There can no longer be any question that the Republican congress wants the end

[Raven]

of this American democracy. No question at all. The voting rights and Bannon votes were their nails in our coffin. We need to move forward now with that ugly fact in mind and face the fact that the 2022 mid-term elections will be the most consequential elections in the history of this Republic. We need to quit talking and go to ground.

[Hotler]

1. We must rebrand the repugs as fascist. Throw it in their face.

I'm tempted to call them Nazi.

[Raven]

2. Call them whatever you want but if we don't get the vote out a year from now,

it won't matter what we call them.

[Hotler]

4. I'm thinking people will be more inclined to vote for democracy than fascism.

That is why we need to re-brand them. Get the words fascism and fascist into the everyday discussion.

[KS Toronado]

8. That and domestic or homegrown terrorists

[pandr32]

13. +1

[wnylib]

22. The term "domestic terrorists" will work better

than "fascist" to raise people's concerns. WE know that they are fascists but most Americans today don't understand what fascism is. So they will just shrug it off as an exaggeration.

In 2016, during the Dem primaries, I told people that if Sanders won, we'd have a socialist and a fascist running against each other. They accepted the term "socialist" because that's what Sanders called himself, even though they didn't know what socialism is. But most people said that I was way off in calling TFG a fascist.

[wnylib]

26. The term "domestic terrorists" will work better

than "fascist" to raise people's concerns. WE know that they are fascists but most Americans today don't understand what fascism is. So they will just shrug it off as an exaggeration.

In 2016, during the Dem primaries, I told people that if Sanders won, we'd have a socialist and a fascist running against each other. They accepted the term "socialist" because that's what Sanders called himself, even though they didn't know what socialism is. But most people said that I was way off in calling TFG a fascist.

[The Jungle 1]

45. I have been using the term fascist for awhile.

I use it to describe politicians and out of control police.
How I handle it is to call the action/events fascism and add the definition of fascism. The definition of fascism is very clear.
This is all I post:
Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/) is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy. Wiki
I agree people do not understand what socialism is they also do not understand we are being, not so gently, led down a path to fascism.
My goal it to help Americans understand what fascism is.

[housecat]

28. First we need to educate those who don't even know the difference.

[SergeStorms]

33. Good luck with that.

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

The ship has sailed on these people accepting reality. They're quite content living in the fantasy world of Trump's lies.

[Beartracks]

37. No time, unfortunately.

If we have to explain the branding, then we're doing it wrong.

========

[DENVERPOPS]

39. Some of us have been

using that very word for the entire Trump Administration.......as well as using fascist to describe the Republican House and Senate......

It was as difficult as when I was trying to explain to the "Reagan Democrats" Forty+ years ago about what was truly going on in the shadows........

[Joinfortmill]

42. 👍

[fwdthinkingdem]

3. or confederates?

they're muricans

[Evolve Dammit]

11. Ironic that they call us that, isn't it? Constant projection. And yes, they would love to be the new

improved Nazis.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

46. A repetitive media blitz showing Republican party similarities

to Germany's pre WW II Nazi party works for me. Throw some Mussolini into the sauce as well.

There's enough footage of GOP foaming at the mouth fascism to make it effective.

[Farmer-Rick]

5. The Republican Congress has been bought by the filthy rich capitalist

The Supreme Court allows it, and our economic system encourages it. The courts even approve of foreigners buying the same politicians, especially if it is Russian money from Putin.

Capitalism is incompatible with democracy. Democracy doesn't allow for monopolies of power and control. Capitalism is all about monopolizing and controlling the supply rubber band...err chain. Capitalism is not about efficiency, competition or sales of products. It is all about being the only one with all or most of the national wealth. Why is there only one Walmart, Amazon or Facebook? Because they are doing what capitalism is all about.

But you can't have one person, one vote if you allow one person, or just 300, to accumulate most of the nation's wealth. It leads to kings and oligarchies as Marx predicted.

You want your democracy back? Get rid of uncontrolled and out of control capitalism. But the filthy rich won't let you.

[Elessar Zappa]

18. It's not about capitalism as a whole.

The Democrats are a capitalist party, not socialist. It’s unregulated, unrestrained capitalism that’s the problem. Making the rich pay their fair share and regulating Wall Street and corporations that destroy our environment is what we must do.

