Rachel Maddow and Steve Schmidt

[Cyrano]

Last night, Rachel Maddow had a conversation with Steve Schmidt. These are two people who grasp current events better than most and are brilliant at shining a glaring light on reality.

Watching it, I couldn't help but see, (some of you will strongly object to this), America becoming a 21st century version of Nazi Germany within the next three or four years.

They didn't use the word "Nazi," but they didn't need to. In listening to them, I could see the likes of Trump and his followers, both in and out of elected office, drawing up plans for what they might label "Reeducation Camps" as a starter, and then far, far worse. Do I need to draw a picture?

They are a crazed, evil minority of Americans. But, as history has shown us time and again, numbers don't matter.

I'm literally living my life like it's my last few years as a free person. And if you think I'm overreacting, or have gone over the edge, take a look at, or read about, Germany in the early 1930s.


https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schmidt-republicans-are-driving-chaos-promising-order-with-easy-scapegoats-121953861736

[Stuart G]

1. k and r for exposure..

[Mr.Bill]

2. That was a serious doom and gloom session,

even for Rachel.

[patphil]

8. Yes, it was.

Sort of like Scrooge seeing the future that will be if he took no steps to change it.
Make no mistake in comprehending the possibility Steve Schmidt puts forth.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and the will to take steps to insure we remain free.
The next 3 years will be the toughest anyone of us have ever faced. We need to stay strong, focused, and determined to hold on to our Democracy.

The future depends on us.

[Ilsa]

35. I watched last night's show this morning, and that block

just scared the crap out of me. It also depressed me, thinking about how many family members fought and sacrificed for our democracy. I'm glad most of them are gone so they don't have to see it.

[Mr.Bill]

37. Take it with a grain of salt.

While the facts were true, it was presented with some theatrical flair.

[uponit7771]

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

[Goonch]

3. The Nazis--despite their massive military force

—went out of their way to confiscate even small caliber weapons in Germany.

Not a likely or successful occurrence here.

[Blaukraut]

12. They're already eating de-wormer, inhaling hydrogen peroxide, drinking bleach, etc

Talking them into giving up their guns shouldn't be too much of a problem for the fascist leaders. Just use the usual propaganda channels like Fox et al.

[soldierant]

17. The messenger matters at least as much as the message.

If the confiscation comes from their own kind, they will submit. Maybe eve cheerfully.

[BootinUp]

4. It was a very good segment. My own opinion

Is that the fascists just won’t have enough political support to get where they want to. But it is way too close for comfort.

[Texin]

22. That isn't hard to do when you "count" all the votes & have a flaccid population.

[BootinUp]

24. Right, I'm just not quite as gloomy on

Our prospects. Biden won pretty convincingly, and we may yet have a good mid-term showing.

[dclarston13]

5. This observation is spot on

This is the still the country on earth but maybe not for long. I worked in a lot of places and many different countries in my life. When US folks complained about America I always said it's still the best game around. But if this Nazi uprising is not quelled quickly and with extreme prejudice, I fear the worst. The part I really struggle with is why? They will wreck the economy, many of the Nazi supporters will also end up on the wrong side of whatever government is in place, they are just too dumb to figure it out.
These Nazis are enemies of the state and should be treated as much.

[Thomas Hurt]

6. not nazi Germany but a modern christofascist theocracy...

complete with an autocrat and oligarchs siphoning off millions for the one party system.

No abortion, birth control,
public schools destroyed,
unions stamped out,
christofascist religious schools (fundie christianity and white nationalism),
Enforce Public Christian prayer in every public event
Re-establishment of a nobility (see oligarchs above)


This is what the far right has been pushing as their agenda since at the Reagan admin.

[bamagal62]

14. This!

[Auggie]

16. I can't imagine this happening in coastal California

About 20 million moderate and liberal Democrats and Indies will say no.

[Blaukraut]

25. If they manage to take over the federal government

They will come after blue states. Be it economically, or by passing federal laws that will mostly punish those blue states. We'll get squeezed until we give in. States rights are only a thing if they benefit their side.

