Lawrence O'Donnell just said something very thought-provoking...

[kentuck]

He said, this election is not about Hillary or Trump - it is about us.

In the future, we will be asked where we stood when we had the chance to vote for Hillary or Trump?

It's true. It is about each of us. What do we think of our democratic principles and foundations?

[vlyons]

1. Americans better wake up and get a grip, because

Fascism is in our midst, and working very very very hard to gain power!

[bdamomma]

3. I agree and if you watched Bill Maher last night

he came out and said it too about fascism. And say goodbye to everything. This election affects not only Americans but the world community too.

Plus there are a lot of ex pats out there including myself watching this election closely, we had Bush for two terms this jerk cannot get in.

[CincyDem]

5. I'm not usually a Maher groupie but he was "on" last night.

In what was almost a toss off line, the thing he said that gave me a shiver...some like "Trump may be our last president cuz fascists don't give up power once they have it".



GOTV

[PatrickforO]

17. Maher was great last night. He spoke of

A slow right wing coup and this was right on the money. Other wise things he said we'd better listen to:

1. Once fascists have power they don't give it up
2. While I thought Bush was odious, I liked what Maher said about our mistake in demonizing him. Yes, his policies were terrible, and I feel he was (still is) a war criminal, but as Maher pointed out forcefully last night, Bush pales in comparison to Trump.

Remember the show right after Hillary won the nomination, and Maher said we now have a choice between two trains. One will get there but it will make some stops and may not arrive as quickly as we all want.

The other train is going to...

HELL.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

36. Many Americans are full of crap right now

and it's not something that their guns can fix.
might doesn't make them right, but they can still be dangerous.

[stopbush]

4. What Lawrence said played well to a D audience that - of course - wants our

democracy and its institutions to thrive.

What could have been emphasized is that those on the Trump side want to tear down our democracy along with its institutions. While that was implicit in his words, he could have been more direct about Trump's calls to tear down our government, and his admonitions to his followers to begin that process by engaging in overt law breaking by harassing voters.

[heaven05]

6. I think highly of democratic ideals

yet, to me, the democratic foundations and principles here in America have always had a bruised and schizophrenic nature. Only if americans stand up to this fascist, sexist, racist demogogue and push he and his followers back into the toilet from whence they came can the principles and foundations start to be healed and repaired for all americans again.

[LakeArenal]

7. Well, Trump supporters say the very same things...

That we should wake up and smell the corruption......

That we need to go back to the forefathers' fundamental principles....

That those very democratic principles are under attack from liberal socialists and where they stand about the future of the country.

So everyone at this point is preaching to the choir. If someone, at this point, is saying they are undecided, I think they just like the attention of being undecided.

At some point in the game, the coaching and strategy are done. The players must complete the game. I think that's where we are now. Go Hillary.... Take this home...

[liberalla]

12. I'm glad you pointed that out. Trumpers believe they are on the right (correct) side of protecting

the constitution and democracy. Many true believers - refusing to see or hear anything that disagrees with their beliefs and convictions. Convinced that Clinton and evil libruls are the problem... and they have much invested in maintaining that belief.

How does a person like that change their mind and see things differently? It's a long road making that adjustment in thinking.

I like Lawrence O'Donnell, but I haven't been able to watch MSNBC since May. I'm curious to see how we, as a nation, do on this election. I hope we score higher than expected. A landslide would be very positive.

[NastyWomen]

28. Us vs Trumpers

We are based on facts. They are based on conspiracy theories.

The truth must prevail and the conspiracy bullshit needs to be debunked by the MSM instead of being propagated for ratings and ad $$

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

42. You want conspiracy bullshit?

There is a write-up on this blog under the headline "Carmen Celistini on Wikileaks' October Surprise: Attempt to Smear Hillary Clinton with Charges of Witchcraft"

I must mention that Bilgrimage is a specifically Catholic blog.

[CRH]

37. Happy to see an expat in CR, …

with similar political orientation. Esposa mio, una Tica, tiena finca in la Vega. We live in Grecia de Alejuela. Did you vote through the expat internet registration or from a US address and registration? Just curious.

[LakeArenal]

43. Not quite there yet...

We just retired. We have to sell everything up to get there. But that's the plan for the last ten years. We're so close!!! Hope to see you there.

[Akamai]

8. Great AM Joy today with O'Donnell and also with other guests.

Better get than Face The Nation, Meet The Press, etc.

Joy doesn't have to accommodate Republican nutballs and pretend they are not lying.

The hosts of the Sunday talk shows have to grovel and avoid telling the truth, saying, among other things, "Both sides do it!" and " Obama is responsible for the gridlock! "

Bullshit!!!

She is a truth teller in the mode of Phil Donahue and Keith Olbermann!!!

