entertainment

[magicarpet]

29. Ding,... Ding,... Ding,... Fascist Propaganda,... Hook,... Line,... And sinker spoon fed to the,...

..... entire US Military airwaves.

Fascist Limbaugh indoctrination to make a new generation of "Good Nazis".

How the fuck did we let that happen ?

[Trust_Reality]

18. Please send this to the Secretary of Defense

In case there is another Limbaugh coming. Limbaugh was apparently on the Armed Forces Radio for many years. Totally inappropriate to have propaganda radio playing to the military.

[msfiddlestix]

33. This too

[Pepsidog]

15. She is smart as a whip

[Upthevibe]

21. The Blue Flower...Thank you for this post. Mary Trump's

ability to write is exceptional.

[Baitball Blogger]

23. this paragraph really hit home:

"This destruction of norms by Donald and other Republicans in the executive and legislative branches has happened so quickly, and has been so thorough, that it’s clear the seeds of it must have been planted a long time ago. It was possible for Donald, the weakest man I have ever known, to exploit the weaknesses in the system not because he introduced them, but because they were there for him to exploit in the first place."

I have been saying it over and over again. If all politics is local, then what was going on at the local level is crucial to understand because it is at the local level that this insanity gets its support. Yes, racist policies have been pushed by the Republicans since Lee Atwater. But at a Federal level, especially through the nineties, Democrats at a Federal level were more interested at working across the aisle, and silencing minority opinions during election years to appease the conservative racist swing voters as well as Southern Democrats.

Trump was just so sloppy, he removed all doubt about what they were doing and what they believed in. It IS White Supremacy fighting for power. The fact that their agenda no longer has any pretense of civility will be his and their downfall.

[msfiddlestix]

32. This 10,000 %

[ShazzieB]

24. The is an excerpt from her new book!

It says so at the bottom of the page: "Mary L. Trump’s new book, The Reckoning: Our Nation’s Trauma and Finding a Way to Heal, will be released on August 17."

More info here: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Reckoning.html?id=d1MmEAAAQBAJ

[uponit7771]

26. Only 64% of democrats believe Voter Suppression is a problem (link)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/21/monmouth-poll-americans-back-both-early-voting-voter-id-requirements/7774904002/

At 64%, Democrats were more likely than Republicans, at 43%, or independents, at 42%, to express concern about voter disenfranchisement, reflecting a concern within the party about voter suppression after several cycles.

[Blue Owl]

30. McConnell needs a visit from this guy...

[msfiddlestix]

31. I'd suggest "Cogent" would be an understatement...

were another word could possibly describe of breadth of astute analysis.

I have to say as well, Mary Trump has always impressed me.. this particular piece soars way and above other writings of hers

She nailed McConnell's MO to the wall.




Bravo!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

34. Damn, she is a good analyst.

The propaganda media are responsible for stoking the troglodyte base. And for demonizing every other means by which reality-based information could seep in.

[Danascot]

36. Many more great points in the full article

Highly recommended