[RicROC]

23. Democratic Capitalist is a term that should be used more than Democratic Socialist.

[Joinfortmill]

43. 👍

[The Wizard]

29. Unfettered capitalism

will devour itself like sharks on a feeding frenzy eating everything they can including other sharks until they're extinct.

[OldBaldy1701E]

35. HEAR HEAR!! (n/t)

[Cracklin Charlie]

6. I think they are just desperate to hide their crimes.

They will do anything, including destroying our democracy, to avoid exposure.

Which leads me to wonder…what have they done that they are so desperate to hide?

[Budi]

7. Look back at 2012. Who all made a mad dash to 'visit' Russia that year?

Everyone from Libertarian Rand Paul to Rick Perry & his gang of Texans to the once-declared Communist, Zack Exley & more all headed to Russia in 2012.
They sealed the deal for the installation of Trump & the Corporate propaganda messaging, the convincing of a naieve American public, & the chaos that would bring Putin's dream of destruction of American govt to it's knees.

Without firing a shot.

Deals were signed in blood, they were all in as they made their pilgrimage to Russia that year, & it came together beautifully in a multi-pronged attack in 2016.

2012 was a major turning point.

[cynical_idealist]

25. As much as I hate the russian influence, it's very clever from their perspective.

After all the anti russian history in this country, it's mind-boggling that more
people here don't take the recent "incursions" seriously.

[young_at_heart]

9. I can't believe they chose Steve Bannon to make their stand!

‘For those who act intentionally with sneering, cavalier contempt for the American folks,’ mentioned Consultant Jamie Raskin, a member of the committee, ‘we are going to maintain you in contempt.’

So many Republicans side with the man who said on Jan. 5th, "All Hell is going to break loose tomorrow"! Why is it just fine with them?? It shouldn't be.

[KS Toronado]

10. Time to kill the filibuster

and get programs enacted which will help Americans, cause we sure in the hell are not going
to get any help from reQublicOns since all they have is "owning the Libs" Kind of ironic in a
way, we'll Make America Great Again without their help.

[Jon King]

12. Sorry, we must accept it will never, ever happen.

Simply a dead issue with Manchin, Sinema, and likely 3-5 other Dems.

We need to operate under the current worse case scenario, fillibuster remains, only very slim Build Back Better, border perceived by independents as a crisis, voting rights curtailed and Repugs running many election boards, redistricting gives Repugs at least 5 seats.

It sucks, but that is the reality Dems on the ground must operate under.

[Elessar Zappa]

19. Things can change quickly.

We have no idea what the most important issue will be a year from now. The border may or may not be on people’s minds. If the pandemic slows down significantly, Dems may get the credit for that, who knows? All I know is that I’ll do everything I can including volunteering, donating, and getting out the vote. It’s all I can control.

[LaMouffette]

20. You are right. We need to accept that Manchin and Sinema are DINOs and that they will never

vote for the interests of this country, just for the interests of their donors.

We have no control over them. They are dead to us.

But what DO we have control over? Our message. We can begin a massive marketing campaign to tell American voters what they will NOT be receiving thanks to Republicans blocking every good thing that Biden and all the Dems (except for turncoats Manchin and Sinema) have been fighting so hard to get them.

And then tell them this over and over and over, the way the reich-wing has repeated the Big Lie, over and over and over.

[spanone]

14. K&R

[relayerbob]

15. Not just in Congress

[calimary]

17. Indeed.

[Mr. Ected]

16. They're in a race against time to replace democracy with corporatocracy

Eventually, the FOX crowd will become aware that they've been dished a load of shit for decades. By then, though, it'll be too late. They'll only wish they'd pulled for Dems instead of thinking of us as the enemy of the people.

[samsingh]

21. agreed

[BeckyDem]

24. +1. Never forget what we are dealing with: Noam Chomsky: The GOP Is a "Gang of Radical Sadists"

That’s not just my opinion. Recently, the Financial Times — the major business newspaper in the world, sober, conservative — their leading correspondent, Martin Wolf, a highly respected conservative analyst, wrote a column in which he said it’s just indescribable. He said the Republican Party has become a group of crazed radicals dedicated to reactionary policies.

https://jacobinmag.com/2021/10/noam-chomsky-republicans-covid-afghanistan-climate-vietnam

[Ohioboy]

27. Is there any way to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine?

That way talk radio won't have a monopoly with the right-wing narrative.