[Auggie]

36. Odds against it in California. We're big enough to fight anything.

[uponit7771]

42. +1, like they've done with Trumps Taxs !! This EXACT thing has already happened. They want

... to tear it down, it'll be Putin's wet dream

[S/V Loner]

7. All it will take is some sort of...

Reichstag moment whether economic, terrorist, or any other type of occurrence that they can use to instill fear. That is all it will take.

[Hekate]

9. We watched it and concur, sadly. I feel like I am watching the turn of a great cycle of both history

.. and the Earth itself.

Kali Yuga.

[KS Toronado]

10. It's time we as Democrats

start framing our midterm talking points with the evils of voting for fascists,
before it's too late.

[doc03]

11. After listening to them last night it sounds like

we are doomed if we lose the House next year. There is a extremely good chance we will, especially if we don't get anything done. It is sad our future may depend on what one Senator does.

[certainot]

13. limbaugh is dead and the zombie still haunts us but central messaging from 1500 radio stations

and trumpism died with him. the minority extremist sex-on-the-wrong-brainers have been emboldened but trump will conntinue to fade as the investigations expose him and limbaugh isn't there to excuse him

unfortunately schmidt as far as i know ever mentions talk radio, and rachel was in it and seldom mentions it either - like all the aanalysts theyre analyzing fish without water

[Evolve Dammit]

27. Rush's seeds have been sown for 30 years. And they are prolific. Good to see some succumb to C-19

[certainot]

38. as the aussies and pommies would say "good riddance to bad rubbish" or something like that

[BlueIdaho]

15. While reading about Germany in the 1930s

Don’t forget to read about the violent and brutal end of the Nazi party. Even an empire that was to last a thousand years lasted at best a decade and ended with its leader’s body burned in a ditch. So - while we must work hard and not forget the lessons of the past, we must also must not lose our heads.

[uponit7771]

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

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. I agree with Rachel and Schmidt-I am also worried

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[FoxNewsSucks]

19. I think you're reacting like a reasonable person

who is paying attention to what is going on.

The fascists nearly have control

[SidneyR]

20. We'll be the best fascist country

The US will be the best fascist country the world has ever seen. We have the finest surveillance technology, the best military and police systems, the most complicit corporations, and the dumbest conformists ever. The Fourth Reich will dominate the globe for a long, long time.

[Evolve Dammit]

28. don't forget the for-profit penal system. Bush family invested heavily in prisons (inc. of course)

[Cyrano]

30. "The Fourth Reich will dominate the globe for a long, long time."

IMO, it won't take long before they go nuclear against any country or countries that oppose them.

These are basically, stupid people who will bring about their own doom.

The outcome will be some kind of post apocalyptic "Mad Max" world, or a totally lifeless planet.

[johnthewoodworker]

21. A lot of us have been aware of the Republican/Nazi fascism for quite a while.

Awareness changes nothing.

[cilla4progress]

29. Agree.

I studied PoliSci at college in the 1970s. There is nothing, in fact, that distinguishes Americans from any other country's citizens. Including 1930s Germany.

I am very wary meeting new people. Most comfortable with those whose politics I know. I don't need their beliefs to be identical to mine, but I'm aware there are many fascists out there, and where I live which is quite conservative.

This country is on its way to some very hard times.

[Deuxcents]

23. Glad to see

Steve Schmidt back on Nicole Wallace and Rachel’s shows. I listen intently as he has a way of telling us his point of view with historical relevance. Sometimes my jaw is so tight I think I’m gonna crush my teeth. I get educated but distressed at the same time. Just like Germany in the 1930’s ...there were warnings n they were ignored. I pray we won’t repeat this when we have so much to learn from.

[xxqqqzme]

26. For years I have been telling friends

there are two actions necessary to survive:
1. Start a garden and learn how to preserve the food you grow
2. Buy a gun and learn how to use it.