[liberal from boston]

22. MSNBC

Also a special TLW w/Lawrence will be on this Sunday night @ 10 PM. Joy will join Lawrence in election analysis of Presidential election. Suggest you check list of MSNBC programs for tonight & Sunday night,

[Akamai]

25. Thanks for telling me! I sure will record that. Here on the West Coast (where pot will be legal from

California to Alaska) that will be shown at 7 p.m., I guess. But I thank you for informing us!

[Rose Siding]

9. I've heard HRC and the pres both saying that. Glad he picked it up!

[world wide wally]

10. This actually is our last best chance to save American democracy

Yes, we re not without our problems and the Republican obstruction, but it is nothing we can't fix. We have been tweaking it for 240 years and it still could be another 240 till we get it right.
The alternative is the emotionally unbalanced thief/sexual perpetrating fascist and a dark life of authoritarianism.
If that is what America wants, I don't think I want America.
It is our choice

[Cosmocat]

11. He is right that is really isn't about Trump or Hillary, but

it won't end on election night, not be a FAR sight.

Trump wins, and we are absolutely fucked. That lunatic will do all the crazy shit he will do and republicans will be his serviant bitches like they have been during this candidacy. They will let him do WTF he wants.

Hillary wins, and they are going to throw a 2009/2010 type hissyfit on steroids. It will be much worse. They WILL investigate the shit out of her, try to impeach her.

AND, if we win the senate and change the filibuster, WTF. I know people can't hear this now, but if WE get to actually seat a SB justice, we are doing to see things in this country we never imagined we would see.

BAD things.

[Mika]

14. I felt, and still feel, that was the 2000 election.

It was about us. The future of the pursuit of improving our democracy.
We, as a nation, failed...
... it continues.

[creoledna]

15. I don't need a document.....

Signed by somebody else I've never met to know right from wrong.
I wonder what it is going to be like for my friends to reflect on their choice of Trump. Will they ever be able to see a day they no longer can rationalize their vindictiveness?
I'm hopeful they get to do it without damaging our country.

[LakeArenal]

21. I agree with you!

And for all of us with Hillary and don't have a yard sign up... It says, I don't want to get in a neighborhood fight with a crazy, misogynist, bigot.

[Bohunk68]

41. On the way home from the next village, I counted the number of yard signs

for candidates. Because, I had not been seeing many at all this season. And only one (Hillary) had been defaced. I counted 5 for Trump, 3 for Hillary. One of each had been removed within the preceding two days. I did see more for Congress, but not really many more. I am not sure why, other than the guess that Trumpsters are not willing to let everyone know who they are for sure, and Hillary backers are afraid of violence. Witness the one defaced sign. Upstate NY outside Albany.

[Donkees]

18. Bernie's been saying that for months :)

[dae]

30. ^^^Yup, what he/she said!^^^

[Donkees]

31. She :)

[dae]

33. TY for the clarification. :)

[Lucinda]

20. Hillary, and all her surrogates, have been saying the same thing.

Democracy itself is on the ballot, and who we are as a nation.
What future do we want for ourselves and our children....

[FigTree]

24. Either way it looks like the end of a system.

A normal democratic process disrupted if not explicitly sabotaged for 8 years. A supreme court functioning outside of its own standards. 45% of voters expressing extreme-right views. The square peg of two parties hammered down the round hole of actual four parties. An income inequality similar to Russia's or Egypt's. People armed to the teeth. The list keeps on going.

[dae]

32. You nailed it FigTree.

[loyalsister]

27. Trump is a reflection of the current political and entertainment culture in the US

I think that conflict and has become the primary SOP for both entertainment and infotainment media. And people are eating it up. Cable news is conflict driven trash with two goals- confirm biases and piss people off.

I also think it is no accident that the most vapid entertainment genre most of us have ever encountered made gains in this era. And, now we have a reality TV personality as a presidential candidate.

What historians will have to say about the candidates and election many years from now should be interesting. Even more interesting will be what media studies, sociology, and cultural studies, etc. have to say about us. I'm hoping we generally receive some harsh criticism accusing us of being a collective uncivilized bunch of hateful heathens, because that should mean that we have recovered from this nightmare!

[IronLionZion]

29. Next year many Trumpers will deny ever supporting him

Trump himself will deny ever running for president.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

35. K&R nt

[Mike Nelson]

38. That's been part of...

...Hillary Clinton's regular speech.

[Kablooie]

39. If Trump wins this will be asked but...

were people asked where they stood when Goldwater lost? No.

if Hillary wins, Trump will just become a footnote in political history and his supporters will become a curiosity, not a lesson to be learned from.

[Quantess]

40. At this point, it's a cozy luxury to say that.

But we're confident Clinton will win so we can already wax nostalgic about the election.