[Bettie]

30. It only applied to the public airwaves

cable stations are exempt.

However, it would significantly change AM radio...

[summer_in_TX]

44. I guarantee it would be fought with extreme tactics.

FOX has run a campaign against the Fairness Doctrine ever since it was repealed, especially when any Dem in Congress starts talking about it.

Back when Dennis Kucinich started talking about it, ABC, NBC, and CBS each had anywhere from zero to four mentions in their news programming. FOX News had 168. Did a paper on it for a Master's degree.

Besides that, I read a paper by the architect of the dismantling of the Fairness Doctrine. He was with the American Enterprise Institute and wrote to describe the careful planning that went into how they brought it down. It had been highly popular everywhere. They created curricula for college journalism programs, coordinated Senate investigations into hardships caused by executive branch abuse of power, etc. Within a few years, journalism departments had renounced it as an infringement on freedom of speech.

I wish I though it was coming back. But we can do something. I'm brainstorming here.
• Give everyone the right to respond when maligned.
• Require public interest programming on all broadcast news platforms requiring a genuine discussion of issues in a fair way from across the political spectrum.
• No platform that didn't regularly provide public interest programming could call itself news in its name or branding.
• Require social media to have their algorithms be within acceptable ranges while being monitored, in exchange for continued freedom from being charged as publishers.
• Expose the disinformation - maybe use AI detection and blast the info out (okay, that's a little out there)
• Set up a private corporation funded by public funds to make grants to news organizations in areas that have lost their newspapers.
• Pass strong laws restricting media conglomerates from cross ownership.
• Pass laws that penalize hate speech on news outlets (call it the Rwanda genocide law)
• Pass a law that requires truth in newscasts
• Require Facebook to find a new CEO from a pool of people with higher levels of empathy and a commitment to democracy than Zuckerburg.
• Begin a campaign based on Martha Minow's book "Saving the News" to educate Americans on the founders' belief in news and that they envisioned the press continuing to play its role to keep our government from sliding into tyranny. Freedom of the press can't exist without a robust press. Must safeguard what still exists and then begin working to shore them up across the nation.

[Silent3]

31. A few Republicans might be deluded into believing they'll get a narrower democracy...

...where people can still vote, but just have a narrower range of selection among right wing candidates, who are (in their deluded minds) the only True Americans our democracy was meant to serve.

Of course, many Republicans know exactly the kind of authoritarian system their rooting for, and just don't care as long as they keep, and gain, power and prestige and wealth in the new system.

What many are probably missing, however, is that the corruption and deception and court-stacking and election rigging they're using to get ahead will backfire on many of them. It won't merely be the far-from-perfect democracy this country started with where only land-owning white male Christians counted as citizens.

This will be something far more cutthroat the Republicans are now trying to create, and many won't survive in that world, figuratively and perhaps even literally.

[Pepsidog]

34. How many Dems would it take to move into sparsely populated red states to flip them to blue states?

Can Dems organize and help finance migration of Dems from solid blue states to red states. This maybe the only way to ring balance back to the electoral college. Can the Democratic Party help finance moving expenses? Is this a crazy thought.

[Raven]

36. Yes, crazy.

[traitorsgalore]

38. Repukes have been planning it for 20 years

The repukes started to openly call me and all liberals in Virginia "traitors" in 2008 when Obama ran for prez. Before then, if a person didn't support torture, WMD lies and endless war we were also branded traitors and told "you're with us or against us". Trumpunk solidified it and made it the GOPuke platform, if you don't agree with repukes "you're a traitor".

I don't know what "go to ground" means but several states will overturn their elections in 2022 and the U.S. will face the repukes head on in talk of secession and civil war. Some repukes in Virginia are already running on a civil war platform.

I hope a few states do secede and all the fascist repukes in the country can finally have the pseudo-religious totalitarianism they've always dreamed of. The U.S. would be a great country again if we could only let the repukes go on their anti-science, anti-equal rights, anti-intellectualism ways.

[Edwcraig]

40. SAVE DEMOCRACY VOTE DEMOCRATIC

Is the only message, the only words, the only position the only battle cry of our party. Nothing else matters and nothing else should be said on any occasion, in any debate, in any discussion, and the only response to any words by these evil people.

[Joinfortmill]

41. Totally agree.