[scipan]

31. More democrats need to see this and wake up

I keep being reminded of this:

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

[Cyrano]

33. Millions of people already see it

The fascists have a plan, a defined goal, and they're well along their path to success.

And as for the so many who have seen this coming for years, what have we done to stop them?

I'm not criticizing your statement, scipan. I am criticizing the inability of all who oppose fascism to combat it effectively. Or even combat it at all.

[scipan]

34. What bothers me

Last edited Sun Sep 26, 2021, 04:27 AM - Edit history (1)

There was a poll recently that showed a much higher percentage of righties felt our country was hanging by a thread than leftists.

And our only plan so far seems to be to get out the vote. That seems necessary but not sufficient to me. I don’t know why we don’t have anywhere near the organization as they do, except we’re the ones atm who put our faith in existing government institutions.

Also, it’s past time for hardball. Redistrict the blue states to get as many dem reps as we can, enough with fighting with one hand tied behind our back, unless we can get a national standard passed. Find dirt on manchin and Sinema and .... Don’t let them own our streets like the brownshirts did. But we need ppl to wake up

[Evolve Dammit]

32. I know lots of "gun-toting liberals". I am cautiously OK?.... The average citizen I knew

growing up had guns. They were for hunting, varmint reduction and recreational shooting. Now they are viewed as "home defense" or potential offensive weaponry. Thank the NRA which used to sponsor hunter safety in the 1960's and now is a full-blown fascist organization. Then there are the ammosexuals, militia cult groups that want to overthrow the government and kill all Dems, libruls, POC etc. I hope the FBI is hiring and expanding efforts toward the latter. Because ultimately, this shit cannot continue and needs to be illegal.
I hope Steve Schmidt is wrong, but I'm not a betting person either.

[colsohlibgal]

39. It's Worrisome

We are closer to sliding into an Autocracy than anytime in my lifetime. That someone like Trump could get elected President, even with the Electoral College, is troubling.

That tens of millions could see and hear him and vote for him is scary by itself.

I live not that far from Ontario and that’s my plan B if it all goes totally South here. I have not contemplated that option previously but we are in precarious times right now.

We better pass that For The People Voting Bill, time to quit gumming up the works Manchin and Sinema, not sure how you don’t comprehend the peril we’re in.

[uponit7771]

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

[UCmeNdc]

44. Trumpism is Fascism

[Loge23]

45. We're living through it already

Many folks are making the mistake of trying to anticipate "when it will happen" as if there will be an event that ends democracy as we knew it. This is already happening, we are already living through a momentous time in the history of the United States.

Take voting: it's not a stretch to think that voting can be safe, secure, and much more accessible than it is now, or was in November 2020. Many of us will sometimes participate in online polls, or perhaps in online proxy voting. After entering basic ID information, the poll site will know whether or not you have already voted in that particular poll. Why can't our election process function the same way? Well, it can but there are forces in our country that simply do not want to allow widespread voting, particularly by certain demographic groups. Every American eligible to vote should be able to, whether in person, online, or via the mail. But here we are in 2021, going in the opposite direction.

Take income equality: Again, here we are going in the wrong direction. Certain forces in this country have effectively muted the labor movement and stand steadfast against basic services that the wealthiest country in the world can easily afford, like universal heath care for example. Meanwhile the gap gets wider between the average American and the slim top 1 or 2 %.

Human Rights? I don't have to reiterate what is happening in Texas and other red states, women are losing their basic rights.

We can't even manage to come up with meaningful legislation to combat climate change, repair and renew our infrastructure, or reverse the widening inequality gap. The minority simply will not allow it.

There are many more examples of the deterioration and breakdown of our country - minority rule being present in all cases.

Where we end up may or may not resemble a Nazi state or another dictatorship that we may be familiar with from history - it's a different time after all. But make no mistake, we are living through catastrophic changes, for the worst, and it's difficult to see how we will be able to turn that tide around in most of our lifetimes.